Unit 37 Ethics Carla Pontes by Carla

Recommendations

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:19:52 UTC

Primark has had many incidents that their manufacturers hide notes inside of garments asking for help. Companies would rather contract factories to produce their clothing in low class countries for cheaper prices than build their own factory. The company does not seem to “care” about the working conditions of their manufacturers, people from these low class countries usually claim that they are forced to work for prolonged hours, the environment is not helpful and they do not receive refund for it. Most receive an unfair salary, some do not receive anything at all. I think that Primark should take precautions regarding the working condition of their workers.

Every company wants to be the best in the world and they often forget that all the work is being done by their workers. I think that the company should not operate without confirming the good working condition of their workers. However, Primark does only contract people to produce the clothes for them. The factories are responsible for working conditions of the factories' workers, meaning the number of hours, the health and safety and even the salary.

Customers protesting against Primark

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:25:50 UTC

Customers are aware of what workers are going through.

Primark worker cries for help.

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:32:40 UTC

Implictions of Primark's way of operating

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:37:28 UTC

Primark has been having a number of ethical issues regarding their employees’ working conditions. An incident happened in Bangladesh which resulted on more than 300 people killed. Investigators have said that the death of these people were more because the employees were not aware of the health and safety regulations, such as escape. Primark does not have its own factory, they contract factories to produce their goods. Factories must comply with the Code of Conduct laws to work with Primark, the laws cover working condition, working hours, pay rate, child labour, employees’ rights and more. But many of Primark factories workers have been complaining about the injustice that has been going on in workplace and this can have an impact on the point of view of other companies that Primark works with. A Primark shopper found a “Cry for help” note inside her trousers. The trousers were bought three years ago during her trip to Belfast, but she never worn them as she noticed that the zip was broken. The shopper posted a picture of the note on Facebook as she could not understand it, one of her interacts had translated it and she was “in shock”. It was a note asking for help due to their working conditions. The claimant said that they were forced to work 15 hours per day and that “the food is even worse than food for pigs and horses” Customers are always on the workers side when these incidents happen because they believe that everyone should be treated equally, with respect. This case ended up on journals, and the Lady who had found the note was invited to explain what she saw on Television, meaning that it was being watched by many people including Primark shoppers. Many of Primark shoppers were shocked and decided to take an action against the company by denouncing. It is not the first time that the company meets this type of situations, and this can lead to lost of customers, principally those who are ethical when it comes to shopping.

Primark's stake holders

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:39:47 UTC

The customers are the most important people in a business. To be honest, a business would not exist if there were no customers. Customers bring many benefits to Primark, it increases sales for example. The more the customers rate increase, more profit is more likely to be made. If the company does not make enough money then they would not be able to pay for the services that they are charged for, as electricity, rent, water, as others, and would not have enough money to pay or recompense the people that they need – employees - to provide what they have to offer. The customers betters the business reputation, for example, if a regular customer is satisfied with the things they buy at Primark stores, they could recommend the company to their friends and family.– And let’s not forget about the accessible prices! Primark does not only depend on customers, but the suppliers as well. The suppliers create the products that are sold to the customers. Primark is part of a scheme to ensure that the company has been made clear of the United Kinddom obligations waste. A legal action can be taken against the company if they do not comply with the Lands’ laws. Primark does also replaced plastic carrier bags with paper bags. And this will eventually have a more positive than negative impact on the environment.

DID YOU KNOW THAT....

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:44:26 UTC

The company says that.....

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:47:17 UTC

The compnay says that “Primark's code of conduct sets out the core principles that suppliers must follow to ensure products are made in good working conditions, that the people making them are treated decently and are paid a fair wage.” In addition, “Primark is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), and our code is based on the ETI base code. We inspect each factory to ensure it is meeting our code requirements and support the factory by providing guidance and training if issues are identified.”

The existence of the business

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:49:46 UTC

One of the business’s aims is to provide good quality products and they confirm this by having them made, tested and checked by trustable employees. As I was analysing the company’s activities, I found out that they are in partnership with SAVE, which is an organisation in India that has been training workers to work safely. The training will improve the understanding of the equipment and how to use them until they are comfortable with using them. This means that employees will know what to do and how to do their tasks efficiently, which leads to good work. The company is also aimed at selling their products at reasonable prices and it widens the range of options for customers. The company sells clothing, shoes, bathroom and home ware products and similar products can be found in other places around their stores as well, but, they attract their customers by selling it at lower prices. For example, a single mother that was thinking of just buying a pair of boots for £10, ends up buying 2 T-shirts for £3 and a pair of baby shoes for £4 for because of the considered cheap prices. The company insists on providing excellent customer service to their clients. Their workers are representing the business so they believe that it is very important to take into consideration their workers behaviour because the workers are the first people that the customers go to when they need anything from the store. The staffs’ behaviour will determinate whether the customer returns or not to the store, they need to make sure that the customers feel welcomed. We have to agree that the customers are reason of the businesses’ existence. If a business wants to be successful then they must assist their customers needs by the best way possible to keep them. If a customer does not feel valued then he will not return to the shop unless to make a complaint, and this could have an impact on the company’s reputation as they would be badmouthing the company and do not recommend it to anyone. Primark wants to treat everybody the same. They want the Public to feel respected in every way, it does not matter their skin tone, background nor the financial position. They achieve this aim by making everyone in the store feeling “special” from their target people to the employees that they recruit. Primark’s stores are found worldwide and have customers of different backgrounds .

PRIMARK!

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:51:28 UTC

Primark is an Irish clothing retailer funded by Arthur Ryan in June 1969. The first store was opened in Dublin, and then the business successfully expanded and started working worldwide with approximately 278 stores now.; their stores can be found in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, etc.

carlaluana_qsp — 2015-02-10 19:52:54 UTC