...The case study Slavery in the Chocolate Industry raises systemic, corporate, and individual ethical issues with all the parties involved in the chocolate industry. Systemic issues in business ethics are ethical questions raised about the economic, political, legal, and other institutions within which business operate. (M. Velasques) Corporate issues in business ethics are ethical are ethical questions raised about a particular organization. These include questions about the morality of the activities, policies, practices, or organizational structure of an individual company taken as a whole. (M. Velasques) Individual issues in business ethics are ethical questions raised about a particular individual or particular individuals within a company and their behaviors and discussions. These include questions about the morality of the decisions, actions, or character of an individual. (M. Velasques) The farmers who are kidnapping or buying children on a “black market” type situation are displaying their individual ethical issues. They have no concern for the boy’s welfare, their only concern is to make a profit off the cocoa beans they farm. The systemic ethical issues raised in this case study are the public officials in the neighboring communities of the cocoa farmers who allow the sale of children and who take bribes from the farmers enslaving these children. The corporate ethics issue present in the case is with the large manufactures in the chocolate industry fighting...
Words: 653 - Pages: 3
...CHILD LABOURIN COCOA INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION There is a surprising association between chocolate and child labor in the Cote d'Ivoire. Young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse. This West African country is the leading exporter of cocoa beans to the world market. Thus, the existence of slave labor is relevant to the entire international economic community. Through trade relations, many actors are inevitably implicated in this problem, whether it is the Ivorian government, the farmers, the American or European chocolate manufacturers, or consumers who unknowingly buy chocolate. Discussions have arisen regarding how to respond to the problem. Issues mentioned include causes of slave labor relating to the economic system and to the country's dependence on an unstable export crop. There are also debates concerning the appropriate response from the chocolate industry, government officials, and consumers concerning whether there should be boycotting, establishment of government legislation to put "made by slaves" labels on products, or whether some type of international cooperation is needed to ensure improved working conditions. The complexity of the problem makes finding an effective solution a challenging task. Description Slavery and the Link to Chocolate Slave traders are trafficking boys ranging from...
Words: 2664 - Pages: 11
...Slavery in the Chocolate Industry Forty-five percent of the chocolate we consume in the United States and in the rest of the world is made from cocoa beans grown and harvested on farms in the Ivory Coast, a small nation on the western coast of Africa. Few realize that a portion of the Ivory Coast cocoa beans that goes into the chocolate we eat was grown and harvested by slave children. The slaves are boys between 12 and 16—but sometimes as young as 9—who are kidnapped from villages in surrounding nations and sold to the cocoa farmers by traffickers. The farmers whip, beat, and starve the boys to force them to do the hot, difficult work of clearing the fields, harvesting the beans, and drying them in the sun. The boys work from sunrise to sunset. Some are locked in at night in windowless rooms where they sleep on bare wooden planks. Far from home, unsure of their location, unable to speak the language, isolated in rural areas, and threatened with harsh beatings if they try to get away, the boys rarely attempt to escape their nightmare situation. Those who do try are usually caught, severely beaten as an example to others, and then locked in solitary confinement. Every year unknown numbers of these boys die or are killed on the cocoa farms that supply our chocolate. The plight of the enslaved children was first widely publicized at the turn of the twenty-first century when True Vision, a British television company, took videos of slave boys working on Ivory Coast farms and made...
Words: 2912 - Pages: 12
...Elishah St.Luce Class: Business Ethics “The case of slavery in the chocolate industry” ‘ What are the systemic, corporate and individual ethical issues raised by the case? First of all what is ethics? According to Manuel G Velasquez “Ethics is the discipline that examines ones moral standard or the moral standards of a society. It asks how these standards applies to our lives and whether these standards are reasonable or unreasonable, that is, whether they are supported by good reasons or poor ones.” In a nut shell ethics is what individuals and the society view as being right or wrong. The case "Slavery in the Chocolate Industry" discusses labor exploitation in the chocolate industry. It specifically addresses the cocoa beans grown on farms in West Africa, especially the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which make up close to half of the world's chocolate. The cocoa farmers of these nations, rely on slaves to harvest their beans, and in some cases, enslavement of young males. The plight of the enslaved children was publicized around the world in September 2000 when True Vision, a British television company, took videos of slave boys on several Ivory Coast farms and broadcast a documentary in Britain and the United Sates. In 2002, the Chocolate Manufactures Association and the World Cocoa Foundations along with major producers signed an agreement to establish a system of certification to certify use of “slave free” cocoa beans. There are many ethical issues raised in this...
