The Ethical dilemma is defined as the moral dilemma in which there is a choice between the two options, in which both the situations does not resolve the situation in an ethical manner. The business person faces the ethical situation, most of the times. They have to resolve the situation in choosing the choice from either of the options. The organization that is facing an ethical dilemma is McDonalds. Ethical dilemmas faced by McDonalds are discussed in this report and how the company is choosing the options is discussed.
McDonalds is a chain of fast food restaurants in the world. It has many restaurants around the world which serves fast food like hamburgers, french fries, rolls etc. It is one of the largest chains of food restaurants in the world. It has around 36000 restaurants worldwide and are in more that 110 countries. McDonald was founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald in United States on May 1940. They started with the business of barbecue and then got the idea to start restaurants of hamburger with the help of production line principle (Fredrick, Monck, & Wert , 2013). After that in 1955, Ray Kroc took the rights from the McDonald’s brothers. McDonald’s makes burgers, sandwiches, fries, chicken burgers soft drinks etc.
The dilemmas faced by the company were about misleading the children by their advertisements and encourage the youngsters regarding choosing their food which causes health problems in children and youngsters. Secondly, the company has misguided the children regarding the toys they served with their meals by which children gets attracted towards the food they served. The company also dealt with the dilemma of animal abuses where they kept the animals or chicken in small cages and used the local beef for their product which was harmful for the health (Skinner, 2014).
McDonald is a famous restaurant chain which serves food that is loved by many families. It serves fast food in the restaurants that include hamburgers, soft drinks, etc. Therefore, it is a moral duty of the company to follow ethical standards in terms of healthy food. The company is facing the ethical dilemmas in some aspects as the quality of the food is questioned. The company is serving unhealthy food that is increasing the risk of being obese, heart attacks, high blood sugar levels and high blood pressures in the youngsters. The company is serving the food that is not rich in nutrient value and is advertised in the way that all the youngsters as well as children gets attracted towards the food. Therefore, it is suggested to the company to reduce the advertisement that is being done by the company to attract the children and youngsters. Also, due to less nutrients in the food the company is suffering from various negative impacts of media, which results in the negative publicity of the company (Kroc, 2016). Due to the use of unhealthy raw materials during the making of the product, allegations were made on the company. The company denied the allegations. The ethical dilemmas faced by the company are the use of advertisements that misguided the children and the youngsters to get attracted towards the unhealthy food products. The second dilemma faced by the company was the use of unhealthy raw material that is locally made such as chicken and beef. Also, the animal abuse as they keep the animals in the small cages.
These are the dilemmas faced by the company. The company should follow the ethical standards so as to maintain its reputation in the market. It is the responsibility of the company to provide its customers with the healthy food that does not risks their life. As the children and the youngsters get attracted towards the unhealthy food, the chances for being obese is maximized. In the reports it is said that the 38 % of the children in Australia are obese due to the bas food habits. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the company to regain the trust of the customers and provide healthy food to the customers.
The unethical advertisements that advertise regarding the toys given with the meals and the is misguiding the youngsters regarding the food habits they are adopting. The chicken used by the company is unhealthy as it is bought from the local shops reported by many news agencies. Also, the food or the menu served by the company includes the food items that create the problem of obesity in youngsters. The marketing through the unethical means that is providing toys to the children lead to the case filing towards the company. The children are continuously asking for the meals even if the parents are saying no the kids. Therefore, complaints are made regarding the company that due to the toys the children are attracted towards the unhealthy eating habits only to claim the toy. Therefore, various countries tried to sue the company but is still practiced in the same way. The law is also made in some countries that unhealthy food cannot serve a toy to the children. Therefore, the company faced the ethical issue which the company is told to discard the advertisements regarding the toys (Thompson, 1993).
The animals were kept in small cages which were used for providing the chicken and meat. The abuse of animals was there which was reported by the news agencies. Also, according to the reports the company was buying the raw materials from the local markets which was not healthy to eat. The company did not maintain the food standards which resulted in the unethical behavior of the company.
McDonalds is trying to improve its image and trying to maintain the same profits, but due to some shortcomings the company is not able to regain the reputation. The issue is related to the misguiding advertisements and inappropriate raw materials. The company should ensure the parents regarding the healthy food items provided by them and should also include healthy food stuff in their menu so as to regain its reputation. It is the company’s responsibility to provide healthy food items so that trust factor can be improved. The company agreed to include the healthier food stuff in their menu and also agreed to buy the raw materials from a standardized shop (New, 2015).
