We read the case study “Even Better Than the Real Thing” that the web store FinerBags.com sells fakes that said to be very good copies of purses originally made by Louis Vuitton and similar high-end brands. They sale these fake or replica items cheaply. For example, a Prada bag costing $1,800 can be purchased as a copy for about $180. At Finer Bags, they’re totally open about what they’re doing, and their home page lists the advantages of buying their products (http://businessethicsworkshop.com/Chapter_9/finer_bags.html). This assignment will examine whether honesty is part of the corporate culture at Finer Bags. It will also examine if any corporate culture disagreements do occur and discuss if any utilitarian argument can be found to justify …show more content…
The issue of honesty is not easy to determine especially that Finer Bags admits publicly that, what they are selling are not original products made by original designers. They are, but good replicas or counterfeits. There is no deception in what they are doing on face value. What is at stake here, is that they are using designs and the names of other companies without the owner’s permission. What this brings about are infringements copyrights, intellectual property rights and patents. They are dealing in counterfeits which is theft and a crime. While I agree that Finer Bags are not in any way trying to deceive anyone, I do not think that honesty was part of Finer Bags corporate culture. Finer Bags openly admitted that their products weren't those produced by brand names. I do not think that these were imitations. This was pure theft of intellectual property and they rode on someone else’s good name to make these fake products sales. Finer Bags was profiting from encouraging their customers to be dishonest as they purposed to have bought the real brands. Although, Finer Bags did not aim at deceiving its customers as they had clearly indicated that what they were selling were not originals, some customers who might not have bought these products directly from them, got deceived, as they bought these products in good faith thinking they were genuine …show more content…
Cultural dissonance happens when actions of an organisation are completely different from its values (Brusseau 2012). It could be possible that dissonance was felt by some stakeholders of Bags. The fact that they were not engaged in deception, and probably believed that they were honest they did not feel any dissonance. A breakdown in ethical compliance did not occur as employees followed values and ethical code of conduct for the company. And if the workers were not diverting or breaking away from complying with the values of the company I do not find any semblance of
The ethical code of an organization illustrates the importance of being honest, acting with integrity, and showing fairness in decision making (Bethel, 2015). Ultimately, “laws regulating business conduct are passed because some stakeholders believe they cannot be trusted to do what is right” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015, p. 95). In the last couple of years, culture has become the initiator for compliance, which means from the top down there has to be a commitment to act in a way that represents the company’s core values (Verschoor, 2015).
On late August of 2007, Dana Thomas writes to the general public on the horrors made possible by the buying and selling of counterfeit fashion goods to persuade the end of the consumerism funding monstrous acts. Through the incorporation of ethos, logos, and pathos in her journalism, Thomas persuades her audience with the uncoverings of the sources behind the making of the counterfeit goods.
Kerin and Peterson describe the DECIDE process in which a problem statement is clearly defined and established. In this case, one problem identified is the lack of supplies that forced the company to search for new buyers. Therefore this also cause Fe’nix Del Sur, to use decision factors in finding the alternative courses of action, such as identifying extra buyers and exploring department stores organizations. They used other step in evaluating the decision is considering all important information related to its alternatives. The artifacts have been reduced by increasing competition. The trust issue was affected when the market became full of replicas that have affected that look almost real. Then the fourth step which involves identification at its best with the alternatives; this step helped in increasing the company’s revenue and profits. Furthermore, to meet the ethical violations the company made it clear to its customers “that it is selling both replicas and authentic replicas by creating price differentiation presented by the mass-merchandise department store” (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). This strategy reduces the chances of misleading the customers and also increase the transparency level and it restore the trust. Its final stage is development and implementation plan for he selected alternative.
Wal-mart is currently the world’s largest company. It has seen continuous growth and financial success since it was founded in 1962. Today it is living off of a previous reputation of solid ethical business practices that are no longer being exercised. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart, was considered to be “freakishly cheap… Cost-cutting was an obsession in the Wal-mart culture… on business trips, everyone, including the boss, flew coach, and hotel rooms were always shared.” (reclaimdemocracy.org. 2006). This was only part of the reason for Sam Walton’s success.
