Management Aspects of Addressing Modern Slavery Risk in Corporate Supply Chains

Abstract

Based on Simons (Levers of control: How managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business School Press Books, 1995) “Levers of control” framework for management control systems, the potential role of management in ending modern slavery is examined and an agenda for future research is developed. Some managers employ, supervise, and control people in conditions of harsh exploitation, such as forced labor, extreme forms of child labor, and bonded labor. Through violence or threats of violence, and unethical practices, vulnerable people are controlled and forced to undertake work that is illegal. These workers in modern slavery conditions are not free to leave. For this reason, little is known about individual victims and their plights. However, in some jurisdictions, top-down regulations have been introduced to try and reveal the extent of modern slavery in operations and supply chains and to encourage management strategies to mitigate the appalling conditions of its victims. Nevertheless, even in countries where modern slavery is illegal and legislation has been introduced, many managers sanction and oversee the practice, driven by market pressures. This chapter argues that management control systems hold the potential for a bottom-up approach to help end modern slavery in commercial operations and supply chains. Appropriate management control systems can be tempered towards concern for avoiding the severe exploitation of people working towards corporate goals. Show more