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.
In 1965 two men by the names of Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight started Blue Ribbon Sports, now known as Nike, the business almost instantly became a top competitor. In 2012 Nike was said to have a net worth of 67 billion dollars, and co-founder Phil Knight a net worth of 18.7 billion dollars. The amount of profit Nike has attained is eye- opening, which made individuals that much more infuriated when they discovered Nike was accused of having sweatshops internationally. The accusations began in 1991 when activist Jeff Ballinger published a report, documenting the harsh conditions workers were forced to work in. Acknowledging the fact that Nike’s business plan was more about making profit than treating employees with any dignity. Nike’s strategy seemed to be to enter into poor nations where individuals were desperate for work. In 1996 it has been ...
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...rible situations for people who do not have the laws like U.S. workers have. Even though NIKE has implemented different methods to improve the companies’ image, there have still been many reports that show there has not been much change at all. At a net worth of 67 billion dollars and expected to grow, loyal customers is what allows this multi billion dollar company to grow in profit, the only way there will be an impact on those working in NIKE sweatshops is if today’s society takes action.
Works Cited
"Still Waiting For Nike To Do It | Global Exchange." Still Waiting For Nike To Do It | Global Exchange. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Nike and Reputation Management." Nike and Reputation Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Labor Rights." By Jeff Ballinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Nike’s Track Record." Nike’s Track Record. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
Nike is a household brand name not only in the United States but also throughout the world, although roughly half of sales are sourced in the United States (Brick). This dominance in North America, an area which represents $108.7 billion of the $282.3 billion worldwide, is key in the overall evaluation of the Nike assets (Euromonitor 1). Nike’s position of industry power is supported through their innovation in design as well as notable sponsorships and collaborations with professional athletes and tech companies like Apple. Their event and team sponsorships also elevate Nike to an elite level (4). However, competitors in this industry are quickly gaining momentum. For example, Under Armour has experienced notable growth in the past five years, and adidas continues to grow their presence in the United States. This has detracted some of the Nike dominance in the U.S. market
Nike has been under a great deal of pressure to correct the misdoings that have been done regarding production facilities in the East. As Nike is responsible for these plants, their reputation has been tainted with increasing public debate about ethical matters. While Nike still promotes itself as one of the industry leaders in corporate social responsibility, workers in Asia are still forced to work excessively long hours in substandard environments and are not paid enough to meet the basic needs for themselves or their families. They are faced to a life of poverty and are unfortunate subjects to harassment and violent threats if they make any attempt to form unions or tell journalists about labour abuses in their factories. Phil Knight’s speech regarding Nike’s steps to improving human rights in Asian countries was a step in the right direction for Nike, but it would have been much more effective had Nike fully followed through with these initiatives.
Unlike Hobby Lobby, which has its policies and mission rooted in Christian ideals, the apparel giant Nike, Inc. serves as an example that change is possible. The company suffered tremendous backlash in 1991 when an activist published about the poor working conditions in some of the textile factories for Nike overseas, specifically in Indonesia. While Nike did provide some formal response, the following year in 1992, the same activist publishes “The New Free-Trade Heel: Nike’s Profits Jump on the Backs of Asian Workers,” (Ballinger). Further controversy arose as protestors spoke out against Nike at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, urging the boycott of Nike products. Amidst some efforts for Nike to investigate the claims, the company faces further backlash, forcing layoffs due to weakened sales by 1998. In 1999, former President Bill Clinton established a task force that evolved into the Fair Labor Association (FLA), amid the Nike sweatshop rumors, as well as other companies. FLA is responsible for protecting workers’ rights through transparent audits. As a participating member, Nike performed factory audits between the
Nike’s sweatshop manufacturing practices which can be seen through media have shown people that this company goes under the good guys images, these images which are displayed in their commercials show people that their employees are treated well and their happy in their working environment.
Nike has always been a company that's been questioned ethically. People have heard about the stories of the sweatshops in Southeast Asia exploiting adolescent employees for unreasonably small amounts of money. This had blemished Nike’s reputation several years ago, but since then, it has strived to become a truly respectable company. Located on Nike's website you can find Phil Knight's credo about ethics. It is as follows:
The life of a Nike shoe begins with its conception – what it will look like, who will buy it, and how it will be used. Every single detail must be planned and attended to in order to ensure the performance product that Nike so ...
