Ethical Marketing
Ethical marketing refers to the application of marketing ethics into the marketing process. Ethical marketing is about making marketing decisions that are morally right. The ethics of the marketing decision can incorporate any part of marketing including sourcing of raw materials, staff employment and product advertising and pricing. Sound marketing ethics are usually those that result in consumer satisfaction, with no negative effect, with the goods and services being recognized or with the company producing them. Ethical marketing generally results in a more socially responsible and culturally thoughtful business community. The concern with ethical issues has changed the attitude of the world towards a more socially responsible way of thinking. This has influenced companies to market their products in a more socially responsible way.
Ethical marketing is less of a marketing strategy and more of a way of life that enlightens all marketing efforts. It seeks to promote honesty, fairness, and responsibility in all advertising. Some businesses pursue ethical marketing because they feel that is what customers expect from them. Some consumers buy products and services because they feel that the products, services, or companies are ethical. In response to this consumer demand, organizations have increased their focus on ethical marketing. Marketing employees must be aware of the principles of self-interest and personal virtues. As they make decisions they must
Marketing Ethics: The Marketers standards of conduct and moral values. The 5 areas of ethical concerns for Marketers are: Marketing Research – ex: Gathering marketing information in exchange for money or free offers. Product Strategy – ex: Product quality, planned obsolescence, packaging. Distribution – ex: Determining the appropriate degree of control over a channel. Promotion – ex: Gifts and Bribes Pricing – Most unethical pricing behaviours are also illegal. Social Responsibility: involves marketing philosophies, policies, procedures, and actions whose primary objective is the enhancement of society. The 4 levels of Social Responsibility are: Economic – Be Profitable; the foundation upon which all others rest Legal – Obey The Law; Play by the rules of the game Ethical – Be Ethical; Obligation to do what is right, just, and fair. Philanthropic – Be a Good Corporate Citizen; Contribute resources to the community, improve quality of life.
Marketing is like a double-edged sword, if it is adopted properly, it will give profits to a company; however, if it is used inadequately, it will give harm. It is undeniable that today’s business operations have more intense competition level against each other due to the advancement of technology that allows people to receive more information. Marketing plays the key role in making products being recognized by consumers. To get people’s attention, some massages about the product need to be sent to the target market. With the high level of competition, the unethical marketing issues arise in order to make their own firms gain more
Today, marketing research managers must fully take into account the marketing research process and marketing ethics while conducting their research. According to Brown (2014), the marketing research process is the process of gathering and interpreting data for use in developing, implementing, and monitoring the firm’s marketing plans; whereas marketing ethics are the principles, values, and standards of conduct followed by marketers. To stress the importance of both the marketing research process and ethics, I will apply the principles of each one to a different scenario.
This case study analyzes the experiences of Courtland Kelley at General Motors (GM). Courtland Kelley a third generation GM worker put his job on the line by pushing the GM managers and executives to fully respond to the safety issues found while working as a safety inspector at the company. Kelley along with his supervisor Bill McAleer first discovered the issues while auditing GM cars at rail yards across the country, a spot check of vehicles before the cars were cleared to be delivered to the dealers. McAleer was taken off the audit as a result, who subsequently sued the company seeking whistle-blower protection. The case was eventually dismissed by a judge in favor of GM. The judgement only increased Kelley’s
Ethics is an important consideration in marketing decisions because a company wants to instill a relationship or trust with consumers. Consumers are not as likely to purchase a company’s goods when they have been caught lying. Take for example Dannon yogurt, which told consumers they would have better digestion because of their yogurt. This was before probiotics were added to yogurt, and as a result it was nothing but their word and consumers fought back. I received a refund for $15 because of the amount of yogurt I bought during a year of their misleading information. The outcome for me was that I no longer bought Dannon yogurt for my family. It was Dannon’s misleading information that prevented me from purchasing it later on, and proved that the consumers would not stand by it, which caused litigation and millions of dollars paid out to consumers.
• If I were offered a business deal that violated common business ethics I would first assess the situation and look at the reasons that the offer is unethical. Once I analyzed the situation I would address
"Germany's 'social market' economy largely follows free-market principles, but with a considerable degree of government regulation and generous social welfare programs" (Doing business in Germany, 2013, Export.). When contemplating entering the German market, it is useful to learn from the example of other firms, including their mistakes. Germany, although superficially similar to the United States, Great Britain, and other European countries in many ways, has some critical cultural differences which will impact the ways in which a foreign company presents itself and interacts with local organizations.
Linda Klebe Trenno & Katherine, A. Nelson, Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right, 2nd. Ed., John Wiley & Sons، New York, 1999.
In today’s competitive world, in order for any organization to succeed it requires the most fundamental aspect of marketing, which is to focus on their consumers (Berkowitz, 2011). As the marketing and technological development continues to keep expanding, as an outcome various health care organizations also need to be more adaptable to suffice the growing needs and demands of their consumers. Furthermore, there is a downside for the advancement in health care as it raises many ethical as well legal considerations. However, with efficient policies and guidance health care marketing can be a great platform for both benefiting as well as educating consumers.
Ethical business behaviour requires acting in ways that society and individuals think are good values. This tends to be good for a business, since it involves in demonstrating respect for key morale principles and includes honesty, fairness and equality. Ethics are values on what is right and wrong. Markets have become immensely more competitive and businesses need to act more ethical to ensure that their products are being sold, since brand image could increase because consumers can see that the business is more environmentally friendly. Especially nowadays, that people are starting to realise more about the current state of their environment, therefore customers are more likely to buy the product that has a more ethical background.
Finally, the report analyse a short opinion survey on what influences consumer purchasing behaviour on a small group of students at GSM campus was conducted. The study reports that while majority of the participants regard ethics as important but response results indicate that the importance of ethics does not automatically influence consumer buying behaviour. The report concludes however that ethical consumerism can be a tool for change in shaping the way companies operate.
Introduction: Marketing, in contemporary times, has seen a tumultuous change in the way it's conducted in developing countries. The oft cited dictum that only change is constant in the marketing genre is an apposite one. Just as the media of social communication themselves have enormous influence everywhere, so advertising and marketing, using media as their vehicles, are pervasive, powerful forces shaping attitudes and behavior in today's world. Four reasons are attributed to the fugacious nature of the way marketing practices are being carried out in developing countries 1. The role of Information and Communication technologies: As ICTs evolve so do marketing practices. If
Ethical consumerism could either be an individual based activity or an organizational based activity where a campaign encourages people to act more ethically regarding behaviour. Ethical consumerism has three major variables: which are listed below
Mars chocolate is one of the worlds leading chocolate manufacturers and employs more than 13,000 people across 110 sites worldwide. As market leaders in their industry, Mars is constantly in the spotlight. Being responsible in the way they conduct business is part of the reason they are in the highly regarded position that they are in today. The sourcing of cocoa however is currently one the greatest ethical dilemma’s facing not only Mars, but all chocolate companies all over the world.
Not done in accordance with ethics and if the marketing management is unable to meet