For decision making McDonalds use the use the system of democratic style in which the opinion of each employee matters while taking a decision. Each employee opinion is taken and a decision is made in the company, according to the combining of the opinions. Therefore, a combine decision is made and no individual can be blamed in this scenario of decision making. The problem is analyzed during the decision making and then the options are suggested. The managers or the leaders help in defining the problem to the members and then the solutions are discussed according to the problems. For example, in the case of ethical issue faced by the company the problem of the raw materials and the advertisement is discussed and the solution to the problem is then discussed among the employees. Feedback is taken and then the decision is made accordingly (Reese, 2010).
Secondly the decision making criteria are identified and a decision is made according to the factors that are responsible for the solution of the problem. The factors in the solution are time and money. The time taken to make a new advertisement and the time taken to deal with the raw materials (Gregory, 2017).
The new advertisements should be made that highlights the positive aspects of the company and new raw materials should be tested as the solution to the ethical problems. The decision should be made so that the reputation of the company should be retained. Also, the alternative solution should be thought as the second plan for the advertising as well as for the raw materials as no one in the company is sure of the working of the first plan. The decision making involves the risk involvement and the selection of the final decision. After the decision is made the evaluation of the plan is done. Evaluation helps in getting the real outcome of the solution.
The plan involves making of the new advertisement and thinking about the points that should be highlighted in the advertisement. Like earlier the advertisement should not be made so that it faces the ethical issue in the company. Also, the raw material testing should be done before it is laid in the market.
The manager practices are critically influenced by the ethical dilemma. The behavior of a manager in an ethical way is a critical issue. The dilemmas occurred in the company was in very large scale. The dilemmas were related to health of the children and the animal abuse laws. It has the negative impact on the company as well as negative actions performed by the surroundings. The personal moral should be maintained in case of dealing with such a sensitive issue. The leader should take some actions in order to improve the conditions of the company. The leader should be morally correct while he is dealing with the issues. The leader should be ready to make a change in the company and should behave in parallel with the ethical conduct. The principles should be followed in order to make any decision regarding the problem and also during the solution to the problem. The acceptance of the issue that is ethical dilemma should be made and problem of the solution should be searched to avoid the public boycott. The manager should act ethically and should behave in a manner which is morally correct.
Identifying an ethical issue in the company the alternative for dealing the dilemma should be identified and evaluation of the alternatives should be done using the ethical reasoning. The company’s policy should be revised and manager should be ready in case of any drastic change in the company. From an ethical perspective certain guidelines apply such as don’t violate anyone’s rights; be fair-minded in deciding how best to resolve the dilemma; and follow basic virtues in deciding what to do including honesty, integrity, reliability, and being responsible and accountable for one’s actions. It needs courage to carry out an ethical decision. Sometimes the decision creates the pressure and can make losses in the business, but it will benefit the company in long terms. The manager should make the decision accordingly for the long term gains (Gibison, 2008).
The practice of managers got affected by the ethical dilemma. It is the responsibility of the managers to make the smooth working of the company. Therefore, due to these ethical dilemmas sometimes the company has to face the public boycotts. In order to avoid these, manager should evaluate the problem and then find the solution to the problems. Also, manager should think of the alternatives if the solution fails in case of the first choice. If the manager face the problem, firstly the acceptance should be made for example as by the reports the McDonalds has faced the problem of misguided advertisements. Therefore, the manager should ensure regarding the stopping of the same and providing with the healthy food for the children. Secondly the problem of raw material the company policy should be revised in this case and should be ensured to the public that raw materials should be bought from standard shops.
The company should make an apology publicly for the misguided advertisements. It should also make the promise of not marketing its product with false advertisements that will misguide the children. New menu should be introduced in the McDonalds so that healthier food should be served to the children, which will not harm the health of the children. The salads and the healthier chicken and meat should be included in the menu that will be rich in nutrients (Jones, 2005). The company should make an ethical policy so that there should not be an ethical dilemma further. Also, serving the healthy and nutrient rich food can help the company to gain the competitive advantage over the competitors. Nowadays, each person is well aware about the health. Therefore, it can raise the profits of the company as well.
In order to make a positive publicity of the company the manager should make decisions in order to uplift the image of the company. The manager should make the changes and give instructions to follow the ethical procedures in the company. The decision should be made properly by the managers to deal with the ethical problem. Strategies should be made and followed to uplift the image of McDonalds. The manager should make a decision after consulting to the members so that opinion of each person could be taken to reach to any decision (Mayhew, 2017).