People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive. People require brands to experience the feeling of being special. People spend their money to have something from famous brands, like a bag from Coach or Louis Vuitton which they think they need, yet all that is just people’s wants. Steve McKevitt claims that people give more thought on features or brands when they need to buy a product, “It might even be the case that you do need a phone to carry out your work and a car to get around in, but what brand it is and, to a large extent, what features it has are really just want” (McKevitt, 145), which that means people care about brands more than their needs. Having shoes from Louis Vuitton or shoes that cost $30 it is designed for the same use.
It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the only important value is the bottom line, most executives merely give lip service to living and operating their corporations ethically.
Wal-Mart is a huge global retailer employing millions of people, serves millions of customers annually and operates in over 13 markets (Walmart/AboutUs). Prior to 2008, they consistently rated high by their peers and appeared in Fortune Magazine’s list of top 20 most admired companies (Fortune Magazine). The question is however, is the company ethical? This paper looks at various criticisms and praise in specific areas and applies normative theories in an attempt to answer this question.
Over the years, a number of companies have been implicated in business scandals involving issues such as stealing, cheating, violating company policy, or breaking the law. These scandals can ruin the reputation of an organization and cause the business to fail. The study of organizational behavior tells us that an organization’s culture and climate have a direct impact on the organization’s ethics. Currently, Lockheed Martin’s culture and climate contribute to a healthy and ethical environment. However, given current events the organization must continue to monitor key performance indicators and revise its ethics program as necessary.
The movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” presented a series of ethical dilemmas that surround a group of salesmen working for a real estate company. The value of business ethics was clearly undermined and ignored in the movie as the salesmen find alternatives to keep their jobs. The movie is very effective in illustrating how unethical business practices can easily exist in the business world. Most of the time, unethical business practices remain strong in the business world because of the culture that exists within companies. In this film, the sudden demands from management forced employees to become irrational and commit unethical business practices. In fear of losing their jobs, employees were pressured to increase sales despite possible ethical ramifications. From the film, it is right to conclude that a business transaction should only be executed after all legal and ethical ramifications have been considered; and also if it will be determined legal and ethical to society.
Materialistic things consume today’s society, whether it is cars, clothing, or jewelry, in a sense we rely on these objects for our happiness. Companies such as Nike, Gap, and Toms, have all had major success do to their loyal customers, who seek the name brand logo of their company. These companies have continued to grow tremendously, making billions of dollars; the companies strive to find ways to outsourcing its manufacturing, in hopes of making more and more profit. Profit is not the only thing that rises, many questions and investigations have occurred, exposing the poor ethical choices these businesses have made. Nike, one of the most well- known and profitable companies have experienced this heavy scrutiny first hand. Throughout this essay the reader will gain a better understanding of Nike’s poor ethical business decisions and what actions they took in order to repair their image.
The business world has always been a very risky business. There is a lot to worry about no matter what position a person fulfills; everyone has some level of responsibility. The Gap Incorporated is a multinational specialty retail company (Gap Inc. 2014). The company was created by a Doris and Don Fisher (Joslin et. al. 2010). Don Fisher and his wife was a very wealthy couple, Don was a real estate developer (Joslin et. al. 2010). They decided to open up a clothing store when Don realized how popular jeans were becoming in the fashion industry. Another reason that Don Fisher wanted to open a clothing store is because he has an extremely difficult time finding jeans that fit him properly in department stores (Joslin et. al. 2010). So in the year of 1969 the Fishers opened the very first Gap store in San Francisco, California (Gap Inc. 2014). In this paper I will explore The Gap Incorporated and discuss the company’s ethical culture and behavior past and present. Based on preliminary information, I hypothesize that The Gap Incorporated is an ethical company.
Ciulla, Joanne B., Clancy W. Martin, and Robert C. Solomon. Honest Work: a Business Ethics Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Albert Carr argues that business is a game and that business ethics differs from private life ethics that individuals practice. Carr explains that practices such as bluffing and not telling the whole truth are morally acceptable in business context. Carr claims that one cannot apply a single standard of ethics universally as situations differ from one to another. My response to such claim is that I refuse to accept that businesses cannot be strictly ethical.
Reviewing the existing literature on this topic, this essay attempts to look at the scale of counterfeiting, the reasons for its growth and the consumer’s attitudes towards counterfeited products. It also provides information about how the counterfeit market poses challenges for customer-brand relations and the strategies that brands can implement to overcome these challenges.
Shaw, W. H., & Barry, V. (2011). Moral Issues in Business (Eleventh ed., pp. 230-244).