The ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies Essay

The ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies - Essay Example The researcher states that companies that are operative all over the world have to follow certain ethical standards in order to protect their consumers from any health related negative consequences. There are certain codes of ethics that the business companies should accept and implement in their working setups. It is really essential for all the organizations whether they are working globally or nationally. By following ethical and moral concerns, the companies can benefit not only the consumers, but in the long run, themselves by making strong relationships with the consumers. Philip Morris, Reynolds and Liggett, the three renowned tobacco companies are accused of deceiving the public with incorrect information about their products. U.S Department of Justice held responsible the three companies of forming Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC), which ensured that smoking is not injurious to health, which is wrong. The Tobacco companies denied addictive capacity of nicotine and cigarette being the cause of lung cancer. The companies are also accused of targeting children as users of their products. According to the charge, the companies were ethically responsible for testing their products and providing the tested information to their consumers. Tobacco being enough risky and dangerous should be fully informed to the consumers. In place of informing the current and potential consumers, the companies concealed the harmful effects of their products, which were addictive, risky and eventually killing. Last, but not the least, the companies’ targeting of children as potential consumers of tobacco products cannot be approved as negligible issue. Objectives of the Assignment To evaluate the ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies. To apply various ethical theories to evaluate organizations’ duties to consumers. To implement the ethical theories on the case of Tobacco companies. Critical Discussion of Organization’s Duties to Consumers Theories on Duties to Consumers Social Contract Theory Study of the cited theory indicates it as a classical example, which addresses the individual’s ethical and political responsibilities, which is implied or comes out through an agreement with the other individual of the society. It can be in the form of laws, written and unwritten agreement, social norms and customs of the society (Binmore 1998, p. 57). However, the essential moral duty of a company is to own its customers and to provide its products that live up with the dreams of customers’ expectations so that they may enter into agreement with them for a multiple choice. It may be expressed or implied that a seller should identify the quality of its products to its purchasers (Binmore 1998, p. 57). It is the moral duty of a seller when he enters into contract with any customer, he should disclose what he or she intends to buy and what the terms of sales are (Lessnoff 1990, p. 79). The seller is duty bound to intimate the customer of any characteristic of the product (good or bad), which could be instrumental in deciding about the product’s precise value. He should also inform the customer about ingredients, operational cost, its rating besides other applicable standards. Nonetheless, misrepresentation about the product may cause confusion for the customer in selecting the right product as per his needs (Lessnoff 1990, p. 79). Due Care Theory The Due Care theory is in favour of manufacturer’