Passage 5Eliminating Sweatshops at Nike; Just Do It!
Over the past decade, Nike has been one of the most profitable companies in the United States. However, at a time when the company’s spokesperson, Michael Jordan, was bringing in over $10 million, the young, mostly women workers in its Indonesian plants were taking home only $ 2.23 a day. (31)______, working conditions in Nike’s Serang plant, 50 miles west of Jakarta, were far from ideal. Hundreds of workers, some children, were crowded into vast sheds where they glued, stitched, pressed, and boxed 70 million pairs of (32)______a year. Collusion between local management and government made organizing workers into unions both difficult and dangerous, and the high level of unemployment left workers powerless. Taken together, these labor practices helped keep cost so low and quality so high that a pair of running shoes that (33)______ for $ 75 retail in the United States cost just $18.25 to manufacture.
With this type of cost and price structure, it is easy to see how Nike became so profitable. However, the ability to sustain these practices became an issue in 1996 when the U.S. media exposed these sweatshop conditions. As consumers became increasingly aware of (34)______ their sneakers were actually being made, some felt guilty, and human rights groups went so far (35)______ to organize boycotts of Nike products. Given the damage to Nike’s image and future profitability, something had to be done.
At first, Nike CEO Phillip Knight defended his operations, noting that Nike pays its workers no (36)______ than its rivals do and that these workers make more than minimum wage in the host countries. Critics countered that the level of pay was (37)______ the subsistence level and much lower than what is paid by other U.S. companies such as Coco-Cola, Gillette, and Good-year.
To end this image problem (38)______ and for all, on May 12,1998, Knight pledged to (a) raise the minimum worker age requirement, (b) adopt U. S.-style safety and health standards, and (c) allow human rights groups to help monitor working conditions in all foreign plants. He again showed his commitment to reform six months later (39)______ raising wages 22 percent to offset the currency devaluation that rocked Indonesia in the fall of 1998. Knight used both occasions to challenge his competitors to do the same, realizing that their failure to do so would put Nike at a competitive disadvantage. Although it is currently unclear how these (40)______ will respond, it is obvious that Nike is at least trying to establish its image as a trend setter in both footwear and working conditions in international locations.
美国NIKE公司把运动鞋和服装的生产经营分包给40多个国家和地区的分包商,所采用的是()的组织形式。
美国Nike公司把运动鞋和服装的生产经营分包给40多个国家和地区的分包商,所采用的是()的组织形式。
美国Nike公司把运动鞋和服装的生产经营分包给40多个国家和地区的分包商,所采用的是()的组织形式。
You’d better find some information about Nike’s “Chamber of Fear” advertisement, _____?
Lisa听说商场的Nike球鞋打5折出售,当她兴冲冲前去购买时,被告知打5折活动已于前一天结束,Lisa懊恼极了。这反映了信息的()
Nike公司的广告中使用动画人物“黑棍小人”形象被认定为剽窃中国闪客而被判赔30万元。这是Nike公司忽略()环境因素的原因。
在同等产品质量条件下,NIKE的产品价格比鸿星尔克要高,这说明对产品价格有影响。()
美国Nike公司把运动鞋和服装的生产经营分包给40多个国家和地区的分包商,所采用的是()组织形式。
在同等产品质量条件下,NIKE牌的产品价格比鸿星尔克牌要高,这说明()对产品价格有影响。