The potato-based products that potato chip makers manufacture have difficulty making a profit.

The decision to be implemented

The main factor that reduced potato yield was the drought. The potato-based products that potato chip makers manufacture have difficulty making a profit. The cost of potatoes has increased significantly by roughly 25%. The business must strategically handle the situation to ensure all stakeholders profit from the choice to maintain profit margins. To offset the increase in potato prices, the corporation should concentrate on lightening the packed food. Raising the price per unit bundle will not be beneficial because doing so would alienate the brand's devoted customers. A sudden price increase will cause clients to switch to another brand. So, without the customers' knowledge, cutting the container weight by 1.1 ounces would aid in maintaining profit margins. Even the clients will give little thought to the fact that they will lose weight (Budrionyt & Gaiauskas, 2018). The weight loss programme was determined to be the best implementation approach after consulting with the firm's marketing director and considering judgements made by the organization in the past for situations comparable to this one. This approach is effective and has been utilized by numerous firms to counteract the rise in item production costs.

Stakeholder research

The option to reduce the package weight per unit is judged to be the best course of action for coping with potato price increases after the decisions have been examined from the perspectives of all stakeholders. The company will be able to keep its profit margin in this fashion, and even the customers will continue to be satisfied.

Ethical evaluation

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism advocates basing decisions on what will make most people in a given situation happy (Jonsson & Voorneveld, 2018). It has been determined that using less weight per packaging unit in this situation is more moral. To maintain a consistent net profit level, the corporation can cut the weight of each item by 1.1 ounces without informing the clients beforehand. Due to the market price increase, manufacturers now have to pay 35% more for potatoes from suppliers. The potato chip company must either move to an increase in price per packaging unit or decrease the net weight of each packaging unit in order to manage profit margins (Choo, 2017). In this scenario, utilitarianism prioritizes reducing container weight without consulting customers first. The packs should continue to cost $2.19 per unit as they do now. Although potato prices have increased, this will benefit all corporate stakeholders. The maker can automatically maintain back to their original packaging weight when the prices once again decline.

Maximizing profits

Profit maximizing refers to the process businesses use to choose the optimal pricing strategies and output levels to meet specific objectives. The manufacturer of potato chips would have to decide whether to raise pricing per unit to maximize profits. Due to the drought, raw potato prices have jumped by 35%, making it impossible for suppliers to keep up with demand and forcing them to deliver potatoes at a high rate. With the increasing demand for salty snacks in this area, producers should raise the price of each unit of their goods to cover increased production expenses (Marques, 2019). This will enable them to increase their earnings greatly. Although lowering the weight of each production unit can aid in maintaining margins, raising the price will maximize profit to a greater extent. The manufacturer will be able to make the most profit under the existing circumstances with a significant rise of roughly $0.33, or 15% of the previous value. Since customers are also aware of the increase in the price of potatoes, they will choose the same products. Hence the corporation also has a valid and ethical motive to boost their per-unit prices of potato chips.

Universalism

Ethics universalism refers to behaviour implications that apply to everyone, regardless of the circumstances. The potato price increase requires the company that makes chips to make a choice that will help them maintain their profit margins. According to the universalism theory, the corporation should cut each item's net package weight by 1.1 ounces without informing the customers first. The company's prior records reveal that the government employed a similar tactic to deal with the unexpected increase in the price of raw materials. Most often, manufacturers of other goods, such as sweets and other edibles, also employ this weight-loss technique (Melton & Miller, 2018). It has consistently shown to be advantageous for everyone. This minimal weight reduction will not impact the bulk of customers. They will be most concerned about the asking price. In order to maintain the pre-unit pricing, the manufacturer must significantly reduce the weight of the package. The packaging's size should remain the same because its new appearance will influence buyers' perceptions. So, the following method will be the most effective for moving forward with expected profit margins and appeasing all stakeholders.

Choosing the best course of action or decision

The optimum course of action, when all the data and decision analysis theories are taken into account, is to lighten the overall weight of the potato chip packaging per package. The cost of production has grown for the industrial unit that makes potato chips due to the 35% price increase imposed by the potato suppliers. Reducing the packaging weight per unit must successfully retain the profit margin (Goyal & Goyal, 2018). First, customers will not be concerned about a drop of 1.1 ounces. Second, profit margins can be modified and maintained if the plan is carried out appropriately. Maintaining the same item packing size is the last thing this viewpoint will do because it is so important from the customer's point of view. All of these consequences may be useful in resolving the situation.

The choice to lighten packaging could be contested from several angles. It is optional that all customers would be satisfied and continue to purchase the same goods due to this move (Strauch, 2016). Even the production line could encounter challenges when it comes to packing, such as maintaining the same package size and form. Some producers can maintain the product price, quantity, and quality constant while lowering their profit margins. Customers may become drawn to that particular brand of product in this way. As a result, a few disadvantages to putting this weight loss method for potato chips into practice may convince you not to.

References

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Choo, D. (2017). Beyond the Dichotomy of Act vs Rule Utilitarianism is Mill's Multilevel Utilitarianism. doi: 10.18694/kjp.2017.05.131.47. Korean Journal of Philosophy, pp. 131, 47–71.

The Goyals, B. and P. (2018). Potato chip production and quality enhancement. 10.4172/2157-7110.1000765 Journal of Food Processing & Technology, 9(12).

A. Jonsson, M. Voorneveld, et al (2018). The limit of utilitarianism is discounted. doi:10.3982/te1836 Theoretical Economics, 13(1), 19–37.

MARCQUES, J. (2019). From Scholar.Valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=jvbl, accessed 1 November 2019.

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