Case study 4

Part 1

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

• Contractors that manufacture Spikey’s shoes in Cambodia employ children under the age of 12 at their facilities → while 1 contractor restricts work to 20 hours a week with some benefits, the other 2 contractors expect 60 hours a week with no benefits
• Spikey insisting that these contractors follow Cambodian law and is also using PR to contain fallout 
• Spikey is legally in the right 
• Though Ugochi would have to compromise morals if she continued relations with Spikey, she’d still achieve her goals of helping children independently. 
• SYE-T- was founded for the sole purpose  of ‘targeting’ vulnerable youth

 

Ethical Decision #1&2 : Should Ugochi continue relations with Spikey despite ethical decisions made by the company (employing children in questionable working conditions)? 

 

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Spikey
• Ugochi
• Mr. Mikey 
• At-risk youth
• Women on the soccer teams

 

Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders 

• Spikey – 
  • Good press, good investment opportunity
• Ugochi – 
  • Concerned with helping underprivileged children 
  • Economic incentive 
  • Praise from society 
• Soccer players – 
  • Increase in professional development 
  • A chance to gain public recognition 
  •  Conditioning 
• Mr. Mikey – 
  • Saves face for Spikey 
  • Encourages future sponsorships and partnerships 
• At-risk youth – able to gain benefits of SYE-T program (such as leadership workshops and having fun playing soccer) 

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] • Potential solution • Ethical Principle or code • Pros • Cons 

 

Solution 1: Make the issue public so others can help the children; bring awareness to issue

Ethical code: Moral

 

Pros: The operations of SYE-T will not go against their beliefs and ethical standards. Bring more attention to the problem of child labor in Cambodia and other countries. 

Cons: Lose funding from Spikey, may face major backlash from their powerful PR team, SYE-T would have to largely shrink in operations, doesn’t actually stop child labor occurring in Cambodia

 

Solution 2: Continue working with Spikey and do not address the issue 

 

Ethical code: Duty based

Pros: The level of sponsorship will increase 

Cons: Goes against social enterprise

 

Solution 3: :Utilize the funds being offered by Spikey contingent on Spikey’s commitment to motivating contractors not offering children alternative support in return for their pay, to do so. If the company doesn’t agree at this point, an agreement can be made to discuss this further and potentially considered in strategic planning

 

Ethical code: Consequence (?)

Pros: 

1. Keeps 80% of funding (if they agree) 
2. Contribute to the organization’s overall mission of helping children, though perhaps not in the way originally envisioned 

Cons: 

1. Spikey may withdraw from their partnership because they may not want to give up their children laborers

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

• There are ways to address the issues of child labor without losing the funding from Spikey. There could be donations made to organizations that support children of Cambodia, for example. 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class. 

 

Utilize the funds being offered by Spikey contingent on Spikey’s commitment to motivating contractors not offering children alternative support in return for their pay, to do so. If the company doesn’t agree at this point, an agreement can be made to discuss this further and potentially considered in strategic planning. 

 

This does two things, it ensures immeidate funding while addressing child labor concenrs, at a little date. If an agreeable amount of funds can be dedicated towards restructuring  the to account for the original missions and ending concerning working conditions its mutually beneficial. 

 

In terms of including women in the tournament, we could propose sponsoring another revenue-bearing event that would show there is a market for women’s soccer.

 

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social and environmental aspects.

 

Utilize the funds being offered by Spikey contingent on Spikey’s commitment to motivating contractors not offering children alternative support in return for their pay, to do so. If the company doesn’t agree at this point, an agreement can be made to discuss this further and potentially considered in strategic planning

 

Part 2

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible 

• If  Ugochi decides to discontinue relations with Spikey, thousands of youth and their coaches will be affected negatively
• Spikey (Nike) is SYE_T main donor, 80% of the funds
• SYE_T will have to scale down if Spikey backs out
• Some youth in SYE_T were caught smoking weed and Spikey claims that it doesn’t look good on Spikey
• Spikey wants to Ugochi to change the participation age of youth in SYE_T to 18+
• Spikey wants women to be excluded from participating and get them involved as cheerleaders instead

