Communication Strategy Memo - Case Study Example

The constitutional rights of numerous of their customers were dishonored methodically. The criminal accusations along with the ethical fall were expected to result in a heavy loss of about 500 million Dollars for the company. The illegal and unethical practices started getting noticed when an appeal was made by an immobilized security guard to the Bankruptcy Court of Boston requesting the revival of his case. It needs to be mentioned in this regard that the Judge of the court Carol Kenner had previously released the security guard named Francis Latanowich from his debts. However, after a passage of a certain period, the person was again asked to pay back the outstanding debt. This incident made Francis Latanowich request for reviewing his case again (Eugene D. Fanning Center For Business Communication, 2010).

The accusations brought against the company were considered to be quite grave and fatal owing to their impact on the reputation and business of the company. The request for reviving the case of Francis Latanowich prompted a review of the case by Judge Carol Kenner which revealed a few facts that proved to act against the actions of the company. It was found from further evaluation that the company mailed the security guard an offer according to which a payment of $28 each month made by the individual would prevent the company from reclaiming the goods that were purchased by Francis Latanowich before turning bankrupt. The act of influencing the debtors to enter into such agreements was known as reaffirmations and is considered to be lawful. Such kinds of agreements are considered to be quite common in the business of retail credit, however, it is perceived to be unethical behavior by numerous judges. In addition to this, it was made mandatory for credit companies to file those reaffirmations with their respective courts for the reason of evaluating the potency of the debtor by the judge about the fresh payment. The affirmation of Francis Latanowich was not found to be filed by the court and an explanation for such conduct was demanded from the company by Judge Kenner. This proved to be the other breach that was made by the company. The company was also found to pay no heed to the law in quite a few similar cases that were considered to be illegal. Such grave accusations against the company and the violations of law made by the company called for huge losses as well as an adverse reputation for it which would hamper its business operations in the future. The company was already stated to be suffering from huge losses owing to the increasing cases of personal bankruptcies that occurred from 1994 to 1998. In the accumulation of the already existing losses, the fresh losses or charges incurred by the company due to violations and unethical practices would prove devastating for the survival of the company (Eugene D. Fanning Center For Business Communication, 2010).

The company should send out a letter of apology to its existing customers through electronic mail as well as through print media entailing newspapers. The company should also make an apology to the public and accept its responsibility regarding the unfortunate event through a press conference. It is suggested for the company to actively involve the various forms of media for the reason of communicating with its customers and the people. The company should also declare certain compensation or should waive the debts of the customers who were victims of their unethical acts. The company should serve a legal letter of the prosecution to the employees along with the legal representatives who were involved in the incident and a thorough investigation needs to be conducted by the company regarding the matter. A strict letter of warning needs to be issued to the entire workforce regarding the consequences of such further illegal behaviors. The company also needs to restructure its policies as well as specifications regarding the grant of credit. It needs to make the policies more strict and stern so that only eligible and sound individuals are permitted credit. This would also prevent the company from suffering losses owing to the declaration of bankruptcy by the customers. The fresh policies and specifications should be intimated to the existing customers of the company. The company should also appoint eligible and competent lawyers for the reason of handling the prosecutions made against it by the United States Department of Justice and save the company from heavy charges to a certain extent (Eugene D. Fanning Center For Business Communication, 2010).