The Moral and Ethical Dilemma Faced by the Model TX - Assignment Example

1) Discuss the moral and ethical dilemma faced by the company in the above scenario. Your discussion should include an analysis and evaluation of appropriate ethical theories to help resolve the dilemma. Ethics is the study of human conduct, with importance of right and wrong. In the case of marketers, ethics are rules that govern the conduct of members of organizations and the result of marketing decisions. The belief according to objectivism rightly states that there are certain moral standards that remain true whatever anyone thinks or desires. But the company, in order to promote their product to the fullest, ignored it and went ahead with their advertising campaign. The campaign is for the company’s latest family car, the model TX which is to come into full production by end of 2009. The company’s advertisement of the car has shown a huge truck riding over the roofs of various cars and the model TX is also among those lined up in its path. The truck which is called ‘Big Foot’ rides over all the cars, with its six-foot tyres and destroys them all except for the model TX. Even though the scene portrayed is full of destruction and devastation but the message to be conveyed is that of security, strength and safety. The production crew had to install steel in the roof and also sawed through the roof of the car to be advertised in order to bear the weight of Big Foot. Through this advertisement the company has involved itself into such moral and ethical dilemmas that it would be very tough to come out of them. Firstly, the company has shown ample violence in the advertisement which is against the ethics in the societies as it greatly effects the viewers, especially children. The message to be conveyed was safety and strength, not destruction. Furthermore, the true picture of the car has not been presented as fake material has been used in order to keep the car model TX from being destroyed as others. Also, no appropriate research and testing went into the development of the production of model TX to test its strength and safety. The company itself is aware that the car is not strong enough to hold so much weight and still they have gone ahead with the over-exaggeration in the advertisement which is incorrect both morally and ethically. Both the company’s managers and the marketing management have to keep in mind dealing fairly with the consumers. This means that they need to be honest and fair in their dealings with all consumers and the products they are advertising should be suitable for use and truly described. Furthermore, the features described in the advertisements should keep up with actual characteristics. The company acted upon the consequentialist approach in which the outcome of the action has to be examined. The company thought that if the action resulted in something ‘good’ then it is right. (2) Discuss the legal consequences for the company of pursuing their proposed advertising campaign in respect of the model TX. Your answer should include an analysis and evaluation of relevant criminal law principles and rules of self-regulation. (Do not discuss any potential civil liability the company may face.) The issue of ethics in business advertising is one of the most hotly debated phenomenon in today’s; world. It states that the unethical or manipulative advertising can force the vulnerable consumers into buying the projects they do not need or are unsuitable for them. Marketers should not be scared to market their products aggressively as long as they do not over-exaggerate it On the other hand; the companies need to weigh the likely social effects of a particular marketing campaign beforehand, as in the case of model TX. The company is involved in unfair advertising by misleading the consumers with respect to the model TX by means of advertising formulas, images and sound effects. The company is also making use of misleading advertising characteristics of the car as the product does not include the features that are mentioned in the advertisement campaign. The advertisement is unethical because it is violating the generally accepted norms of humanism and morality by making use of violent scenes that are not appropriate for the viewers. The advertising regulations and deceptive advertising are deeply inculcated in the marketing practices today. The intentional transmission of an untruthful view through the artistic use of words or actions that are truthful only in the most literal sense and contends that this is hardly less deceptive than lying outright to generate sales. Self-regulation is based on the philosophy of free will, autonomy, objectivity, openness and responsibility. The main characters of such forms are permanent by the individual composition of bodies of self-regulation and the process for their arrangement. A socio-governmental figure is either feature of a state which is looking for to keep the motion of mass medial passages under its diligent management or may be used at an untimely stage in the expansion of mass media self-regulation. (3) Assuming you have been asked to advise some of the victims injured in road traffic accidents involving the model TX, discuss the various civil law rights of action they may have against the company and/or any other organization. Ethics in advertising means to make certain that advertisers and customers exist together, that is, without being injured by the contents of advertisements. The ethical advertising offers as much truth to the consumers as possible without deflating the autonomy of consumers to think upon seriously their desires and interests. In contrast, unethical advertising deceives the consumers by hiding noteworthy facts about a product or service being advertised. The law makes sure advertisers do not mislead consumers by the transmission of deceptive messages. A certain amount of legal action against these unethical advertisements, are necessary. The consumer anticipates certain rights and then to have these rights protected