The Role of Marketing Theories in Preventing Ethical Issues
Reviewing and critically analyzing various articles related to business scandals and ethical issues helped me to align the marketing theories learned by me in the semester. Critical analysis of the business articles helped me to determine the aspects that need to be considered by the business organizations in preventing the emergence of ethical and other business issues. One of the key marketing theories being learned by me in the semester is relationship marketing. I have effectively applied this theory in my critical analysis of the articles. In the critical analysis of the ethical issues being faced by Richmond football club, I have used this theory in recommending steps to overcome the issues. Due to critically analyzing the articles with the help of the theories, I gain the understanding about various aspects and advantages of these theories and the factors need to be considered in implementing these theories. Implementation of the relationship marketing theory in the case study of Richmond football club helped me to gain the practical knowledge about this theory and how it can be beneficial for the organization.
Another example of theory being used by me in the critical analysis is the market segmentation theory. I have used this theory in evaluating the issue being faced by Meat and Livestock Australia due to their wrong portrayal of Hindu god. In this case also, I have learned the importance of effectively determining the target market requirement before catering to the target customers. Critical analysis of this article helped me to gain an understanding about the factors that should be considered by the business organizations in initiating the promotional activities to reach out to the target customers. Another case article being discussed by me is about the frequent technical snag being faced by Air Asia in the recent years. In this case, I have used the theory of marketing mix in recommending effective measures for the organization to overcome the discussed issues.
Though the theory of marketing mix is being learned by me in the semester but the practical implementation of this theory in this case helped me to determine the effectiveness of each of the elements of marketing mix (Huang and Sarigollu, 2014, pp. 113-112). Moreover, it also helped me in gaining an understanding about the various elements of the marketing mix and how each of these elements will help the organization in gaining competitive advantages in the market.
Insights Gained from Analyzing Case Studies
Critical analysis and initiating the strategic marketing plan for various businesses organizations helped to learn different marketing lessons for me and my team. One of the key marketing lessons being learned by me in creating the marketing plan is that, effective determination of the requirement of the customers is important for the business organizations to design their promotional activities. In the case of meat and livestock Australia, it is been seen that ineffective determination of the preference pattern of the target market reduced the effectiveness of their advertisements and attracted various issues (Font-i-Furnols and Guerrero, 2014, pp. 361-371). On the other hand, it is also learned by me that, brand image and brand goodwill is important for the business organizations in gaining competitive advantages in the market. In the case of Uber, it is being seen that, negative impact on their brand image had adversely affected their potentiality in the target market.
In our team all the members were from diversified cultural backgrounds. Thus, it helped us to gain various perspectives and approaches regarding an issue. We as a team always came up with different alternative approaches in creating the marketing plan for the organizations. Moreover, we being from the culturally different backgrounds seemed to know more about the other cultures, which helped us to enhance the coordination in the team (West 2012). On the other hand, some issues are being emerged in our teamwork. One of the key issues being identified is the lack of consensus among the team members. No one was ready to accept the opposite opinions in the team. Thus, in the future teamwork, I will ensure that a hierarchical structure should be initiated prior to the start of the teamwork. This will help to have one leader in the team and will help to build the consensus in the team. Due to having leader in the group, building of consensus will be easy as all the team members will be bound to go by the opinion of the leader (Fulmer 2012). Another factor that I will ensure in future team work is having members with similar attitude and approaches. This will help to have low percentage of difference in opinion in the group along with having low rate of conflict in the team. It will in turn help to enhance the productivity of the team.
A recent advertisement being released by Meat & Livestock Australia to promote their lamb products for the Australian market have stirred up controversy. This is due to the reason that, according to the theme of the advertisements.The idea or the conveyed message for the advertisement is positive and favorable for the target audience due to the reason that, the motive of the advertisement is to convey that people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds can meet up and share meal together. Thus, cultural diversity is being given the importance in the advertisements. However, due to ineffective portrayal of the advertisements along with not determining the beliefs and traditions of the target market, the objective of the advertisement got diluted and caused controversy. The controversy aroused due to the fact that in the advertisement, lord Ganesha have been shown having lamb lunch with other religious figures. However, according to the Hindu mythology, lord Ganesha is vegetarian. Due to the portrayal of the Hindu god having lamb, it hurt the Hindu community due to which, social backlash is being faced by the marketing organization (Browne 2017).
