Primark faces inquiry over use of illegal labour 'Research proposal' - Essay Example

This increased awareness of the consumer in terms of ethics and its impact on buyer behaviour is a relatively new phenomenon and is gaining momentum with each passing year. This research proposal discusses the impact of ethical conduct by a business on its consumer’s buying behaviour and if there is any impact on the brand acceptance of a product caused by negative publicity related to ethics. Primark has been chosen as the organization for which this research will be conducted. This organization is perfect for this research as there have been controversial issues related to their business practices in the past.

The literature review provides a complete background of the issue, followed by the research design of the proposed research. Ethical and practical considerations are named after, followed by the timetable of activities and a brief of data collection instruments that will be used for this research. Literature Review: The organization chosen for this research proposal, owing to the recent controversy that they are in, is Primark. Primark is a 200 plus store clothing retailer working in the European region; this includes Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland (where it is branded by the name of Penneys).

There are mammoth stores present across Europe providing consumers with cheap clothing retail products. Their tag line “Look Good, Pay Less” is reflective of their strategy and their target market. They are segmented to target the young population passionate about looking their best, for the prices that they can afford. They are known to be selective in providing only the most popular sizes of their target market, buying and selling in bulk in order to save for themselves and for their consumers (Company Website, 2011).

Throughout the past decade, Primark has been the subject of intense investigative actions by freelancers as well as government authorities for their suppliers and if their products meet ethical standards set by the Ethical Trading Initiative. In fact, Primark joined the ETI after they had been calculated at 3.5 out of 20 in an ethical index by Ethical Consumer (Press Release, 2006). ETI is an initiative that works on labour rights issues in supply chain; members have to make sure that they only employ suppliers that follow the code of conduct based on International Labour Standards and ITE’s core conventions.

However, reports in 2008 and 2009 further exposed that their suppliers were not following the code of conduct and the company faced tremendous criticism from major stakeholders in their business environment. Empirical research has continuously shown that organizations that are ethical in their conduct and business processes are rated as favourites among the masses. The general population is highly appreciative of organizations that boast about their ethical standards and provide quality service to such an extent that they are willing to pay extra value for the product.

In today’s generation, working unethically can be disastrous for an organization. Still, organizations are involving themselves in cost cutting, low standard methods that make sure they are able to provide product at a lower price. Price still dominates as the primary factor for many people; for the same