5 Ethical Solutions (M1)

Ethical solutions. 

In my last Blog I talked about Philip Morris and their unethical behaviour. I described how their mistakes impacted the business and its stakeholders. Large companies like Philip Morris need to deal with many people and stakeholders daily. It is difficult to ensure 100% transparency throughout the large operation, however Philip Morris did not handle it well. 

In this Blog I will give suggestions for how the business can improve their ethics within their operations. Often small and simple changes can start up a businesses morals and improve communications throughout. 

Suggestion 1 : 

Philip Morris's first issue was the fact that the production of the Tobacco was done by child labour and in horrid conditions. This also went for legal workers that were working in dangerous working environments and not getting paid the minimum wages.  Setting up a labour party/union in the counties where this production is done is the 1st change that the business should introduce. This allows for the legal workers to form a bond and propose to the company what things need to change in order for a fair and safe working environment. The main bosses of the company will have never been at these factory sites which means they have no idea how things are actually run. I think it is a very good idea to get these men and woman down to the heart and grind of the company to see for them selves that things need to change. The main priority will be to eliminate all child labour, simply because it is illegal. The second priority will be to set up the labour party which means their rights are fair and considered by the company. this includes paying every worker a fair wage. This will make them happier and so have a respect for the business. This can positively impact the business ethics and their production because workers will work hard for their fair money their being paid. On the other hand, external stakeholders such as the retailers and customers will know that the cigarettes were produced in a safe and fair environment. Here for they will be happy to represent the brand of Philip Morris. If the product is made with care and transparency the people working for the business will not have to worry about any false accusations. They can work comfortably and have a good view and respect for the business. 

Suggestion 2 :

In order for Philip Morris to be transparent and fair, the business needs to ensure their communications with both internal and external stakeholders is perfect. Making sure information is passed on to every line in the production chain is vital for the companies success. If everyone is on the same page mistakes are less likely to be made. miss communication can always happen but this is only if people within the chain are holding things back from others. This can not be done. If 1 person passes on the correct information but the 2nd person only passes 3/4 of it though then you have created problems and distrust. To ensure this does not happen I believe the company should always have follow ups from meetings and special announcements. These is simply done by adding people into emails and making calls to discuss if the information being shared has reached and is understood by the stakeholder. Whether their internal or external. If suppliers know exactly when and where the product needs to be then they can time and contact this with the retailers to ensure the product is delivered on time and with care. 

Suggestion 3 : 

The final suggestion I want to propose is for Philip Morris to have honesty towards the public, government and the media. Once again I believe transparency is something that allows people to see the truth and not have to guess whats wrong or right. If the business is truthful about the production of their product people will know exactly where it is coming from and how it is made. This gives security and will have people trust that the product their buying will always be of good quality. This also goes for the honesty about the treatment of workers, the government will not have to find out if theirs any illegal practises going on. This will give the business less problems and bad publicity. The media has a big impact in the businesses reputation. They can exploit any non ethical operation and show them to the public and government. If the business ensures they have no non ethical issues then this wont be a threat to Philip Morris the company. Stakeholders can respect a business for its legal and ethical operations and often this will also positively impact a business sales and marketing. 

please be sure to check out the rest of my blog and don't be afraid to send me a message. Im more than happy to answer any of your questions :)

Signing off

Sjors

4 Acting unethically (P2)

Acting unethically. 

Phillip Morris International is the leading non-government international tobacco company. It owns seven of the world’s top fifteen international brands, including Marlboro, the world’s best-selling cigarette brand. The company has always had doubt from the government and consumer but has been leading in the tobacco industry. What I wanted to know is what is it exactly that this business does to be so 'unethical'. It is still the leading tobacco company so their is something not being told to the public I suspect. 

