Question

1. Purpose

   The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to identify emerging ethical issues in business, interpret the multitude of perspectives inherent in your case study, and model appropriate behaviour by recommending specific solutions.

   
   

   How to Proceed

   1. Select a case. It can be one of the textbook cases that we have not discussed during the course. It can also come from the outside world, perhaps a case you have been following in the HR business world. Do an extensive web search to ensure your summary includes the most up-to-date information available.

   2. Write a 450-word (+/- 10%) analysis. Your analysis should include:

      • a summary of the case and the conflicts; and
      • your strategy for resolving the conflicts.
   3. 
      
   Note: the case must be related to ethical issues in a company

Answer 1

This is an issue concerning specified ingredients in a food product i.e. infant food.

The ethical issue here is that the company must adhere to the declared quantity and specification of ingredients that are used to produce the product. Deviations in the declared label claim is considered dishonesty or unethical action by the company concerned. However, in some cases, the company is forced to deviate from the label claim due to several reasons. This is a debatable issue from ethical point of view.

The company uses Full Cream Milk Powder as an essential ingredient in production of infant food product as addition of this ensures Fat content label claim on the product. Fat content is an important declaration as it gives necessary added nutrition to the infant. Dilution of this negates the very purpose of infant food consumpution by babies.

A few months back the company faced shortage of Full Cream Milk Powder in the market and was being faced with shut down. This would have result in severe losses, loss of market share and reputation. The company though had a choice of using Skimmed Milk Powder or Dairy Whitener in lieu of Full Cream Milk Powder. This option though had a catch that Fat content output in the final product would have been significantly less than from Full Cream Milk Powder. Hence, the declared label claim on the product would not have matched.

The issue thus was ethical. If the company does not deliver on its label claim it would have been dishonesty to the consumers. On the other hand, company had no choice but to continue its production line to safeguard its interests.

The company therefore took action in the right direction by placing import orders at nearly double the price of Full Cream Milk Powder to ensure there is no break in its production and supplies to the market. In the interim period, it doubled the adding percentage of Skimmed Milk Powder and Dairy Whitener to ensure the Fat content of the final product remained as declared. This again was at a significant cost to the company.

The company though remained committed to its label claim and did not fall to the temptation of using an inferior variant of milk powder for its business concerns. The company acted ethically and was not swayed by profit motive only. This shows the company took right action when faced with an ethical dilemma.