Effective Teamwork Strategies
Thus, the marketing issues being generated from this advertisement is the ineffective determination of the target market and ineffective communication (Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger 2013). This is due to the reason that the target audience of the advertisement is the culturally diversified population of Australia. However, prior to the commencement of the advertisements, the marketing organization should effectively determine the traditions and customs of the target market. Effective determination of the target market might help them in identifying the areas, which will hurt the communities (B&T 2017). However, they have not done that and thus, the key objective of the advertisement got diluted. On the other hand, due to ineffective communication practices of the marketer, the message being conveyed through the advertisement is not being well communicated. The advertisement should be well designed in order to enable the customer to gain the exact meaning. Due to poor deign and structure of the advertisement, the core message of the advertisement is not being communicated to the audience.
In the above discussed issue, the key stakeholders are the Meat & Livestock Australia, customers from the Hindu community, customer from other communities and government or other regulatory bodies. Customers form different communities including the Hindu community are the key stakeholders due to the reason they are the ones whose sentiment got hurt due to this advertisement. In addition, the marketing organization who has promoted the advertisement is also one of the key stakeholders. However, customers from other communities are also being included as stakeholders due to the reason that, in the article it is being stated that representatives from other communities also shared their displeasure over this advertisement (Chauhan, Haigh and Rita, 2012, pp. 361-371). Thus, the negativity being generated from the advertisement has adversely affected the customers from other communities. Moreover, government is also being included as stakeholder due to the reason that, they have the important role of regulating this type of advertisements, which can stir social issues. Other stakeholders include the farmers and supermarkets. This is due to the reason that, if the demand for the lamb meat gets reduced due to this issue, then the farmers will get affected along with the supermarkets. They will be able to sell less amount of lamb from their stores.
If the advertisement is already been shown, then the first step to be taken by me is to apologize to the involved parties in the public forum. This is due to the reason that, this case involves religious sentiments, which cannot be resolved with any marketing theory or concept. Thus, the first thing to do is to apologize to all the involved parties. This will reduce the implications of the advertisement among the customers. The next step should be the removal of the controversial advertisement from the television. These steps will ensure that the impact of the advertisement will not extend.
Advertising Controversy and Stakeholders
If I can go in time, then I will take the help of marketing models in implementing measures to overcome the issue. Market segmentation is one of the most effective marketing models that can be used in resolving the issue (Wedel and Kamakura 2012). Effective implementation of the market segmentation will help the organization in determining the taste and preference pattern of the target customers along with the areas, which need to be avoided in order to prevent any controversy. Thus, initiation of the market segmentation will help me in having the access to the customer information in the target market. Accordingly, the advertisements and promotional activities can be designed. It will help me to design the advertisement in such as way that, the target customers will have positive impression about the advertisement.
Uber is one of the most prominent and leading cab service aggregators in the world. They have emerged as one of the most favorable and best reviewed cab services in all the major cities around the world. However, in the recent years, there are various ethical and operational issues being emerged around them. One of the issues emerged is the ill treatment with their drivers and negligence in enhancing the customer safety (Butler and Topham 2017). These issues have already adversely affected the brand value of Uber. However, the issue emerged between Uber and the Transport authority of London in the recent time caused huge implications in their operation in London as well as in other cities around the world. The issue originated when transport department of London forfeited the renewal application of cab permit of Uber due to the reason of not being fit and proper to ply on the roads of London. According to the transport department of London, the key reasons for the forfeiture of their license is the lack of concentration on the customer safety, increase in criminal offences by their drivers and lack of effective evaluation systems to check the background of the drivers before their selection (Butler and Topham 2017). Moreover, the application being used by Uber may also be encrypted, which will be difficult for the regulatory bodies to gain the access of the app for enforcement services. Thus, forfeiture of the permit license of Uber due to the reasons caused negative implication on the reputation of them along with huge loss in the business potential in London.
