16 Ethics

Marketing Ethics
NIKE Socially Responsible? Background

Sweatshops and child labor overseas, with horrible working conditions.
Nike responds by
Implementing a companywide ethical code of conduct Commissioning an independent study of Nike factories abroad
Accusation: targeting low-income families by Creating a huge social making shoes an responsibility department expensive status symbol for poor urban Donating more than $37 street kids.
million to sports programs and 3 percent of earnings to charity.
Ethical Criticisms of Marketing

High prices Deceptive practices High-pressure selling Shoddy, harmful, or unsafe products Planned obsolescence Poor service to disadvantaged consumers
High Prices
Caused by:
High costs of distribution High advertising and promotion costs Excessive Why do branded products cost more than generics (i.e. store markups
(greed & profit pressures)
brand)?
The cost of advertising?
Deceptive Practices
Deceptive Pricing
Falsely advertising factory, wholesale, clearance or other seemingly large reductions from a phony high original retail (list) price.
Deceptive Promotion
Overstating a products features or performance, running rigged or fraudulent contests. Bait-and-Switch advertising
Deceptive Packaging
Exaggerating package contents through slick design, misleading quantity or quality imagery and misleading labeling
High-Pressure Selling
Salespeople are trained to deliver smooth, canned talks to entice purchase.
High-pressure selling persuades people to buy goods they neither need nor want. Driven by compensation structures (i.e. high bonus potentials). High-pressure selling ultimately destroys customer relationships and goodwill.
Shoddy or Unsafe Products

Includes
Poorly made products Products that do not perform well Products that deliver little benefit Harmful products (cause bodily harm, illness, even death)
How it happens
Undue focus on profit, increased production complexity, poorly trained labor, and poor quality control New products without safety track records Outsourcing of production often leads to quality
McDonalds and Obesity
A 2002 lawsuit unsuccessfully sued McDonalds on behalf of obese children, claiming McDs marketed food that is high in fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol.
Planned Obsolescence
Refers to:
Products needing replacement before they should because they are obsolete. (computers and
software)
Producers who change consumer concepts of acceptable styles. (clothing and fashion) Intentionally holding back attractive or advanced functional features, and introducing them later to make the old model obsolete. (electronics)
How do consumers attempt to combat Planned Obsolescence?
Poor Treatment of Disadvantaged Consumers

Examples
The poor are forced to shop in smaller stores where they pay more for inferior goods. The poor receive worse service (or no service) at stores. Redlining by national chain stores in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Poor are targeted for rapid refunds and other quick-money swaps.
Marketings Impact on Society as a Whole

Marketing creates false wants and needs Marketing makes people materialistic Marketing promotes poor quality products
Cultural Pollution
Does constant exposure to advertisements assault our senses?
Consumerism
Consumerism is an organized movement of citizens and government agencies to improve the rights and power of buyers in relation to sellers.
Buyers Rights
Buyers have the right to:
1. 2. 3. 4. not buy a product offered for sale. expect the product to be safe. expect the product to perform as claimed. be well informed about important aspects of the product. 5. be protected against questionable products and marketing practices. 6. influence products and marketing practices in ways that will improve their quality of life.
Environmental Sustainability
Sustaining the environment while producing profits for the company. The Triple Bottom Line Levels of environmental sustainability:
Pollution prevention Product stewardship New environmental-friendly technologies Sustainability vision
Environmental Sustainability
The Dell recycling program helps customers recycle or donate old computer equipment.
Societal Classification of Products
Global Marketing Ethics

Business standards and practices vary greatly between countries.
Bribery and kickbacks are illegal in the U.S., but are legal and even standard business practice in other countries.
Should companies maintain a consistent set of ethical standards to be used worldwide?

16 Ethics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

16 Ethics

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

16 Ethics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Marketing Ethics

NIKE Socially Responsible? Background

million to sports programs and 3 percent of earnings to charity.

Ethical Criticisms of Marketing

The cost of advertising?

Shoddy or Unsafe Products

McDonalds and Obesity

Poor Treatment of Disadvantaged Consumers

Marketings Impact on Society as a Whole

Does constant exposure to advertisements assault our senses?

Societal Classification of Products

Global Marketing Ethics

Should companies maintain a consistent set of ethical standards to be used worldwide?

You might also like