Case Study

You are the lead copywriter in an advertising agency handling a major chemi-cal products account. Your copy is frequently criticized by the chemical manufacturers marketing director. He wants a stronger sell, even if that means omitting much of the disclaimer information associated with the safe use of the products. He contends that people buying chemicals should take individual responsibility for safety and that the company should not be required to devote scarce ad and package label space to full dis-closure of the potential hazards. You realize that he may even be willing to test whether government regulating agencies will restrain his actions if he refuses to comply with industry product-labeling requirements. The issue comes to a head when you receive copy proofs changed by the marketing director to omit disclosure information that you believe should remain in the new ad series. Your immediate boss is out of town on vacation and cannot be reached. You either have to let the changes go or confront the marketing director. You know he will not appreciate your interference. You can let the copy go as is. (You have documented evidence that the marketing director, not your agency, made the changes.) You can refuse to make the changes, thereby jeopardizing the account. You can ask to be removed from the account. You can go to the marketing managers boss in the chemical company. You have other options. What would you do? What should you do?

Intructions

Introduction Describe the communication issue and give some backgroundinformation about what happened. State the important details about the event.

Options What options do you have in this case? List them and describe them.

ResolutionWhat do you think you would do in this case?

Conclusion Write a conclusion about what you learned researching this issue.Restate the key points for your reader. You may state your opinion of this case also.

The Case Study Report should be a minimum of 750-1,000 words in length. Each Report should not be a simple summary of the case. The focus of the report should be an analysis of the issues and recommendations that are grounded in organizational communication theory.