Unethical Marketing and its Consequences
Unethical Marketing and its Consequences
By
Jose Gonzalez
Dr. Henry Roehrich
Park University
MK351
26 January 2014
Outline
Purpose Statement: To provide an understanding what constitutes ethics in marketing, what are some of the laws and code of ethics that protect unethical practices, and provide some examples of unethical behavior in marketing and their consequences?
I. What constitutes ethics in marketing?
A. Definition of marketing ethics
II. What are some of the laws and code of ethics that protect unethical practices?
A. The Federal Trade Commission
B. The American Marketing Association
III. What are several examples of unethical behavior in marketing and their consequences?
A. Misleading Advertising
B. Exploitation
C. Pushy Sales Tactics
IV. Conclusion
Unethical Marketing and its Consequences
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” - Peter Drucker, Management consultant Today, it seems as though everyone is aware of ethics, and what ethical values he or she holds and how they apply to their everyday life. Similarly, many companies are changing their structures, training their staff and defining the high importance and expectations when it comes to ethics in business, specifically marketing. Over the many years that businesses have advertised products and services, advertising has gained the general reputation of being dishonest or in some cases adversarial. However, all marketing is not adversarial or stacked in favor of the marketer. A very popular view of marketing in an article from the iContact Corporation website called “Marketing Ethics” makes the stated how marketing ethics in general “is inherently evil, with little truth or outrageous claims that are designed to generate sales. One of the best examples of this is the products promoted on late night television in infomercials.
By
Jose Gonzalez
Dr. Henry Roehrich
Park University
MK351
26 January 2014
Outline
Purpose Statement: To provide an understanding what constitutes ethics in marketing, what are some of the laws and code of ethics that protect unethical practices, and provide some examples of unethical behavior in marketing and their consequences?
I. What constitutes ethics in marketing?
A. Definition of marketing ethics
II. What are some of the laws and code of ethics that protect unethical practices?
A. The Federal Trade Commission
B. The American Marketing Association
III. What are several examples of unethical behavior in marketing and their consequences?
A. Misleading Advertising
B. Exploitation
C. Pushy Sales Tactics
IV. Conclusion
Unethical Marketing and its Consequences
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” - Peter Drucker, Management consultant Today, it seems as though everyone is aware of ethics, and what ethical values he or she holds and how they apply to their everyday life. Similarly, many companies are changing their structures, training their staff and defining the high importance and expectations when it comes to ethics in business, specifically marketing. Over the many years that businesses have advertised products and services, advertising has gained the general reputation of being dishonest or in some cases adversarial. However, all marketing is not adversarial or stacked in favor of the marketer. A very popular view of marketing in an article from the iContact Corporation website called “Marketing Ethics” makes the stated how marketing ethics in general “is inherently evil, with little truth or outrageous claims that are designed to generate sales. One of the best examples of this is the products promoted on late night television in infomercials.
References: American Marketing Association. (2014). Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from Statement of Ethics: http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement%20of%20Ethics.aspx Burrow, J. L. (2009). Marketing (3 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Drucker, P. (2014). Search Quotes. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from Marketing Quotes & Sayings: http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/about/Marketing/1/popular/ Federal Trade Commission - Protecting America 's Consumers. (2014). Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from ftc.gov: http://www.ftc.gov/about-ft Mack, S. (2014). Chron. Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from Unethical Activities in the Field of Marketing: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/unethical-activities-field-marketing-65705.html Marketing Ethics. (2014). Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from iContact: http://www.icontact.com/define/marketing-ethics/ Marketography. (2010, Oct 3). Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from Ethical imperatives of a marketing company: http://marketography.com/tag/bureau-of-competition/ Penn, C. S. (2012, Jun 1). What Is Ethics In Marketing? Retrieved Jan 23, 2014, from christopherspenn.com: http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/06/what-is-ethics-in-marketing/