SOY-DRI Simulation Marketing Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Case Study: SOY-DRI Simulation
Name
Institutional Affiliation
SOY-DRI Simulation
SOY-DRI behavioral simulation provides a practice stage for future decisions by a designed, simulated organization. Behavioral simulation assigns specific roles to individuals in a simulated group (Leclaire & Ferrel, 2000). The participant is expected to understand the complexities involved in solving the problems in the simulation process and exploiting the opportunities that may be inherent. The purpose of SOY-DRI simulation was to elicit a response in regard to the aspect of ethics connected with some products misuse in SOY-DRI.
A crisis team was formed by the CEO to address the ethical issues raised by the magazine and the distributor. The squad was made up of the marketing manager, the general counsel, the corporations’ director, executive assistant of the CEO, the sales and marketing vice president, research and development director, and international operations vice president. The team had a sole objective which was to protect the public image and counter any negative publicity within the legal framework. The ethical dilemma for the SOY-DRI scenario was derived from the seven members of the formed crisis team who were assigned roles relative to their duties. The actions of the groups were not specified neither were their characters defined. The ambiguity was intended to elicit productive discussions and interactions as well as make the decision-making process encompass the view of all the stakeholders (Sims, 2011). Each of the crisis team members had a different approach to solving the problem depending on his/her point of view.
All the participants were briefed on the need for proper differentiation of the products in regard to the distribution, coloring, names, and packaging. The dilemma unfolded as the team members were found quite unsure of who was supposed to yield more influence. The dominant General Counsel was likely to impact the results of how to minimize the legal liability. The problem at hand was not legal yet; it was connected with maintaining the company’s image. The dominant marketing manager overlooked packaging and labeling issues which attracted customers. The increased sales should also encompass the ethical matters related to the use of the SOY-DRI products.
Ethics simulation goes beyond the employee self-direction while, at the same time, provides an interactive business concept (Sims, 2011). For SOY-DRI, the ethical issue arose on the product differentiation, thus emphasis and the leading role should be left on the sales and marketing manager. Similarly, if the international operations vice president dominated, matters relating to compliance with international transactions on the produc...