4.12 4.13 ETHICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH: MINI-CASE STUDIES – courtesy of Mr. Hicks
PART 1: Read the 4 mini-cases below. For TWO of the following 4 cases,answer the following questionson a separate sheet of paper: 1. What are the relevant Facts? 2. What are the ethical Issues? 3. Offer your opinion on what actions should be taken (at least 2-3 paragraphs)
Case Study 1
Incredible Shrinking Potato Chip Package
Topic: Cost vs. price vs. value issues
Characters:
Julie, Brand Manager for potato chips at a regional salty snacks manufacturer
Dave, Marketing Director for the regional salty snacks manufacturer
Julie has been concerned about the profitability of the various items in her line of potato chips. According to
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Historical data in this industry revealed another possible competitive maneuver in the face of rising ingredient costs: hold the line on prices and package size while reducing the net weight of the package. Julie was concerned that this might be a deceptive practice. She recalled from a Consumer Behavior course she had taken in college a concept known as the “just noticeable difference.” This said that relatively small changes in a stimulus (such as a price hike or content shrinkage) go unnoticed by consumers. Julie felt intuitively that the price increase necessary to maintain margins would be noticed, given the price sensitivity of buyers for snack foods. However, the past industry data suggested that perhaps buyers might not notice the package size reduction needed to sustain profits, which in this case would be 1.1 ounces.
Julie asked her boss, Dave, the Marketing Director, about the advisability of reducing the net weight of the potato chips. Dave said that this was a practice known variously as “downsizing” and “package shorting.” It was a very common practice among packaged goods manufacturers. For instance, he said, candy bar manufacturers are subject to constantly fluctuating ingredient prices, and because there are expected (“fair” or “reference”) prices for candy bars, package sizes are frequently adjusted without informing consumers. Jim said that was a nonissue
In the excerpt “Why the Fries Taste So Good” by Eric Schlosser, Schlosser deeply examines the process of one individual farmer and his process, not to mention takes it as far as going to the International Fragrance and Flavor facilities to see what truly does make the fries taste so good. He does a good job of hitting each individual appeal as a writer in order for us as readers to accept the information he’s handing out. Even in Ian Brailsford’s review of Schlosser’s excerpt, he finds little if any opposition whatsoever. At one point he even says, “By focusing on Ray Kroc’s empire McDonald’s – America’s biggest employer and real estate owner – Schlosser is covering well-travelled academic terrain” (Brailsford 118.)
At the time Frito-lay was losing sales. They explained that they were unable to sell to the baby boomers, huge chunk of consumers. Risky knew that people’s taste buds changed as they aged, that explained why they were unable to sell to the baby boomers. They discovered that they enjoyed salty snacks. Riskey realized that they were eating more of what they ate at a younger age. His theory was that baby boomers would skip more meals, therefore; getting hungry through the day and causing them to eat more snacks. The company stopped creating more snacks and started to get consumers to buy more. As a way to make you buy more they developed a item known as vanishing caloric density, which tricks the mind into eating more without feeling
Smith’s Country Ham has been operating for 25 years in North Carolina in the wholesale food division, targeting restaurants and fast food chains. In order to increase turnover and therefore revenue, Smith’s decides to introduce a new product line: Smith’s Home Food. A product line containing 11 packages sold to households and including all kinds of foods: meat, vegetables, fruits etc. lasting for a period of 4 months. The prices of these packages range from $655 to $1532 ($1000 on average). These packages require a freezer and thus Smith provided the sale of freezers for customers that didn’t own any. Also, it is highly important to mention that Smith gave all its customers the
Using benchmarked data, Kudler Fine Foods can "reduce costs of ordering foods and minimize the amount of food to be stored, while also having a zero stock out policy [and develop] a supplier relations program " (Apollo Group 2, 2005) These initiatives will reduce Kudler Fine Foods ' internal costs which can be passed on to the consumers.