So the first thing I tracked back to was Before 2009, where the Phillip Morris International website allegedly contained information stating that the company was against the use of children for labor practices. This was before an extensive report, compiled by the Human Rights Watch. According to the report, migrant workers contracted by farms in Kazakhstan that supply tobacco to the Philip Morris Company were subjected to conditions that often amounted to forced labor. These workers usually had their passports confiscated and were often forced to do additional work for no pay. (Independent). This is very suspicious because you could say this is a lead to child labour, the evidence of no pay and stolen passports indicates that the workers were most likely under the legal age. With knowing this the company has done 2 unethical practises within 1 issue. The first of which is telling false information on their website and the second is the unethical actions taken towards their workers and the law. Clearly doing illegal practices. 

From this research I understood that Philip morris had more incidents with the government and its law and not following them. The company has been acting unethically. This does not look good on the stakeholders of the company. The business actions can affect or be affected by those in government and the regulatory sector. 

The other stakeholders such as retailers, growers and  suppliers want to have a very transparent communication line with the company. If certain issues are not discussed it can mean people are left out and communication has not passed everyone before making decisions. To ensure a smooth running of the business and an effective production all these stakeholders have to work together and be on the same page. Am I right? But unfortunately Philip Morris the company has not done this. Meaning bad publicity and relationships created with the media and its stakeholders. 

On the other hand external stakeholders like customers want to have good quality products. It is easy for Philip Morris to keep selling cigarettes because people that smoke are addicted. Here for the company acting unethically has less of an impact on the customer. They will still want to buy the product if the quality is still good. 

Internal stake holders such as the employees might be concerned with their position in the business since it is under fire by the government. It can appose a threat of them loosing their job and also going away with bad reference. Some employees might not agree with what the business does and this can create problems within the production and management of the business. Now this goes for the people that are working in the headquarters or factory lines.. The people or children that are being forced to work in horrible condition with a minimum pay are going to want recognition and help. They are hoping for someone to step up and show the world that the business is handling illegal practices and unethical behaviour. 

Philip Morris has tried to cover up many of their unethical actions. However for a large company like them, it is very difficult to try and keep everyone happy. Customers will want good quality cigarets for a cheap price, this means the company needs to find good but cheap production lines/workers. However they have done this in an unethical way and this impacts those people that have to work under these bad conditions. Then at the same time retailers will want a large supply of cigarets to be able to sell but they cant do this when the company has a bad name. This means Philip Morris needs to retain its name and a constant supply of good quality cigarettes. With out getting any bad publicity. 

Conflicts between stakeholders can now easily be created if Philip Morris has not covered up their unethical behaviour and gotten a bad reputation trough media for example. Retailers will not want to sell their cigarets if they know that people would rather buy a different brand. social concerns are that the quality of their cigarets might have gone down due to the cheap production. Here for the other internal stakeholders of the business might experience changes in pay or certain rules. This can get them to disagree with the company and raise awareness to the employee's rights. If this happens Philip Morris has to deal with both internal and external stakeholders, basically having everyone unhappy.


The benefits of the business in the way it operates is that they are able to produce their products very cheaply. Using unethical behaviour yes! but it does allow them to make or catch more money. Philip Morris had gotten away with it for a while and even when threatened by the government, the company still tried to cover up their tracks. What the actual reason was for the unethical behaviour we don't seem to know. Thinking logically would be saying that just like any other big company Philip Morris is looking for good deals and cheap prices to produce their product. Going to less economically developed counties and employing cheap labour their is what most do. However Philip Morris decided to go 1 step further which was employing child labour. This is illegal and so in the end of the day the company was exposed by the media and put in front of the government facing major law suits. Another major drawback that came from the bad publicity was that customers were actually considering not to buy the cigarets from Philip Morris anymore. Even though most customers are addicted they still have the option to go for different cigarets that are produced under a better environment. This would take away sales from the company and so a possible loss in profit. 

To conclude, at the end of the day the companies unethical behaviour got them a bad image with their internal and external stakeholders. Then again Philip Morris tried to cover up their unethical behaviour with more unethical behaviour, which obviestly does not work.. Very stupid I would say. There is a fine line between what is accepted and what goes to far. Phillip Morris has pushed these boundaries to the limit. Here for their law suits and major public disgrace. 

please be sure to check out the rest of my blog and don't be afraid to send me a message. Im more than happy to answer any of your questions :)

Signing off

Sjors