Ethics and morality Free Samples for Students-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: You are required to select an Ethical Issue which has been reported in the news media in the past 12 months. Collect one recent (2016 or 2017) news article which identifies the issue, and perform further research to collect relevant background information and fact. Answer: Introduction Ethics and morality are essential component of the lives of the human beings. The morality and the ethics separate right actions from wrong actions. There are several moral theories that try to ascertain the morality or the justification of actions. Several actions are correct from one viewpoint; however, wrong from any other viewpoint. Over the years, several theories have been developed which assist a person in judging the morality of an action (Mill, 2006). In this context, the essay has implored the ethical dilemma related to the child labour. A large number of companies and business organizations engage in child labour due to the labour shortage and because it is cheap. The fashion industry in Australia is also suffering from this issue. The essay examines the issue of child labour in the Australian fashion industry. The moral dilemma is examined under the lens of utilitarianism and deontological moral theories. Ethical Issue According to the newspaper report by Wahlquist (2017), the issue of child labour is significant in the supply chain of the Australian fashion industry. The newspaper report states that there are a large number of companies which are trying to trace their supply chain to combat the ethical issues in the supply chain; however, only a few companies have so far traced it. The fashion companies in Australia employ a large number of child labourers. Moreover, they are also unsure whether all the labourers involved in the supply chain were given a living wage. In the ethical supply principles, the companies should show zero tolerance for the child labour (Wahlquist, 2017). Child labour is a major ethical issue in the supply chain of the fashion companies. There are about 211 million labourers under the age of 15 (Ethical Trading Initiative, 2017). It is widespread in developing countries and poor economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In spite of various government initiatives and law s, child labour still persists in across the globe. Developed countries like Australia and other European counties are also suffering from this ethical issue. The children are the future of a nation; therefore, playing with their future is a serious ethical dilemma for the business managers (Dreier, 2009). The child labour violated the basic rights of human and snatches away the opportunity to obtain education and have a bright future (Barrow, 2015). In this regard, the present essay discusses the ethical issue of child labour and examines the ethical issues in the light of utilitarianism theory and Kants categorical imperative. Key Assumptions in Ethical Issues In the contemporary times, there is an increase in the instances at which the business leaders encounter ethical dilemmas. Several ethical dilemmas occur as the business leader are driven by profits and disregard ethics and profitability of business. However, as business enterprises are a part of society, they should take initiatives for the welfare of the society. There are certain theories and frameworks which try to examine the morality of the actions. In the current ethical issues, it is assumed that child labour is intense crime as it jeopardizes the future of a country. When individuals engage in child labour, they do not get the opportunity to get educated and have bright future. They are unable to enjoy their childhood time which impacts their future lives (Timmons, 2012). However, a large number of organizations and individuals states that child labour is also provide opportunity to children to feed their stomach. It provides opportunity to the children to earn money and liv e properly. Analysis of Ethical Problem Using Utilitarianism The utilitarianism theory is the most common theory which judges whether an action is right or wrong. It judges an action based on the consequences on large section of people. According to this theory, no action is right or wrong and an action can be judged based on is consequences. This theory states that the best action is one which increases the utility or the well-being of the human beings, animals and the society in general. The actions are judged on the basis of pleasure derived from the actions. The suffering from the actions is subtracted from to identify the utility of all the actions (Sher, 2012). The utilitarianism is based on the consequentialism theory which states that all the actions should be judged according to the consequences of the action. However, this theory considers all the interests equally. When a business organization adopts utilitarianism, it examines an action based on the consequences on a large number of people. It means all those actions are morally justifiable whose consequences do not have bad impact on anyone. According to this theory, child labour is morally justifiable. Utilitarianism posits that the purpose of morality is to provide a just and satisfactory life to the people. The theory states that the purpose of morality is to increase the happiness and reduce struggles in the lives of people (Hinman, 