Chat with AI
Business & Professional Ethics 7th Edition by Leonard Brooks,Paul Dunn
Edition 7ISBN: 978-1285182223Business & Professional Ethics 7th Edition by Leonard Brooks,Paul Dunn
Edition 7ISBN: 978-1285182223 Exercise 19
On October 1, 2012, IKEA apologized for removing women from the photographs in the IKEA catalogues that were shipped to Saudi Arabia. IKEA is a Swedish company that was founded in 1943. It is now the world's largest furniture retailer with stores in over 41 countries. IKEA has been in the forefront of environmental and social responsibility. It generously contributes to charitable organizations. It is a world leader on producing eco-friendly furniture. For three years in a row it was on the Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For, and has been named four times as one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mothers magazine.
Since 1951, IKEA has been publishing an annual catalogue. In 2012 it printed 212 million catalogues in 29 languages. The images in the catalogue were identical across the world, until recently. In the 2012 Saudi Arabia catalogue the images of all women were deleted. In one bathroom picture, a mother is with her son, and the father is with a younger boy. In the Saudi version there is no woman; she has been airbrushed out of the photograph. There is only the father and the two boys. In another photo, there are two women smiling at each other with four pieces of furniture in the background; in the Saudi Arabia catalogue there is only the four pieces of furniture. In other pictures, women have been digitally removed, or else have been altered to become men.
A spokeswoman for IKEA admitted that the error occurred at head office and was not done by the Saudi Arabian franchisee. She said that excluding women from the catalogue was in conflict with the values of IKEA. "We encourage fair treatment and equal employment opportunities without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, age, or sexual orientation."
Should a company alter its marketing campaigns to reflect biases that might be prevalent in various countries in which the company does business?
Since 1951, IKEA has been publishing an annual catalogue. In 2012 it printed 212 million catalogues in 29 languages. The images in the catalogue were identical across the world, until recently. In the 2012 Saudi Arabia catalogue the images of all women were deleted. In one bathroom picture, a mother is with her son, and the father is with a younger boy. In the Saudi version there is no woman; she has been airbrushed out of the photograph. There is only the father and the two boys. In another photo, there are two women smiling at each other with four pieces of furniture in the background; in the Saudi Arabia catalogue there is only the four pieces of furniture. In other pictures, women have been digitally removed, or else have been altered to become men.
A spokeswoman for IKEA admitted that the error occurred at head office and was not done by the Saudi Arabian franchisee. She said that excluding women from the catalogue was in conflict with the values of IKEA. "We encourage fair treatment and equal employment opportunities without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, age, or sexual orientation."
Should a company alter its marketing campaigns to reflect biases that might be prevalent in various countries in which the company does business?
Explanation
Verified
Verified
IKEA, a Sweden based furniture company, ...
Business & Professional Ethics 7th Edition by Leonard Brooks,Paul Dunn
Why don’t you like this exercise?
Other Minimum 8 character and maximum 255 character
Character 255
