Unit 2 Assignment MBA 6301

Unit 2 Assignment MBA 6301

Name of the Writer

Name of the University

Unit 2 Assignment MBA 6301

Q1

The company in question here is British American Tobacco, which is one of the biggest cigarette companies not only in the United States of America but also in the world. At year-end 2018, it has recorded revenue of $29.78 billion. Under its banner, it has multiple tobacco products that it sells. These are categorized into combustible (Dunhill, Kent, Camel) and non-combustible tobacco products (vapor products, tobacco heating products, modern oral products, and traditional oral products). Other international brands under its banner include Viceroy, Peter Stuyvesant, Kool and many more (Overview of our portfolio, 2019). These products contain contaminants such as benzene, formaldehyde, and ammonia, which are very toxic to the human body. Furthermore, smoking cigarettes cause health issues involving lungs, liver, and kidneys. The ethical dilemma that arises here is that consumption of tobacco in any form or method is harmful to the public but even then companies such as these advertise these products to the public.

Q2

Due to the wide and brutal advertising methods employed by a corporation such as these many people forsake the harmful effects caused by smoking cigarettes. Our media has made smoking cigarettes so common and trendy, that people who do not even want to smoke take up the habit to get more acceptance among society. This has spread all over our society and according to some studies, college and school going students who indulge in smoking do not even fully comprehend what cigarette smoking does to a person's body. Moreover, they cannot also comprehend what risks are attached to such a product. The trendy perception of cigarette smoking is so entrenched into their minds that smokers in comparison to non-smokers to believe that it is still damaging to smoke cigarettes even on just the weekdays. They forget that light smoking has the same health risks if a person were to smoke cigarettes daily.

Q3

The company, British American Tobacco, is very well aware of the harm that is caused by inhaling the smoke created by burning tobacco. To minimize human loss and put more focus on social responsibility, business ethics, and integrity the company is working on selling and producing such products that can become an alternated to tobacco and nicotine. Furthermore, through innovation in their products, they are trying to minimize the burning of tobacco (Overview of our portfolio, 2019). With the changing times and increased awareness regarding public health, an opportunity has been created which this company is trying to use to its fullest. They are doing this by giving their customers products that have less risk attached to them. As they are a large multinational company, they are perfectly suited to achieve this ambition of theirs. They have named their process of attaining their ambition of tobacco reduced products to Transforming Tobacco. This will allow them to give their adult customers more choice with more innovation and much less expected risk.

Q4

There are several ways through which organizational leaders can instill a culture of ethics within the marketing department. This can firstly be done by focusing on which demographic is the target for this product. If the marketing is targeted at people at ages eighteen and above then that brings some ethics into how the product is to be marketed. Furthermore, by doing this they are removing any influence their ads can have on the younger generation and which could lead them to self-destructive habits. Furthermore, the leadership in the organization can instill in their marketing team not to make the product available anywhere near or even half a km near a school. This will enable to negate any negative influence on the underage kids. Moreover, the leadership can make it mandatory that pictorials that dictate warnings regarding smoking cigarettes need to be plastered on every box sold. Furthermore, images of what happens to the body after smoking for too long should also be placed on the boxes to deter anyone from smoking cigarettes.

References

Overview of our portfolio. (2019). Retrieved 3 August 2019, from https://www.bat.com/brands