Assignment 2: What are the strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practice in relation to supply chains? Discuss with reference to case studies of your choice (2000 words).
A supply chain is the method of producing and delivering products and services to consumers. Contemporary supply chains constructed to operate in ethically and socially responsible manners contribute to good business practice. “Profit along with business ethics, social responsibility and sustainability are emerging as major objectives of corporate strategy” (Rath 2016, pp 153). This essay will inspect how ethical and socially responsible business practice has developed in supply chains over time. The main focus will be on the relationship between suppliers and multinational enterprises (MNEs). The substantial debate in this paper sits with identifying accountability and scope of responsibility.
Supply chain management is evolving rapidly. MNEs are accountable for administering and monitoring ethical and social principles for 1st tier supply chains. However, due to increasing societal demands, MNEs are beginning to go beyond the 1st tier suppliers to ensure ethical and social practices …show more content…
“In 2010, Primark established an ethical team to take accountability for monitoring the standards in factories where their products were produced” (Quelch and Rodriguez 2015). What seems to be unclear is why Primark could not pre-empt the Rana Plaza catastrophe. In this instance, it is visible to recognise that geographical limitations could have created a challenge to safeguarding employment welfare standards for Primark. With reflection, employment welfare should always be high on the agenda for multinational enterprises in order to prevent devastating circumstances such as the Rana Plaza
A supply chain is the method of producing and delivering products and services to consumers. Contemporary supply chains constructed to operate in ethically and socially responsible manners contribute to good business practice. “Profit along with business ethics, social responsibility and sustainability are emerging as major objectives of corporate strategy” (Rath 2016, pp 153). This essay will inspect how ethical and socially responsible business practice has developed in supply chains over time. The main focus will be on the relationship between suppliers and multinational enterprises (MNEs). The substantial debate in this paper sits with identifying accountability and scope of responsibility.
Supply chain management is evolving rapidly. MNEs are accountable for administering and monitoring ethical and social principles for 1st tier supply chains. However, due to increasing societal demands, MNEs are beginning to go beyond the 1st tier suppliers to ensure ethical and social practices …show more content…
“In 2010, Primark established an ethical team to take accountability for monitoring the standards in factories where their products were produced” (Quelch and Rodriguez 2015). What seems to be unclear is why Primark could not pre-empt the Rana Plaza catastrophe. In this instance, it is visible to recognise that geographical limitations could have created a challenge to safeguarding employment welfare standards for Primark. With reflection, employment welfare should always be high on the agenda for multinational enterprises in order to prevent devastating circumstances such as the Rana Plaza