After reading the article by El Sayed and El Ghazaly
(n.d.), discuss your views on the following:
Do you feel ethical
guidelines make a difference to marketers?
To determine if ethical guidelines make a difference to
marketers, it is important to first understand what is considered an ethical
way to sell things. (Sojka & Spangenberg, 1994) According to the American Marketing
Association, ethical norms are considered to be the following: 1. Do no harm,
2. Foster trust in the marketing system, and 3. Embrace ethical values. (n.d.) What is ethical and what isn’t, I
feel, shifts through the decades as we have new social issues and ethical dilemmas
in our everyday life. I find that with
this shift, there is a definitely a test of just how far marketing can push our
ethical standards. Especially now, I
think that marketing agency are walking a fine line between ethical and
unethical within advertising products.
There has been a handful of times companies have apologized for their
marketing campaign or product – so I think at this point in history, ethical
guidelines do make a difference in terms of pushing the boundaries. Companies want to be ‘edgy’, but not
offensive. With the growth of the
internet and social media, it is much easier to determine how your messages are
being read in the public eye, so I believe marketers want to see how far they
can go in order to be discussed and talked about without being placed in a
negative light.
How can companies
balance the need to win with being ethical?
Transparency is becoming increasingly more important and
with that, comes having a certain level of ethical standards. “The expectations for corporate behavior are
constantly evolving…conduct that would have been ethically acceptable in one
era becomes unacceptable as expectations rise.” (Paine, 2002) The ever-evolving expectation for corporate
behavior has made the need for a balance between what companies need and what
is ethical even more important. A
company can completely fall apart with one misguided campaign. To balance a need to win with being ethical,
I think it is important to revert back to the ethical norms that were stated in
the AMA. First, do no harm, which
essentially means avoiding harmful actions or omissions by embodying high
ethical standards in the choices we make.
This is important because you are keeping not only your employees in
mind, but also the consumer in mind.
Second, foster trust in the marketing system. It is important to strive for good faith and
fair dealing. This shows the consumer
that the marketing company pays attention to other aspects of the business as
well, and not just making money. Third,
embrace ethical values. Building
relationships and enhancing consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing
by affirming these core values: honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect,
transparency, and citizenship. (AMA, n.d.)
Keeping these standards in mind, while still maintaining an “up-to-date”
and current campaign is equally as effective.
Is it ethical to
track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes?
In my opinion, it is not ethical to do this without the
consent of the consumer. It infringes on
our personal rights and encroaches on our privacy. While the idea of having products marketing
specifically for you in not inherently unethical, by not informing the consumer
about this is. Some people may argue
that it is the consumer’s responsibility for asking more questions when giving
out personal information, but to be fair, this seems to be a newer tactic with
the advances in technology. I just
recently found out that companies only need your name and zip code or phone
number to get everything they need. The
selling of this information feel likes we, as consumers, are becoming the
products.
As a leader, how will
you manage the ethical aspects of your marketing efforts?
While I haven’t had to deal too much with developing my own
marketing strategies, when thinking about the ways I market myself, whether for
an interview, making friends, etc., I always consider honesty to be the most
important aspect. When you lie about
something, whether it is a product or a personal fact, the truth will
eventually come out and you will lose trust in those around you. Trust is so hard to build, so I find it is
most important to be upfront about your product.
References
Sojka,
J., & Spangenberg, E. (1994). Ethical Concerns in Marketing Research. NA -
Advances in Consumer Research, 21, 392-396.
Sollie,
P. (2007). Ethics, technology development and uncertainty: An outline for any
future ethics of technology. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics
in Society, 5(4), 293-306.
Statement of Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 25, 2015.
Paine,
L. (2002, November 18). Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value
Shift [Online interview].
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