Words: 1087 - Pages: 5
...Case Study: Slavery in the Chocolate Industry 1. From the perspective of Utilitarianism, child slavery contributes the financial side spot of the country. As far as I am concerned, the financial condition of the nation is corrupt. They are one of the third world nations. What is more, cocoa beans prices decreased in the year 1996 - 2000. So, farmers want to decrease the rate of manufacture with deducting the salaries and using slavery. Conferring to Utilitarianism, the “right” action or policy is the one that will produce the highest net profits otherwise the lowermost net costs. From that point, they decrease costs, and capitalize on their net profits from child slavery. The foremost struggle with Utilitarianism is that it is not capable to deal with rights and justice. For example, from the point of social justice, it is clear that child slavery is the result of unequal distribution of burdens. Utilitarianism only looks at the utility, not the distribution of it among the members of society. The important ignorance on ethics in Utilitarianism, bring the consideration of justice and rights. Justice looks at how the benefits and burdens distributed among the society. On the other hand, rights look at the individual entitlements to freedom of choice and well-being. From the rights point of view, there are no clues about the legal rights of the children. I do not think that government has labour or child labour rights. Also, poor children deprived of the moral rights. They...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...Case Study: Slavery in the Chocolate Industry- Close to half of the world's chocolate is made from highly prized top-quality cocoa beans that are grown in the farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, a small nation on the Western side of Africa. The farmers of these poor nations are notorious, however for sometimes relying on slaves to harvest their beans. The slave are boys between 12 and 16 , sometimes as young as 9-- who are kidnapped from villages in surrounding nations and sold to cocoa farmers, who use whippings, beatings, and starvation to force the boys to do the hot, difficult work of clearing the fields, harvesting the beans and drying them in the sun. The boys work from sunrise to sunset and are locked in windowless rooms where they sleep in bare wooden planks. Far from home, unsure of their location, unable to speak the language, isolated in rural areas and threatened with harsh beatings if they try to get away, the boys rarely attempt to escape their nightmare situation. Those who do try are severely beaten as an example to others and then locked in solitary confinement for a prolonged period of time. Every year an unknown number of boys die or are killed on the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The plight of the enslaved children was publized around the world in September 2000 when True Vision, a British television company, took video on slave boys on several ivory. Coast farms and broadcast a documentary in Britain and the United Sates. An erlier 1998 report...
Words: 719 - Pages: 3
...readily available treat. In Côte d’Ivoire, Africa, which is known as the largest producer of cocoa beans with over one third of the coca needed for global consumption created there. Citizens live in poverty with over 46.3% living under the poverty line (World Bank 2015). With public unease prevalent and a lack of economic, social, and political agency available to the individual, many unpleasant practices have arisen. Continual crisis has exacerbated inequality, child workers are commonplace, and exploitation by big companies a norm. In this paper I examine woman’s inequality and child labor in the cocoa industry and how it cannot easily...
Words: 1700 - Pages: 7
...Case Study: Slavery in the Chocolate Industry- Close to half of the world's cocoa is made from highly prized top-quality cocoa beans that are grown in the farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, a small nation on the Western side of Africa. The farmers of these poor nations are notorious, however for sometimes relying on slaves to harvest their beans. The slave are boys between 12 and 16 , sometimes as young as 9-- who are kidnapped from villages in surrounding nations and sold to cocoa farmers, who use whippings, beatings, and starvation to force the boys to do the hot, difficult work of clearing the fields, harvesting the beans and drying them in the sun. The boys work from sunrise to sunset and are locked in windowless rooms where they sleep in bare wooden planks. Far from home, unsure of their location, unable to speak the language, isolated in rural areas and threatened with harsh beatings if they try to get away, the boys rarely attempt to escape their nightmare situation. Those who do try are severely beaten as an example to others and then locked in solitary confinement for a prolonged period of time. Every year an unknown number of boys die or are killed on the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The plight of the enslaved children was publized widely around the world, by True Vision, a British television company , through videos and documentaries in Britain and the United States. News reports from the United Nations Children's Fund and other form of Human...
