Ethical Issues in Business
The basis of the issue lies in the way organizations handle pension especially in the recent times. In contrast to the earlier years when corporations provided pension to all employees, the modern corporations have diverted these funds which mostly end up in the account of the CEO. Currently, employees have been forced into risky pension plans which they pay by themselves, while the CEOS enjoy tax free pension in their retirement days. It is unethical for corporations to deny employees a formidable pension plan while exclusively diverting all the money meant for this to CEOs. It is unethical that employees who devote a lot of time and effort in the corporation end up with nothing and even worse find themselves unable to pay basic amenities or bills once they retire. On the other hand, the CEOs are stashed with more cash than they were genuinely entitled (Gerard, 2016)
As employee pension plans in corporations disappear, many of them are being forced into 401(k) plans where they can save for retirement. However, there are inherent risks with putting money in such plans – often, employees are duped by financial advisers to invest their retirement savings in bogus schemes which not only give low yields but also puts the retirement savings at greater risks. The article also looks at how corporations have gained power over employees and their unions. Currently, employees have little bargaining power as all that has been taken away by corporations that are backed by the government. Surprisingly, the article notes that it’s only about 6.7 percent of private sector workers that are currently members in employee unions. The employee plans limits the amount each one of them can save in a year, while CEOs can stash away any amount for retirement plans. This is unethical and shows greed in the upper management levels (Gerard, 2016).
Reference
Gerard, L. W. (2016, April 11). Pensions: For CEOs Only. Huffington Post.
