“Business ethics is the application of ethical values to business behavior. It applies to any and all aspects of business conduct, from boardroom strategies and how companies treat their employees and suppliers to sales techniques and accounting practices. Ethics goes beyond the legal requirements for a company and is, therefore, about discretionary decisions and behavior guided by values. Business ethics is relevant both to the conduct of individuals and to the conduct of the organization as a whole.” With this statement can we say that Fingerhut’s price strategy is unethical? In order to answer this question we need to digest certain issues of “Fingerhut’s Price Strategy” case with the point of views of Roger Crisp “autonomy and creation …show more content…
Roger Crisp would raise the issues that the marketing techniques of Fingerhut cause their customers to act automatonously. Crisp would affirm his idea with the fact that the specialized mail catalog created desires that forced (instead of made them want) its customers to buy their goods. The idea of making their payments easy, low and displaying them instead of the real end price, Crisp would see as deceiving. Crisp would say that by Fingerhut relating the real price of the goods to low payments in a way is like brainwashing their customers to believe that the item is actually cheaper when in reality their goods were up 100% more expensive then their competitors. The fact that their customers were in the bottom of the wealth pyramid, it could be seen that they were not well educated and probably could not really see the price differences in the goods they were buying and the price that they should, in a fair market, be paying. So with Fingerhut marketing techniques and motives, Crisp would affirm that the low-income consumers were being exploited and therefore Fingerhut was conducting its business unethically. Milton Friedman would not agree with Roger Crisp that Fingerhut exploited their low-income customers. Friedman would look at the “Fingerhut’s Price Strategy” case in different point of view; he would say that Fingerhut was acting ethically because they were conducting business in a
The author of the book “The Mind of the Market” is Dr. Michael Shermer, he has strong credibility and his writing is enjoyable to read making him the perfect guide to help navigate the world of the market and why humans can sometimes be irrational about money. “Dr. Shermer has received his [three degrees;] B.A in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A in experimental Psychology from California State University and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University.” (Michael Shermer). He is also a New York best seller for multiple books, was a professor, has been interviewed for documentaries and television shows, and he regularly writes essays, editorials, and reviews for magazines and other publications.
Some who are only chasing for profit regards ethics as barrier. However, lots of researcher approve that managerial ethics are not mutually exclusive with profitability.
The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.
As the big businesses grew and created monopolies, they began to bring in huge incomes. The leaders of industry had a belief that they needed to help the poor, but they did not do it in a sincere way, they did it to become their agent and gain their trust. (Document 4) Many people struggled with work and money as a result of the big
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.
Through its exquisite examples, and compelling tone, Michael Sandel's article "What Isn't for Sale" advises that we need to recognize that our markets are taking over our personal lives and we have become a market society. Anything and everything are for sale these days in our nation. Sandel affirms that over the past thirty years our markets have changed from market economies to market societies. In agreeing with Mr. Sandel on this issue, we must understand the message he is trying to convey. It is possible to do so with the following reasons. We can’t allow for causes such as greed to take place, the consequences of inequality and corruption to happen, and open dialogue and debate need to take place so we all can agree how far
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage.
While this book has a title that sounds like a course required to take to be a stock broker on Wall Street, it is nothing from a boring lecture on the economic patterns of the world. Levitt uses stories he has experienced from a military man selling bagels (Ch1) to a drug dealer with a business degree (Ch3). These stories are used for audience relation to their own life situations and how they dealt with them, to show that economics work in the same way.
Before anything, clarifications on the concept of the “invisible hand” is crucial in understanding the arguments and analysis processed through my essay. The theory of the Invisible Hand states that if each consumer is allowed to choose freely what to buy while each producer is blessed with the power to choose freely what to sell and how to produce the products, the market will settle on an equilibrium of prices and distributions that are constructive and beneficial to every individual members of a community, therefore benefit to the community as a whole. The
Within “The Fondue Conspiracy,” Smith discusses how the Swiss Cheese Union worked as an oligopoly to promote their agenda (Smith). Had I not taken microeconomics, I would not have known what an oligopoly was. Another topic discussed in the podcast was the economic and political functions of government, specifically subsidies. I would not have understood what a subsidy if I had not taken microeconomics. The purpose of this paper is to explain oligopolies and the economic and political functions of government because they helped me understand “The
The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.
I don’t see it as preying on the poor. They knew there was a large and profitable market for poor, disadvantaged consumers that wanted the ability to have finer, more valuable products, and didn’t have the means to obtain it. Fingerhut developed a well thought out plan and with an extensive use of time and resources developing a database to reach these consumers, they were able to provide the service at a much lower cost than any of the alternatives, while taking on a level of risk themselves. The items they sold were not essential items, but rather perks to the daily living of the consumer and these purchases didn’t have to be made, they along with the additional cost were choices made solely by the
This will be an over view of ethics as it relates to business in our society. Concepts from Philosophy will seek to describe the correlation between actions that are classified as morally right or ethical in our dealings with each other as human beings. Clear and concise examples will be given as well as ways in which to improve upon business ethics.
Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The
(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.