both by the government and the advertisers. The message that is transmitted to the consumer has to be true, accurate and friendly to the user. The advertisement also portrays puffery as it is highly over-exaggerated and does not fulfill the requirements of the message it showed, that is, strength and safety. Due to the over-exaggeration in the advertisement of the model TX, the company attracted a number of customers for itself. The customers were highly impressed by the message about the strength and safety of the car which was did not justify the quality of the actual product. The destruction of the cars except for model TX by Big foot greatly excited the customers and they were deceived into buying something that did not actually did not full their requirements which had been portrayed in the ad campaign. After so much hype about the car the customers were forced into buying as their desires had been ignited. Once the cars came on the road, there were a number individuals involved road traffic accidents which further involved the model TX. Even though the company had claimed that the car can sustain any sort of damage it got into but it proved totally wrong with the increased number of victims in the road accident. The people should hire lawyers in order to sue the company for misguiding them and deceiving them into buying a product which did not fulfill the committed features. Kant’s theory of rights states that “consumer has a right to know what is being promoted. Influencing hidden psychological motivations is an intrusion into “respect for persons”.” While the Utilitarian states that whether an advertising strategy is ethically sound or not depends on results or outcomes of persuasion not on the methods used. Marketing practices area acceptable if “good” results, that is, if human happiness or satisfaction is increased. The above two theories clearly suggest that the consumer who is buying the product has the right to know what he or she is purchasing. Similarly, an advertising campaign is not damaging until the effects prove to be dangerous. (4) In the light of the conflict the Marketing Manager finds himself in, discuss any legal rights and remedies he may have to protect his position within the company. Marketers have a significant job in taking care of the consumer rights. Consumers put into effect their power by deciding what to buy but this decision cannot be made without any incentive. Marketers are individuals who are specialized interpreters and persuaders. If the marketer wants to guard their consumers’ rights then they have to listen they have the ability to understand what customers want. Law making is not the job of the marketing department. But it protects the consumer because of its expertise and experience of the consumer mind. Marketing offers products and services to the consumers that are right for them. It provides information that the consumer needs and respects. Even though the contemporary marketing idea stresses its task to gratify consumer needs and wants, in fact, in reality, it is often misjudged, resulting in effects that are not in the best interests of either the customers or society. As in the case of model TX, the Marketing Manager was aware of the problems that were a feature of the advertisement campaign. The Manager even made a request to the higher authorities in the company that whatever is taking place is not in the best interests of the consumers but the company still went ahead with the project. Targeting damaging products at susceptible consumers has received is both morally and ethically wrong. (5) Consider the role of pressure groups in protecting consumers’ interest against unethical marketing practices. Various pressure groups that can protect the consumers’ interests against unethical marketing include regulatory agencies which are organized by the government itself and other groups which are self-regulatory such as the Better Business Bureau have established formal methods to deal with ethical concerns related to marketing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) puts into effect laws for the protection of the consumer. In this organization, the Bureau of Consumer Protection exerts to defend consumers against unjust, misleading, or deceitful practices. In addition to the FTC, other government agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration attempt to help consumers to deal with deceiving, falsified, or harmful behavior. The American Marketing Association in 2004 accepted a new code of ethics known as the Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers. The AMA code provides values which are statements about suitable behavior, as well as norms that give recommended behaviors. The AMA identifies the multiplicity of marketing, and supports members to access codes of ethics that address specific functional areas such as marketing research, direct selling, direct marketing, and advertising. Environmental groups can also pressurize organizations to protect the consumers’ rights by stating that companies do not use products which can prove to be hazardous for both the consumer and the society. Furthermore, groups who work for the betterment of the society by working in the in the psychological sector can take steps to prevents advertisements which portray destruct or violence. Moreover, the labor unions that are also the consumers can also prevent the violation of the rights of the consumers by disagreeing to be a part of products which infringe the legal and ethical rights of the consumers. While satisfactory ethical behavior is resultant from the professional, cultural, industry, and organizational environments, individual behavior may be different founded on ethical decisions. Marketing is always under the strain from organizational efforts to institutionalize proper ethical and moral codes to satisfy consumer demands. Reference: Schlegelmilch. B. B. (1998). Marketing Ethics: An International Perspective. (5th Ed.). United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA Read More