Corporations & Sweatshops

Abhinav ChauhanMBA-IB

Corporation Definition: Corporation is widely used to

describe incorporated entities. An incorporated entity is a separate legal entity that has been incorporated through a legislative or registration process established through legislation.

CorporationWhat that means?A separate entity/individual having:Legal rights – e.g. it can sue and be suedResources – e.g. it can buy and sell propertyProfitsLiabilities Limited liabilities

Corporation

SweatshopsIt is a negatively connoted term for any working

environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous.

Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage.

Child labour laws may be violated.Sweatshops may have hazardous materials and

situations.Employees may be subject to employer abuse

without an easy way, if any way, to protect themselves.

SweatshopsThe case of Nike

Sweatshops atThe production of Nike’s

soccer balls at pakistan blatantly disregarded child labor laws.

More than 200 children involved in production lines

Some of the children are as young as 4 to 5 years

Sweatshops Some other big corporations associated

with sweatshops:G.A.P. : As many as 14 children were rescued

from a New Delhi sweatshop involving Gap in Oct, 2007.

Levi Strauss : Levi's has been accused of using factories in Turkey and Mexico that severely exploited their workers.

Guess : It has also been criticised for exploitative working conditions. It has now come up with ads claiming 100% sweatshop-free products.

Sweatshops - flipsideThere have been arguments supporting

sweatshops:Economist Jeffrey Sachs said, "My concern is not that

there are too many sweatshops, but that there are too few.”

 A columnist 'Stephen Chapman from Libertarian newspaper argues that "But why is it unconscionable for a poor country to allow child labor? Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year - meaning that the typical person subsists on barely $5 per day. Is it a a revelation - or a crime - that some parents willingly send their children off to work in a factory to survive? Is it cruel for Nike to give them the chance?" 

ReferencesWikipedia :

“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation”, “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop”

“The Corporation” documentary by Jeniffer Abott & Mark Achbar.

http://www1.american.edu/ted/nike.htm http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/

1567849/Gap-sweatshop-children-saved-in-India-raid.html

http://voices.yahoo.com/american-corporation-sweatshops-5-worst-offenders-3095601.html?cat=46

Constructive Discussion / Q&A

Thank You