An Exercise in Brainstorming
January 2021
If you have never brainstormed, I recommend trying it out. The results can be quite revealing and provocative. For those who have not gone through a brainstorming exercise, essentially one starts with a thought leading to more thought and so on. Write it all down and see where it has lead you. It may change how you think or what you think or what you do or what else you want to discover. The results can seem to be disjointed and are not always sound, but quite often they do reveal.
Today I started with an article in The Star about companies purchasing from unethical production sources. The following (with minor editing) is where the brainstorming took me.
The desire for gain and outsourcing of unethical production is destructive to economy and society where fair wages for fair work should be practiced.
High levels of employment in a society should lead to a healthy economy and society as more people will have more disposable income to purchase home produced product.
Production of product in home society/nation leads to product being available for sale at home and abroad.
Minimize outsourcing especially from sources with unethical practices including any home based unethical companies.
Difficult for consumers to determine where products come from and so sellers should be obliged to identify product sources and the ethical practices at those sources. Choice in this regard is important.
To build a resilient economy, one that can withstand global disruption and supply shortages, emphasis on home based production is required. That does not mean never any outsourced purchases, but maintaining a balance is important. When and where essential production items can only be found from a global source, then efforts and arrangements to secure supplies must be a priority. (This year of 2020 a significant failure to secure supplies showed up with our requirements for personal protective equipment.)
What we expect from others so we should expect and demand from ourselves when it comes to fair wages for fair work.
Our economy should dampen down excessive profits, wages and dividends to shareholders when the real shareholders involves those participating in a healthy economy.
In our Canadian economy raw materials should be converted into finished products here in a sustainable and fair system that is acutely environmentally aware.
We should not be supporting political regimes that work to undermine our economy, our political system and the social stability so important to a thriving society and economy. Unethical practices in other nations and indeed at home jeopardizes our efforts to achieve a well balanced and fair society when we depend upon them.
The desire to achieve gain as the top priority is destructive.
With more home based production there is more opportunity and control in achieving sustainable and ethical providing there is due diligence in monitoring.
We should be practicing sustainable energy production without environmental destruction.
What’s his name is gone but his destructive legacy will live on for a while, but not forever because there is a better way. We just have to get there.
Those outsourcing cheap and unethically produced products from the global market place are trying to maximize profit and wealth first with less concern about the affect of their practices on the society in which they operate and sell.
Competition in the market place is fierce for producers and consumers. Gain remains at the core of our decision-making.
It is frustrating to understand on the one hand we can produce most goods and services while also recognizing there may be conditions preventing a lower cost production in line with other producers. (Wages and regulations are significant factors.) So forced labour and low or no wages represent the bottom of unethical practices.
Imbalance in our economy and society has been revealed for all to see in 2020 with the importance of front-line work in the effort to prevent covid-19 spread and in the provision of essential goods and services to our society. A significant adjustment is required to reflect that reality.
Gross over-payment for work done is unacceptable. Some wages and contractual conditions of employment are so high they become meaningless to many, but they also send a strong message that those involved do not care about others.
As a society we should strive to achieve free education and health care along with an expectation/requirement for community service upon graduation and in lieu of health care costs.
All work can be mentally and physically hard, but is essential to the well-being of our economy and society generally. Outsourcing, low wages and poor working conditions are unacceptable if we hope to achieve a balanced and strong economy and society. Any job requires some degree of skill and stamina as we have learned with Covid-19 in health care, agriculture, industry, indeed in all sectors. For people to function well good housing is crucial.
My thoughts are not just about “buy Canadian” but also concern creating/supporting/encouraging dignity and respect. If we condone a practice of looking down upon and treating others as unworthy of being valued then their choices and opportunities will be limited and they will be manipulated. Interesting in 2020 we have learned low wage/respect front-line workers are essential for our health and welfare.
Instead of managers hiring production and service workers reverse the practice so the production and service workers hire the managers.
And so ends this brainstorming session with a parting thought that ethical thinking and behaviour based upon values, attitudes and beliefs that reinforce in society strong traits of respect and dignity should be our way forward.