SOC10236 : Ethics and Sustainability Analysis - Ethical Issues - Assessment Answer

Marketing Case Study Assignment

Assignment Task

You are required to selectoneof the ethical and sustainability topics below and complete the following four tasks:

1. Explain the link between your chosen topic and sustainability.
2. Discuss the most significant ethical issues concerning this topic.
3. Explain how the topic is important for business and identify relevant threats and opportunities to economic viability.
4. Identify an ethical and sustainable response to the problems inherent in this issue.

Introduction

According to the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, they are described a person who is outside of their country of domicile because their local country does not accept them or they are in the fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and they are incapable to attain asylum from their home country. Also immigrants are referred to as people who move onto another country which they are not natives of or do not have citizenship of the country that they intend to move into in order to reside there with the intention of being permanent residents or naturalized citizens, or to take-up employment as a migrant worker (Sales, 2007).

The report consists of an analysis of the various issues and their responses that these immigrants and refugees face in order to settle in the host countries and the implications to the host country.

Sustainability of Immigrants and refugees

According to the theory of sustainability by John Muir it is the preservation of wildness and the radical rejection of an ethic of human use in favour of an ethic of human respect and non-interference. Immigration and refugees is a situation where the global sustainability remains elusive since each human has the right to enjoy the world in the same way. When it comes to sustainability it is an issues in the developed states need to open up to the idea of refugees being self-sustainable which includes a broader area of compassion in order to survive beyond the camps (Hollifield, Martin & Orrenius, 2014).

In order to promote sustainability in the immigration and the refugees area the United Nations have come up with the UNHCR Policy on Alternatives to Camps which is a great idea for an alternative to refugee camps. This policy suggests that the camps should just be temporary measure for the immigrants and they should completely be phased out as soon as possible by absorbing these refuges in their skill based jobs and hence a shift toward the humanitarian grounds explains Briskman et al., (2008).

Such policies help the refugees to transform at many levels and make them self-sustainable since it not ensures support with respect to location but it also allows them protect themselves with respect to their needs through the enhancement of their own skills which allow them to sustain themselves without the long-time dependence on other factors or citizens (Carasco, 2007).

After the middle east crisis, European Union saw a large amount of influx of refugees from the southern states of Syria etc. states like Germany have opened up their country to these refuges where they have manages to find job which has helped them to fend for themselves.

Allowing refuges too live outside of camps also lessens the economic pressure that comes with funding these camps by the government of the host country, A wide range of opportunities that are available etc the refugees lessens the burdens on the government with respect to the social and the human cost associated with the exclusion from society (Waldman, 2013).

Also the major donor that donate too these camps can be used to help buildings and other infrastructure to support the refugees which can be a long term solution instead of spending these on temporary camps which has no future benefits for these people.Also for the humanitarian groups, this sustainability can allow the people to view and assist the refugees by treating them as equals in the ecosystem who would require additional assistance to their road to self-sustainability (Lippert & Pyykkönen, 2012).

Significant ethical issues

One of the main ethical issues in the immigration and refugee is the lack of human consideration that is shown to these people. Many places consider them as a problem to deal with instead of acceptance and find it an additional cost problem to provide them humanitarian relief. Many developed European country deny access to services like education and heath which is unethical in nature by these countries (Kneebone, 2009).

Another ethical issue is that many refugees and immigrant come to other countries by boats which is dangerous and may cost their lives. Refugees want to escape their land o many grounds such as the freedom to practice their religion or the denial of basic rights. Due to this many of them come packed on the European, Australian or American shores in order to seek asylum. However many of them loose their lives in the process or denied entry on illegal grounds. According to UNHCR there were almost over one million Mediterranean Sea arrivals between January 2015 and March 2016 which included people from Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi nationals as mentioned in the World Economic Forum by Barysch (2016). These dangerous journeys pose another ethical issue which the host countries have to face since it has the humanitarian dilemma of accepting them into their lands or not

Another ethical issue is the lack of documentation that immigration and refugees pose when they migrate to other countries. Due to this they are exploited and in many instances they have to work for cheaper wages which is unofficially handed to them instead of the minimum wage rate. They are also denied things like bank accounts or any sort of official document since they cannot prove their entry into the country. These people are often deprived of their civil rights which includes their protection and at the same time they are paid less than the citizens and often have to work as labourers in a condition which is not safer for them and they are unhealthy. In the United States, they have increased the security on the border control due to which there are a number of undocumented immigrants crossing in especially from Mexico and work in extremely dangerous and remote areas where basic human needs such as drinking water also do not exist (Lippert & Pyykkönen, 2012).

