Essay on Affirmative Action vs. Client Wishes
Today the affirmative action is still relevant and the case of the commercial prepared by Sharon and Jennifer proves the full extent to which the affirmative action is a challenging issue, especially, of individuals and organizations deal with traditionalist, conservative customer group. In this regard, wishes of clients may turn out to be stronger than internal inclinations of employees to stand for affirmative action. On the other hand, the case may not be treated one-sidedly since, along with their civil position Sharon and Jennifer bear the professional responsibility to perform their functions properly and meet their customers’ needs and requirements. Therefore, if the commercial does not match the concept and vision of the customer, then Sharon and Jennifer should consider the option of changing the advertisement respectively to customer’s expectations. In such a way, the case of Jennifer and Sharon has the conflict between their social responsibility and their civil position, on the one hand, and their professional responsibility, on the other.
In such a situation, the solution of the ethical dilemma faced by Jennifer is extremely difficult. In facing, changing the commercial will meet her personal interests and aspirations in terms of her professional development but, on the other hand, her position in regard to the affirmative action turns out to be a challenge to her promotion. At this point, Jennifer should not neither accept nor deny the demand of Mr. Hurn. Instead, she should propose the alternative solution to the ethical dilemma that would resolve the conflict. To put it more precisely, Jennifer can suggest further negotiations with the customer of the company to persuade him to change his mind and leave the commercial as it is or introduce minor changes in the content but not the cast of the commercial to convey certain messages in a different light, if necessary. To put it more precisely, Jennifer can try to persuade the customer that the commercial, as it is at the moment, is the most efficient in terms of its impact on the audience. In other words, the commercial cast is selected purposefully and changing the race of actors would change the meaning of the commercial, its message and its impact power on the target customer group. In addition, the target customer group may not necessarily reject African American characters depicted in the commercial. On the contrary, the involvement of African American actors may expand the target customer group and attract minorities, whereas the traditional customer group may also receive the commercial positively because the attitude of white Americans to African Americans differ and the customer cannot be absolutely sure that customers will reject it. On the contrary, customers may like the commercial because of the perfect match of characters, message and content of the commercial. Probably, the content may need some changes to shift emphasis and to convey the message the customer wants more accurately and articulately. In addition, Jennifer should remind Mr. Hurn and the client about the affirmative action and anti-discrimination legislation along with the general attitude of the public to racial issues in the US. For instance, if Sharon or actors decide to file a lawsuit on the ground of the violation of the affirmative action and discrimination of African American actors, both the company, where Jennifer works, and their customer may get involved into the scandal that undermine their public image and competitive position in the market.
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