Gap’s Labor Problem

Gap is well known for the quality of its cotton clothes. Among the suppliers for whom the Gap sourced its clothes was one in El Salvador run by Mandarin International. Troubles erupted in the Mandarin plant because of violations in labour code and also when the employees started a union. Human rights were violated as women were beat down by security guards. Those female workers were underpaid and working in very difficult conditions. A representative visited the plant to investigate but only gained a very few information or evidence which is somewhat doubtful.

It is necessary to outsource manufacturing to save expenses as a strategy but it could also ruin the company’s reputation at the same time. Gap could only do so much in controlling those plants where they outsource their products so it was an option to find alternatives in order to prevent further violations on human rights and the labour code.

This case perfectly shows the imbalance and inequality of us humans. El Salvador is located on a place where many suffer from poverty. This is the moment where I look at our leaders and evaluate their stand of this issue. Leaders or specifically president of the countries could only provide guidelines and approvals of what we might do to better ourselves and our country. El Salvador obviously does not offer much for opportunities. I believe that it is the duty of profitable firms to conduct CSR on areas like this. Some people are does not benefit from the CSR to those who have the resources because they lack initiative and sympathy towards the disadvantaged. CSR is very important in addressing these needs but the people in higher power could only care less of what’s happening around them as long as their profits are consistently generated.

Addressing basic needs of the employee has a large impact to the society and to the world as a whole. One perfect example is the TV program which I’ve been watching recently, titled “Undercover Boss”. The TV program could be watched through CBS channel. I have learned a lot from this program in terms of addressing employee’s needs and having that mindset of equality as a manager, CEO or leader to be fair to their subordinates or employees. Doing simple things to meet employees basic needs have that effect of giving them purpose, meaning, appreciation and human rights. It is where they become more motivated, be loyal to the firm and be productive which contributes positively towards the economy and the society as a whole.

Here is a brief introduction of Undercover Boss:

Undercover Boss is a television franchise series created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate how their firms really work and to identify how they can be improved, as well as to reward hard-working employees.

Each episode features a high-ranking executive or the owner of a corporation going undercover as an entry-level employee in his or her own company. The executives alter their appearance and assume an alias and fictional back-story. The fictitious explanation given for the accompanying camera crew is that the executives are being filmed as part of a documentary about entry-level workers in a particular industry, or a competition with another individual with the winner getting a job with the company. They spend approximately one to two weeks undercover (one week being the norm in some editions, such as the U.S. version, and two weeks in some other versions, such as the Australian edition), working in various areas of their company's operations, with different parts and in most cases a different location each day. They are exposed to a series of predicaments with amusing results, and invariably spend time getting to know the people who work in the company, learning about their professional and personal challenges.

At the end of their time undercover, the executives return to their true identity and request the employees they worked with individually to travel to a central location—often corporate headquarters. The bosses reveal their identity, and reward hard-working employees through promotion, or financial rewards; while other employees are given training, better working conditions, or, in extreme cases, termination.

References:

Undercover Boss(n.d.) Retrieved November 12, 2015 from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undercover_Boss