PHI2397 Essay

I am a manager of MBI computers in Canada. Like any other computer companies, we have placed our factories abroad for lowing cost. I found that our company is using illegal child labour in dangerous working conditions for our manufacturing line in Mexico through classified documents of MBI computers. On the other side, the cheap labour in Mexican manufacturing facility is necessary for us to compete with the other companies in the whole Canadian market. To consider blowing the whistle or not is not only regarding to the company, but it also very important to myself. As far as I analyze through 4 aspects of view in comprehensive situations: Relativist, Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue Ethicist.
As theory of relativism tells us, “what is right is what a culture says is right, or that what is right is what the individual says is right.” (ET, 12) If we consider any issues as a relativist, we may draw a conclusion that our own religions or life styles and even the social context of business. In the simple reason that everybody has their own theory, generally we have different faiths and we have been educated under different cultures even the methods of our thinking are distinct. I am a manager of the company, but in my mind, as a human everyone should obey the law. So I think using child labour in dangerous working conditions is illegal and actually using child labour is illegal in most of countries in the world. To my co-workers, some of them maybe know the truth but nobody want to lose their jobs, so the man who keep the secret keep the job. I just guess that the person who in my shoes finally lost his job or did job-hop after trigger the issue. Although hiring child labour is wrong behavior in legal category, but it is good to the employees in the company, the only thing you should do is to obey the rule of the company. To those investors in MBI, they want to spend less money and get more profit for competing with other companies in the whole market. So in their theory using child labour is right, because of doing this could lower the cost as much as possible and they don’t need to take any responsibility for the action by running this abroad. On the other hand, lots of companies using unfair measures in business, business is like a war, it never ends and we can not define all the actions and decisions in it is right or wrong. “Morality is just like fashion in clothes, beauty in persons, and legality in action-all of which are relative to, and determined by, the standards of a particular culture.” (ET, 13) As those children working in our factory in Mexico, they will consider this as right, because they don’t have money to school even live in difficult conditions. They don’t care the law or they don’t know the law, but only thing they care is their living, if they didn’t work, they will die. Not everyone can study a school and find a good job after educated; there are still lots of poor places in this planet. To our consumers in the market, it’s even not their business; they just pay attention to whether or not they could buy our stuffs in much cheaper prices. People maybe comment on this news after it has been blown, but it is the limit, then they will buy substitutions after that. So, by considering the comprehensive situation, I should not blow the whistle, it is bad to any of us who related to the company, the winner would be our competitors, they reach a win-win situation by doing nothing.
“Utilitarianism, like egoism, is a consequence-based theory: it doesn’t matter why you did something, nor does it matter exactly what you did – only the end result counts.” (EI, 38) As Consequentialism told us, we don’t need to pay attention to the procedures, just the results. John Stuart Mill, the author of Utilitarianism shows us his theory “the greatest happiness principle”. “The greatest good for the greatest number.” (EI, 38) is the main concept of Utilitarianism. Because of I am the manager of the company; the most important problem which I should consider is how to increase our profit rapidly, so I should keep the secret for the company. For doing this our company could get the greatest profit, and then we could stand beyond the other companies. It’s the same as my co-workers; their target is to raise the profit and performance of the company, so they will also keep the secret for the company. To the investors in IBM, the only problem they should pay more attention is to higher the profit and invest less money on their business but get more returns in the future. In the meantime, investors know the secret of the company by controlling the company at backstage. “There are two kinds of utilitarianism: act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.” (EI, 41) If we consider this problem in rule utilitarianism, the investors firstly obey the rule of the market and every company in the market try to get the greatest profit, so the competition has been expanded. People would not just follow the same rule, so our company starts to use child labour for competing. Those children who working in our factory in Mexico would earn more money by doing this hazardous work, they could buy foods, clothes, books and any other things which they need. Everybody get benefit from this job, so it is right to do this. If MBI computers using the child labour, we can produce much more manufacture and sell these stuffs to our customers. On the other hand, we paid less cost, so our consumers could buy the products in a low price. As the result, when we analyze issues as a Utilitarian, to follow the theory “the greatest good for the greatest number but the greatest good for our company”. Sometimes cost-benefit analysis also has been considered as utilitarianism. Under this theory, I would not blow the whistle because I have to make sure get the greatest good for the greatest number.
Kantian Ethics told us that “Acts done with the right intent are right acts”, (EI, 42) “right intent accords with duty”, (EI, 42) “duty is rational”, (EI, 42) “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”. (EI, 43) Firstly, Kantian Ethics theory based on human beings’ intent, acts decide the intent. People who obey the acts are good, or not are bad. Secondly, duty is an obligation; it is not based on human’s emotions, interests and self-interest. Finally, duty is rational and the act which people followed in most of situations would be the universal law. Then people should obey the law and thinking issues in rational way. As we know, I’m a manager of MBI computers. In an occasional chance, I found that our company using child labour in Mexican factory. I have the responsibility to save the company, because of I am a part of the company and the company really does the bad thing. By Kantian Ethics, I should do the right thing and follow the right acts to get the right intent, then through the freewill; we could know that I’m a rational person and I am free. If the other people support using the child labour, then I will be wrong and what the company did would be good. To my colleagues, they should also do some right things to stand against the company, or using the force of union for running a strike. All of the child labour in our factory in Mexico should be fired; because of they are working illegal and the thing which they did in the factory is not obey the acts, it’s bad. For our consumers, they should stop to buy any of our products, because the products which manufactured in Mexico are illegal and immoral, the action of buying the illegal products is irrational. But if we reverse our view of Kantian theory, each company in the market cheating in business, such as using child labour, tax evasion, tax fraud, and refusal to pay taxes. Then our company did the right thing and we are good, using child labour is not illegal and immoral at this situation. So, as the Kantian, we may be either good or bad by different intent.
“What’s virtuous?” (EI, 44) “The big thing for Aristotle is that all virtues are at the midpoint between two extremes, the extreme of deficiency and the extreme of excess – this is his theory of ‘the golden mean.’” (EI, 44) In Virtue Ethics, there are four chief virtues: wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperament. As the manager of MBI computers, I found the illegal secret of the company and I know it is illegal even I consider to blow the whistle, but I analyze the situation in different view of ethical theories. All of these can prove I’m wisdom and justice. The co-workers who work in the same place with me may be found the secret before and nobody stand out and tell people the truth, so they are smart, because of they know how to live in the environment of business and how to figure between the company and themselves. To the investors of our company have wisdom, they do really know how to make the company live in the war. By competing with the other companies and make sure how to win in the game. It’s not only business strategy, but also some tricks or even cheating in the game. The children who work for our factory in Mexico are fortitude; they can only work for earning money to live. They are young but they’ve already need to face to anything, they didn’t give up or just eat the bread of idleness. As the consumers of our company are justice, they make lots of choices between different substitutions and finally maybe they choose us or not. The decision may be usually decided by the price, quality of our manufactures and the effect of our brand. If in the view of Virtue Ethicist, I would prefer not to do whistle blowing, because of that everybody benefit from the whole market.
By analyze in four views of ethical theories, we could easily know that whistle blowing is not a sensible action in most of time. If you blow the whistle, it represents you have the ability to fight with the whole business. Although ethical issues still very serious in our society, we need to deal with them much more patience. Sometimes we can even not distinct right or not, but we should clearly know that we are rational human; we could change our minds or accept something new. By learning and discovering of theories which exist now is very important to the innovation of the world.