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Unit 6 Does a company have an ethical duty to find a balance between remaining profitable and paying all workers a decent living wage
Ethics and Social Responsibility (PHIL 1404)
University of the People
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1. Does a company have an ethical duty to find a balance between remaining profitable and paying all workers a decent living wage? Why or why not?
Yes. A practical method to boost a company’s profitability is to have an ethical duty to balance keeping profitable and giving all workers a decent living wage. Because “workers on good living wages are more likely to be productive - since they are more motivated, less likely to leave – lower attrition means fewer recruitment and training costs and healthier workers.” (Ethical trading initiative, n). It also helps enhance brand reputation since “customers are increasingly sensitised to the working conditions of those that make the products they buyBalancing decent living wage and company’s profitability will also help reduce the company’s spending. “Workers on low wages have to rely on benefit payments to survive; if they receive a decent living wage, the company could cut benefit spending” (Ethical trading initiative, n).
2. Who decides what constitutes a fair wage?
According to the information I’m reading; business owners decide what fair pay is. Depending on how well a business is doing, it can raise the minimum wage over the national minimum wage, which is done with the incentive that business will thrive and strengthen the economy, which will benefit everyone, including individuals in the middle class. Starbucks, Gap, Whole Foods, Ben & Jerry’s, Shake Shack, and a slew of other companies took it upon themselves to boost the minimum wage (Byars S. M, & Stanberry K, 2019). “No sensible individual, regardless of profession or political affiliation, would deny that employees have a right to a fair and just wage” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). A public debate could be held to determine what qualifies a fair. These disagreements are based on “factors that appear in calculations, such as federal and state minimum wage regulations, cost of living, and inflation rate” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). The government is responsible for implementing fair pay after defining what constitutes one.
3. How would you explain to a board of directors your decision to pay entry-level workers a higher wage than required by law?
Before explaining to the board, I would compile a report that would produce proof to back up my hypotheses, such as daily, weekly, and monthly sales, and incorporate other financials such as expenses, the gross, and the net. I’d then consider the tremendous impact and impact on the business if they were increased. So my justification would be based on those grounds and the financial and economic currents flowing in the local economy (such as purchasing power, which would assure smooth operation; less poverty equals more income flowing into people’s lives, and how they would contribute to the firm. Financial records analysis, staff competency and potential, community currency (input to the local economy), and growth projections if such adjustments were implemented would be the most superficial portrayal (effects of change). Paying employees livable wages is a massive
driver of countries economy (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). The “economy cannot develop when wages are falling; businesses cannot survive in the long run without a growing or, at the very least, stable middle class” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). Aside from increasing the employee’s “consumption of household goods and services like food, electricity, and education,” it also contributes to the nation’s GDP (Byars & Stanberry, 2019). Paying entry-level workers more than the minimum salary mandated by law benefits both the employee and the firm. It will contribute to an “increase in consumer spending power, which will benefit the overall economy” (Byars & Stanberry, 2019).
REFERENCES :
Byars, S. M., & Stanberry, K. (2019). Business ethics: Income Inequalities. OpenStax College and Rice University. Retrieved from: opentextbc/businessethicsopenstax/chapter/incom e-inequalities/
Byars, S. M., & Stanberry, K. (2019). Business ethics: What Constitutes a Fair Wage. OpenStax College and Rice University. Retrieved from: opentextbc/businessethicsopenstax/chapter/whatconstitutes-a-fair-wage/
Ethical trading initiative. (n). A Living Wage for Workers. Retrieved from: ethicaltrade/issues/livingwage-workers
Unit 6 Does a company have an ethical duty to find a balance between remaining profitable and paying all workers a decent living wage
Course: Ethics and Social Responsibility (PHIL 1404)
University: University of the People
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