Glowing Beauty is a publicly traded, nutritional supplement company that markets its products as "beauty from the inside out." The company primarily uses social media marketing to promote its products and has experienced international success after several endorsement deals with popular influencers. Glowing Beauty pays influencers to discuss the benefits of their products on their platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, SnapChat and Instagram. Influencers are provided with free promotional products and fact sheets with the expectation that they will share this information with their followers. The average endorsement deal ranges from $50,000 to $500,000 per mention and although it may appear expensive, it is much cheaper than running a traditional advertising campaign. Due to Glowing Beauty's marketing strategy, Glowing Beauty is primarily purchased by females between thirteen to thirty-five years of age. These females are Glowing Beautys target market and closely follow the recommendations of the influencers that Glowing Beauty hires.

The supplement industry is not heavily regulated and Glowing Beauty can test its products on a small sample of individuals. Often, the results that they advertise on their packaging and their endorsement deals are based on a company run panel study of ten people or less. As a result, when they claim that 90% of individuals experienced positive results from taking their supplements, this may mean that only 9 individuals experienced positive results. The government periodically tests the product content to ensure that the products contain the ingredients that are stated on the packaging, but they never test the efficacy of the ingredients or the validity of Glowing Beautys advertising claims.

All of Glowing Beautys products are tested by an independent lab, Chem Co, to ensure accurate nutritional information on their labels. Testing is very expensive so to minimize costs Glowing Beauty does not require a complete chemical analysis of their products. Chem Co. only performs partial tests on Glowing Beautys products to measure the content of vitamins and minerals that are supposed to be in the products. The COO, John Dane, decided that Glowing Beauty does not need to test for all potential vitamins and minerals that may be within the supplements, even potentially lethal ones like lead and cadmium. Cadmium and lead are toxic metals that can cause severe and chronic health effects, including neurological impairments. Children and pregnant or nursing women are the most vulnerable to lead exposure. John made this decision at a time when Glowing Beauty produced all of its products internally, so the risk of contamination was zero.

Glowing Beauty is a leader in its field and has experienced rapid sales growth to a point where the company's demand exceeded its production capacity. Rather than build a new manufacturing facility, Glowing Beauty decided to meet its growing demand by outsourcing the manufacturing of its most popular product, the Hair Elixir, to AEA Manufacturing. AEA Manufacturing manufacturers various health food products for different nutritional supplement companies for a contracted manufacturing fee. Their clients provide them with all the raw materials and AEA Manufacturing uses their equipment to convert the raw materials into finished products (powders, capsules, elixirs, etc). AEA Manufacturing utilizes a batch manufacturing process where it rotates between producing the Hair Elixir and other health food products.

After 6 months of successful production, Glowing Beauty has received a report from AEA Manufacturing that high levels of lead were found in one of the products it produces. After hearing this news, the CEO of Glowing Beauty, Ela Angel calls Chem Co to review the lab reports for the Hair Elixir. Johns team is usually in charge of these matters but since he is away on vacation Ela needs to handle this situation before it turns into a public relations nightmare. Ela receives the reports from a new analyst, Rashid Kaan, who just started working for Chem Co. He has never talked to a CEO before, so he forgot to mention to Ela that Chem Co does not perform a comprehensive chemical analysis of Glowing Beautys products. After reading the report, Ela is relieved to see that the Hair Elixir only contains the minerals and vitamins that it is supposed to. She decides to hold a press conference to assure the public that Glowing Beautys Hair Elixir is safe.

By sheer coincidence, Rashid sees Ela on the news assuring the public not to worry because Glowing Beautys Hair Elixir did not get contaminated by lead like some of the other products manufactured by AEA Manufacturing. After thinking the situation over, Rashid decides to schedule an appointment to talk to the CEO of Glowing Beauty to tell her that it is impossible to determine whether the Hair Elixir is contaminated with lead as Chem Co currently doesnt test any of Glowing Beautys products for lead.

Rashid enters Elas office and informs her I need to talk to you about the lab report for the Hair Elixir. There are issues concerning the incomplete testing of your products. We only test Glowing Beautys Products for levels of vitamins and minerals that should be contained in your products. We currently do not do comprehensive testing of other materials that can be contained in your products. This is of great concern because our tests of your products do not reveal if any contaminates are present.

Ela is very distracted reviewing next quarters earnings projections and does not fully pay attention to Rashid. She cant hear him clearly and is having a hard time taking him seriously as he looks very unconfident and uncomfortable. As a result, Ela replies I am not concerned with all your tests, the only thing I am concerned about is that my products contain the accurate nutritional information as stated on their labels, which they do. My main priority is to ensure that my companys sales are growing, and our stock is performing well in the market.

Rashid is surprised by Elas reaction and somehow finds the courage to say, Mrs. Angel, I strongly recommend that Chem Co. performs another test of the Hair Elixir to ensure its safety and to be confident that no unwanted vitamins, minerals, and toxic metals are found. If the reports ever came out in the media showing that Glowing Beauty does not do complete testing of their products and that the products may be full of toxic chemicals, it could cause a lot of backlash for your company, and potentially harm the health and safety of your customers.

