Ethics in Business (Part 2)

We saw the unethical issues in the case like;

• There was the case of bribery to get stories
• There was the case of Phone Hacking
• There was privacy infringement by getting into people’s emails, voicemail etc..
• There was Impersonation
• Disrupting a murder case
• Paying public officials

These were unethical because;

• They caused direct harm to others for example; the case of the 13-year-old girl that died due to the phone hacking.
• They used the wrong means to achieve their targets for example; they wanted to remain in business and also have the largest market share so they bribed to get information
• They didn’t care about others especially those whose phones were hacked.

There were also people who suffered for the organisations wrong doing/ethics;

• The employees: suffered by losing their jobs and means of livelihood
• Their families also suffered due to the unfortunate meltdown of the company
• The company lost its market share
• Some employees were tried and even sent to jail.
• The business of 168 years had to shut down
• It gave rise to “operation Elveden” to look into allegations of inappropriate made to police between 2003 and 2007
•  Andy Coulson, the former editor of NOTW which was spokesman to the British Prime Minister had to resign
• Metropolitan Police Commissioner- Paul Stephenson had to resign
• Investors in the company as share price eroded

We then delved into Unethical Advertising, where we talked about the three types of unethical advertising to be;

Misleading Advertising: any information that is likely to cause the average consumer to act in a certain way that compromises their initial thought or not make the consumer make an informed decision is said to be a misleading, false or deceptive advertising.  Misleading advertising covers claims made directly to consumers by manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as in advertisements, catalogues, websites etc.

In other words, False/misleading advertising applies to any promotions or advertising that misrepresent the:

• Nature;
• Quality;
• Characteristics; and/or
• Origin of commercial activities, goods, and/or services.

A business who knowingly releases an ad that contains misleading, deceptive, and/or untrue statements in order to sell their product could be held liable for injuries resulting from false advertising.

Some examples of misleading/false advertising include;

• A false claim about the characteristics of the goods or service, e.g. – a product is a different colour, size or weight to what is advertised.
• The price or way the price is calculated is misrepresented, e.g. – products are advertised at sale prices, but turn out not to be.
• The way the goods or service are supplied is misrepresented, e.g. – free delivery is advertised, but the delivery actually involves some sort of fee or charge
• Any important information is hidden or left out.

Deceptive Advertising: Deceptive advertising is another name for false/misleading advertising, and it is any type of advertising that is false, misleading, or has the effect of deceiving consumers. Some examples of when an ad can be deceptive include:

• Price, quantity, and/or quality or standard of the item;
• Times, dates, and locations that the product is available;
• Information associated with warranties;
• False facts associated with deals or sales; and
• Confusion regarding interest rates or other factors.

Reference

Misleading advertising; https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/shopping/misleading-advertising/

What Is Deceptive Advertising? LegalMatch Law Library; https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/what-is-deceptive-advertising.html

Manipulative Advertising: 6 Dirty Tricks and Examples, Shortform Books; https://www.shortform.com/blog/manipulative-advertising/