MRKT20052 Marketing Management and Digital Communications Report Sample

MRKT20052 Marketing Management and Digital Communications

Task description:

For this individual assessment, each student is required to choose a news article (from two articles to be provided on Moodle) that focuses on selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

(UNSDGs) and answer a set of questions exploring marketing implications of the article.

The specific questions students need to answer include:

(1) Which of the UNSDGs does the news article relate to?
(2) Who are the important stakeholders?
(3) What potential marketing issues can be identified from the article?
(4) How would you respond to these issues and why?

Students are required to include a minimum of 5 references to support their answers to these questions. Referencing should follow the APA style. This is an individual assessment with a maximum of 1000 words. Please note that only references used in text should be included in your reference list. Any assessment with a 'Turnitin' score of more than 25% will be checked by the marker for potential plagiarism issues although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If there is a substantial similarity score in the 'Turnitin' report, your assessment may be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority. The references should consist of published academic and research papers and textbooks in the write-up to support key points. Ensure that your references are relevant to the issues discussed.

Solution

Introduction

The analysis will identify sustainable goals related to the selected news article. The article chosen for portfolio analysis is “Australian Companies Failing to prevent links to modern slavery, human rights groups warn”(Hennery, 2022). As per the MBA Assignment Experts Further, it will identify all the involved stakeholders in this article.  Marketing issues identification and measures to combat the same is discussed. 

UNSDGs Related To The News Article

The information given in the article discusses human rights related to modern slavery. It is related to sustainable development goal 8. The SDGs aim to promote sustainable economic growth which is inclusive and promotes decent work. Sustainable growth at the global level is important as developing countries have grown fast compared to developed countries. It aims at eradicating child labour and providing decent work to all individuals.  Protecting the rights of migrant workers and eliminating trafficking is the main agenda of the SDGs. 

In this article, the Australian government demanded strict regulations and actions to stop the abuse in companies linked to the supply chain. It demands disclosure annually for the betterment of labourers working in industries.  MsDinshaw, a lawyer, disclosed that fewer than a third of the entire Australian companies comply with the regulations (Hickel, 2019, p. 3). It discusses how migrant workers are scared to quit their jobs despite the harassment they face. Kate, who works at a fruit farm, tells ABC that she earns $25 after working 12 hours a day.  As she had a work visa, she was afraid to complain and quit her job. She also described how the owner touched her legs without her permission. 

It also discusses Hassan and his colleagues' working conditions. They were deprived of necessary facilities and had to work even if they were ill. The comments were validated so that the human rights centre could take necessary actions. 

Important Stakeholders

Each stakeholder in this article has a different role, and the most important are the human rights center and the federal government. Human rights groups have urged the government to take a tough stance against the human rights crisis labourers face in the Australian industries.  Apart from these two, Freya Dinshaw, a lawyer at human rights, is important to the case. According to the survey, she concluded that most Australian companies are not following the regulation (Lenzenetal., 2022, p. 2). She reported that companies are asked to take effective actions. MsDinshaw aims to end modern slavery, but it is also known to her that reporting alone cannot do anything.  ABC can be considered an important stakeholder as information was collected by them, and they had the responsibility to hide the worker's identity. 

The next stakeholder is Kate, who works at a fruit farm and is struggling with the crisis. She worked for 12 hours and was rewarded with a low wage. Additionally, she was harassed by the owner, who was against human rights protection. Hassan is another important stakeholder in this article and worked in the rubber gloves industry. Because of the challenging situation, Covid Hassan and his colleagues were forced to work for 14 hours, and they were deprived of doctor's appointments. Treatment was bad, and they had no choice as they were threatened to be deported to their home country. 
Marketing issues present in the article

The article discusses human rights specifically related to work culture and patterns. According to Kate and Hassan, the work culture in companies is toxic, and companies don't care for well-being.  Sustainable goals and brands' marketing are closely related as customers are aware and support companies who comply with their basic rights.  There are potential marketing issues in this article as the work culture of an organization depicts the core values and ethics of the company (McGrath, Alla-Mensah, & Langthaler, 2018, p. 9). In this case, a third of Australian companies are not following the rules, forcing their workers to work for long hours. Moreover, harassment in the case of Kate shows how the basic right of an individual is not protected.  Hassan and other employees are burdened with extra work, and their working condition is not decent. Marketing involves word-of-mouth, and if these conditions are openly said, it can hamper the sales and reputation of companies. 

Consumers are aware of their rights and care about basic human rights protections. A business that fails to promote decent work and economic growth through a linked supply chain faces a high risk of reputational damage. As ethical buying has increased consumers tend to look at the company culture and workplace performance (sdgs.un.org, 2022). Not adhering to the basic rights of individuals will hamper marketing and brand values.  As these companies fail to meet the guidelines related to work and individuals, they will face negative impacts. 

Responding To These Issues with Reasons

The most important issue identified is that companies have failed to protect basic rights and provide a decent work culture. There is a humanitarian crisis as labourers are not treated adequately. The issue can be combated by creating policies that will protect the rights of labourers and provide decent work (Rai, Brown, &Ruwanpura, 2019, p. 1). Implementation of target SDG 8.3 is highly recommended as it focuses on sustainable and productive activities. The second issue was the protection of women in the workplace as Kate faced harassment. It can be solved by promoting a secure environment, especially for migrant workers. Thirdly forced labour, in the case of Hassan, can be eradicated by taking effective measures according to SDG target 8.7 to end modern slavery (sdgs.un.org, 2022). 

Conclusion

The analysis identifies the sustainable goals and issues found in the article. It is important to identify stakeholders and issues for eradicating modern slavery. The measures recommended can be taken to effectively solve the issue. Human rights must be protected, and labourers must be provided with decent pay and work culture. Protecting the rights of labourers must be mandatory for the companies. 

References

Hennery Belot, 7thfeb 2022, Australian companies failing to prevent links to modern slavery, human rights groups warn Retrieved https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-07/human-rights-groups-demand-more-action-on-modern-slavery/100809012

Hickel, J. (2019). The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet. Sustainable Development, 27(5), 873-884.Retrieved from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason-Hickel/publication/332422285_The_contradiction_of_the_sustainable_development_goals_Growth_versus_ecology_on_a_finite_planet/links/5dee156a4585159aa46ea8d7/The-contradiction-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-Growth-versus-ecology-on-a-finite-planet.pdf

Lenzen, M., Geschke, A., West, J., Fry, J., Malik, A., Giljum, S., ... &Schandl, H. (2022). Implementing the material footprint to measure progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12. Nature Sustainability, 5(2), 157-166. Retrieved from:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacob-Fry/publication/356912443_Implementing_the_material_footprint_to_measure_progress_towards_Sustainable_Development_Goals_8_and_12/links/61d35f84e669ee0f5c839e37/Implementing-the-material-footprint-to-measure-progress-towards-Sustainable-Development-Goals-8-and-12.pdf

McGrath, S., Alla-Mensah, J., &Langthaler, M. (2018). Skills for decent work, life and sustainable development: Vocational education and the sustainable development goals (No. 18). ÖFSE Briefing Paper. Retrieved from:https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/182458/1/1030834075.pdf

Rai, S. M., Brown, B. D., &Ruwanpura, K. N. (2019). SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth–A gendered analysis. World Development, 113, 368-380. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X18303309
sdgs.un.org, (2022), Goal 8, Retrieved from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8