scandal

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Marketingethics

CaStudy:AjinRamen

AjinRamenisawell-knownramenchainwhichenteredChinemarketin

he

gthattheslow-cookingsouphas

“freshtaste”and“fourtimesthecalciumcontentinmilkandtentimesthatinmeat”,

Ajinhasbeenchargingconsumersahigherpricecomparedwithotherramen

r,sinceJuly2011,thecompanyhadbeenaccudofusing

concentratedliquid,insteadoftheporkbonesasadvertid,

(China)lateradmittedtheaccusationbutitstillemphasizedthehighcalciumcontent

containedinthenoodlesoup,badonatestevaluationconductedbytheChina

AgriculturalUniversity(CAU).ThisstatementwasdeniedbyaprofessoroftheCAU

fessorpointedoutthatthesampletheytested

wasonlyconcentratedliquid,iareportssooncauda

iticismaboutitsfraudulentadvertising,Ajinexperiencedasharp

ingtoa

survey,themajorityofparticipantsfeltdisgustedandangryaboutAjin’s

overstatementaboutthefoodandmisleadingpromotions(Tang,2011).

Incurrentbusinessworld,marketingethicshasbeenanincreasinglyimportant

rtoenhance

consumer’sconfidenceintheintegrityofthewholemarket,marketersarerequiredto

eneraterevenueisnotthe

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onlytaskthatcompaniesshouldconcern.

InAjin’s“concentratedsoup”scandal,however,thecompanyhasfailedto

fulfillthecodeofethicspromotedbyAmericanMarketingAssociation(AMA)and

heguidefromAMA,therearesixbasicvalues

thatfirmsshouldcomplywith:honesty,responsibility,fairness,respect,opennessand

ity,firmsshouldrealizethebasicethicalvaluestomaintainthe

sofhonestyandresponsibility,Ajinis

gthefactthatthewhitebrothisoriginallymadebyconcentrated

liquid,Ajinliestoitsconsumersbysayingthatthesoupisfreshandcookedwith

porkribs,whichisakindoffraudulentmisreprentationanddishonestbehavior.

Evenwhenthescandalwasdisclod,Ajindidnottellallthetruth,regardingtothe

totheprofessorwhorevealedthereal

sampletestedintheevaluation,i,itmay

continuetomisleadthepublicandprovidecustomerswithfoodwhichisfarbelowthe

omtheprospectiveofhonesty,Ajinisdishonestindealing

tedcompany,Ajinalsofailsto

tatingtheingredientsinitssoup,

Ajinmaybeabletoattractmoreconsumersandearnhigherprofits,ifnot

r,thecompany’sreputationwouldberuinedoncethestoryis

expodtothepublic,whichwouldthencauadramaticdropinitssharepriceanda

kethasalreadywitnesdabout40percentdecline

inAjin’ssharepriceandahugeplungeofitstotalmarketvaluejusttwoweeks

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ult,Ajin’sstakeholderssuffer.

Itissurethatthescandalhasgreatlyhurtthepublic’

rebuilditsreputationandcredibility,Ajinshouldadmitthemistakeandreformits

edwithsmalldomesticrestaurants,Chine

customersnormallytendtohavehigherexpectationsofforeignfastfoodchains

(Keefe,2011),whichindicatesthatAjinshouldrevealrealanddetailedinformation

’smanagementmustbeawarethatbothoperationsystemand

yisnotenough,whatthe

publiclookforwardtoisAjin’sfurtherperformanceconcerningitshonestyand

tthatthiscretekeptunknownuntilthemediabeganto

rongly

recommendedthattherelatedauthorityestablishmorecomprehensiveandstricter

safetyregulationtoregulatethemarketandsafeguardconsumers’

whenthereexistsasoundandeffectivemarketframeworkcantheunethicalbehavior

begreatlyeliminated.

References:

AjinRamentrappedin'concentratedsoup'scandalinChina(July25,2011).

RetrievedFebruary20,2012from

/wine_?titleid=1506

Ajinsharesplungefollowingsoupscandal(August09,2011).RetrievedFebruary

21,2012from/10en/system/2011/08/09/

Keefe,P.(July25,2011).AjinRamenusingpowdersandconcentratetomake

soup?.RetrievedFebruary20,2012from

/2011/07/25/soup_scandal_of_the_century_ramen_

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Tang,Z.H.(August15,2011).ved

February20,2012from

/PageDetail_?Page_ID=14250

(796words)