Ela misunderstands Rashids plead and is convinced that Chem Co has sent this analyst to secure more business by capitalizing on the fear created by the lead contamination at AEA Manufacturing. She remembers John telling her how expensive chemical testing is and the tremendous effect this expense item can have on their profitability. As a result Ela informs

Rashid, Rashid, we are your biggest client. I know that the additional tests that you are recommending are just a money grab. Your previous reports show no sign of lead in the Hair Elixirs so there is no need to perform these tests again. You do not need to try to sell me more tests and waste my time and money. Trust me, if your boss continues on with this, Glowing Beauty will move our business elsewhere, and you do not want that to happen to your lab.

Rashid is not sure what to do about the incomplete testing situation. After all, Mrs. Angel was right, Glowing Beauty is their largest client. If he kept bothering Ela about this issue, it could mean the loss of a customer. Rashid wished John was not on vacation as the COO was much more aware of Chem Co.s testing procedures and would understand the risks involved with the current situation. Rashid was not only scared of what would happen to Chem Co if Glowing Beauty switched to another lab, but he was also terrified about losing his job. His manager would not be happy to hear about this debacle. Rashid left the meeting defeated and wondered what to do.

After her talk with Rashid, Ela began thinking about the potential liabilities surrounding the lead contamination at AEA Manufacturing. She was still thanking her lucky stars that the chemical tests performed by AEA Manufacturing verified that the Hair Elixir only contained the materials that it was supposed to. A recall of the Hair Elixir would have been disastrous and extremely costly. Furthermore, social media influencers were very callous and would have used a recall as an opportunity to increase the price of their endorsement deals.

Ela needed to ensure that Glowing Beauty separated itself from the lead contamination as much as possible. The press conference that she held yesterday will certainly build consumer trust. However, Ela knows the value of having an expert third party confirm her statements. Since Chem Co. runs all the tests on Glowing Beautys products, it would be beneficial to receive a report from them stating that all tests are complete and there are no signs of any toxic materials. She decides to call Rashid, to capitalize on the analysts awkward nature to see what he can do. The report will assure current and future customers that the Hair Elixir is safe. It will also, look good for investors and the media.

Rashid, since you left after our recent meeting, I have been thinking about what you said and how important it is to assure our customers that the Hair Elixir is safe. Lets talk business. I have an idea that will be beneficial for you and for me. Ela said.

Rashid was happy to hear from Ela and found it promising that she appeared concerned about the health and safety of Glowing Beautys customers, so he replied, Good to hear, go on.

Im going to offer you a large payment and in return I ask that you issue a report to the media stating that Glowing Beautys products including the Beauty Elixir have undergone all the necessary testing and are one of the safest products on the market. Ela explained.

Rashid responded, Of course, I can do that for you, but I will have to schedule more testing for you to guarantee that your products are truly safe.

Rashid, I dont think you understand what I am saying here. I am not asking you to test our products again. We dont have the products sitting in our warehouses anymore, the Hair Elixir has been distributed to customers and retailers all over the world. It is our most popular product and we sell it on a just in time basis which is why we needed to subcontract its production to AEA Manufacturing to begin with. We cant keep up with the growing demand. As a result, I am asking you to personally write a report stating that our products are safe, and all necessary testing has been complete. Please stop using Johns vacation to lure Glowing Beauty to pay for more unnecessary tests. This is only between you and me, I will pay you a large sum of money, all cash, and you will issue the requested report. No tests, no lab work, only a report. You may pocket all of the money, and Chem Co does not need to know about the payment. Ela stated.

Maam, Im not sure Rashid stammered in a staggered voice.

Just think about it and get back to me. You can get a lot of cash, and Chem Co get to continue with us as your biggest client. Ela replied, and hung up.

Rashids boss asked him how things were going with Glowing Beauty. Rashid did not want to lie to his boss, but he also did not want to tell him about the payment arrangement Ela Angel requested.

Things are going alright, but they still dont seem to be understand that the tests we perform are incomplete and without additional testing it is impossible to determine whether the Hair Elixir has been contaminated with lead. Rashid told his boss.

His boss looked at him quizzically are replied, We performed the tests that they asked us to and provided them with the requested reports. Our responsibility to them is to deliver the services that we are contracted to do. It is not up to us to force our clients to run more tests that they deem unnecessary. Im concerned about keeping Glowing Beauty as a client. We cannot afford to lose our largest client at this moment. We have been struggling for a while now and losing the Glowing Beauty account could push us into insolvency. Promise me that you wont do anything that will jeopardize this relationship.

Rashid feels very stressed. He does not want to be responsible for losing the Glowing Beauty account. He knows he has an obligation to do what is right but what is right? As his boss pointed out, Chem Co performed all the tests that Glowing Beauty paid for. However, he knew that lead poisoning is very serious and can be fatal. Rashid has many things to consider before deciding what to do.

QUESTION: Identify all the key stakeholders and their stakes in the issue