The purpose of our experiment was to the percent compositions of two different types of store bought sandwich cookies and a sandwich cookie recipe. We will do this by determining the masses of the crème parts, the masses of the cookie parts, and the masses of the whole sandwich cookies, and using each respectively to calculate percent compositions of all three types of sandwich cookie. We will then compare the percent composition of each cookie to the other cookies and to our hypothesized percent compositions to see how similarly the brands and recipe make their cookies and if our hypothesis was correct. Based on the percent compositions we calculate, we can discuss why manufacturers would make their cookies with those ratios of ingredients, taking into account the cost of each ingredient, which may cause manufacturers to put less of an expensive ingredient in the cookie and more amounts of cheaper ingredients.
stems from what I believe to be core-nursing characteristics. These aspects are derived from my
Mayo Clinic’s work is well known for many specialties, ranked in the top ten for most of them, the biggest thing that this not – for – profit organization is concerned with is, the care and satisfaction of the patients they serve. Patients from all fifty states travel to the Mayo facilities for treatment because they hold their employee and facility standards to high ethical and moral standards. The motto of the patient comes first plays a big part in way the Mayo facilities operates on a daily basis. As we take a look at some of the
The life of prisoners some may never know. There are those who care not to know what goes on behind that wired fence. We find that some people that are convicted of crimes that they did not commit. Some people would rather turn their heads to what actually happens in a prison institution, because they feel it is no concern of theirs. Innocent women and men face a disaster in life when they find their selves incarcerated in such facility as these. The treatment in prison facilities toward prisoners with health issues or those who develop health concerns that
3. Corrections: The third and final component of the criminal justice system is corrections. The role of this component is to uphold and administer sentences handed down by judges. The corrections system, which is tightly intertwined, is very important and quite large. The corrections component
The primary reason for the Borden Foods to divert itself from snacks is to emphasis its efforts and resources in the growth of their whole-wheat meal segments. Because of this valuation they had and a growth plan they had they decided to announce sale of Cracker Jack in 1997. The management team of Broaden also recognized that with the increase in competition they have not been able to successfully grow the sales figure in past five years. Also because the Cracker Jack brand has various packaging options and has been maintaining a huge product line of 32 Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs). However, currently Broaden production facility had only 32 percent of space allocated to Cracker Jack Products and has been operating at 32% of its
In the healthcare profession management and employees have developed policies and procedures to help the general staff understand their role and what they are able to do according to their job description. Each hospital develops their own policies and procedures according to their needs always staying within the law. These policies and procedures help to work through ethical problems or dilemmas that a healthcare professional encounter daily.
Various ethical dilemmas arise in healthcare, and each individual’s personal views affect their behavior and influence their decisions. Patients with difficult and uncooperative attitudes challenge the nurses ability to maintain appropriate care, however, it is necessary for nurses to maintain a professional and holistic patient/caregiver relationship. Assessment of the patient’s non-compliance may help the nurse understand the patient’s decisions. Most importantly, the nurse needs to maintain patience, understanding, and empathy towards their patients, in order to sustain holistic care. I have made it a point to self-examine myself as well, to maintain awareness of my own personal biases, values, desires and concerns which may influence my interactions with others. A big struggle for me is caring for patients who bring illness unto themselves, and then refuse the help we offer them. For example, those who misuse drugs and alcohol, or refuse to take medications that are crucial for the health. I have to remind myself with these patients, to witness their illness without judgment of blame. I have to remind myself to set aside all biases so that I am able to effectively care for the patient and their families. I remind myself to understand that they are suffering human beings, who need my help. While
From examining both ethical statutes, therapists can take it one step forward by taking ownership in violating the bond between therapist and client. Years of education, training and personal responsibility should prevent therapist from violating the bond between client and therapist. Clients entrust therapist with intimate details and instill trust in the therapist. This relationship can sometimes cross boundaries and cause the client to view the therapist in a different light. The same can be said of therapists who have gained the admiration and trust of their client. This places them at an unfair disadvantage and gives them the upper hand and a manipulative stance in entering any relationship outside of the proper scope of the therapist-client relationship.
a potato chip company introduces a line of its potato chips with a new type of seasoning.
Pricing strategies are important because maximizing profits is the goal but keeping the prices reasonable for consumers. Pricing strategy has been based on historical rates; the menu and pricing had been consistent for the past five years. This year, the student managers did an analysis of product pricing and local stores and opted to alter the pricing of select item which impacted returns. Pricing analysis determined customers still purchased comparable quantities of the same items. For example, one popular item Pirate Concession sells is a walking taco. This item is a combination of fritos, chili, cheese and sour cream. The price to prepare this item is $1.01 and was traditionally sold at $2.00 for a $0.90. Student managers chose to raise the price to $2.50 and sales of the item did not alter. Profit on this item increased an average of $32.00 per game. The markup percentage increased from 98% to 147%. Student managers wanted to increase prices on candy offerings. Traditionally, candy bars have been sold at $1.00 and are purchased from the supplier for $0.33, a 200% markup. The primary consumers for candy is a young customer, whom of which often obtains the dollar from their parent/ guardian. This year, the management team has decided to leave pricing consistent, even though the markup percentage could be