Labu 2051 - John Chen Case Study

LABU 2051 (T29)                                 Class 1, Mini-Case Study

• Question 1: What is John Chen’s objective / goal?

• Maximising the profit of the company but stop employing the child labour
• Also note that the country may allow children to work, but it’s just that the company’s rule is against employment of children
• To ensure the value is implemented
• To make profit

• Question 2: What is the problem?

• Child labour working in the republic of Niger
• Against the company’s core value – not to employ children

• Question 3: What is the cause of the problem?

• The republic of Niger is highly impoverished
• Large size of families → children also need to work

• Question 4: If there are job-cuts, who would be the losers and who would be the winners?

• Losers: the children / people working for the company → unemployed → no income
• Winners: the company → stopped employing children → earn a better reputation of the company (to build an image that it is caring about the world, no child abuse)

• Question 5: Is it ethical to impose a first-world value system on another culture or nation?

• First-world value system: children should be protected and sent to school and acquire knowledge (developed countries)
• C.f. In some developing countries → child labour can be legal, child labour =/= child abuse
• Unethical: Because of the background of the country, everyone is poor → children actually have to work to earn money for the family to make a living

• Question 6: Come up with a solution for the case.

• Long-Term Solution
• Cash Transfer Scheme – both unconditional and conditional

• Minor – Unconditional

• To ease household budget constraints RIGHT NOW

• Major– conditional

• To alleviate current income poverty (by cash benefits)
• To reduce extent of future poverty (by behavioural conditions)
• This will also lower the incentive of the parents to send the children to work (NOT eliminating the problem, but to alleviate the problem)

• Short-Term Solution
• Getting Help from the developed countries – Cash Donation

• To alleviate the current poverty of the impoverished countries

• Public works programme

• Provide people with income transfer in exchange for participation in labour intensive work projects

• To provide source of income to poor workers
• To construct essential public infrastructure

• As a kind of employment insurance

• Include on-job training, reintegrating low-skilled workers into the country labour force