A634.5.4.RB_MaceRoyce
After reading the article "Marketing Ethics" by Linda Ferrell:
Providing ethical guidelines to employees is better than not presenting any at all. If expectations and standards are set to begin with, all stakeholders (to include employees) can better understand what is ethically important. For example, the U.S. Air Force has three core values that communicate to new recruits the importance strong military ethics. Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do are the three values that are consistently preached from day one.
These three values are the Air Force's way of giving even the newest or youngest recruit a baseline for what constitutes ethical behavior. Simply put, if you as an individual cannot live up to these core values, it is likely that you will not be in military service long. The civilian population expects the best of each and every Airman and these core values help to ensure just that. Ethical guidelines are vitally important because they instill a culture where all stakeholders understand the expectations and can keep each other in check by utilizing them.
2. How can companies balance the need to win with being ethical?
Balancing the need to win with being ethical is never easy. Ferrell (n.d.) provides numerous examples of companies like Coca-Cola who pursued the "win at all costs" attitude. This attitude cost them millions in the process and damaged their reputation severely. As Ferrell (n.d.) suggests, squandering a reputation can be far more harmful to a company than poor sales performance. Reversing a negative reputation as it relates to ethics can many times be insurmountable.
To counter this problem, companies can provide positive reinforcements to stakeholders who act ethically despite the temptations of "group think" or the fear of reprisal from their peers. Companies should support scrupulous whistle blowers who report ethics violations and other questionable actions. Also, companies should reinforce an attitude that while winning is important, acting ethically is more important - without ethics, winning will not be possible.
3. Is it ethical to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes?
Companies obviously make money off of consumer data, so while it may sounds a little crazy, consumers should make money in return! All things being fair, consumers should be rewarded for their data. Something in the form of discounts or monetary reward. While I don't see this happening in the near future, I think that a company could break the positive trend towards higher ethics with such a move. I would imagine consumers responding very positively and sales increasing for many companies who treated their customers this way.
1. Do you feel ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers?
Providing ethical guidelines to employees is better than not presenting any at all. If expectations and standards are set to begin with, all stakeholders (to include employees) can better understand what is ethically important. For example, the U.S. Air Force has three core values that communicate to new recruits the importance strong military ethics. Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do are the three values that are consistently preached from day one.
These three values are the Air Force's way of giving even the newest or youngest recruit a baseline for what constitutes ethical behavior. Simply put, if you as an individual cannot live up to these core values, it is likely that you will not be in military service long. The civilian population expects the best of each and every Airman and these core values help to ensure just that. Ethical guidelines are vitally important because they instill a culture where all stakeholders understand the expectations and can keep each other in check by utilizing them.
2. How can companies balance the need to win with being ethical?
Balancing the need to win with being ethical is never easy. Ferrell (n.d.) provides numerous examples of companies like Coca-Cola who pursued the "win at all costs" attitude. This attitude cost them millions in the process and damaged their reputation severely. As Ferrell (n.d.) suggests, squandering a reputation can be far more harmful to a company than poor sales performance. Reversing a negative reputation as it relates to ethics can many times be insurmountable.
To counter this problem, companies can provide positive reinforcements to stakeholders who act ethically despite the temptations of "group think" or the fear of reprisal from their peers. Companies should support scrupulous whistle blowers who report ethics violations and other questionable actions. Also, companies should reinforce an attitude that while winning is important, acting ethically is more important - without ethics, winning will not be possible.
3. Is it ethical to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes?
To be honest, this practice doesn't bother me all that much. Many companies who I interact with provide the disclaimer that they will not sell my data or personal information with a third party unless I explicitly allow them to. It seems to me that this rule was created to protect consumers and companies both. I think one thing that could make it more fair to the consumer ethically would be to pay the consumer to share their buying habits or web visits.
Companies obviously make money off of consumer data, so while it may sounds a little crazy, consumers should make money in return! All things being fair, consumers should be rewarded for their data. Something in the form of discounts or monetary reward. While I don't see this happening in the near future, I think that a company could break the positive trend towards higher ethics with such a move. I would imagine consumers responding very positively and sales increasing for many companies who treated their customers this way.
4. As a leader, how will you manage the ethical aspects of your marketing efforts?
As a leader, I will make it my goal to instill ethical values throughout the company, reward those who act ethically, and hold myself to the highest of ethical standards. The last part can be tricky. We as individuals may neglect self-reflection or feedback from others when given the power to lead. In order to counter this, I would like to institute quarterly 360 feedback sessions where my subordinates and/or peers would rate my ethical behavior.
As far as "carrots and sticks" are concerned, I will do my best to be fair and balanced when it comes to unethical behavior from employees. As a leader, it is important to hand down a punishment that fits the crime. To do this, I will consider an employee's work history, performance, the severity of the ethics violation, and any other pertinent information that may affect the decision. Additionally, it would be important to convene with my leadership team or staff prior to making any decisions thus encouraging ethical "buy-in" at all levels.
References
Ferrell, L. (n.d.). Marketing Ethics. Retrieved from
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