In June of 1996, Life magazine published a article about Nike’s child labor that was occurring in Pakistan. The article showed a little boy who was surrounded by pieces of Nike sports gear. The articles were shoes and soccer balls. Nike then knew then that they had to make some major changes in the way they were producing their items.
“Nike is criticized for using sweatshops in countries like Indonesia and Mexico. The company has been subject to much critical coverage of the often poor working conditions and the exploitativeness of the cheap overseas labor.” – answers.com
Nike does not merely sell products these days. They spend billions of dollars for advertising contracts with famous athletes like Tiger Woods to increase the value of the brand by associating the factor of lifestyle to their products. The company's image has been damaged many times by press releases as well as a variety of NGOs who have long pointed out the inhumane working conditions in the production facilities of sporting goods manufacturers. This leads to the question whether should Nike orientate the regulations of the suppliers to the labor standards in their respective countries or those in the United States? The labor conditions are so inhumane that Nike at least should try to converse to the US standard to improve the situation. The following analysis of an abstract of Nikes’ Responsibility Concept, including SHAPE and their Code of Conduct, should give an insight into the difficulties of the Sweatshops.
Phil Knight started his shoe company by selling shoes from the back of his car. As he became more successful in 1972 he branded the name Nike. In the 1980’s Nike Corporation quickly grew and established itself as a world leader in manufacturing and distributing athletic footwear and sports' attire. The Nike manufacturing model has followed is to outsource its manufacturing to developing nations in the Asia Pacific, Africa, South and Latin Americas; where labor is inexpensive. It quickly became known for its iconic “swoosh” and “Just do it” advertisements and products. Its highly successful advertising campaigns and brand developed its strong market share and consumer base. But, the road has not always been easy for Nike; in the late 1990’s they went through some challenging times when their brand become synonymous with slave wages and child labor abuses. During this period, Nike learned that it paramount that the company understands its stakeholders’ opinions and ensures their values are congruent with their stakeholders. Nike learned that their stakeholders were concerned with more than buying low cost products; their customers were also concerned with ethical and fair treatment of their workers. Because Nike was unwilling to face the ethical treatment of its employees, the company lost its loyal customers and damaged its reputation. Nike has bounced back since the late 1990’s and revived its reputation by focusing on its internal shortfalls and attacking its issues head on. Nike nearly collapsed from its missteps in the late 1990’s. They have learned from their mistakes and taken steps to quickly identify ethical issues before they become a crisis through ethics audits. This paper is based on the case study of Nike: From Sweatsh...
Nike is a multinational corporation with a brand that is recognizable worldwide. For the following paper I will conduct be conducting a social media audit, and evaluating the social media strategies currently being used by Nike. Nike is American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment. As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. The brand alone is valued at $10.7 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. (Wikipedia, 2013)
Nike has suffered attacks from a number of agencies and organizations throughout the world that claim that the workers who manufacture Nike shoes are denied the basic essentials of living—a fair wage and decent benefits. All that occurs while several sport megastars are reaping in multimillion dollar contracts to promote Nike shoes. Over the years, Nike formulated tactics to deal with the problems of working conditions and compensation in subcontractors. It hired a strong consultant (Andrew Young), commissioned an independent audit of its subcontractors, and spelled out initiatives to improve those working conditions. Still, Nike’s critics were not satisfied. They protested on university campuses and accused Nike of continuing to hide the conditions of workers.
With the increasing awareness and publicity of poor working conditions in subcontracted factories in East Asia, Nike has stimulated an uprising of activist and watchdog groups working toward seeing these conditions changed. With Nike in the negative spotlight, various organizations have revolved around generating a negative outlook on Nike’s practices of social irresponsibility. Certain campaigns such as the “National Days of Consciousness” and “International Day of Protest” were organized to educate people on the deplorable working conditions in Nike’s Asian manufacturing plants, and were designed to get more people involved in global employment issues.
America is a birthplace of NIKE Company. Nike’s workplace consists of a leader, visionaries and experienced employees who are very passionate to maintain the status ...
In my point of view, the most unethical Nike’s decision is not to take the responsibility to ensure at least minimum and humane standards that it should offer to its work force. For example, in Vietnam, Nike paid its workers less than the cost of three meals of rice and vegetables and tofu. It treated workers no better than in sweatshops with only two drinks of water and one bathroom break in an eight hour shift. Also Nike let its contractors in developing countries to use child labor under sub-standard conditions. On the other hand, the least unethical Nike’s decision is to have a TV commercial featured a Manchester United player explaining how spitting at a fan and insulting a coach won him a Nike contract.