Select a current news item pertaining to an ethical situation in the Middle East

Question

Select a current news item pertaining to an ethical situation in the Middle East that has arisen in a business or non-profit organization. Describe the situation and the organization. Ethics can be very ambiguous based on many variables. What are some of these variables that your analysis was based upon? Explain how you would have handled the situation if you were the leader of the organization. Suggest ways that leadership could have prevented this situation from happening.

Embed course material concepts, principles and theories (require supporting citations) along with at least one scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article.

It is an APA style and the work should be refrenced .

Explanation / Answer

The news item is about the unethical practices followed by advertising agencies in the Middle East. The situation is about the misleading claims in the advertisement, privacy violations, unhealthy food advertisements targeting children with free toys and copyright infringements. The company in the news is McDonald's and the advertisement agency concerned with the unethical advertisements is Leo Burnett. Minette Drumwright and Sara kamal conducted a research on the ethical infringements in advertising messages among the various advertising agencies in the Middle East.
The main factors or variables considered for ethical infractions include
1) No compliance with norms and laws regulating advertising messages
2) Youth bulge with more focus of advertisements towards a younger generation
3) High illiteracy rates
4) Lack of advertising norms and practices
5) No enforcement of advertising norms
6) Lack of consumer knowledge about advertising practices
The issue is about the misleading advertisement targeting the children to taste unhealthy fast food according to the Middle East media. The main reasons that led to the ethical infractions in the advertisements include the frequent turnover of employees in the advertisement agencies, expatriate workers with no cultural knowledge about Middle East, demand of the parent companies to the advertisement agencies, short-term profit motive, prohibition of ethical code by advertising agencies to please their clients, citing creative reasons to override ethics, senior advertising personnel serve as poor role models for junior advertising personnel. The Arab Spring in the Middle East has increased the expectations of the customer. A change in social life is evident with modifications to the rigid ethical practices of the Middle East giving rise to a new breed of advertising workers.
Leadership could have prevented this situation from happening by placing importance on the Middle East culture. A leader must have a clear knowledge about the host nation culture and design products or menu catering to the cultural traditions and preferences of the local consumer to be successful in the local market. Hence an initial knowledge about the Middle East culture could have avoided this situation altogether. If I were the leader in this situation, I would consult the local advertising trade associations about the issue. I would promise them to include their ethical code in the future advertisements. I would initiate proactive steps to change the advertisement immediately to have a positive impact on the children and consumers. I understand that the social changes in the Middle East are likely to bring more ethical standards and ethical principles in advertisements. I would direct my advertising agency to follow a strict ethical code of conduct in the future advertisements that no such ethical infringements occur.

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