For the first question asked if ethical guidelines make a
difference to marketers? That honestly depends on the end state of what their
actual goals are. Just like the article discussed that there were several
companies that lied, manipulated, and did other means to ensure they make a
profit in some sort of way at the end of the day. Ferrell (n.d) stated “understanding
individuals’ moral philosophies and reasoning processes is one approach that is
often cited for recognizing and resolving ethical issues. (p. 5) There are some
cases where the perception of what marketer put out is always misinterpreted by
their consumers. It may not be intentional of course, but it will always leave
you with that thought in your head of what can actually be seen behind the
scenes. Just like the case of AT&T for advertising “Unlimited Data” to its
consumers then slowing their data speed once it reached a certain cap. The
ethics involved here is having customers pay top dollar for the assumption of
unlimited data.
For companies to find that balance of winning at the same
time being ethical they simply just have to choose that hard right versus the
easy wrong. There are times however, where one will have to break away from the
balance of being ethical in order to win just like the journalist John Sharder
who covered the Barry Bonds Steroid scandal back in 2001. Shrader (2011) wrote “to
please the people who paid me was to betray my loyalty to myself and to my
audience.” (p. 71) Sometimes you have to play along in order to get along and
to truthfully state especially in the marketing scene, being ethical sometimes
is not an option, most especially in careers such as journalism. Ferrell stated
“most unethical behavior is not done for personal gain it’s done to meet performance
goals. (p. 6)
When it comes to buying habits or web visits, I see it as
ethical especially for marketing purposes. So long as they are within their
organizational goals they would be fine. Ferrell (n.d) stated “Marketing
managers cannot motivate employees or coordinate implement marketing strategies
without effective communication about values, standards, and expectations.” (p.
7) going back to it again, if the individual knows their left and right limits
of what they can and cannot do, it may be unethical from a personal standpoint
but maybe ethical within their organization’s view.
As a leader, I would manage my marketing efforts through the
trends of society. With what is going on in today’s world, the consumers know
what is right and wrong when it comes to a product of a company. Ferrell (n.d)
wrote “Leadership requires an understanding of the firm’s vision and values, as
well as the challenges of responsibility and risk in achieving organizational
objectives.” (p. 7) There will be risks but so long as I am in the right path
of what it is in the best interest of the organization I will make decisions
based off that.
References:
Ferrell, L. (n.d) “Marketing Ethics” retrieved from: http://college.cengage.com/business/modules/marktngethics.pdf
Shrader, J. (2011). Being ethical when it's bad for
business. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(1), 71-74.
doi:10.1080/08900523.2010.497040
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