 

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• Problem:
  • Mr Mikey avoided answering any questions about the Cambodia scandal, so Ugochi is still unsure about what is actually happening
  • Mr Mikey and Senior Management want to change what the tournament is
    • Only include men over the age of 18
    • Women only allowed as cheerleaders
  • If these demands aren’t met, Mr Mikey threatens to pull funding, which makes up 80% of Ugochi’s funding and devastate her organization
  • Ugochi has to choose between keeping to her values and those of the organization but losing major funding and having to scale back heavy, or lose her values and those of the organization and keep the funding and scale
• Stakeholders:
  • Spikey 
  • Mr Mikey
  • Ugochi
  • The youth involved with SYE_T
  • Women on the soccer teams – They want to play soccer, but wouldn’t be able to with the change proposed by Mr. Mikey, they’d also benefit from the program and workshops

 

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders

• Spikey:
  • Personal Motivations → to look good to the general public
  • Professional Motivations → to make more money
• Mr Mikey:
  • Personal Motivations → to look to his superiors that he is doing his job
  • Professional Motivations → To advance the interests of Spikey and play down the Cambodia scandal 
• Ugochi:
  • Personal Motivations → To help at risk youth across the US 
  • Professional Motivations → To help at risk youth across the US with her soccer tournaments and keep growing her organization 
• The youth involved with SYE_T:
  • Personal Motivations → To enjoy playing soccer and find a safe environment to hang out in
  • Professional Motivations → To escape being at risk and find opportunities for education and their career

 

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. Approaches [1/2/3: repeat for every action] • Potential Solution • How does it solve the problem? o Pros o Cons • How does it save the face of those involved? • Implications on relationships o Short-term o Long-term • Implications on the venture o Short-term o Long-term 

 

Potential Solution 1: Lose Spikey as a funder and apply to different funders.

Pros:  Could potentially find donors who support both men and women on the soccer team

Cons: Lose 80% of funding and may not be able to get another funder

 

Solution 2: Have women no longer participate

Pros:SYE_T will still have Spikey’s sponsorship

Cons:SYE_T it will look bad for excluding women from competitions and it also changes         SYE_T’s mission

 

Solution 3: suggest having different leagues where Spikey funds these different leagues i.e.under 18 leagues where they play against other under 18 teams, women’s league and men’s league(which Spikey wants). Have the 20% fund the rest of the excluded group(assuming that the funders will stay)

Pros: SYE_T will maintain its goal

Cons: Spikey might not agree

 

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

 

1. Make a case that women football has an audience especially after the world cup, if anything it is in the best interest of spikey if they funded and included women as well. This is negotiable.
2. Ugochi could also argue that children under the age of 18 would replace the older members of football after a while. Training the children at a younger age will increase their ball control, endurance, speed and strength.  They’re more likely to go pro if they focus on the children as well. This is also negotiable

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face and has the best short term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

 

The best course of action would be to lose Spikey as a funder and apply to different funders.The following are the pros and cons:

Pros:  Could potentially find donors who support both men and women on the soccer team

Cons: Lose 80% of funding and may not be able to get another funder

 

This is the best solution because as a social enterprise, profits are important but impact and integrity are vital! Keeping the integrity of the brand may bring loss of profits and downsizing, but other sponsors will be attracted to the brand if they share the same core values. Getting that funding back will be easier if the brand stays true to themselves. 

 

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

 

1. Post a listing on WeFunder
2. Sit down with Spiky sponsor leads and give them the run-down of where we stand
3. Meet with the participants from our organization and let them know of the future downsizing.
4. Look at how to improve efficiency now that the scale is lower and easier to manage. Focus on creating a mentorship program now that there are less participants and the bandwidth is narrowed. 
5. Actively reach out to professional and collegiate organizations focused on athletics and community organizations. 
6. Have students post on social media of the issue, tagging Spikey across all platforms
7. Be patient and understand that there is always a right fit for a partner, you just have to be persistent and patient enough to find them.