Ethical practice includes the honest advertisement of the product. The managers should make a policy with the help of senior executives regarding the advertising policy. The ethical dilemma of misguiding should be overcome and the honest way of advertising should be done. There should be no message in the advertisements that will misguide the youngsters as well as the children. A real product should be advertised according to their nutrient value. The new menu should be advertised which has healthier food items and rich nutrient value (Moore & Clayton, 2011).
The company should follow the nutrient rich food service which is healthy for youngsters and kids. The people nowadays are becoming health conscious and therefore, the company should include a healthier menu options in order to meet the growth and profitability in long terms. The internet helps the customers to get awareness regarding each food they are having. They also aware the people regarding the disadvantages of fast food. Therefore, good menu should be included in the McDonald so that people can eat healthier and nutrients rich food items. The manager should ensure that the restaurant is serving the rich diet with the help of regular survey and inspection of the food time to time. The manager plays an important part in building the trust of the customers. Therefore, healthy food service and proper inspection of the food will result in the rebuilding of the trust factor and will help in attracting the customers towards the McDonalds (Pierson, Forcht, & Bauman, 2011).
The dilemma was created over the serving of local meats in the restaurants. The company should ensure the customers regarding the raw materials. The raw material like chicken, beef and meat should be purchased from a standard shop that will ensure the safety and hygiene of the raw materials. A check on the suppliers should also be made from time to time to ensure the good quality of the material. It is a duty of manager to examine the vegetables,chicken, meat and beef.
A check policy should be implemented by the managers to make regular checks on the raw materials.
The product sale is dropped due to the ethical issues faced by the company. Therefore,for increasing the sales of the company the promotion through the sale can be made. By the introduction of the offers like off during the lunch time that is 2p.m to 3p.m can be implemented. Also, coupons should be given to the regular customers (Mintz & Sage, 2011). Also, the coupons which will give the discount should be available on the websites and the newspaper for the promotion of the company. The promotion plans should be prepared according to the customers. The plans must ensure that the customers get attracted towards the company. This will help in again making the image of the company.
Conclusion
Business ethics should be followed by every company. Ethical dilemmas results in spoiling of the reputation of the business. It leads to the decrease in the growth and profitability of the company. Nowadays, each person is aware of the healthy food. Therefore, in order to gain competitive advantage over the others the McDonalds should provide a healthy menu to its customers. Customers trust can be retained by the practiced discussed above. The responsibility of the managers is increased in this case. The manager will play an important role in practicing of ethical business. The ethical practice can help in gaining the customer confidence in the company. It will also help in honest business practice. Therefore, McDonalds must ensure its customers follow ethical practices. No exaggerated advertisements will be shown to attract the customers and also food value should be maintained. These practices will help in developing the corporate image of the company and will help in gaining the competitive advantage.
References
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Gibison, A. (2008). McDonald’s: A Good Image with Bad Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.neumann.edu/about/publications/NeumannBusinessReview/journal/review_08/Gibison.pdf
Gregory, L. (2017, February 05). McDonald’s Operations Management, 10 Decisions, Productivity. Retrieved from https://panmore.com/mcdonalds-operations-management-10-decisions-areas-productivity
Jones, S. (2005). Australian industry responses to current ethical dilemmas – fast cars and fast food. University of Wollongong. Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1135&context=hbspapers
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Moore, T., & Clayton, R. (2011). Ethical Dilemmas in Take-down Research. Harvard University. Retrieved from https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rnc1/ntdethics.pdf
New, S. (2015, February 04). McDonald’s and the Challenges of a Modern Supply Chain. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/02/mcdonalds-and-the-challenges-of-a-modern-supply-chain
Pierson, J., Forcht, K., & Bauman, B. (2011). Whistleblowing: an ethical dilemma. James Madison University, Information and Decision Sciences Department. Retrieved from https://rp-www.cs.usyd.edu.au/~info5990/Supplements/Week11_RSI/Supp11-5WhistleBlowing.pdf
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Skinner, J. (2014). Standards of Business Conduct: The Promise of the Golden Arches. Retrieved from https://www.mcdonalds.com/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/9497_SBC_McD_US_interactive_final_112408.pdf
Thompson, P. (1993, February). Ethical Issues Facing the Food Industry. Journal of Food Distribution Research, 12-23. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a6f3/869c1850438a894a670e1085b60e368a7afa.pdf
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