Several businesses such as Primark, Lidl and Gap have been accused of being unethical in recent years. Do you think it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making business decisions nowadays? (40 marks)

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person or a group’s behaviour. When applied to business this involves the examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. For example, when the actions of a firm may affect others.

One reason why it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making a business decision nowadays is because there is more awareness and interest in how ethically a company conducts its business. This may mean that it is a lot easier for people to find out about whether a business is behaving ethically or not. If discovered this could have a harmful effect on the business. As seen in April 2013, when an eight storey building, in Bangladesh collapsed on itself. This building was making garments for several Western retailers. Primark so far is the only retailer that has taken responsibility for this and decided to pay compensation. This horrific accident gave Primark lots of bad publicity, including protesters campaigning outside the stores doors. It is not just the conditions of the buildings that affect the workers, but also their overall treatment. Retailers like Gap, H&M and Lidl have been found subcontracting work to factories who force employees to work 13 hour days, some workers have been known to do 19 hour shifts, working from 8am to 3am with factories locking employees inside the buildings to stop them from stealing. On the surface these companies seem to be taking ethics into consideration, H&M claims they have a 48hours a week rule, and Lidl claimed to have spent $6 million on improving living and working conditions. However these codes of conduct that have been put in place