The ethical perspective that is best reflected in my work is legalistic perspective. I currently work as a Marcom for a credit card bank, also known as Marketing Communications. It embodies the whole process: From client relations (internal departments we support), PR and marketing strategies, to the creative side of promotional literature, advertising and artwork.
All communication materials we send out through the different channels – Direct mail, Web, Email, Advertising etc. are highly affected by the regulations. The legal and compliance team audits all the communication materials before they are made public. Banks are governed by quite a number of regulatory bodies who would state laws regulative certain activities. Banks would first make sure they adhere to these laws to determine what’s ethical and what non ethical is. What is not specified as illegal is not necessarily view as illegal. As stated in the readings,
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Johannesen (94), Burton Leiser’s beliefs, Harold Williams reminder to his professional advertising colleagues and the problems with legalistic perspectives really stood out to me. According to Burton Leiser, “the law does not always conform with standards of moral right, advertisers who are concerned with doing what is right need not set the limits of their conduct at the bounds set by the law”
Harold Williams states, “What is legal and what is ethical are not synonymous, and neither are what is legal and what is honest. We tend to resort to legality often as our guideline. This is in effect what happens when we turn to lawyers for confirmation that a course of action is an appropriate one. We must recognize that we are getting a legal opinion but not necessarily an ethical or moral one.”
As a bank we follow our code of ethics which helps to establish expectations for character. It includes ideal goals to be striven for and minimum conditions to be met to be considered ethical. This is separate from the legal
(Twitchell, p. 178) As if this tidbit of information was not enough to raise awareness of the bad side effects that come along with social media and advertising, a study was conducted recently to determine just how important advertisers found ethics to be; the results were shocking. It turns out that among twenty-nine different advertising agencies, two general groups were able to be formed: “those who feel ethics is largely irrelevant to advertising, and those who ‘typically recognized moral issues and talked about them inside the agency with their coworkers and outside the agency with their clients and potential clients.’” (Drumright and Murphy, 2009) Unfortunately, the majority of the agencies who were interviewed fell into the category of believing that ethics is largely irrelevant to advertising. Since ethics turn out to be of so little concern in the advertising industry, and since advertisements clutter social media, it is fair to conclude that said industries are not in existence to look out for consumers, but rather to provide a platform for sales and increased revenue.
Banks owe their customers a number of duties so long as the banker-customer relationship is formed . The banker-customer relationship will normally be governed by the law of contract. However,
As many things in life, ethics has evolved through the history of our society. As anyone who has ever has read the news can attest, there are certain behaviors and tradition typical in societies around the world that may seem unethical and, sometimes, inhuman when seen through our ethical point of view. However, we often forget that many of those behaviors and tradition were, not only accepted, but expected in our society at one time. As our society changes over time, our moral code and compass shifts changing our outlook and tolerance for certain behaviors. And, as in other aspects of our society, the way we conduct business is no different.
Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the nation. It is a multinational company and it is recognized by its high revenue value. Unfortunately, Bank of America has endured many complaints and harsh views regarding their lack of ethics. Ethical issues occur when there is a blatant disregard to implement integrity, trust, and responsibility. In some financial institutions, ethical matters are displayed in the way the consumers are treated. Within the past nine years, Bank of America has diminished all of their ethical promises by revealing customer information without their permission; discriminating against consumers based on their race; and manipulating overdraft fees in order to benefit the bank. In order to assess these problems, it is vital to recognize what Bank of America claims to stand for and determine where their most concerning issues are generated from.
25). It can be difficult for a company to follow the ethical values, but their must be aware that not following the ethical values can become costly, and it might affect the company reputation. Regarding the article, the Well Fargo Staffs was more focus in opening bank accounts and adding unnecessary insurance to meet sales quotas. They basically did not care about their costumers. Wells Fargo is not an ethical organization anymore; after this scandal, it will be difficult for customers to have trust in these types of
Unethical behaviors within organizations exploit workers, customers and the public in certain situations. There are unethical behaviors that could be legal or illegal in some cases (Ferrell, Hirt, & Ferrell, 20019). Wells Fargo Bank banking foundation is built off retail deposits which in turn has helped the organization recuperate from credit crisis and become a stronger nationwide presence. The company also relies on its cross- selling ability to its customers as a way to become more profitable.
The economic responsibilities Bank of America has regarding this case is to provide exceptional service for investors and give returns on their investments while maintaining strategic decisions pertaining to its values. Legal responsibilities include adhering to all laws and regulations which include environmental and consumer laws. Daniel Rivas failed to honor Bank of America's code of ethics by initiating illegal acts of tipping and trading information about corporate mergers, investments, and small offers.
Nowadays, we have modernized banks many in trust their money in. The banks lends money to customers at a higher rate than they pay to depositors or than they borrow it. The difference, known as the margin is kept by the bank. For example, if a bank pays 1% interest on deposits they may charge 6% interest on loans grossing 5% for themselves. Moreover, bank employees from Wells Fargo secretly opened unauthorized accounts to hit sales targets and receive bonuses. Not only is this identity theft, however, it shines even more light on how the love of money is the root of all evil. Lastly, banks
their management processes, structures and policies help ensure compliance with laws and regulations and provide clear lines of sight for decision-making and accountability (“Code of Ethics.” 2011). These disciplines, though, together represent just one dimension of governance. The other dimension is corporate culture of Bank of America Corporation (“Code of Ethics.” 2011). Bank of America corporation culture must be championed by leaders and sustained by every associate.
Every aspect of the marketing and advertising mix is subject to laws and restrictions. Every marketing manager will be confronted with how they must address ethics and law. Each marketing executive knows that rarely are there cut and dry answers to ethical issues that will arise during the normal course of business. (Lamb, McDaniel, & Hair, 2010). One
We have an equal obligation to uphold the law. But law and ethics are not always synchronous. What may be legal in practice may be unethical; and what may seem the ethical
When thinking of the best way to be responsible in all dealings of business, a quote from Bank of America and Wells Fargo comes to mind. Bank of America states that they believe that integrity and the disciplined management of risk form the foundation of their business. They are aware that their decisions and actions affect people’s lives every day. They furthermore believe in making decisions that are clear, fair, and grounded in the principles of shared success, responsible citizenship, and community building. Wells Fargo states they expects its team members to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethics and business conduct with customers, team members, stockholders and the communities it serves, and to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations that govern our businesses. Their Code of Ethics and Business Conduct rules sets forth Wells Fargo's policy and standards concerning ethical conduct for all team members. Their aim is to promote an atmosphere in which ethical behavior is well recognized as a priority and practiced.
There are many conflicting feelings about advertising. An advertising may parody the nature of the product, imply invention guarantees where no guarantees are truly offered, quote deceptive process, or fail to disclose known defects in a product while misleading costs a contestant’s merchandise. Moral customs have long doomed dishonesty in promoting on the grounds that it violates consumes’ rights to choose for themselves. Truth in advertising is a commonly acknowledged maxim. However, it is also generally accepted, perhaps somewhat cynically, that all adverting is biased, is often misleading, and may always be thought of as a lie, since it always tell only one side of the story. Further, although lying is understood to be morally wrong, truth
Banks must also understand that they have a social obligation to their clientele which includes serving the interest of the society in which it operates. The irony is that all banks have in place “Ethics Policies”? But what does this represent? Have ethics become one sided? Or have they simply lost the health of their soul.
Advertising and promotion, ethical pitfall: Issues over truth and honesty. Issues with violence, sex and profanity. Taste and controversy and negative advertising