Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Ethics in Marketing
Ethics are a collection of principles of right conduct that shape the decisions people or organizations make. Practicing ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs, to marketing
and wants, there has been greater focus on organizations' adhering to ethical
values rather than simply providing products. This focus has come about for two reasons.
their customers and look for ways to protect their long-term interests.
Second, ethical abuses frequently lead to pressure (social or government) for institutions to assume greater responsibility for their actions. The central and state government agencies are charged both with enforcing the laws and creating policies to limit unfair marketing practices. Because regulation cannot be developed to cover every possible abuse, organizations and industry groups often develop codes of ethical conduct or rules for behavior to serve as a guide in decision making.
Promotion practices are deceptive when the seller intentionally misstates how a product is constructed or performs, fails to disclose information regarding pyramid sales (a sales technique in which a person is recruited into a plan and then expects to make money by recruiting other people), or employs bait-and-switch selling techniques (a technique in which a business offers to sell a product or service, often at a lower price, in order to attract customers who are then encouraged to purchase a more expensive item). False or greatly exaggerated product or service claims are also deceptive. When packages are intentionally mislabeled as to contents, size, weight, or use information, that constitutes deceptive packaging.
Selling hazardous or defective products without disclosing the dangers, failing to perform promised services, and not honoring warranty obligations are also considered deception.
Norms
There are three norms named in the American Marketing Association code of ethics: Marketers will do no harm, foster trust and embrace ethical
values.
Values
The AMA code of ethics also lists six values. Marketers must embrace honesty in their transactions, take responsibility for their activities and exhibit fairness for both the buyer and seller. They must also show respect for all stakeholders, transparency in their operations and responsible citizenship in the community.
For Example - Indian scenario There were some reports in the newspapers in the recent past regarding promotional expenses being made by the Pharma companies. The reports suggest that some unethical marketing practices are being followed by certain pharma companies. Keeping in view the seriousness of the allegations made in the media reports, Department of Pharmaceuticals felt the need to take up the matter in the interest of the consumers/patients as such promotional expenses being extended to doctors had direct implications on the pricing of drugs and its affordability. After discussing the issues with the Pharma Associations/Industry, this Department has been able to persuade most of the associations to have Code of ethics. Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and Indian Drug Manufacturers Association have informed that they along with Confederation of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry (CIPI), Federation Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs (FOPE), Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) and SME Pharma Industries Confederation (SPIC) have worked out the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCMP).
There is a widespread belief that marketing and advertising make exaggerated claims and values that the product does not deliver. There could often be a fine line between what a rational person may accept as a reasonable exaggeration and what is misleading.
The argument against this is that marketing targets those who can afford
to pay for the product, and this often discriminates against poorer sections of society, who have access to only inferior products.
This criticism is often valid, but at the same time, while many low end
products are inferior to their high end counterparts, they still have improved in comparison to some years ago.
Ethics in Marketing
Marketing ethics is the area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. Some areas of marketing ethics (ethics of advertising and promotion) overlap with media ethics.
Frameworks of analysis for marketing ethical: Possible frameworks: 1. Value-oriented framework, analyzing ethical problems on the basis of the values which they infringe (e.g. honesty, autonomy, privacy, transparency). An example of such an approach is the AMA Statement of Ethics. 2. Stakeholder-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect (e.g. consumers, competitors, society as a whole). 3. Process-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems in terms of the categories used by marketing specialists (e.g. research, price, promotion, placement.)