Business Ethical Dilemma

Assessing the given situation, it is clear that the small company is experiencing some serious difficulties with its partner. One can see that the actions of both parties can be justified by strictly economic considerations. Mega-Mart is a big retail company that is trying to make the transactions as efficient as possible. However, as a result of such actions smaller suppliers are faced with a set of problems by struggling to follow Mega-Mart’s requirements.

The behavior of this large retailer is unethical towards the small suppliers that it is dealing with. A small aquarium decoration manufacturer has complied with all the requirements, starting from bar code system to special packaging. However, all of those improvements have continually created financial loss for the company for a certain period of time. The present requirement of RFID would create even more severe consequences. From an objective perspective it looks like Mega-Mart will not lose a lot in any of the scenarios. If the supplier complies with new standard the retailer receives the desired improvement. If the supplier decides to discontinue the partnership, Mega-Mart, as a company with lots of contacts, doesn’t lose a lot. On the other hand, for the small manufacturer this seems like a dead-end situation. If the company doesn’t implement RFID it loses the major client and consequently might go bankrupt. It is crucial, therefore, to start looking for other clients that would be interested in the aquarium decoration. It might be a worthwhile idea to agree on the extended period for RFID implementation or even create a plan where Mega-Mart would provide experts or loan money for this development.

It is obvious that overdependence on one business partner, especially a more powerful one, is highly risky. Such bigger companies can omit the ethical considerations or even justify their actions by their own idea of ethical behavior. That is why it is important to call their attention and the attention of general public to the way business is conducted.