for Daisy Arabella

Contradiction of Values?

The efforts of Joe Whinney to stop the unionizing of his employees does in fact contradicts the values he laid out in creating Theo Chocolate. As mentioned in the case, Theo Chocolate was built on the principle of fair wages for labor, otherwise known as fair trade. IMO Fair for Life requires that fair trade companies allow their domestic workers to unionize and since Theo Chocolate was a fair-trade company, they were required to do just that. Although the company followed fair trade rules and regulations in other aspects, doing so does not make them immune from other mistakes that they make. With a growing market and competitors who had similar values, Theo Chocolate really needed to stay true to their values to remain a competitor in their market. The fact that Whinney prevented his employees from unionizing when he ran a company that was founded on the principles of fair trade that prevent him from doing just that. To stay true to the company’s values, they need to follow all the necessary guidelines that accompany their beliefs, not just some. Once Theo Chocolate decided that they can pick and choose which policies they want to abide by, they contradicted their values.

· Providing farmers a substantial source of income

· The use of fallow or degraded soil for the hazelnuts

· Giving the hazelnut trees to Bhutanese farmers for free

· Planting of trees in fallow reducing erosion

· Planting of trees in fallow reduces river siltation

· Alleviating poverty in area with income produced of harvesting hazelnuts

· Hazelnut trees generating steady income for years, as opposed to crops varying by season

The biggest long-term competency Mountain Hazelnuts has in Bhutan are the trees themselves. Hazelnuts can be consistently harvested from healthy trees for many years. Providing seedlings to Bhutanese farmers to grow these trees gives them a steady cash income when paired with the ability to sell back their nuts to the company at a guaranteed minimum price. This can give farmers the ability to provide for their families with more security than normal seasonal crops. Another sustainable gain from Mountain Hazelnuts strategy would be the environmental benefits from the trees. These trees are typically planted on fallow soil, which would help with preventing erosion of soil and pollution of the river.