Uber is having more than 40000 drivers driving for them along with having more than 3.5 million users alone in London. Thus, forfeiture of the license of Uber will make them to lose a huge chunk of existing customers. Along with this issue, the global goodwill and reputation of Uber also affected (Esen, 2012 pp. 47-58). This decision by the transport department of London will also motivate regulatory bodies in other countries to review the permit of Uber. Thus, it will pose a huge threat for them in their future business potential. Moreover, in the contemporary business scenario, goodwill and reputation are having huge influence on the customer behavior. Thus, as stated in this article, according to Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, it is a concern for them to cater to their customers around the world with having negative organizational reputation.
In this case, several stakeholders are being associated due to the reason that, apart from the key stakeholders such as Uber and the transport department of London, there are various stakeholders such as the customers of Uber, drivers and some other regulatory bodies. Uber is the core stakeholder in this case due to the reason that they will be directly suffered due to the forfeiture of their license (Schrieberg 2017). On the other hand, transport department of London is another key stakeholder in this issue as they have issued the objection in permitting the license to Uber. Apart from them, existing customers of Uber in London are also an important stakeholder in this issue. This is due to the reason that, it is stated in the article that, customers of Uber have shared their dissatisfaction over this issue. According to them, Uber is one of the most reliable and comfortable mode of transportation for them and thus due to the absence of Uber in London, they will face the problem. Another stakeholder is the drivers for Uber. Due to the forfeiture of the license of Uber in London, the 4000 drivers earning their livelihood from Uber will lose their job (Sundarajan 2014). Thus, they will also be directly affected by this phenomenon.
According to me, if I can go back in time then, the key measure that I will involve in overcoming the issue is to sit and bargaining with the regulatory bodies. This is due to the reason that, in operating in a particular region, it is necessary for the business organizations to effectively adhere to the regulations and legislations. Thus, in case of the Uber also, there is no place to skip these regulations. According to me, it will be favorable for Uber if they discuss with the regulatory bodies about the core issues such as encrypted application and enhancing the customer safety. Uber should initiate some policies according to the criterions being given the regulatory authorities. These measures will help Uber to resolve the issues with the regulatory bodies.
On the other hand, if I could go back in time, the first thing should be done is to initiate relationship marketing. This is due to the reason that, the key requirement for Uber is to enhance the loyalty and level of satisfaction of their customers. Involvement of relationship marketing will help the organization in creating trust among the customers (Kollewe and Topham 2017). The key issue for Uber is the increase in the level of dissatisfaction of their customers due to ineffective service being provided by them and their drivers. Thus, I job will be to first regain the lost faith of the customers. In this case, relationship marketing will be beneficial. It will help them to engage the customers and effectively determining their requirements (Jahanshani et al. 2014). Accordingly, they can provide their service to the customers.
Any misinformation being shared by the employees or internal stakeholders in an organization intentionally or unintentionally will have negative impact on the organization. Richmond football club is one prominent and top performing football clubs in Australian Football League. They are most popularly known as tigers by their million of supporters. They have also won the premiership championship in 2017. Thus, Richmond club is having huge brand value with having good number of global brands as their sponsors (Kuikka and Laukkanen, 2012, pp. 529-537). However, a serious ethical issue is being emerged due to a vulgar photo being shared by one of the players of Richmond (NewsComAu 2017). A photo containing a nude woman wearing the premiership medal had gone viral in the social media. Another photo had also been leaked which shows a nude woman standing in back with the premiership medal.
These photos are being clicked and forwarded by one of the players of Richmond. However, due to this issue, the brand value of Richmond club got in to trouble with the questions regarding the respect and integrity of the women being possessed by the club are being raised. Though, the officials of the club assured that they will cooperate with police in probing the matter and they will make sure that the offender will get punished (NewsComAu 2017). However, their brand value got diluted and it will have negative impact on attracting new sponsors for the club. Moreover, due to the reason that, the brand value of the club got involved in the scandal, thus, the existing sponsors will also think about continuing their partnership with the club. This is due to the reason that sponsoring organizations will take the risk of diluting their own image and get involved in the scandal. Thus, the revenue of the club will get affected along with their number of followers.
