Stephanie Kay
April 6, 2015
Chapter 5 Case

1. Was it ethical of the Ohio Art Company to move production to China? What were the economic and social costs and benefits of this decision? What would have happened if production had not been moved?

I think that the Ohio Art Company should have moved production to China because it helped saved the Ohio Art Company from going bankrupt. However the town of Bryan was devastated because of this outsourcing. I believe Ohio Art Co. has a social responsibility to the town and its residents.

2. Assuming that the description of working conditions given in The New York Times is correct, is it ethical for the Ohio Art Company to continue using Kin Ki to manufacture Etch-A-Sketch toys?

I believe that the Ohio Art Company should make sure that the workers compensated fairly for their labor and should restrict over working their employees.

3. Is it possible, as Killgallon claims, that the Ohio Art Company had no knowledge of labor problems at Kin Ki? Do you think company executives had any knowledge of the working conditions?

I think the company may have been aware of the issues but pretended they did not. The Ohio Art Company had to have known the amount of hours worked because they sent the aluminum powder to them and could have determined those figures based on how quickly Kin Ki used the powder in the manufacturing process. Companies do not move to a foreign country without them visiting and understanding the working conditions.