As stated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, “We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.” This quote shows that we do not act in an ethical manner due to some intrinsic excellence
As stated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, “We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.” This quote shows that we do not act in an ethical manner due to some intrinsic excellence, but are virtuous because we have acted in an ethical way. One of the major problems in this day and age is how unrestricted capitalism leads to income disparity and a loss of American jobs. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Capitalism does not inherently care about the well being of others; it does not care about healthcare or earning a livable salary. Only through proper adoption and enforcement of ethical practices will all people be treated as they should. Since capitalism focuses on making a profit, we need ethical standards enforced by regulations in order to protect the citizens and employees, and insure that all Americans have an equal opportunity for the pursuit of happiness.
All companies need to stay competitive in order to survive. In order to accomplish this, businesses need to do a combination of things at the same time. Companies must make sure that they have an inflow of money and resources that is greater than or equal to their outflow of money and resources. Companies must also be sure to provide a service or product that is appealing to consumers, in its quality, price, or uniqueness, in order to attract consumers and generate revenue. One of the ethical issues that exist in today’s market and workplace is that of salary, employment and career benefits. In an ever more global and connected market, not only do businesses within a certain country compete with each other, but they compete with companies in other nations as well. Today, 40% of profit for firms listed in the S&P 500 stock index now come from other nations besides the USA.
In this global economy there are now other countries with much cheaper and plentiful labor than in the United States. This creates an issue in how a company with labor sourced in a country like the United States, can effectively compete with a company whose labor is sourced in China or India. It is by far cheaper for employers to use Chinese and Indian laborers, who only have a minimum wage of 80 cents and 28 cents respectively per hour, compared to American workers who have a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The ethical issue that then confronts employers is whether they should outsource, thus destroying local jobs and businesses, or reduce the pay and benefits of the local workers.
This problem has become paramount in the minds of United States companies in recent years, and in order to maintain and increase profits, many have either outsourced, or decreased the benefits for jobs sourced here in America. America has lost 3.2 million jobs to China alone from 2001-2013. In order to maintain the quality of life for a majority of Americans, American companies must be able to compete with foreign companies who have more lenient labor laws than the US has. However, the competition must be on factors such as productivity, innovation, and quality instead of striving to achieve a lower cost of an hour of labor. It is only ethical to appropriately compensate American workers for their work, and ensure that all working Americans receive above a “livable” wage. A workplace where the employees are seen as valuable people and not just resources to be exploited is necessary for the healthy future of the American people and ethical Ameri