Ethics are the moral guideline that, ideally, should be the most important factor in making business decisions. Unfortunately, according to Principles of Marketing by Kotler & Armstrong (2012), “Because not all managers have fine moral sensitivity, companies need to develop corporate marketing ethics policies…” (601). Ethical marketing practices are key to marketing sustainability, but there is no official way to do business ethically. Therefore the responsibility falls on key decision makers and executives of a businesses marketing firm to decide which practices are ethically harmful.
While marketing may seem, on the surface, to be harmless and research-oriented, truthfully there are many ethical dilemmas present in marketing today. Some of these dilemmas include: charging higher prices on comparable goods for different targeted segments, marketing products as new and improved when they no more than remodels, refusing to do business in certain areas due to the population that lives within (red-lining), and bribing others for positive reviews of continued business. These issues and more have created a modern marketing environment in which the average consumer does not trust corporate marketing. In response to these recently rising issues, many consumers have began to show favoritism towards companies that are deemed more honest and ethical than competitors.
During my studies and coursework in BUS 306, I have gained the opportunity to see first hand the challenge in creating an ethically sound marketing campaign. While conducting secondary research for our market planning assignment, my team and I discovered that Apple has spent the past two years creating a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable supply chain operation that is being implemented globally (“Apple – Supplier Responsibility”, 2014). We knew that if we wanted to pair with Apple to create an indestructible iPhone, that we would have to match these standards that Apple has set for itself and all members of its global supply chain.
Image Source: (“Apple – Supplier Responsibility”, 2014)
Resources
Apple – Supplier Responsibility. (n.d.). Apple.com. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Chad Sorensen - Marketing Portfolio 