Analysis the Company Unilever and its Ethical and Unethical Leadership (Research Paper Sample)

UNILEVER By (Name) Course Professor School/ University City and State Date Unilever Introduction Unilever is a global manufacturing corporation that owns many consumer brands. Some of the organization's products include beverages, cosmetics, food items, and many other goods. The business distributes numerous commodities and makes a billion dollars or more as a profit each year. Unilever has many subsidiaries worldwide, and its management team's main focus is to ensure that employees are treated well and the global society is satisfied with their goods. The entity's high level of integrity and distinct corporate behavior is the reason why the company has been successful for many decades. The executives' and board managers' relationship with other staff members and the corporate society has helped in building good business ties between the company and other players in the industry. Although Unilever's financial and environmental management performance is desirable, there have been a few instances of ethical violation. Ethical Violations Critics identified certain issues regarding Unilever's activities as violations of ethical standards. For instance, cases of low payment to the staff members have been reported despite the stockholders receiving high dividends. The situation implies that the organization is profitable, but employee compensation has not been revised to reach appropriate levels. In addition, instances of challenging working conditions, environmentally unfriendly packaging, and breach of sustainability standards in the supply chain have been identified as some of Unilever's failures. Despite the company's administrators ensuring that their products attain high standards in the markets, the employees who work hard may not be receiving reasonable remuneration. Other ethical challenges include pollution and release of toxins to the environment, use of animals for scientific tests, anti-social finance behavior, violation of human rights, and destruction of habitats and resources. The allegations have created tension, making some consumers avoid Unilever's products. Ethical Challenges and Dilemmas Regarding Employee Welfare It has been claimed that Unilever's managers are profit-oriented and do not care about the workers' welfare. The heads of departments do not adhere to ethical values, and they mostly ignore human rights. For instance, staff members cannot have unions to help them voice their opinions or ask for better treatment. Instead, the administrators at Unilever force employees to join internally organized unions headed by company associates. Therefore, those working for the firm do not have freedom of speech, while in some other states, the staff members are penalized if they participate in peaceful demonstrations (Ethical Consumer 2018). In consideration of the conditions at Unilever, the firm's administration has violated ethical standards by ignoring its employees' concerns. Unilever faces various conflicts that take place at the international and local levels. Consequently, the company's performance is affected significantly. Moreover, some people have resolved to boycott the organization's products because of the rumors circulating based on internal information. In Europe, the management attracts investors but ensures that the workers shy away from unions. The managers block and threaten the employees from forming trade unions, claiming that there is a company-friendly unification in the organization. In other countries like India, the workers are forced to resign due to a shift of production to other sites. Critics argue that workers, especially those in the bottom chain, such as the employees in the plantation of the palm oil and cocoa farms, are underpaid. Some of the laborers in the cultivated areas are underage, and no one cares about it as long as the product is delivered on time (Amnesty International 2016). The company's administrators are turning a blind eye to this issue, and they have been exploiting the workers. Ethical Concerns in the Use of Animals for Scientific Research Unilever's research and development department has been accused of using animals for experimentation. The company has a bad rating for engaging in animal testing activities. The executives claimed that they tested their cosmetics and cleaning products on animals without considering the negative impact that the products may cause (Troy 2022). In this case, the company's actions can be regarded as irresponsible behavior. One of the major dilemmas that Unilever's administrators have to deal with is that they have been dwelling more on publicity instead of focusing on how to improve the quality and morality of their production processes (Oliver 2022). Therefore, there is a need to ensure that more focus is directed towards improving the manufacturing processes and ethical behavior. There are moral concerns about the use of animals in any scientific experiments. For instance, Unilever's research and development experts could test the food and cosmetic products on animals before presenting them to the market for use. The company's management may claim that they have sought approval from relevant animal ethics institutions to carry out the tests. However, the actions amount to a violation of animal rights. The suffering that such subjects undergo during the experiments is not justified because they are living things with fundamental senses. It is wrong to subject an animal to an unpleasant state just to test whether the manufactured products can be used by people. The researchers involved in testing Unilever's products may indicate that they do not cause any pain to the animals, but since the activities are expected to cause discomfort to the subject, the company has breached ethical standards. Unilever's management should respect the environment and all the living things. Organisms should coexist peacefully, and no creature should use its superiority to unsystematically abuse the weak and defenseless ones. Ethical Issues Regarding Exclusionary Pricing Process As a consumer commodity manufacturer, Unilever's management team is expected to involve its stakeholders in key decision-making processes. For instance, the products sold by the organization are usually consumed by the public. However, it is unfortunate that the pricing process does not involve society members. Unilever's sole responsibility in price-setting is regarded as an immoral act because consumers' concerns are not factored. Consequently, there have been complaints about the management's conduct regarding the issue, which society members believe should change. The main impact of exclusionary pricing is that the company's brands are likely to lose their reputation. Some consumers may also stop buying the organization's products. Moral Challenges in Packaging Unilever is among the companies that use plastics for packaging some of its products. Many of the materials used in creating the packaging material pose significant challenges to recycling. Therefore, firms that sell products packed in non-biodegradable materials are violating their ethical responsibilities. The reason for this assertion is that consumers will usually dump the packages after use. The presence of plastics in water bodies and on terrestrial surfaces causes pollution and endangers the existence of living things. Unilever's management promised that it would roll out a radical recycling process to facilitate the reuse of packing sachets in 2017 (Brock & Geddie 2021). According to the organization's leadership, a scientific method would be applied to refine the used packages and remanufacture them. Chemicals would be used to dissolve the materials before impurities are drained off and the paste dried and used to make new packages. Unfortunately, the recycling process has failed, especially in Indonesia (DTE Staff 2022). The main implication of this failure is that the company is still causing environmental pollution through the use of unfriendly packages. Ethical Concerns in the Marketing of Skin-Lightening Products Unilever's products include skin-lightening products that some people may use to alter their complexion. Other companies in the industry also manufacture similar commodities. There are possible problems that may arise from the continued use of such cosmetics. For instance, consumers may face health challenges because the products may contain mercury. Another main ethical challenge that Unilever has faced regarding its skin-lightening products is the morality of the marketing approach used. It has been claimed that the adverts are racist because they promote prejudices and stereotypes (Eagle et al. 2014). Particularly, the company presents a lighter skin as desirable compared to dark ones. The issue with the advert message is that it violates the requirements of diversity and tolerance. It is also wrong to glamorize the use of skin-lightening products when the manufacturers are aware that some of the components used may cause harmful impacts on the customers. Some of the marketing strategies used for promoting Unilever’s products are unethical. For instance, Dove, a personal care product, is one of the brands whose marketing has caused ethical dilemmas (Shah 2017). The advert promoting this commodity was criticized as racist because it shows a black female morphing into a white one after using the body wash. Although the company's strategists apologized and tried to explain that the advertisement was not intended to portray the image the critics got, the international community still believed a change was required. According to the critics, it is unethical to tell people, especially women, that their skins should be fairer than they naturally are because that is disapproving nature. The firm's management indicated that the advert was supposed to communicate that Dove body wash is for every woman, irrespective of race. Therefore, the product is ...