Nike has been one of the famous and well-admired sportswear brands amongst the masses on a worldwide basis. Despite its popularity, the brand is likely to be hemmed in controversies in the recent times. This report presents the investigation on Nike regarding its exploitation to workers in the Asian region to sustain competitive advantage and maximize profits. In this context, the article, “Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices” (Spar 1-23) has surfaced the fact that external environment has the potential to play an influential role on the brand and its labor practices.
Poor working conditions have remained a significant trend that is still being practiced in many parts of the world. Nike, in this regard, shifted their business operations to low-cost parts of the globe to circumvent the tough and stern working regulations in its country. It came under practice to perpetuate the low-wage policy, which indicates that Nike has breached the ethical policies and corporate social responsibility that a brand is liable to practice. Child labor, wages issue, poor and detrimental working environments have been highlighted as the working conditions in Nike’s factories. Nevertheless, the brand did not take any responsibility for such conditions, as they perceived that they are not liable to look over the conditions in its contractor’s factories (Spar 1-23).
Even though the laws for labor exist in the countries, but the high levels of corruption are conducive to non-compliance of those laws. The corruption in the underdeveloped nations worked for Nike, due to which as no measures were taken concerning the labor laws. The article (Spar 1-23) has provided an insight of the brand’s global management practices and exploitation of the labors in their overseas plants because of lack of control over the contractors manufacturing Nike’s products in underdeveloped nations.
Works Cited
Spar, Debora L. "Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices." Harvard Business School Publishing, Cambridge, USA (Case No. 9-700-047) (2002): 1-23. Print.
