Discussion Response – False Advertising

Discussion Response – False Advertising

Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post. Indeed, the consumer is the ultimate payer in the supply chain, and the money that they pay for a service or a good directly contributes to the activities of the organization that produces that product. My understanding of how we can prepare against the onslaught of false advertising by unscrupulous businesses that are out to make a kill is by being on the look-out for suspicious claims made by the product. Even though the consumer has little power to discern the truth behind the claims made by the producer about a product, customers’ reviews, as well as regulators’ advice on products, can equip us with the necessary information to cushion us from falling into the hands of the deceitful producers (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2016).

On withholding some information by the supervisor, I believe that it all depends on the intentions of holding such information. If one chooses not to disclose information that is helpful to the consumer in making a determination on whether to purchase a product or not, then such a supervisor is engaging in an unethical practice. However, some information may constitute an organization’s trade secrets that give that product a competitive edge in the market. Such information need not be known to the public and consumers, and thus, no ethical or legal concerns can be made such a withholding.

Lastly, as a believer, I hold it true that we are led by the spirit of God in making pivotal decisions in our lives. However, we are also given free will to choose between what we deem as right and wrong (Genesis 2:16-17). Further, we are also given the gift of wisdom to discern the right decisions that we make (1 Corinthians 12:8). With these in mind; I can rightfully declare that discernment is a product of being led by the spirit of God in all that we do.

References

Stanwick, A. P., & Stanwick, D. S. (2016). Understanding business ethics (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing.

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Discussion Response – False Advertising

The reading assignment in Class:
Stanwick, P., & Stanwick, S. (2016). Understanding business ethics (3rd ed.).
Chapter 8: Ethics and the Environment
Chapter 9: Ethics and Information Technology
Chapter 10: Marketing and Advertising
Chapter 11: Ethical Issues in the Developing World

Sire, J. W. (2009). The universe next door: A basic worldview catalog (5th ed.).
Chapter 5: Zero Point
Chapter 6: Beyond Nihilism

Explanation of the Assignment

Discussion Assignment: False and Misleading Advertising
Locate an article that provides an example of an organization that crossed the line with misleading or false advertising (as discussed in Stanwick & Stanwick, 2016, pp. 205-206). Here is a good place to start:

Heilpern, W. (2016, March 31). 18 false advertising scandals that cost some brans millions. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2016-3 (Don’t use this as your article; use it to help you identify a company or scandal to research online.)
Include the following in your initial post (1-2 paragraphs):
A link to the article you selected.
A summary of the claim made by the organization.
An analysis of how consumers were misled by the claim, what integrity issues the case raises, and the resulting impact on the consumers and the organization.
In your response posts, provide an assessment of the competing values and duties encountered by the leadership in the cases presented. Then, a recommendation for how integrity could have been preserved in the cases was provided. Your recommendation should be supported by your ethical perspective, your worldview, and Scripture. You must respond to a minimum of two of the cases shared by your classmates.

False Advertising by Lisa

The Business Insider’s article 18 False Advertising Scandals that Cost Brands Millions lists organizations that misled consumers by making inaccurate claims about their products and goes into detail about what said claims were and how these claims affected the list of brands. Activia yogurt was one of the products on the list that falsely touted the “scientifically and clinically” proven nutritional benefits of the product; Dannon even sponsored their product using a famous spokesperson, Jamie Lee Curtis, for the supposed digestion-regulator.” Firstly, the Dannon Company produced and sold Activia brand yogurt and DanActive brand diary drink products. However, this yogurt company tried to tempt or lure its customers into paying more for its yogurt products, who claimed that their yogurt was “scientifically” and “clinically” proven to boost immune systems and control digestion. Also, the company hired an American actress named Jamie Lee Curtis as its new spokesperson after they organized and launched an attractive television advertisement campaign to falsely claim or promote a lie that Dannon’s Activia yogurt products help regulate your digestive system. In reality, there was and is not any clinical or scientific evidence (i.e., proof) that one serving of Activia yogurt daily will help with slow intestinal transit time and relieve or ease temporary irregularity in two weeks. As a result, in December 2010, the Federal Trade Commission settled a case with the Dannon company and was ordered by a judge to not only pay $45,000,000 in damages to its consumers under the terms of a class action settlement but also it had to change its health claims for DanActive and Activia (McMullen, 2015). I can’t entirely agree with the allegations that this company used to promote its television advertisements because of this false advertising scandal that this company had to face (Weinmann & Bhasin, 2011; Lordan, 2010).

