Question

Iceland has no minimum wage. Instead, employers negotiate salaries with collective groups or unions who represent the employees. You must be 18 to work full-time in Iceland. However, mandatory school ends at age 16 and teen workers between the ages of 15 and 18 are highly unemployed. Salaries are high in Iceland because of the small population, universal health care, the high cost of living, and the fact that 88% of the population lives in and around the capital, Reykjavik. Still it is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Youth unemployment is extremely high. Josh has discovered that if he hires young people between the ages of (15-18) part-time or no more than 40 hours a week, he can negotiate a much lower salary. The average salary amounts to $12.50 an hour.. Josh staffs young people exclusively and lets them go before they reach the age of 19. Two recent lay-offs has brought this practice to the attention of the staff who feel the practice is not ethical. The workers feel Josh is trying to use the system to avoid paying the workers a decent wage or to gain full time employment. If Josh does not settle this issue quickly, because the workers will go back to the Collective to ask for higher wages and a guarantee of work after they turn 19. Worse yet, if Jolly Jump’s US teens get wind of the hourly salary difference, they may very well come to expect a large raise.

Are Josh’s employment practices unethical?

Would his actions be considered unethical in the United States?

Discuss the ethics of doing business in another country and cultural relativism.

Answer 1

Josh employment practice is legally acceptable but ethically not. Because the young people who are in between 15-18 are hiring and paying salaries, once they turn to 19 years they are firing with different names. the only reason is if they continues as workers, they will get higher payments, which drags the firm profits. to avoid this, Josh is firing them once they turn to 19 years.

Even it is the same in US or some other palce, because he is approaching unethical practices only. An employer can fire employee if he is uncapable, but not with an intention of payment of high salary or etc. before the time they use the services of same workers and gain more profits, but when the time comes for providing higher salaries to the people, they are firing, is unethical only.

Ethics are different from nation to nation, religion to religion and community to community also. the one who perform business in those areas, nations or communities, first they should learn and get awareness about all these. Once they got compltete awareness about all these, then only should enter into the business.