2012). Utilitarian ethics states that all the actions are morally justifiable whose consequences are good. Several families are only able to fend for themselves due to child labour. The families can receive higher income and the business organizations have access to cheap labours. The child labourers can receive education at odd times. If the practice of child labour is abolished, it will snatch the livelihood of the people and create problems in their future lives (Jacobs, 2008). Kants Categorical Imperative Kant Categorical Imperative is central to the deontological theory. This theory states that every person should have fundamental rights which should not be violated. The theory also elaborates that every individual has a right to choose for himself. Every person has the right to choose what life he wants to life. The choice of the people should be respected and the people are not objects who can be manipulated for their choice. Therefore, the people need to avoid actions which are wrong and breach the right of the people. When examining the act of child labour using this theory, it can be posited that t is a serious offence. Child labour breaches the fundamental rights of the people and snatches away the right of individual to live their lives joyfully (Haidt, 2012). The children do not have opportunity to better their lives by education and other opportunities. Furthermore, the children engaging in child labour have to face toxic work environment which results in negative impact on their future lives. The children are forced to grow up before their age and face the hardships created for adults. The children suffer from violence and maltreatment at an early age (Waluvhow, 2003). Child labour is also an immoral action as it imparts severe physical and psychological damage to the children. Child labour is an immoral action as it impacts severely on the future lives and the growth and prosperity of the children. In the fashion industry supply chain, the children have to work for very long duration. The factories often neglect the lunch times and recreation for the labour (Donnelly, 2003). The children working in these conditions suffer from back strain, eye strain and allergies. While working here, the children are exposed to several dangerous and risky situations which is dangerous for the future and the present lives of the people. The children working in these conditions suffer from stunted growth, low emotional and intelligence quotient (Farrell, 2010). Therefore, child labour exploits the children of their fundamental rights which make it ethically immoral in the lens of Kants categorical imperative. Conclusion It can be deduced child labour has a negative impact on the society and the practice of child labour must be immediately abandoned. According to a recent newspaper article, the practice of child labour still persists in the supply chain of the fashion industry in Australia and other counties in Asia and Africa. It is a moral crime as it snatches the childhood of child labourers. The companies engage in child labour as it provides them with cheap labour and the business organizations are driven by profits. The utilitarianism theory states that the companies should engage in activities which have the best outcomes for the society and the human beings. When the act of child labour is judged by this theory, it is evaluated that child labour is not ethically wrong as it provide employment opportunities to the people who are in financial needs. The companies also get access to cheap labour which increases their profitability. However, when the same phenomena is analysed through Kants categ orical imperative, it can be examined that the child labour is a serious offence. It snatches away the right of the children for a better education and better future. It could be examined from the analysis form both the theories that child labour is a serious crime and the drawbacks of the offence outweigh its benefits. Therefore, the malpractice of child labour should be immediately abandoned. References Barrow, R. (2015). Utilitarianism: A Contemporary Statement. Routledge. Donnelly, J. (2003). Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. Cornell University Press. Dreier, J. (2009). Contemporary Debates in Moral Theory. John Wiley Sons. Ethical Trading Initiative. (2017). Child labour. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ethicaltrade.org/issues/child-labour [Accessed on: 27April 20017]. Farrell, M. E. (2010). Ethics: A University Guide. Progressive Frontiers Pubs. Haidt, J. (2012). The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. Penguin UK. Hinman, L.M. (2012). Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory. Cengage Learning. Jacobs, J. (2008). Dimensions of Moral Theory: An Introduction to Metaethics and Moral Psychology. John Wiley Sons. Mill, J.S. (2006). Utilitarianism. ReadHowYouWant.com. Sher, G. (2012).Ethics: Essential Readings in Moral Theory. Routledge. Timmons, M. (2012). Moral Theory: An Introduction. Rowman Littlefield Publishers. Wahlquist, C. (2017). Slavery laws would force Australian fashion labels to be more ethical report. The Guardian. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/19/slavery-laws-would-force-australian-fashion-labels-to-be-more-ethical-report [Accessed on: 27April 20017]. Waluvhow, W.J. (2003). The Dimensions of Ethics: An Introduction to Ethical Theory. Broadview Press