Ethics

As firms seek to expand their operations, globalization emerges. The operations and practices in a global organization follow a bureaucratic authority. Every official is mandated to exercise all the duties within his or her powers. The firm is also expected to use environmental friendly techniques. This paper seeks to analyze some of the roles played by key personnel, media and NGOs in bettering Schmidt Gifts and Novelties Inc.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
This is the senior most position in a company the office holder therefore controls all the managerial and operational activities within the firm. A CEO act as a watchdog to the companys stakeholders and as a leader of the firm he or she should enhance due diligence and care. The CEO is supposed to make mature corporate decisions which always encompass the internal values and judgments within the corporation. Since the Schmidt Gift and novelties, Inc has always enhanced excellent practices not only to its internal staffs but also to the external public the CEO should not hesitate to defend the corporations reputation. It should be noted that slight misconception of the chief executives message can adversely impact on the firms image.

Its therefore appropriate to exhibit brief and cautious talks at all times. In the event of a crisis such as the violation of fair trade practices and the environmental pollution which Schmidt is accused of, the CEO should have the way out or solution for the corporation. His or her ability to weather the crises should not only take the internal perspective, but should also consider the external effects the corporation to the general public. Creative packaging processes and better deals for the corporate suppliers should be emphasized in order to ensure future progress in the firms activities. The CEO should closely liaise with the Schmidt board of directors in order to discuss the major accusations and find quick and viable solutions. As the major spokesman of the corporation he or she should convey a brief speech on the issues at hand in order to prevent media and other external speculations which might end up tainting the image of the firm.

Public Relations
The major role of this department in an organization is to ensure effective and efficient communications to the general public. In addition, the department is obligated to ensure perfect corporate exposure to the general public. The image is mostly maintained through well stipulated audiences which seek to capture the public interest. Since the department is responsible for crisis communications, well calculated speech should be prepared and handed over to the media before the public acquires information from the third party. The department should also establish good rapport with the internal and external participants and good working environment should always be maintained between the employees, customers, investors and the general public. Since the issues at hand have a considerable impact on the firms progress and image, the department should seek professional advice from the marketing and production department before coming up with a final report.

The department should also liaise with the Chief executive officer before releasing the report to the media. In addition, the department should consider the weight of the accusation to the company this is because the pollution claim is what makes the firm to actually sell and increase its productivity. On the other side, changing the packaging style will have a significant impact on the firms product marketing. It is also appropriate to consider the consequences that the firm will encounter for not adhering to the public demand. The report should therefore be all inclusive since the company welfare together with that of the general public is important for the growth and development of a firm.

Marketing Manager
He ensures discipline in marketing techniques by practically directing the firms resources to achieve increased sales. The manager therefore influences the timing and the level through which consumers should be convinced to purchase the firms products. The Schmidt marketing manager should therefore come up with an alternative packaging design which does not impact negatively on the environment, or which will have the same positive impact as the one used before. As the head in the marketing department, the manager should carefully negotiate on the implementation process. Adequate period of time should be offered to enhance smooth marketing transition of the products.

The marketing department should schedule a meeting with the environmental NGO in order to reach consensus on how the overall process should be undertaken. The main reason why the department cannot just decide on changing the packaging design is because the change will not only disorient the products marketing, but there is some cost involved. Using non-biodegradable packaging techniques might be too expensive for the company, leading to price rise as the firm seeks to recoup the added cost of packaging. The whole process will also depend on how the consumer welcomes the whole issue. As marketing leader, the manager ought to thoroughly analyze the market impact due to change in companys packaging style. It will be advisable for the firm to adopt a no packaging style to their finished products other than to go for expensive recyclable packaging materials.

Media
This is a specifically designed section used to convey information to the larger audience. Among the commonly used media includes the radio, television, newspaper and magazines. The media has a major role of informing the general public on what goes on around them.  Its strong social cultural impacts should never be downplayed by any focused company. The transmission efficiency and coverage can greatly affect the firms operation especially when the message conveyed is negative. Considering the current nature of the media majoring on the negative side of an event, the Schmidt Corporation should quickly respond to its current accusations.

The company should therefore have a single voice in order to overcome the prevailing crisis. And the stand should be given to the media in order to discourage own speculation on the issues. What the company should understand about the media is that whether they give an official report or not, the media will certainly exercise its role and the outcomes may be worse in an event of report failure. Before the media decide on airing the Schmidt contentious issues, it is ethical for them to first liaise with the companys officials. The move will ensure information accuracy and the firms opinion on the same issues. The media should not manipulate the companys report since this can lead to some lawful injunctions by the company.

NGO from a fair trade association
These are non-governmental organizations which actively fight to ensure fair trade in the global market. The organizations are mandated to ensure that fair treatment to all players and partners in the market. In this case the fair trade association seeks to improve the status of the women who actually manufactures the products in the developing country. Since inception, Schmidt Corporation has continuously undermined the growth and development of the developing nation through its persistent purchase of finished products at a lower price. The association therefore demands for an increased price in the companys product as it will help improve the status of the people who manufactures those products (Nicholls  Opal 115). The company should consider the added costs such as transportation and packaging cost involved before deciding on whether to alter the price or not. This is because the NGO may only be concerned with the women welfare, ignoring the fact that the companys main objective is to maximize its returns. It is also appropriate to understand that the association can mobilize the women in the developing nation not to sell the products to the firm, thus bringing chaos to the firms operation.

NGO from an environmental impact association
These are non-governmental organization which basically advocate for a clean environment. The association discourages environmental pollution through penalizing firms which adversely affect the environment. In this case the Schmidt Corporation is accused of using non-biodegradable materials in its packaging which produces waste streams in the environment. The association therefore advocate for an improved environment friendly packaging system. Nevertheless, the firm should acknowledge that the adoption of bio-degradable packaging materials would amount to an increase in cost. The change would also drastically change the product image in the market. But in order to ensure that the firm uses environment friendly techniques packaging change should be enforced. The process should be however done with a lot of care in order to maintain high sales volume.

Conclusion
Firms and businesses across the world should ensure fair coexistence in their operations. The senior officials in any organization should work towards ensuring that the company achieves its objectives. The media and NGOs should also work together in order to ensure that firms exhibits fair practices at all times.