Nike: The Sweatshop DebateMGT/448IntroductionThere are many issues that a corporation has to take into consideration when going global. There are legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that have to be dealt with. There are issues that will arise that will require the host government and the corporation to work together to resolve them. A strong strategic and operational plan in place will help the global managers to be successful in these other countries. Specifically this paper will review how Nike handled these issues in the, The Sweatshop Debate case.Global Business ChallengesWhen a corporation decides to become a global entity it requires research into the legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that will arise. One such challenge Nike had to overcome what the public outrage and protests regarding child labor, hazardous conditions, and pitiful wages. Nike was criticized for taking jobs away from the United States and moving them overseas where employees, often yo ...view middle of the document...
Government RolesNike definitely had challenges in being a global company. The fact that Nike had become such a big name with a product it seemed everyone wanted made them even a big target for pointing out the things that the company was doing wrong. An accounting firm was hired by Nike to conduct an audit of how the company was handling business practices. The audit was not favorable in Nike's favor and soon became public knowledge. This hindered Nike's relationships in the countries it was doing business in. In addition, this put a black mark on Nike worldwide as being unethical by treating its employees unfairly. Other countries would be wary of letting Nike come in and open shop there. Nike had to clean up its reputation in order to have continued success. Nike's road to recovery was to put into place a well thought out and effective operational and strategic plan to handle these challenges.Strategic and Operational ChallengesNike has to put into place an operational and strategic plan to ensure the factories overseas are following proper laws and policies. This will ensure that Nike is in compliance within those countries so employees are treated fairly, paid proper wages, and work in proper working conditions. These challenges forced Nike to take a hard look at how the company was being ran and how they were going to move forward to correct the mistakes and still walk away with a good reputation. Dealing with this type of global challenges are not a quick fix and are ongoing. Constant monitoring of the strategic plan has to be done to ensure policies and procedures are being followed correct. This is the only way to prevent Nike from going down the same road again.ConclusionThe Nike Sweatshop Debate really ended up being an example for other corporations that were thinking of going global in what to do and not do. It also made Nike go back and start from scratch in setting up a proper strategic and operational plan to prevent the challenges that were met. Nike did go back to the drawing board and was able to get over the challenges it was facing. This made Nike even stronger as a company and today Nike is a leader in its industry.ReferencesHill, Charles W. L. (2009). International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, (7th ed.). McGraw Hill.
