Child Labor

The report is for Timothy & Thomas North America for its plant in Lahore, Pakistan. The organization has a contract with another organization in the clothing industry in Pakistan. The involvement of girls who are aged below ten years in Pakistan as workers indicate social irresponsibility in production. They are involved in the creation of the bestselling casual shorts. The shorts bears the slogan ‘look good feel good.’ It is ironical that the same clothes that are aimed at making people look good and feel good are developed through a process that exploits children. This approach to operations is against the social responsibility goals of Timothy & Thomas North America. The company prohibits child labor and promotes employee diversity and the proper treatment of such employees (Brower, & Mahajan, 2013). In socially responsible organizations, the goal is to enhance the wellbeing of all stakeholders. The organization should thus develop of quality products by employing the right form of labor. While the organization may gain a competitive economic advantage by engaging children at limited or no cost, it becomes a social disadvantage to society.

Poor Pay

In the assessment of operations in the Lahore plant, it is evident that guidelines on social responsibility are not followed. Children under 14 years who works in the plant are paid very little even if they do a lot of work. This results in the exploitation of such employees. In some cases, the children are even provided with identity cards that inflates their age in order to facilitate their employment. This facilitates the exploitation of the children. It is nevertheless that cultural differences impacts on social responsibility (Taneja, Taneja, & Gupta, 2011). The Pakistanis have no issue with children working. It is common in the country while on the other hand, it is not accepted in the United States of America.  In spite of this, the organization should focus on pursuing the triple bottom line. This will ensure that besides pursuing growth in profits, the entity is also seeking enhancement of the social responsibility of the residents while at the same time enhancing the environment (Porter, & Kramer, 2011). By failing to support children pursue education and engaging them in work, the organization failed to support them and enhance their living standards.

Working Conditions

Socially responsible firms provide employees with good working conditions. In the factory, employees are working in cold conditions, and they lack protective work gears. Equally, the working conditions were very unsafe. Children were also present on the premises and often pulled the threads, risking causing an accident in the production process (Nicholas, 1993). The failure to follow global guidelines on work and social responsibility significantly indicated how enforcing the same rules among people in different cultures could be difficult. From the case, it is evident that industrial labor relations are poorly executed by firms that do not operate in a socially responsible manner. A significant challenge notable in the case is resistance to change (Smyth, Nielsen, & Kaemper, 2013). Ahmed, a manager in the factory, was of the view that the organization could not address the issue of child labor in a country like Pakistan where almost all organizations are engaged in child labor. The failure of understanding of the importance of social responsibility is evident. The organization employees are only likely to promote social responsibility if they have a full understanding of its significance (Smyth, Qian, Nielsen, & Kaempfer, 2013).  The manager in the organization was of the view that by employing children, their income is enhanced as well as their ability to afford right housing and meals. This is in total ignorance of the high exploitation of children, but also of the adult employees. If the adults are provided with reasonable pay, the need to send children to work would cease.

Recommendation

Based on the analyzed case, it is evident that there are multiple measures that Timothy & Thomas and the production firm in Pakistan should undertake (Seitanidi, & Crane, 2009).  For instance, international firms should liaise with stakeholders such as governments in the promotion of laws that promotes social responsibility. For example, the organization should liaise with the government in the development of laws that prohibit child labor

While access to cheap labor has the potential of resulting in higher profits, the organization should promote reasonable pay to the employees in Pakistan. Even if they may have limited bargaining power due to their low economic status, it is the social responsibility of the organization to ensure that they are provided with adequate pay which supports a decent living (Sobczak, & Havard, 2015).

From the review, it is evident that working conditions should be improved. The organization should ensure that the workplace has the right temperatures. This will stop the current level of discomfort that employees are going through as a result of excessive colds. The workplace should also be well arranged with limited risk of injury to the employees (Seitanidi, & Crane, 2009). Equally, the organization should ensure that the employees are provided with protective work gear limited chances of injury.

Finally, it is the social responsibility of the organization to boost the educational empowerment of children. It should thus liaise with the firm in Pakistan to promote educational levels. They should support such children to access education (Sobczak, & Havard, 2015). It is clear that the development of global guidelines may be hampered by multiple factors when it comes to their implementation. For instance, it is influenced by the culture of the local people. Equally, resistance to change may hinder the adoption of socially responsible operations. The organization should educate its employees on the merits associated with corporate social responsibility.

References

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