Marigold Dairy Corporation Sells Milk Products Including Pow

Marigold Dairy Corporation Sells Milk Products Including Powdered Mil

Marigold Dairy Corporation sells milk products, including powdered milk formula for infants. Marigold hopes to increase sales of its powdered milk formula in Liberia and other African nations where mothers are often malnourished due to drought and civil war. Marigold’s marketing department has created a marketing plan to convince mothers and expectant mothers not to breastfeed their babies and to, instead, use Marigold formula. Doctors generally favor breastfeeding as beneficial to mothers (it helps the uterus return to normal size), to babies (it is nutritious and strengthens the bonds between the infant and the mother), and to families (it is inexpensive). Marigold’s marketing plan stresses the good nutrition of its formula and the convenience to parents of using it, including not having to breastfeed.

You are the senior vice president of marketing for Marigold. Do you approve this marketing plan? What would a rights theorist do? What would a utilitarian do? What would a profit maximizer do? Your initial response should be a minimum of 200 words.

Paper For Above instruction

As the senior vice president of marketing for Marigold Dairy Corporation, approving the current marketing plan that encourages mothers in African nations to replace breastfeeding with formula raises significant ethical concerns. While the plan emphasizes the nutritional benefits and convenience of the powdered milk, it neglects the broader health and cultural implications associated with breastfeeding, which is widely supported by healthcare professionals as the optimal mode of infant nutrition. From an ethical standpoint, the decision hinges on different moral frameworks. A rights theorist would emphasize the intrinsic rights of the infants to receive the best possible nutrition and the rights of mothers to make informed choices without being misled by commercial interests. This perspective would likely oppose manipulative marketing strategies that could undermine mothers' autonomy or promote dependency on formula, especially in resource-limited settings where clean water and sanitation are scarce, increasing health risks associated with formula feeding. A utilitarian approach would focus on maximizing overall well-being and minimizing harm. Since breastfeeding offers proven health benefits and is cost-effective, promoting formula might lead to increased health complications, increased financial burden for families, and long-term negative health impacts, thus reducing overall happiness and welfare. From a profit maximization standpoint, Marigold's primary goal is increasing sales and expanding market share. The company might justify the plan on the grounds of boosting profits, yet this pursuit could conflict with ethical considerations related to health risks and cultural sensitivity. Ultimately, approving the plan without modifications risks causing harm and violating ethical principles. It would be prudent to rethink the strategy to align commercial objectives with health and ethical standards.

References

• World Health Organization. (2021). Infant and young child feeding: Model chapter for textbooks for health workers. WHO Press.
• Victora, C. G., et al. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effects. The Lancet, 387(10017), 475-490.
• Rollins, N. C., et al. (2016). Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices? The Lancet, 387(10017), 491-504.
• Ball, T. M., & Volpe, L. (2015). Promoting breastfeeding: Strategies for success. Journal of Nursing Education, 54(4), 227-231.
• Kramer, M. S., & Kakuma, R. (2012). Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (8).
• Lutter, C. K., et al. (2015). Branding and marketing of infant formula: ethical considerations. Pediatrics, 135(2), e464-e469.
• UNICEF. (2018). Correct feeding: WHO and UNICEF recommendations on infant and young child feeding. UNICEF Publications.
• Bhutta, Z. A., et al. (2013). Interventions to address deaths from childhood pneumonia and diarrhea. The Lancet Global Health, 1(4), e177-e188.
• Bloom, L. (2014). The ethics of marketing infant formula in developing countries. Ethical Perspectives, 21(2), 123-134.
• Gillespie, B., et al. (2017). Ethical challenges in marketing health products to vulnerable populations. Ethics & International Affairs, 31(2), 193-206.