Samsung Case Ethical Issues and Proposed Policy Changes

Business Ethics
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Business Ethics
Business ethics remains a vital tool for operations contemporarily considering the increasing competition in every industry. Consumers are growing fond of companies that value their happiness. To achieve the ultimate loyalty from their customers, multinational corporations are developing ethical operations geared towards addressing individual consumer needs. That, however, is not always the case, as there are still cases in which businesses fail to create products that address consumer needs. One of the organizations that understand the value of consumer loyalty from ethical operations is Samsung Electronics Company. In 2016, Samsung was forced to execute a large-scale recall for their newly unveiled Galaxy Note 7. Note 7 was considered a revolutionary phone at its launch, confirmed with the record-breaking sales. The battery failures that followed the Note 7 release meant that Samsung completed a 2-phase recall of all the Note 7 products. The outcomes of the memories were wide-ranging to the company that had to undergo reputation damage besides market share and revenue losses. The Samsung Note 7 recall is a vital business ethics concept. It gives insight into the avenues that business organizations must explore, such as quality controls to mark the loyalty and happiness among their customers.
Ethical Issue Discussed
The Samsung case outlines disregard for customer safety as a primary ethical issue. Every organization that manufactures consumer products is mandated to foster the safety of its customers. However, unethically, business organizations focus on creating more profits at the expense of critical issues such as the safety of the products they deliver. Samsung is a long-term consumer electronics manufacturer, evident in other operational portfolios. As such, Samsung is a company capable of understanding its consumers' needs in terms of their safety (Spinello, 2019). In the case of battery failures, there is an implication of negligence that should have been addressed to limit the escalation of the case. Samsung showcased negligence in executing its mandate of producing quality products. Following the extensive laboratory tests, it is obvious that Samsung was completely capable of establishing the "8-Point Battery Safety Check" before the occurrences. One can interrogate why the safety inspections were not conducted in the first place since the company is completely capable and ethically committed to safeguarding public health concerning its customers (Crane & Matten, 2016). Partly, the safety checks were neglected because they are necessary for each unique phone manufactured. Costs will rise, and profits will fall, which is unlikely to be acceptable to the board of directors if no incidents have occurred. Even though Samsung's CEO, Oh-Hyun Kwon, professes to "endorse the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs),” profit may have been a factor before the Note 7 recalls. The company ignored its ethical mandate to protect the safety of its customers through quality products in favor of maximizing production costs and profitability.
Alignment with Principles
Utilitarianism is an ethical principle...