Business EthicsAssignment 2.7.

The assignment has been written by

Savino Giuralarocca & Gina Nehrlich

Each member of the group has contributed equally to the completion of

this assignment 2

Introduction -

“Employees are subject to a strict managerial rationale of minimizing costs

and maximizing the efficiency of the resource”

• Model industry is one of those business areas where employees are

treated as human resource only.

• Girls (12+) are recruited on the street and attracted with fame and

wealth.

• Once recruited they get confronted with a world of commerce where

their body is the mean to success and their human needs are neither

from interest nor respected. The girls live separated from their social

network and model agencies are treating them along the gain-

maximization principle rather than taking care of them

Gina

Employee Rights for Models (1/4)

Discrimination: Discrimination takes place when preferential treatment not being directly related to the employee’s qualification leads to job-related advantages or disadvantages (Crane & Matten, 2010)

Assessment

• Model agencies use age as selection criteria and prefer young girls (age discrimination)

• Sexual harassment is prevalent in the model business. Photographer’s often ask models to solicit them. Models declining such requests often jeopardize their career and are disadvantaged with regards to lucrative jobs

Privacy: “Individual right to control information about oneself, and to control situations where such information could be gleaned” (Cranford 1998)

Assessment

• Models are not given the right of privacy. Physical privacy is missing in their life completely (joint accommodation with other models, no privacy at backstage)

• Also psychological privacy is violated. Embarrassing comments about the models in the backstage rooms are normal

Gina

Due Process: The right to due process says that procedures must be transparent and criteria's applied must be job related (i.e. during promotion, disciplinary proceedings and firing) (Crane & Matten 2010)

Assessment

• Girls are fulfilling all photograph’s and agencie’s requirements to secure their success

• The give up their whole live (i.e. school) just to be successful as a model

Participation & Association: The right to participation claims for the employee’s right to influence their tasks or job environment . The right to association is the right to join in work councils or trade unions

Assessment

• Models feel a completely dependent on the agencies and photograph’s. They feel desperate and unable to influence the tasks or job environment .

Employee Rights for Models (2/4)Gina

Taking Pictures

Healthy & Save Work Conditions: Employer’s must take care of their employee’s safety and allow for healthy life (i.e. sufficient rest periods)

Assessment

• Models are exhausted and overtired (the sets often leave them 3 hours per night for sleep for 14 days in a row)

• Models take cocaine to stand the work conditions• Many models suffer at anorexia to fulfill the requirement to be slim

Fair wages: Wages are fair when they fulfil the industry average, allow to satisfy all basic needs of the employee and if the required effort is in relation to the requested performance

Assessment

• Agencies hire predominantly young girls from Eastern Europe (low wage expectations)

• Girls must fund initial efforts all themselves and are forced into over indebtedness. In case of no success high credits must be settled

Employee Rights for Models (3/4)Gina

Overtired

Freedom of Concious and Speech: People must not be restricted in concious and speech based on threats of unfair ramifications for talking about ethical issues (i.e. wistleblowing)

Assessment

• The feeling of being desparately dependent on the model agencies and phototgraphs will not provide the models with the necessary level of freedom of speech

Right to work: The right to work leads to the right to equal and fair conditions in hiring and firing (i.e. freedom from discrimination)

Assessment

• The right to equal and fair conditions is not fulfilled since i.e. young girls are preferred to models being already in the business (age, salary etc).

Employee Rights for Models (4/4)Gina