Assume that you are a high-level manager for a shoe manufacturer.You know that your firm could increase its profit margin by producing shoes in Indonesia, where you could hire women for $40 a month to assemble them.You also know, however, that human rights advo cates recently accused a competing shoe manufacturer of engaging in exploitative labor practices because the manufacturer sold shoes made by Indonesian women working for similarly low wages.You personally do not believe that paying $40 a month to Indonesian women is unethical because you know that in their impoverished country, $40 a month is a better-than-average wage rate.

Assuming that the decision is yours to make,should you have the shoes manufactured in Indonesia and make higher profits for your company? Or should you avoid the risk of negative publicity and the consequences of that publicity for the firm’s reputation and subsequent profits?

Are there other alternatives? Discuss fully.

firm violate any ethical duties if it closes the plant?

Analyze these questions from the two basic perspectives on ethical reasoning discussed in this chapter.