Welcome back, Readers! We’re going to look at ethics in Marketing this week. The question posed in our assignment for the week is, “Is Marketing Evil?” I harken back to reading comic books as a young lad. The allure of the advertisement for “X-ray glasses” that could see through clothes certainly was strong. How many of my peers sent money to the address and received a pair of sunglasses? I do not know. Even though I often wondered if such powerful glasses really existed, I did not send them and money.
Were those marketers evil or were they just betting that they could get enough 10-year-olds to get their parents to write a check for $4 to pay for the advertisement and maybe make a few dollars for themselves? Is that evil? Evil may be a bit too harsh a name for their fishing technique, but it was definitely false advertising.
Do ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers? Ferrell (2008) noted that most unethical behavior is driven by a need to meet performance goals, not for personal gain (p. 6). Given that premise, the goals set by the marketers’ bosses may have far more impact on their behavior than ethical guidelines the marketers may personally hold or that their organization espouses. Ferrell also pointed out, “In evaluating the key influences of ethical decision making, it is important to remember that ethical decisions are often made in groups or committees, and group thing combined with peer pressure often becomes more important than the influence of the individual” (2008, p. 6). Therefore, while ethical guidelines may be influential to the individual in the marketing department, pressure to hit various corporate goals combined with team interactions could lead to straying from the ethical path.
So, how can companies balance the need to win with being ethical? The simple answer is that being unethical can lead to situations that could lead to financial losses, personnel losses, or even the loss of the company. Ferrell referred to ethical issues that ended with people going to jail at WorldCom and in the loss of millions of dollars at Wal-Mart (2008, p. 6). I can recall Skecher’s shoes being fined millions of dollars for falsely claiming their shoes would tone people’s derrières just by walking in them (Chung, 2012). As Ferrell (2008) wrote, having an ethics plan can be a way for companies to bond to customers. If they can understand where their customers’ moral philosophies lie, it is advantageous for the company and they can build on that information. Wal-Mart has drawn on the idea that they provide lower cost goods for the middle-class and below to build an impressive market share. Hershey foods has built a reputation for quality that stands to this day (2008, p. 9). The loss of reputation due to ethical scandal should stand as a warning to all companies and marketers. WorldCom, Enron, and Union Carbide stand out as examples where marketing and ethics issues have led to corporate disaster. Yet, the issues persist. Ferrell cited data that fortified the rule of thumb known as the “ten-percent rule”. “In fact, academic studies have shown that in any workplace, at least 10 percent of the employees will take advantage of situations if the opportunity exists and the risk of being caught is low” (2008, p.6). Maintaining an ethical culture is difficult and must be attended to regularly.
As we shop, our buying, spending, and browsing habits are being tracked tallied. Is the collection of this data ethical? Is the use of that data to tailor marketing to us ethical? I think it goes back to how the data is collected and then used. If I agreed to allow the supermarket track my spending habits for a percentage off of each purchase, I am complicit. The line gets blurry when I see Amazon ads pop up with a comparable product when looking at Best Buy’s website. I don’t recall giving Amazon the right to see what I am shopping for elsewhere, but then again, I didn’t read the reams of agreements I “agreed” to when accessing Amazon’s site, either. Does that make me complicit? A lawyer would probably say so. A grander question may be whether the incredibly long user agreements are ethical. I think society has given marketing and sales departments across the globe access to amounts of data they never dreamed. Having access to that kind of data may far outrun the ethics departments at the companies mining the data and lead to more and more complicated issues.
As a leader, I will undoubtedly face ethical issues regarding the marketing of products or capabilities. The baseline for maintaining an ethical stance is my moral code and the ability to apply critical thinking to the situations I face. I can look to my company’s rules for guidance, but I must remember that the same pressures that caused many before me to falter will be present. The pressure to hit various performance targets, the pressure to make my superiors happy, and the pressure to go along with my peers and colleagues will be present. It is up to me to remember I am ultimately responsible and accountable for what I do, do not do, allow, or do not allow. I will rely on my ability to approach issues with a critical eye and I will rely on my beliefs and those whose opinion I value and trust.
Chung, J. (2012). Skechers Will Pay $45 Million And Stop Claiming Your Butt Will Look Better In Their Shoes. News. Retrieved from http://gothamist.com/2012/05/16/skechers_will_pay_45_million_stop_c.php
Ferrell, D. L. (2008). Marketing Ethics. Retrieved from http://college.cengage.com/business/modules/marktngethics.pdf
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