Some of the worst offenders become major news stories. There has been one massive scandal after another at Wells Fargo. In , the bank was involved in one of the largest embezzlements in history.
Then, with its shady mortgage practices, the company became a major player in the financial crisis. Ferrero USA is the company behind the brand Nutella. Almost everyone is familiar with one of the latest cases of corporate misconduct: the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The company admitted to having installed software that manipulated emissions readings to make its cars appear as if they were environmentally friendly.
For years, Foxconn has been accused of violating labor rights. Recent leaks revealed that the company employs children as young as 14 years old to work in its factories in China. The supplier provides products to both Apple and Amazon. Back in , Coca-Cola promoted Powerade as having more electrolytes than Gatorade, the rival energy drink from Pepsi. In retaliation, Pepsi sued Coca-Cola on the grounds that its claim had no basis in science. One of the largest oil companies in the world, Halliburton has been accused of a number of grave offenses.
These include doing business with countries with which the US government has banned trade relations, overcharging the US army for supplies during the Iraq War in , mismanaging waste, sexual assault, and exposing employees to hazardous chemicals. The internet, and particularly social media, have given consumers a greater voice. Many people are choosing to speak out about what they consider to be unethical business practices. Consumers also understand that money speaks — that they have the purchasing power to buy from businesses they consider ethical.
Plus, businesses now have a new way to beat the competition: show that they are the moral choice by engaging in ethical business practices. Understanding some of the common unethical business practices should be just the start of your journey to become more ethical. You also need to be familiar with the most common ethical issues businesses face. Finally, to put everything into action, check out our list of ethical business practices to follow.
According to past research, short-term business goals leads to unethical behavior. This is important because, based on past research, this shows that if companies can change their environment to promote more long-term goals and reduce peer pressure, there could be less unethical behavior. Since the s Coca - Cola has been accused of unethical behavior in a number of areas, in- cluding product safety, anti-competitiveness, racial discrimination, channel stuffing, dis- tributor conflicts, intimidation of union workers, pollution, depletion of natural resources, and health concerns.
Nike's Unethical Labor Practises. As one of the world's largest athletic brand, Nike faces great criticism in regards to their use of labor sweatshops in Asia.
The public was astounded by the allegations of physical and verbal abuse taking place in Nike's sweatshops. With unethical business practices such as taking clean drinking water in areas that sorely need it, participating in human trafficking and child labor, and exploiting uneducated mothers in third world countries, Nestle is quite possibly one of the world's most corrupt corporations.
Fast-food giant McDonald's has been named the most unethical firm in the world because of its business conduct, including the way it treats its suppliers. In addition, 74 per cent said they would be less likely to buy from a firm if they heard something negative about its ethics.
Walmart unethical behavior. Wal-Mart has been accused of sexual discrimination and unfair pay for employees, and destruction of small towns, excessive amounts of corporate power through the government and how Wal-Mart is turning into a monopoly. In reality these workers are manipulated and underpaid. Monsanto, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs rank as the least socially responsible companies. Millennials rate Tesla, Publix, and Amazon. Bad business ethics can be said to be any instance in which a company knowingly ignores the best interests of its employees, customers or the society in general in order to earn more money or otherwise preserve its position.
Illegal Advertising. Being unethical means not adhering to the proper rules of conduct for the industry, and also lacking moral principles. In everyday life, examples of this include, but are certainly not limited to: lying to your spouse, exaggerating skills on your resume or gossiping about a friend or family member. We tend to not think of something as mundane as food as being controversial, but controversial foods are incredibly common, and might even be on the menu at your favorite restaurant.
Beluga Caviar. Bluefin Tuna. In other words, offering something of value, or money in return of a favorable dealing. In conclusion, the pressure of surpassing the competition and wooing consumers year-after-year with the same products takes a toll on organizations.
As a result, they resort to dishonest and devious activities. Even the biggest names in the industry are not untouched by this phenomenon. From buying email addresses to spamming consumers without their consent, to ignoring quality and safety guidelines for generating higher revenue, many businesses are indulging in some kind of unethical behavior. Manish Khanna is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and genuine Australian success story.
He is currently the Managing Director of more than 10 individual companies. These include the flagship Business2Sell which operates internationally in 6 countries.
I cannot agree more. I agree with your list. This often blocks the development of the entire industry for years. Your email address will not be published. Misleading Product Information Many companies promote injurious products with misleading information, purely for the sake of improving the bottom line.
Unfair Competition Defamation of a competitor, misappropriation of their trade secrets, and trade mark infringement — all these fall under unfair competition which gives a wrong impression to the consumers about the competitor and its products. Mistreating Employees Mistreating employees has become a familiar scenario in small and big companies who make employees work for long hours and underpay them.
Manipulating Accounts Want more unethical business practices? Bribery Inducement to influence a business decision is not uncommon in the corporate world. About The Author. Manish Khanna Manish Khanna is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and genuine Australian success story. Lan on July 31, at am. Our world is in need of a bigger conscience Reply. Apple Apple Inc. Apple — Child Labour Everyone wants an iPhone and no one really cares if it were made by tiny child slaves who are forced to work in dangerous conditions, inhaling cancerous vapors, for 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
And that is why Apple continues to be so profitable. Apple manufacturer Foxconn is like hell on earth. Nestle — Infant Formula Nestle aggressively pushed their breastfeeding formula in less economically developed countries, specifically targeting the poor. Toyota — Safety Issue One of the most important aspects of any car company is safety. Toyota made a huge and unethical failure in when they basically betrayed their promise as a company by ignoring safety concerns and delaying recall investigations just so they could save a little money.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. KFC It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain as measured by sales after McDonald's, with almost 20, locations globally in countries and territories.
Nike Nike Is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. But what if the person is a 9 - year old child? What image will it give you as a consumer when you buy those products or brands that employ child labor?
These are only few examples of unethical practices by some global companies. Everyone needs profit so they sacrifices ethics and harm people and environment. Like wise many examples are there but we are not aware of that.
We just know only the status and fame of the brands. Behind all these there are some realities like this. Conclusion Thank you.
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