Case Study: Nike, Inc. International Business and Trade Unit II (Prof. Sosland)Vera Tillmanns1. Business Ethics: Nike Inc. in Cooperation with Its Suppliers Many global companies like Nike, Inc. are seen as role models both in the marketplace and in society at large. That's why they are expected to act responsibly in their dealings with humanity and the natural world. Nike benefits from global sourcing opportunities, so areas such as manufacturing and logistics have been outsourced to partner companies in low-wage countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. As a result, the company is nowadays limited to its core competencies of design and marketing. Nowadays, Nike doesn't just sell products. They spend billions of dollars on advertising contracts with famous athletes like Tiger Woods to increase brand value by associating the lifestyle factor with their products. The company's image has been damaged several times by press releases and various NGOs that have long denounced the inhumane working conditions in the production plants of sporting goods manufacturers. This leads to the question of whether Nike should orient supplier regulations to the labor standards of their respective countries or those of the United States? The working conditions are so inhumane that Nike should at least try to adapt to US standards to improve the situation. The following analysis of an abstract of Nike's concept of responsibility, including SHAPE and its code of conduct, should provide insight into the difficulties of Sweatshops. 1.1 Nike's Responsibility Concept: Explanation and Critical Analysis As NGO pressure on the company has been continuously growing, Nike has developed a concept that promises to improve the monitoring of social and environmental standards for its contractors. According to Nike's principle “Nike was founded on a handshake”, the company wants to work together and bind its business partners to the concept of responsibility. Nike presents a symbiotic relationship between all parties based on the stated values ​​of “trust, teamwork, honesty and mutual respect”. SHAPE stands for Safety, Health, Attitude, People and Environment and is combined with the Code of Conduct. The Concept of Responsibility has been distributed to manufacturers since 1992. Nike introduced a new version of the Code of Conduct in 1997 which is oriented on the basis of human rights. According to Article 23, a person has the right to work, which will remunerate him in such an amount as to enable him to live humanely.