Student Advocacy and “Sweatshop” Labor: The Case of Russell Athletic (Case Study)

The integrative case entitled Student Advocacy and “Sweatshop” Labor: The Case of Russell Athletic is presented at the conclusion of Part 1 in your text. This case offers an excellent opportunity to perform an in-depth analysis of the environmental foundations of international management, with emphasis on the major ethical issues confronting MNCs and the actions they take in response.

NOTE: To fully address the questions that are posed as part of this case analysis, you will need to apply concepts and terms from Part 1 of your text (with particular emphasis on chapter 3).

Please read the case, and please answer the following questions.

1) Assume that you are an executive of a large U.S. multinational corporation planning to open new manufacturing plants in China and India to save on labor costs. What factors should you consider when making your decision? Is labor outsourcing to developing countries a legitimate business strategy that can be handled without risk of running into a sweatshop scandal?
2) Do you think that sweatshops can be completely eliminated throughout the world in the near future? Provide an argument as to why you think this can or cannot be achieved?
3) Would you agree that in order to eliminate sweatshop conflicts large corporations such as Russell Athletic should retain the same high labor standards and regulations that they have in the home country (for example, in the U.S.) when they conduct business in developing countries? How hard or easy can this be to implement?
4) Do you think that the public and NGOs like USAS should care about labor practices in other countries? Isn’t this a responsibility of the government of each particular country to regulate the labor practice within the borders of its country? Who do you think provides a better mechanism of regulating and improving the labor practices: NGOs or country governments?
5) Would you agree that Russell Athletic made the right decision by conceding to USAS and union demand? Isn’t a less expensive way to handle this sort of situation simply to ignore the scandal? Please state your pros and cons regarding Russell’s decision to compromise with the workers’ union and NGOs as opposed to ignoring this scandal.