Essay Sample on Lululemon: The Breach of Integrity, Privacy & Discrimination

Introduction

Among the ethical issues that Lululemon has caused as per the case study are integrity, disrespect for privacy, and discrimination. As a multinational organization that is well-versed with principles of business, it would be expected that the organization avoids all avenues that would make it not to be open and treat everyone with integrity. Abuse of integrity can be identified when the organization conducted a misleading advertisement that its VitaSea line of products was infused with seaweed and that they had medicinal benefits to the users. Upon testing, it was realized that the products did not have such benefits, and the information was misleading. Ethically, the organization was wrong for having abused integrity and misleading its customers.

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Another ethical issue that arises from the case of Lululemon is discrimination. When Wilson was chairman, the organization showcased such huge disrespect for women and for children from developing countries. When asked about why the organization had made pants that did not meet the expectations of the market, Wilson argues that women wanted materials that were lesser than their sizes. He had also opined that children in developing countries should be allowed to engage in child labor. An outright ethical issue of discrimination can, therefore, be denoted from the case.

Lastly, abuse of privacy, especially in the context of customers, is very apparent in the case study. The culture of the organization seems to encourage all means that would lead the organization to greatness even when it means infringing on the privacy of the customers. Christine Day, a previous CEO, was well-known for walking into stores and closely monitoring the customers and even listening to their private chats as a means to gain information on how to make better brands. In all consideration, it was a wrong approach that risked the privacy of customers, therefore a significant ethical issue to observe.

Dealing with Ethical Issues that the Authors Fail to Comprehend

The case study, in a significant way, observes the activities of Lululemon under the management of Wilson in a great way, thereby making all his sentiments look as if they were the real sentiments of the organization. In many cases, when Wilson spoke, he was neither the chair of the board neither was he the CEO. The authors of the case study, however, record as if the organization should have been responsible for the sentiments of a person who was just affiliated to it. For instance, when the organization recalled the faulty pants and witnessed a loss of $2 billion, the authors do not concentrate on the same, which would have presented the effectiveness of the organization in clearing discrimination and providing quality products to all their users.

Also, the authors represent Lululemon as having had a very established relationship with its employees, which is not a real expression of how the organization dealt with their customers. Lululemon has previously recorded an instance where an employee had killed her colleague to appease the management. However, the authors overlook such a significant issue that insinuates employer-inspired violence and show how the company culture allows for the right person to fit in the right job instead. The authors also do not evaluate how appraisals are done in the organization, primarily because the organization conducts internal hiring of top-level management. With the principle of greatness that the organization pursues as per its corporate culture, there is a high probability that the organization encounters many hitches with their employees. Therefore, the authors of the case study fail to report it probably because they had exposed many other ethical issues facing the company.

Lululemon Perception by Various Stake Holders

Different stakeholders perceive Lululemon differently, as seen in the case study. The organization has three main stakeholders. Among them are suppliers, their customers, and the community. As for the suppliers, Lululemon does not seem to have a close relationship with them. One of the reasons that the corporation does not seem to have a smooth relationship with its supplier is because of the VitaSea products that they purportedly infused seaweed. If they had a close relationship with their suppliers, they would have confirmed with them about the medicinal benefits of seaweed, and they would not have ended in shame. Nonetheless, the organization has a stable relationship with its supplies as they have not once been acknowledged having gone low on supplies; hence it would be said that suppliers view the organization as a dependable partner.

In consideration of customers, Lululemon is perceived differently. Its products are highly revered by many of its customers. Some even go to the extent of buying their second-hand materials on sites such as eBay at a cost that is even higher than the price of a new and original product. However, there have also been complaints about the organization, especially in instances where their apparel did not serve the intention for which it was promised. All these notwithstanding, the organization still maintains a dependable customer base. A large number of their customers believe in their brand and still buy from them, which showcases that customers have trust in the quality of Lululemon's apparel.

