Exploitation Of Need Ciulla Summary

Business Ethics Paper – Exploitation of Need
By: Jason Briggs

In Ciulla’s article: “Exploitation of Need” (pgs. 171-173), she argues the notion that as long as your place of work is freely chosen by yourself, then it is an acceptable form of work. Ciulla also states that it is a continual myth that people actually have equal freedom in the work they choose to take. Personally, I would go as far to say that it is indeed a fact that people don’t have equal freedom in their choices of work. I’ve personally known many people that have taken about any job they could (especially when they are unemployed at the time); people need some sort of an income which is completely understandable, but when you are looking for work and no company or
Dinner needs to be served, loans/mortgages/bills need to get paid and shelter needs to be provided and unemployed people will go to almost any extent to make sure that happens, especially when they have a family that also needs to be provided for. In America this is definitely easier to do than in other countries that are less fortunate or in absolute poverty. In most of the U.S. we have minimum wage rates set; in Colorado its $7.36 per hour (source: http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm#Colorado). In Latin Trade’s magazine article: “A Latin Viewpoint”, the author speaks about a Honduran woman that works for a textile company that makes shirts and shorts for Wal-Mart; this woman sews sleeves onto 1,200 shirts per day for a meager $35 a week. Obviously there is no minimum wage law if effect and if there is, it’s definitely extremely low; lower than should be legally allowed. What Wal-Mart is doing to this woman and many other workers is completely immoral; $35 per week is not enough to survive on. In contrast $35 in San Pedro Sula (where this woman, Isabel Reyes is from) probably gets you a lot more than $35 would in America; it doesn’t excuse the fact that
The only thing to figure out now is whose responsibility it is to change these conditions. Should it be Wal-Mart’s responsibility? The governments of these countries? The workers themselves, or the consumers who buy these products like you and I? First and foremost I believe it’s the governments of these countries responsibilities to ensure that their citizens make at least a minimum wage and if they already are, then that bar needs to be set higher to ensure people will get paid more. At the same time it’s Wal-Mart’s responsibility as well, they should know it’s immoral to pay so little and they should have the common civility to pay their employees more. I wouldn’t go as far to say that it’s the workers responsibility because they are just doing the only work that is readily available to them; I also don’t think it’s the consumers’ responsibility because we are not responsible for Wal-Mart’s actions or the actions of those countries governments or the actions of the workers themselves. Although we are in a way supporting Wal-Mart by