In this case, the key stakeholders involved are the official of the Richmond club, footballers, the women in the photos and the enforcement department. The officials of the club are being considered as the stakeholders even though they are not involved directly in the case due to the reason that they are indirectly affected from this scandal. Due to the emergence of this issue, the brand value of the club got diluted and thus they being the face of the club got involved in the case. On the other hand, women in the photos are also being considered as the stakeholders due to the reason that, they have also been involved in the case and their photos are the key source of this scandal. Moreover, their personal life is also going to get affected due to this issue. In the article it is being stated that, the women in the photos have replied that they have given the consent of taking the pictures but they have not given the consent for sharing it. This scandal is also bothering them. In addition, enforcement and police department are also one of key stakeholders in this issue due to the reason that, they are probing the matter and will come to the conclusion about who are guilty and other aspects (Wwos.nine.com.au 2017). Thus, without the contribution of them, this issue cannot be solved.
Now being the photos is being made viral in the social media and other public forum, measures to avoid the issue will not be effective and beneficial. However, some steps need to be taken in order to avoid the publication of the scandal in more forums and probing the matter in an urgent basis. The first step need to be taken is to convey to the supporters of the club around the world that they are apologizing for the scandal by the senior management of the club. This is due to the reason that, according to me, supporters are the key elements for a sports club and thus it is important to apologize to them (Schwab and Rosier 2013). It should be well communicated to them that the club is probing the matter and will always stands by the gender equality. Moreover, the importance of respect and integrity of women in the club should be well communicated. Another important step to be taken is the speedy investigation of the matter and punishing the accused. This will convey the message to the world that, the club is not tolerating the disrespect towards the women. This will help in regaining the lost brand value of the club.
If the option is being given to get back in time, then the first thing that I will do is to initiate relationship marketing. Initiation of the relationship marketing will help the club to get more engage with the supporters. This will help them to understand the expectation of the supporters effectively and accordingly they can train their players about public etiquettes. I will also initiate an effective and clear policy of regulations regarding the public relation policy. Players and other club officials should be trained and communicated about do and do not’s of sharing anything in social media. This will help the players and officials in having the idea what to share in the social media and the consequences if being found guilty.
Air Asia is one of the leading low cost airliners in the world. They are also known for their effective and distinct customer service. However, in recent few months, they are going through rough patches due to the constant technical snag in their fleets. This is also reducing the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty for the organization (The Telegraph 2017). In the given article, a recent incident of Air Asia aircraft involving in mid air snag is being discussed. According to this article, an aircraft of Air Asia travelling from Perth to Bali dropped 20,000 ft just after flying for 25 minutes. This caused panic among the travelers in the aircraft and some are even involves health issues (Carmody 2017). However, the aircraft safely returned to Perth after developing the snag. Though, the incident is being effectively averted but it cause panic and negative impression among the potential customers regarding opting for Air Asia. Thus, the brand value of Air Asia got negatively affected (The Telegraph 2017).
In this case, the key stakeholders involved are the passengers in the particular aircraft, potential customers of Air Asia and the organization itself. The passengers in the particular aircraft are the core stakeholder due to the reason that they are the direct victim of the incident. On the other hand, the potential customers about to travel in Air Asia are also the stakeholders due to the fact that, they are also indirectly affected due to this incident. The buying behavior of them will get influenced (Schiffman et al, 2014, pp. 258-259). Another key stakeholder is the Air Asia. This is due to the reason that, recent issues are being emerged from them. Thus, they along with their officials such as their engineers have to find solution to these issues.
As the incidents discussed in the article already happened, thus it is beneficial for the organization to avoid the repetition of the incidents in future. Hence, according to me, the first step to be taken is to ground all the fleet and initiate rigorous checking process to identify any technical issues. This will help the organization to determine the issues, which is causing the technical snag. Effective identification of the issues will help to prevent it in future. Another measure to be taken is the involvement of strategy of brand alignment (Balmer, 2012, pp. 1064-1092). This strategy will help them to effectively align their brand in enhancing the value for the customers. In the case of Air Asia, their core activities are air transportation. Thus, they should effectively align their service with their core activities. The more effective will be their core activities, the will be the level of satisfaction of the customers.
In the case of going back in time, my first job will be to ensure the system or process of checking the aircraft before starting the journey. This system should be mandatory, which will help to identify any technical snag before flying. Another step to be taken by me is effective implementation of the marketing mix. This will enable the organization to have holistic approach in targeting their customers. As discussed in the article about the reduction in the brand value of Air Asia, it is important to implement the marketing mix.
Reference
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