Discussion Forum 5

Will companies change if we demand ethical products?

The answer to this question, to whether a company will change to the demands for ethical
product is quite layered. There have been many employees who have tried to bring about change at
times these employees at a specific company where successful and at other times it went to no avail.
The most common use of approach was for employees to hold demonstrations against their employers
and companies.m

With the efforts of individual employees coming together to bring about some much-needed
change at their companies from the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and many others. It goes to show that
with a concerted effort by a broad group of people from employees and others, such as shoppers of
these companies it can bring about that change and cause a demand for ethical products that cannot be
ignored. “Google employees, perhaps, have been the most successful in achieving at least some, if not
all, of their goals. Last June, for example, the company said that it would not extend Project Maven, a
Defense Department contract that used artificial intelligence to analyze drone video images. Employees
had objected, saying their work could be used for lethal purposes.” This is proof that a company can
change by the peoples or workers demand for ethical products although it is not always that easy.

Sometimes when putting up the good fight against a company trying to bring change it does
come with slips and falls. “But protests often fail. Wayfair, for one, did not yield to employee
demands, …. Nor did Microsoft agree to employee demands.” Although failure in some instances occur
it does not rule out the fact that success also transpires give good cause to demanding ethical products
and behavior from companies. These success and failures have been primarily based on employee
efforts and it seems to be becoming a continually effort by these employees and their goals of upholding
these companies to higher standards of operations.

Although there have been failures to demanding ethical products and behavior from companies,
there have been triumphs as well. At it appears to be turning into a common occurrence amongst
employees of big companies. This gives hope to changing the behavior of companies moving forward to
the common well being of society.

Moritz-Rabson, D. (2019, July 19). Employee protests are on the rise, but how effective are
they? Newsweek. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from
https://www.newsweek.com/employees-want-ethical-workplace-growing-number-are-
willing-protest-get-it-1450142
 Companies will definitely not change even if we demand ethical
products. Most of the company's main goals are not to preserve
ecology or help in general; instead their main goal is usually making
profit for themselves. They will also pretend to be looking out for the
environment but in reality they are pretending to do it for a better
reputation which will allow more customers to come and buy at their
companies.

A prime example of this is one of America's most popular coffee shops'

Starbucks. "It also wants to certify products with as little as 10
percent fair trade ingredients; that's half of what's allowed in most
countries." The companies want to gain cocoa beans for as little as 10
percent of what it's worth, meaning that not only will the farmers gain
minuscule amounts of money for pounds and pounds of cocoa. This is
happening to small plantations who grow cocoa . Not many people
know where and who they are supporting when buying coffee from
starbucks as they are infamously known for robbing the coffee beans
for fractions of the price just to show they can keep earning more and
more profit. They will not change this due to only a few people
knowing that this happens and secondly not a lot of people care. "Fair
trade is the idea that the small farmer gets a direct connection to the
U.S. consumer or the European consumer." This is a main point for
some consumers as they believe that one small farmer will get direct
cash from the buyer who bought the coffee, however with the new fair
trade labeling that allows big farms to earn that right is outright wrong
as they will gain more money from doing this. At this point it is no
longer fair trade rather it is more of a business practice to gain even
more money from the buyers.

Companies will most definitely not change even if we demand ethical

products or ethical practices as they are all looking out for themselves
to earn more cash and money. Furthermore when they say they will
they will only pretend to do so while continuing their corrupted
practice in the shadows.

Hi Ricky,

I enjoyed reading your post. Although your view differed than mine. I was taking the optimistic
approach. It may seem hard and rather bleak for the way things are to make such a drastic change, but
change is always possible.
 The point being is when the people will take a concern for their well being and others. An
example there are many products that have been proven to be unhealthy but do all care the sad reality
is a staunch, no. Your view is quite interesting as many may view changing the status quo to be rather
impossible. As you stated many do not care, but on the contrary workers for some of these big
companies are demanding better actions from their employers. “Google employees, perhaps, have been
the most successful in achieving at least some, if not all, of their goals. Last June, for example, the
company said that it would not extend Project Maven, a Defense Department contract that used
artificial intelligence to analyze drone video images. Employees had objected, saying their work could be
used for lethal purposes.” The hope is that one day enough people will realize the value of a quality of
life for all rather than making the most bucks out of every business dealing.

The way things have been operating can cause one to doubt a change but change no matter
how hard it is, must not be discounted. For when the common man stands for something, great things
are possible. Thanks for your post and viewpoint.

Moritz-Rabson, D. (2019, July 19). Employee protests are on the rise, but how effective are
they? Newsweek. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from
https://www.newsweek.com/employees-want-ethical-workplace-growing-number-are-
willing-protest-get-it-1450142