Pepsi in Burma
Pepsi in Burma
Question 1
Identify the moral issues that are raised by Pepsi’s presence in Burma. A moral issue can be defined as any issue concerning how one ought to behave, how others ought to behave, or whether a situation is proper or improper. Morality is judged based on what is right or wrong. Pepsi’s presence in Burma raised several ethical and moral concerns due government operations under the military regime. In the 1990’s Burma was undergoing social, economic and political crisis under the military rule of the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC). During this time the state economy became open and provided opportunities that Pepsi, among other companies, could exploit. These opportunities involved low labour cost, possible links to other markets and high literacy rates. It was believed that if Pepsi had continued to operate fully or partially in Burma they would be in support of the unfair and inhumane military treatment by the military regime to the citizens of that country. Burmese nationals worked under harsh conditions, their human rights were violated, they did not have freedom of speech, faced unjust imprisonment and some were even put to death if they chose not to conform to the military. These ethical issues, raised a lot of concerns to the U.S. Department of State and others as those treatments were immoral and unethical and if Pepsi continued to operate in Burma they would be seen as in support of such behaviours. Pepsi’s ethical obligations should have involved fairness, safety and honesty to the main stakeholders (consumers, employees, shareholders and the community) of their business and Burma did not provide the right bases to satisfy these obligations.
Question 2
Discuss the issues from a utilitarian and moral rights perspective. The utilitarian view is a part of the teleological view that states that states that an act can be considered to be moral if it produces a desired result or benefit, whether personally or for
Question 1
Identify the moral issues that are raised by Pepsi’s presence in Burma. A moral issue can be defined as any issue concerning how one ought to behave, how others ought to behave, or whether a situation is proper or improper. Morality is judged based on what is right or wrong. Pepsi’s presence in Burma raised several ethical and moral concerns due government operations under the military regime. In the 1990’s Burma was undergoing social, economic and political crisis under the military rule of the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC). During this time the state economy became open and provided opportunities that Pepsi, among other companies, could exploit. These opportunities involved low labour cost, possible links to other markets and high literacy rates. It was believed that if Pepsi had continued to operate fully or partially in Burma they would be in support of the unfair and inhumane military treatment by the military regime to the citizens of that country. Burmese nationals worked under harsh conditions, their human rights were violated, they did not have freedom of speech, faced unjust imprisonment and some were even put to death if they chose not to conform to the military. These ethical issues, raised a lot of concerns to the U.S. Department of State and others as those treatments were immoral and unethical and if Pepsi continued to operate in Burma they would be seen as in support of such behaviours. Pepsi’s ethical obligations should have involved fairness, safety and honesty to the main stakeholders (consumers, employees, shareholders and the community) of their business and Burma did not provide the right bases to satisfy these obligations.
Question 2
Discuss the issues from a utilitarian and moral rights perspective. The utilitarian view is a part of the teleological view that states that states that an act can be considered to be moral if it produces a desired result or benefit, whether personally or for