Northern Kentucky University Bresnet Company Discussion and Response

  answer this question and reply for two discussion board

Follow the 7 step reasoning model for the following case: 

PROBLEM As the Vice President of Operations on a routine visit to the plant in Slovenia that is supplying ingredients for your products, you discover that toxins are contaminating the air in and around the plant. When you ask, you are informed by the CEO of Bresnet, the company that owns the plant, that the processes meet or exceed local environmental regulations for safety but they do violate USA environmental standards. To clean up the process would be pricey, but to allow the pollution to continue could severely damage the health of the plant workers and the company’s reputation.

ISSUE Whether to insist that your supplier institute practices to guarantee that the local water supply will not be contaminated.

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first discussion :

1.Relevant facts:

Brenset plant which supplies my company with ingredients is contaminating the environment and puts the plant workers and the society around at the risk of the toxins. 

2.Ethical Issues:

The toxins contaminate the air and affect the plants around the plant. The double standard on the regulation of the plant owing to the claims that the company’s waste disposal meets the regulatory standards.

3.Primary Stakeholders:

My company, Brenset workers and the CEO, people living around the place where Brenset disposes its waste and my employees who connect with the company when picking the ingredients for my company.

4.Alternatives:

Pressure the plant to detoxify the toxins before releasing to the environment and also get re-assessment from the relevant authorities to keep to the toes with the levels of and the quality of their wastes.

5.Ethics of Alternatives:

A reassessment of the plant would, of course, come with costs but it would help safeguard the environment and the people who interact with the company.  It would also greatly save lives and the welfare of the people around the plant by treating of the toxins before release to the nearby environment.

6.Practical constraints:

Possible related cost may arise and this is a great practical constraint that is inescapable coupled together with the government regulations that are highly demanding and tough.

7.Action:

In my capacity, I would enquire about the amounts of toxins that are released to the environment and seek the ways that they can be detoxified to reduce their possible effects. I would also let the CEO of the plant the consequences of releasing the toxins to the environment and the impact it would have on our companies.

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second discussion :

COLLAPSE

Relevant facts

The plant supplies ingredients for your products.

The toxins are contaminating Slovenias air.

The standards are okay in Slovenian law but go against American environmental standards.

The process to clean will be expensive and continuing the process will ultimately damage health.

They are not part of the company, they are simply a supplier.

Ethical Issues

The plant supplying the product is polluting large amounts of air and also causing health problems for workers and people living close by.

Is it within our boundaries to ask Bresnet to improve their standards as we are just one of their buyers.

What are the long-term affects of workers and environment?

Primary Stakeholders

Your company

Bresnet

The plant employees

Customers of the product

The community in Slovenia

The employees working there

Alternatives

Find another supplier

Do nothing and let Bresnet continue what they are doing

Start producing the products yourselves to then be able to have the standards you want

Ethics to Alternatives

Will the workers and locals health be affected

Would you be able to afford the change?

Not doing anything could cause bad PR

Practical Constraints

Slovenia law

They are the only supplier with the ingredients needed to make product

Why would the company need to change? Just because it doesn’t meet American standards even though it meets Slovenian?

Action to take

The company should look to enforce better standards in Slovenia. This would benefit the community as well as employees. It would also show that your company cares more about employees and the environment which is a hot topic in todays society. It might be expensive, and if you can’t afford to have the clean up then I would strongly consider other options as if this type of information got into the wrong hands your company could suffer.