This ethical issue pose a major problem for refugees and immigration which are trying to be curbed by the various government and central organizations like United Nations.

Important for business and identify relevant threats and opportunities to economic viability

Though the refugees have been welcomed in areas like Germany who has been accommodating when it comes to immigrant the business too gets affected. From a business perspective, immigrants and refugees fill up the labour requirements of a country which helps in the solving the problem of hiring labour. For example it is said that the Canadian government admits almost 300,000 new immigrants in one year. This contribute to their business requirement and helps in the development of the country (Mulvey, 2010

However immigrants and refugee pose a number of threats to the economic viability. One such threat that they eat into the job opportunities for the local citizens and creates a strain on the local economy, the rate of unemployment becomes high due to which many countries have reduced the movement of migrants into their countries. Also another threat is the wage rate compensation that citizens are allowed. Since immigrants are available to work at a lesser wage rate, there are times when it affects the economy since companies prefer illegal immigrants who work in some cases for almost half the minimum wage rate thus creating the unemployment problem for the local citizens (Schmidt & Bhabha, 2008).

Also the social and economic cost to accommodate refugees increases and puts pressure on the economic situation of the host countries which poses a threat to the economic stability of these countries (Bradimore & Bauder, 2011).

However the refugee and the immigration situations should not be completely seen as a threat instead offers opportunities which can be tapped into and work for the betterment of the economy. If they are integrated in the local labour markets and the local communities in a seamless manner it can provide a number of opportunities.

Data indicates that the European Union consists of an ageing population and by 2030 the countries will have less than 16 million people of working age which will affect the social and the economic welfare of the countries. Through immigration and refugees and by assisted help from the countries, these people can contribute to the economy (Dwyer, 2010).

Also if more number of migrants find a job and the government assist them, they could start paying taxes and help in the social security contribution of the country. Also if these refugees and the immigrant see an opportunity to sustain them in the future, they will work harder to integrate those sleeves and contribute to the economy which will realign the burdens to the government from these refugees to a contributing factor to the economy

Ethical and sustainable response to the problems inherent in this issue

Intruder to solve the mentioned ethical and sustainable problem, a number of responses are examined in this section

1. One of the responses done by the government can be the path of legitimate residence to the immigrants and refugees such that they find themselves enjoying rights at par with the residents and at the same time ensure that they are contributing to the economy by paying their taxes and other responsibilities of the citizen. They will also get access to the same health care services and education which will allow them to become more self-sustainable and will be able to reap the benefits of the economy that they are a part of (Tastsoglou, & Preston, 2012).
2. As individual or the citizens of the country, the people can be more emotional and helpful towards the refugees and the immigrants. The local citizen’s need to understand threat the refugees are not well versed with their customs and they probably have gone through a lot of hardships to reach the host country and hence be helpful towards them to understand the customs of the host country and help them to adjust to the various customs of the country. Also they can assist the refugee camps and ensure that they are treated in a human way and provide aid for its residents (Lippert & Pyykkönen, 2012).
3. With respect to the employment, the government can ensure that no person is working below the minimum wage rate by conducting regular assessments in areas where the immigration workers or refugees workers may be found working in g=higher numbers. Also by providing them with a social security number, these works can address their grievances to the government in case they are compelled to work in inhuman conditions or forced to perform tasks which can be injurious to their health (De Eyre, 2011).
4. The government can initially provide financial incentive which will allow them to adjust initially and access basic education and health care services. This will also compel them to start searching for a job since they will have to pay the government back for the various loans that they have taken. The provision on interest free loans to these people will help them to boost their initial hiccups to adjustment. also the provision of special housing communities before they are granted permanent visas or staying opportunities can help them maximize the opportunities and will allow the local citizens to see them as less of a threat (Millbank, 2009).

Conclusion

In conclusion it can be said that the refuge and the immigration issue is a much longer and a deeper issue that examined but one of the most apt ways to deal is with the combine’s effort from the government and the citizens of the host countries. By tackling the issues in informed manner and understanding the needs of these people, the world can address the solution in a combined manner. Also the solution is to make the refugees and the immigrants self-sustainable instead of treating them like an outside which will not only benefit the countries in an economic manner but also address the social difference that the local citizens and the refugees encounter.