Words: 1988 - Pages: 8
...3.0 Systemic, Corporate & Individual Issues Slavery in the chocolate industry case has systemic, corporate and individual ethical issues. Systemic Ethical Issue The substance incomes in worry ethics are ethical raised about the economic, sentiment, aggregation, and other institutions within which worry operate. It’s related to the economic system within many countries that rely to a great extent on many exports, including potable bonzes. In yr 1999 and 2000, food product bean prices are downward because the global aggression over which cook had no test. The fall was dictated by the global forces over which civil rights leader had no hold. With low-spirited prices, farmers turned to subjugation to try to disrupt Labor Party cost for their natural selection in this state. Several global deep brown giant companies dictate the prices of cocoa in the marketplace. As political cognitive content known as, not only our country dealing mercantilism with these other countries, and if we plosive consonant doing business with Dentin Glide & Ghana the other countries that also doing business with them, might be stop doing business with us. Besides that, there is another systemic issue related to legal aspect of practice in the chocolate diligence. Actually, a slavery farm is illegal in the Ivory Coast but the Laws are implemented is for the most part out of our control. But the government from their country had their own situation, shortage of social control officers, the willingness...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...case? Slavery in the chocolate industry case has systemic, corporate and individual ethical issues.Firstly, from the point of systemic ethical issue , economic systems should be taken intoconsideration. Between 1996 and 2000, cocoa bean prices had declined. The decline wasdictated by the global forces over which farmers had no control. With low prices, farmersturned to slavery to try to cut labor cost for their survival in this situation. There is another systemic issue relates to the legal aspect of slavery in the chocolate industry. Actually, slaveryon farms is illegal in the Ivory Coast but the law is rarely enforced. Open borders, a shortageof enforcement officers, and the willingness of local officials to accept bribes from membersof the slave trade all contribute to the problem.Secondly, corporate ethical issue raised by the case. Middlemen who grind and processcocoa beans they acquire from the Ivory Coast and sell the product to manufacturers. Somiddlemen aware of the slavery labor problem. After the media attention and antislaverygroup activities, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, the membersof the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and the World Cocoa Foundation, together withseveral human rights groups and the Ivory Coast. signed Memorandum of Cooperation. Theyalso agreed to establish a system of certification. But the problem is, they can not control over anything. Because there are 1 million cocoa farms, most of them family farms and theylocated...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
...Moh Core 222 Prof. Michel Shaul Report On Prostitution and Slavery in Ivory Coast There is a surprising association between chocolate and child labor in the Cote d'Ivoire. Young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse. This West African country is the leading exporter of cocoa beans to the world market. Cocoa farms in the Cote d'Ivoire are violating children's human rights in two ways: they are involved in trafficking the children and are also the site of forced labor. There are about 600,000 cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire (Child Labor Coalition). Estimates of the number of children forced to work as slaves on these farms are as high as 15,000. Although some children come from Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo, most of the trafficked children come from Mali. More than 5.000 children work in the cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast without being victims of slavery, according to the results of an investigation of the International office of Work (the ILO) made public in Abidjan. Hubert Oulaye, Minister of the Ivory Coast for the Public office and Employment affirmed that an investigation carried resulted in 1.500 producers divided in 250 villages and localities and 39 sub-prefectures in the cocoa production zones. The Ivory Coast was regarded these last years in West Africa as one...