.In the future, I can see consumers becoming more aware of the fact that companies lie to promote their products. Hopefully, companies will realize that the repercussions of lying to consumers or using other methods to encourage people to buy their product that is not entirely fair are greater than the benefits. I feel like these future expectations are optimistic, but if we continue to educate consumers to be careful and what to look out for, I believe that we can achieve these beliefs. New products are introduced to the market every day and with these new products come new methods of advertising. The future of consumer deception depends

World View and Biblical Perspective about Fales Promises

It happens when a person lures another to believe they are keeping a promise that they never had the intention of keeping or know they can not continue. When someone falsely misleads another person, it is deceitful. As mentioned in Genesis 29:18-25, Jacob was involved in many situations that involved deceit. He bargained with his uncle Laban to serve seven years for Rachel. Laban agreed, but at the wedding, he gave Jacob Leah instead. Jacob said Laban beguiled or deceived him. Another example of deceit is exemplified in Exodus 8:28-29 – Pharaoh misled Moses because he promised to him that when he removed the plagues, the people of Israel could be released from the bondage of slavery. Even though Moses removed the plaques, Pharaoh did not honor his promise.

I believe that as humans, there may be circumstances beyond someone’s control when they cannot hold a promise they intended to prevent. However, when they knowingly make a promise they never plan to continue, or when they could keep it, but they deliberately choose not to, that is deceit. How many of us are guilty? Ultimately, it is critical for a business leader to have good morals and values ethically. The future of consumer deception depends on whether or not they can bring how they can be misled to the spotlight.

Lisa

Sources

Heilpern, W. (2016, March 31). 18 false advertising scandals that cost some brands millions. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2016-3 .)

Bhasin, Karlee. “14 False Advertising Scandals That Cost Brands Millions.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 16 Sept. 2011. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.

McMullen, Troy. “Dannon to Pay $45M to Settle Yogurt Lawsuit.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 Feb. 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2015

Weinmann, K. & Bhasin, K. (2011, September 16). 14 False Advertising Scandals That Cost Brands Millions. Retrieved July 15, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2011-9?op=1

Lordan, B. (2010, December 10). Dannon Agrees to Drop Exaggerated Health Claims for Activia Yogurt and DanActive Dairy Drink. Retrieved July 15, 2015, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2010/12/dannon-agrees-drop-exaggerated-health-claims-activia-yogurt

The Holy Bible (ESV). (1985). Grand Rapids, MI: Zond
Fellow Student’s Response
Emerson Doughty
RE: False Advertising

Lisa,

Like many other consumers in the world, there are a great number of topics that I do not have any expertise, knowledge or understanding of. Many times, I believe that people find themselves relying heavily on marketing and advertisements to help them find what they are looking for. And yes, I agree that organizations can be enticed to embellish, omit and even flat-out lie about their products or services in order to gain patronage. However, as consumers, should we be held responsible as well? Stanwick and Stanwick (2016) write that “…if a consumer knowingly buys products from firms that outsource their product manufacturing to companies that use child labor, then the consumer is indirectly supporting this action by buying the company’s products” (p.196). How can we better prepare or equip ourselves to stand against the onslaught of advertisements and marketing ploys?

We deal with this same situation when superiors treat and handle information in the same manner of embellishment, omission and lying. Now as a supervisor, I do understand the fine line of over communication, or telling too much to individuals, when it is not needed. Do you believe there is a healthy benefit to some of these practices?

Christians look to the Lord for the wisdom and understanding to make a wise decision and action plan. Paul explains, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 2:14 (New International Version). Knowing that vocation and authority are both institutes designed by God, would it be safe to assume this same Spirit would also be able to prepare us for discernment in these situations?

Thank you for your thoughts on this topic!

In Christ,

Emerson

Reference:

Stanwick, P. A. & Stanwick, S.D. (2016). Understanding business ethics [3rd ed.]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing