Introduction

Practical wisdom requires people to do what should be done even if it means bending the law. It is empathetic with people and their situations in its judgment of right and wrong. It is deeply rooted in the development of pure intentions and the desire to meet the needs of others. This paper is an analysis of Nike in light of its adoption or failure to adopt the principles of practical wisdom in its daily activities.

Discussion  

In many ways, handling clients requires wisdom and empathy. Most of the time, it needs that one ‘puts himself in the shoe of another.’ This is what Nike failed to do in its early years of glory. There were complains of inhumanly low wages, horrible working conditions and cases of child labor but the company failed to understand these situations and feel the pain of the factory workers because they were not wise custodians. In the wise custodian case, Luke had to go beyond his job descriptions and take care of the feelings of the patient’s father. He had the choice to decline to re-clean the room since he had done it anyway. Similarly, Nike had the choice to ignore the workers’ situation and the unabated public outcry since Nike did not own the manufacturing companies. Being a wise custodian demands that one delivers with excellence; going far beyond the call of duty in doing what they ought to do.

Much of the discussion of Aristotle focuses on his understanding of practical wisdom and how to perceive it and apply it in daily life activities. Practical wisdom demands that one develops the ability to recognize themselves by understanding the motives behind the behavior, what actions have been effective and the reasons behind this and finally admitting the failures that come as a result of bad decisions that were made. This is basically the ability to self-reflect. Self-reflection helps people and organizations make wiser decisions in the face of an ethical crisis. Hanna, the Vice President of Sustainable business and innovation at Nike,s held a discussion of her earlier days at Nike and she admitted that the company ‘did everything wrong and they simply did not accept it.’ Without self-reflection, people fail to take responsibility for their action and do not empathize with the people who suffer as a result of those actions. Nonetheless, as Hannah reveals, self-reflection set the company on the journey to gain it lost glory. The management immediately enacted new policies to manage the negative image surrounding the sweatshop saga.

Aristotle’s perception of wise people is that they have the ability to study social contexts and move beyond the ordinary (black and white). Making wise decisions sometimes mean bending the rules and seeing the grey in a situation. It can be understood that Nike had the right to ignore the labor crisis in its manufacturing companies since they were separately run. However, the context begged for a little ‘bending’ of this rule for the purpose of the workers’ welfare. Just as Judge Forer granted Michael just half his deserved sentence, Nike ought to have bent the rule earlier and meddle into an affair that was ‘not entirely their problem’ just to save the workers.

After addressing the issue of factory workers, Nike became more serious with Corporate Social Responsibility. This is what the company now calls Sustainable business and innovation. The decision to make this change was due to the new desire to do what was right- manufacture products while being sensitive to the harm caused to the environment. This skill is understood as ‘good deliberation’ in Practical Wisdom. It refers to the ability to understand what is appropriate in whichever situation or circumstance. Due to increased concern on environmental harm caused by manufacturing activities, Nike decided to use factory wastes to make products like Air Jordan instead of disposing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, practical wisdom helps people not only to minimize bad but focus on doing good. Nike started off in a glorious manner and became a brand that everyone wanted to associate with. Stories of inhuman working conditions ruined the company’s reputation, but the management employed practical wisdom in overcoming these challenges. Currently, sustainability efforts have reassured the public that Nike means good for consumers and the environment.