As per the title, we will be exploring how to create a sustainable and ethical culture all the way down the supply chain in multinational companies.
The challenges of building ethical supply chains on a global scale – Achilles. (2021, July 5). Achilles. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.achilles.com/industry-insights/the-challenges-of-building-ethical-supply-chains-on-a-global-scale/
The head of product and pricing at Achilles, Katie Tamblin, tackles the complexity of modern slavery in this article. Many companies understand the issue of modern slavery, but find that they don’t know how to identify the warning signs they’re looking for. In conjunction with product director, Kevin Alexander, Katie found that while companies have internal measures to prevent corruption, fraud, and bribery, companies are lacking measures to combat environmental issues. The two emphasize that when recognizing issues within a supply chain it is an opportunity to create a partnership and improve the conditions, rather than cut ties and reduce the supplier pool. They concluded that commercially it makes more sense to upskill. This is relevant due to the nature of the suppliers, while they may not currently be ethical or sustainable, with intervention they can be and that nurtures a healthy organizational behavior.
Clarke, T., & Boersma, M. (2017). The Governance of Global Value Chains: Unresolved Human Rights, Environmental and Ethical Dilemmas in the Apple Supply Chain. Journal of Business Ethics, 143(1),111–131. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/10.1007/s10551-015-2781-3
When large supply chain operations spread across international borders to find the most cost-efficient labor, issues concerning human rights and ethical dilemmas become a lot more prominent. Corporations must address these issues on a global level immediately whenever they arise. This article examines what transpired in 2006 when Apple inc. and Foxconn were brought under scrutiny due to cases regarding the factory conditions where Apple components were being manufactured. This article covers how Apple responded to their global market as well as the internal changes that were made. The corporation’s current dilemmas are also addressed within this article.
Goldman, S. (2021, November 5). The Ethical Supply Chain: Definition, examples, stats. The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2020/01/22/ethical-supply-chain-definition-stats/
This article titled: “The ethical supply chain: Definition, examples, stats” discusses what the practice of ethical supply chains is, along with some examples and statistics to show the readers its importance, relevance, and significance. The different subsections of the article covers what an ethical supply chain is, questions that consumers are asking about brands and their supply chains, if ethical supply chains are needed, new standards for supply chains, and current actions to move toward an ethical supply chain. The reason that ethical supply chains are relevant when pertaining to the topic of organizational behavior is that supporting this practice and incorporating social/human rights has an effect on everyone who works within/for the company. We would undoubtedly see an increase in excellence, engagement, and ethics from everyone within the organization when said organization is also making an effort to look out for its workers. I think that it would also increase trust and morality, which would only lead towards positive organizational behavioral outcomes. Thankfully, according to this article, efforts are being made by many companies to become an ethical supply chain, including: eliminating discimination, upholding environmental responsibility, monitoring labor conditions, fighting corruption, and deploying environmentally-friendly technology.
Harvey, Fisher, R., McPhail, R., & Moeller, M. (2013). Aligning global organizations’ human capital needs and global supply-chain strategies. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources., 51(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7941.2012.00054.x
In this study, doctors Harvey, Fisher, Mcphail, and Moeller aim to bridge the gap in the literature regarding the role of the global supply chain manager in establishing global relationships. This research makes an attempt to fill that gap by presenting a theoretical model where dimensions of successful global supply-chain managers can be examined through resource-based, market-based, and dynamic capabilities theories. According to the model, the traditional supply chain managers will not suffice in emerging or transitional markets. With a shift in focus to global supply-chain managers away from local talent pools, how global managers are selected, trained, and evaluated in emerging countries can change, including the requirement for tacit knowledge, local team building, and adjusting to the culture of emerging countries.
Wang, & Feng, T. (2022). Supply chain ethical leadership and green supply chain integration: a moderated mediation analysis. International Journal of Logistics : Research and Applications., 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/13675567.2021.2022640
Wang and Feng go over the benefits that managers will see when running green supply chains and using ethical leadership practices and how in doing this their employees will understand the urgency of greening the supply chain and will take the reasons for the new practices to heart.
This article provides examples of supply chains in the green process and talks about the best way a manager can get their employees in line with the new policies quickly. Without being able to do that it is impossible to create a sustainable culture within the firm and leading with ethical leadership practices makes the creation of that culture easier as it will no longer be top down but also bottom up.
Nathan Knoch, Andrew Lee, Evan Noonan, Drew Shepherd, Cailin Thompson