Ethics

One misleading advertisement recently was the following Verizon Media Ltd t/a Virgin Mobile advertisement: A four-page wraparound press ad, for a mobile phone contract provider, stated ” Exclusive to Virgin Media customers – SAFESATIONAL – With insurance included on all our sensational tariffs, your phones covered. So theres no need to worry … even if you leave it on the train”. Small print on the interior pages stated “… Terms and conditions apply, see virginmobile. co. uk/insurance for details”. (ASA 2013)
The terms and conditions applied to the insurance which would not cover if a consumer left the phone on the train intentionally. If the phone was left on the train by mistake, the phone would be covered.
This problem could have been solved with one word; accidently. If instead of ‘ So there’s no need to worry…even if you leave it on a train’, the sentence read ‘ So there’s no need to worry…even if you accidently leave it on a train’, the whole misunderstanding would have been avoided. While this incident was probably an oversight, one word can save litigation. Advertising should be straightforward, because consumers do not like to be tricked. It makes more business logic to keep the consumer’s trust. One word can keep this type of litigation out of the press. Then the consumer remembers the advertisement, not the litigation. Business brand and reputation should come first over misleading advertising. There is too much reputation to lose.
The Sun hacking incident is one situation that might be challenging. Rupert Murdoch set up a management and standards committee to investigate reporters at The Sun.
Murdoch questioned whether he had made the right decision to set up the management and standards committee at a private summit in London on Wednesday with many of the senior Sun editorial executives and journalists who have spent more than a year on bail in relation to allegations of payments to police and public officials for stories. (O’Carroll and Greenslade 2013)
It would be hard not to inform on myself and other colleagues if the allegations were true. My ethics of keeping a secret or protecting others would be compromised if under investigation by the police. The law would be more important than office ethics. Of course, my ethics would never allow for payments to police or public officials for stories, hacking into private emails, or other illegal activities. I would rather work for a more reputable business. Ethics should guide a person in their life work, not just in their personal life.
Bibliography
ASA. (2013). ASA Adjudication on Virgin Media Ltd. Accessed on 5 Mar. 2013 from
http://www. asa. org. uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/3/Virgin-Media-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_214004. aspx
O’Carroll, L. and R. Greenslade. (2013). Rupert Murdoch said to have voiced doubts about
corporate ‘ clean-up’ unit. The Guardian. Accessed 7 Mar. 2013 from
http://www. guardian. co. uk/media/2013/mar/07/rupert-murdoch-voiced-doubts-sun