Environmental Influences Essay

A global plastic manufacturer, Riordan Manufacturing is on top among others in the field of plastic injection molding, with annual projected earnings of $46 millions. As an industry leader, Riordan have a labor force of 550 employees and have state-of-the art design capabilities that create innovative plastic designs which won an international acclaim. With its present capabilities, Riordan remains a strong and vibrant company in the industry. Riordan’s plan to open up new business in other country is not new as Riordan manufacturing has one in China. India is another country that has a strong potential for business to thrive. However, the company needs to consider pertinent ethics issues that are highly valued in that country. Of Course, India is a country with very sensitive culture especially in matter of religion. Which you identify the three most pertinent ethics issues faced by Riordan Manufacturing in conducting business in your selected country The most pertinent ethics issues Riordan manufacturing must take into considerations in putting up business in India should be the following; discrimination, sensitivity to local customs and tradition, and sensitivity to the economic condition of the society. While Riordan’s primary interest is to gain profits, they certainly need a strong workforce to facilitate its operation. However, Riordan manufacturing must address the ethics issues of discrimination confronting the employee-employer relationship in relation to employment. The ethics issues involve in hiring employees lies on how the management treats their employees, which according to Crane and Matten (2007) can serve as a moral hazard to employees. The situation of the Indian economy is potential breeding ground for discrimination as the government allows the hiring of employees on contractual basis. Davenport, Crotty, and Torres cited that Indian Law â€Å"starts from the common law premise that an employer has a right to terminate the services of an employee without giving a reason. Riordan Manufacturing can easily fall into temptation to exploit this law to serve its own interest at the expense of the contractual employees. Although it might be allowed by law, terminating employees merely on the ground of fixed contact terms allows the company to select the kind of employees they desired. This is discrimination because in effect, they are ejecting employees they do not like in favor of others whom they desired. Crane and Matten stated that discrimination in essence â€Å"is a violation of Rawl’s Theory of Justice, that social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are attached to the offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity† (p. 273). The next ethics issues faced by Riordan Manufacturing in conducting business in India are the sensitivity to local customs and tradition. India is known for its religious culture of regarding life as sacred whether human or animal life. Indeed, for Hindus, cows are sacred. Failure to respect local customs and tradition proved to be disastrous. This is clearly seen in the case of Disneyland in Paris whose initial failure was blamed for Disney’s lack of sufficient awareness of the local cultures. Riordan Manufacturing therefore must be aware of India’s local customs and traditions in order not to repeat the same mistake that caused Disney Company hundreds of millions of dollars in losses during the initial years of Disneyland in Paris. Since the company’s products are plastic beverage containers, it assumes no direct connection to what the Hindus regarded as sacred, however, Riordan manufacturing must be able to draw a clear concept reflecting the company’s fair dealing and high regard for ethical issues. Finally, Riordan Manufacturing must be able to demonstrate sensitivity to economic condition of the community. The company must contribute to the local government’s effort of community development by first of all providing employment opportunities to local residents, paying required taxes and other required fees to the local government, and avoid any express transactions via under the table arrangements. Riordan Marketing should also able to recognize its role not only as profit oriented company, but also a business organization responsible to both its shareholders stakeholders. That is, the company must care for the environmental and cultural impact of its business operation. How do these ethics issues impact Riordan Manufacturing’s marketing efforts Negatively, the lesson that was learned by Disney Company during the initial years of its operation in Paris is the answer how these ethics issues can impact Riordan manufacturing’s marketing efforts. Failure to consider these ethics issues will certainly lead to serious losses as it will affect the domestic market’s behavior in view of indifferent patronage of Riordan’s product. As Chryssides and Kaler (1993) pointed out, Riordan Marketing must recognize that business â€Å"is not just a matter of economic exchange of money, commodities, and profits; it involves human interactions, is basic to human society, and is intertwined with the political, social, legal, and cultural life of society (p. 37). Riordan Marketing’s failure to settle the ethics issues as cited above could seriously damage the marketing of the product and might even come to worse if a campaign to boycott the product will be spearheaded by any radical organization. India, being second most populous nation on earth and is a fast industrializing economy can be a huge market for Riordan Marketing promising a potential profits for the company. Positively however, the ethics issues discussed above can provide Riordan a positive image and insure domestic patronage if those ethics issues are observed by the company. The ethics issues properly addressed can reduce the negative impact of marketing, and it will also enhance the consumer well-being. Vilcox and Mohan (2007) aptly stated that ethics issues can â€Å"increase its positive impact by providing consumers with goods and services that can enhance their overall quality of life† (p. 50). The impact therefore of those ethics issues can be achieved by the company through creating a positive company image based on cultural awareness, respect and incorporating the customs and tradition to the company’s business strategy. If Riordan Manufacturing also wanted to consider marketing to a broader region that included your selected country (e. g. , Europe, Asia), what impact would this have on their marketing strategy? The impact Riordan Manufacturing’s marketing to a broader region is dependent of the company’s overall image. Based on the company’s history and current business performances, Riordan Manufacturing enjoys a very highly organized and well secure business transaction. They have no bad previous records in terms of their internal operation. The company’s human resource has an excellent policy with regard to employee-employer relationships and in terms of benefits the company provides its employees. The company’s ethical reputation of the company will certainly have good impact on their regional marketing strategy. Indeed, Riordan Manufacturing’s marketing strategy is ethical marketing. In a paper entitled â€Å"PR Campaign: Final Paper† of the University of Phoenix Public Relation dated 2007, the paper stated that Riordan Manufacturing is focused on creating an organization that recognize the individual employee’s importance to the company. According to the paper, the Riordan Manufacturing is bent on creating a socially responsible company to the community which is the stakeholder in this case. Furthermore, the company is doing its best to inform the public that although their products may not always be environmentally friendly, they are completely conscious of the public concerns (PR Campaign). Thus, even if Riordan Marketing will consider marketing to a broader region that includes India, it will not have negative impact on their marketing strategy especially in India because they have not violated any cultural issues or the local customs and tradition of the host country. Rather, addressing ethics issues such as those discussed above will always yield potential gains for the company. Considering that Riordan Manufacturing’s marketing strategy is it self ethical marketing, it means they are on the right track as ethics deals with what is good for the majority. The impact of these ethics issues is that it will enhance the company’s public relations that will surely have an immense impact on Riordan Manufacturing’s marketing strategy. The point therefore is clear, Riordan Manufacturing’s success in creating a company that is highly anchored on ethical principles and values will help them determine its course of success both in the broader region and in a particular country like India. In the meantime, Riordan Manufacturing is on its way of transforming itself towards a company that cares on every spheres of their operation ethically. They are a company that acknowledges responsibility on all their stakeholders beginning from their own employees, the organization, the community, and the country where it operates. Reference List Crane, A. & Matten, D. (2007) Business Ethics USA: University Press Chryssides, G. D. & Kaler, J. H. (1993) An Introduction to Business Ethics UK: Cengage Learning EMEA Davenport, G. , Crotty, M. , Torres, P. (2000) Termination of Employment Digest Switzerland: I LO Pr Campaign: Final Paper January 29, 2007 http://www. oppapers. com/essays/Pr-Campaign-Final-Paper/119681 Vilcox, M. W. & Mohan, T. (2007) Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.