The community also has such high regard for Lululemon as an exceptional organization. Many of them have benefitted from yoga classes offered by the organization for free, as well as donations and charities. The organization takes communities where it is based on seriousness and has built a secure connection with them. The community, therefore, perceives the company as one that has an effect on corporate social responsibility.

Ethical Viewpoint of Employees on Lululemon

Employees of Lululemon have varying perceptions about the ethical side of the organization. While some believe that the organization operates within an ethical context, some opine that most of the operations and practices are unethical. One of the practices that must be bothering some of the employees is the 'fund a goal' technique, which is used to offer incentives to best-performing employees. The organization does not have a well-established process of acknowledging the best-performing employees. Therefore, there would be a probability that the best employees are not chosen based on merit. Moreover, the self-improvement packages offered at the organization were forced by Wilson and did not have the input of the employees. Based on these precepts, some of the employees of the organization may believe that the organization is not ethical in treating them.

However, a great share of the employees could be satisfied with the ethical way the company operates. One of the instrumental activities that Lululemon engages in is building skills and capacity in their workers such that they become educators to their customers. The company also has a culture that offers its employees time to develop their personal goals. Seemingly, the Lululemon believes in helping their employees achieve a work-life balance. Many employees believe that an organization that offers such critical benefits provides them with a healthy lifestyle. Indeed, there are not many organizations across the world that believe in helping their employees manage a balance between work and their personal lives as much as Lululemon has. Therefore, regardless of every other principle, most of the employees believe that Lululemon and its management are ethical.

Steps that Lululemon should take to Improve its Image

Customers

There is a need for Lululemon to ensure that it corrects the ethical challenges that it has been witnessing that have been having such a negative impact on the organization. One of the aspects that it needs to improve is with its customers. The organization needs to adopt a change in perspective on the way that it treats employees. But the most successful way of improving customer relations would only be by ensuring a better customer relations department. Looking at the way the organization operates, its customer relations seem not to be upfront. Therefore, the organization needs to invest in a more developed and effective way of relating to them. A strong customer relations department would ensure that customers are allowed to voice their ideas even before a product is released. Subsequently, the organization would have lesser hitches when dealing with them. One of the challenges that the organization has witnessed is when customers were not allowed to communicate how they felt about the products. The new department would, however, seal all the loopholes in customer relations and ensure they are treated more ethically.

Employees

As for employees, the organization is not doing very badly. They have ensured some considerable positive treatment of their employees observed from different views, such as through competitive salaries and offering them work-life balance. However, some views about an unethical treatment of employees can be noted from the many activities that the organization makes without involving them. As a means to ensure that in the future employees are treated ethically, the organization will have to invest in a vibrant employee-management mechanism. Such a move will ensure that the employees are treated ethically as they will have a way to voice out their concerns, and they will be addressed before they develop into major organizational problems.

Issues Raised in this Case and Christian Worldview

The identified issues in the case study can be observed in two main ways. One of the ways to look at the issues is that most show a kind of disregard for others. The Christian worldview of ethics initiates that everyone should treat others as they should want to be treated. Even at work, employers should treat their employees in the same manner that they would want to be treated if they were the employees. In many cases, some of the actions by the leaders of the organization and the organization at a large showcase a great disregard for children, women and other groups. Four basic principles of this worldview have been essentially abused. Among them are honesty, integrity, lack of hypocrisy, and trustworthiness.

The organization lacks honesty because of the way they initiate their sales. Simply because they want to revamp their sales, they make the buyers believe that stocks are about to end. The organization also lacks integrity because they have once said that they lied that their product had medical benefits, which was not the case. In many cases, the organization is hypocritical, especially when dealing with their employees and lacks a transparent manner to indicate how they appraise and treat them. From the Christian worldview, the issues raised in the case study are essential ethical questions. They affect the way that the employees, customers, and members of the community feel fulfilled by the services offered by the organization. It is, therefore, necessary for the organization to consider that it has been operating in an overly non-ethical model of operations and improve for it more aligned with the principles of ethics as per the Christian worldview.

Reference

Case 12. Lululemon: Turning Lemons into Lemonades.