Q.9) A reputed Indian beauty and personal care company developed a herbal skin cream for the international market, claiming anti-ageing and skin-repair properties based on traditional Ayurvedic formulations. After obtaining the necessary approvals and export certifications, the company began exporting the product. The product received valuable feedback for its quality and natural formulation, and soon became a huge hit in international markets. Riding on this success, the company then announced that the product would soon be made available to domestic consumers, with almost the same and health benefits. Subsequently, it secured approval from the domestic regulatory authority and launched the product in the Indian market. Over time, the brand gained a significant share of the domestic market and earned substantial revenues both nationally and internationally. However, during a random sample check, officials discovered that the cream sold in India differed from the version approved by the competent authority. The product failed to meet the claimed herbal purity standards. Further investigation revealed that the company had often been distributing batches that had failed export quality checks. The incident triggered widespread public criticism and regulatory scrutiny, leading to a sharp decline in the company's reputation and financial performance. a) Discuss the ethical issues involved in the case. b) What actions should the competent regulatory authority take against the personal care company for violating domestic quality standards and distributing rejected export batches in the Indian market? c) What course of action is available to the company to manage the crisis and restore public trust and brand credibility?
Main Body
This case represents guardian sin of 'consumer without conscience'
Ethical Issues in this case: (1) Violation of 'categorical imperative' by treating people as means to an end. (2) Violation of virtue ethics by sad using quality standards. (3) Racial differentiation between people due to 'prejudices'. (4) Self serving bias from selling export quality failed product. (5) Hedonism by firm by seeing its own benefit.
to check quality of all its product. (3) Paralyse the CEL of the firm. (7) Penalise the celebrity advertising for the firm. (0) Option available to company to regain public trust: (1) Change the top level executive like CEO, MD etc. (2) Completely cooperate with the regulatory body. (3) Issue a public apology for cheating people asking another chance. (4) Bring new term and condition with customer grievance redressal. (5) Becoming 100% transparency in storing the quality testing report. (6) Provide compensation to the people to who wrong product was sold With confirmation to distribution.
Conclusion
The case emphasizes the importance of transparent regulatory mechanisms and effective enforcement to protect consumers from corporate malpractices that compromise public health and safety.
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SAKSHEE MISHRA
Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
Ethical Violations in Personal Care Industry
Quality Standards, Consumer Protection, and Regulatory Compliance
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analytical
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