Words: 928 - Pages: 4
...Africa and Latin America. The cacao bean is more commonly referred to as cocoa, so that is the term we will use throughout. Two West African countries, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, supply 75% of the world’s cocoa market.[1] The cocoa they grow and harvest is sold to a variety of chocolate companies, including some of the largest in the world. In recent years, a handful of organizations and journalists have exposed the widespread use of child labor, and in some cases slavery, on West African cocoa farms.[2,3] Since that time, the industry has become increasingly secretive, making it difficult for reporters to not only access farms where human rights violations still occur, but to then disseminate this information to the public. For example, in 2004 a journalist was kidnapped and remains missing today.[4] More recently, three journalists from a daily newspaper were detained by government authorities in the Ivory Coast after publishing an article about government corruption related to the cocoa industry.[5] The farms of West Africa supply cocoa to international giants such as Hershey’s, Mars and Nestlé – revealing the industry’s direct connection to child labor, human trafficking and slavery. A child’s workday begins at sunrise and ends in the evening. The children climb the cocoa trees and cut the bean pods using a machete. These large, heavy, dangerous knives are the standard tools for children on the cocoa farms. Once the bean pods have been cut from the trees, the children pack...
Words: 313 - Pages: 2
...really cheap. So how does one create a copious amount of something and sell it for cheap? Cocoa bean grows primarily in Western Africa, Asia, and Latin America because of their tropical climates. The cocoa beans are what makes chocolate in general. 70% of the world’s cocoa is supplied by Western Africa countries such as Ghana and in the Ivory Coast. “The cocoa they grow and harvest is sold to a majority of chocolate companies, including the largest in the world.” However, as the years have gone by, news about child labor happening in this industry has hit the media multiple times. Journalists and organization try spreading the word on what’s happening with all the child labor in this industry, but it doesn’t always get the attention it should receive. This can be because of no one really wants to know where all the good stuff is coming from. Another reason, why we do not know more about this child labor news in the industry is because the industry has become really secretive and thus creating journalist to have a hard time to get the real news on what’s happening. One interesting aspect of this news is that, “the farms of Western Africa supply cocoa to international giants such as Hershey’s, Mars and Nestle- revealing the industry’s direct connection to the worst forms of child labor, human trafficking, and slavery.” The Ivory Coast runs on the revenue received on the exports of cocoa. Due to the chocolate industry...
Words: 1156 - Pages: 5
...The case study Slavery in the Chocolate Industry raises systemic, corporate, and individual ethical issues with all the parties involved in the chocolate industry. Systemic issues in business ethics are ethical questions raised about the economic, political, legal, and other institutions within which business operate. (M. Velasques) Corporate issues in business ethics are ethical are ethical questions raised about a particular organization. These include questions about the morality of the activities, policies, practices, or organizational structure of an individual company taken as a whole. (M. Velasques) Individual issues in business ethics are ethical questions raised about a particular individual or particular individuals within a company and their behaviors and discussions. These include questions about the morality of the decisions, actions, or character of an individual. (M. Velasques) The farmers who are kidnapping or buying children on a “black market” type situation are displaying their individual ethical issues. They have no concern for the boy’s welfare, their only concern is to make a profit off the cocoa beans they farm. The systemic ethical issues raised in this case study are the public officials in the neighboring communities of the cocoa farmers who allow the sale of children and who take bribes from the farmers enslaving these children. The corporate ethics issue present in the case is with the large manufactures in the chocolate industry fighting...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...References.........................................................................................................8 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Chocolate is really extremely delicious and many people are addicted to it, But did they have a background that this chocolate are coming from the worst conditions of children suffer. In our report we present some of main elements of slavery in the chocolate industry which they are, Firstly the benefit that cocoa industry get from the US big 4. Moreover, we are going to explain the moral and human right infraction in the farms and the difficulty they are faced. In additional, there is section for the recommendation that we applied to solve the problem in cocoa industry and improve the situation. And the results of these recommendations have some challenges that will affect to cocoa industry. BENEFIT OF THE “BIG 4” Cocoa is important source for the people, “According to the World Cocoa Foundation 50 million people worldwide depend on cocoa as a source of livelihood”. The United State industry make “13 billion dollar by bringing in over 400 thousand tons of cocoa beans” which reach the big chocolate manufacturers like Hershey Foods Crop, Mars, Nestle USA and Kraft Foods. These companies provide benefits...
Words: 2245 - Pages: 9
