Ethical Issues in Marketing and Management

Question: Discuss about the Ethical Issues in Marketing and Management. Answer: Ethical issues in marketing field Ethical issues in marketing arise out of any of the conflicts and disagreements with their Stakeholders or their Vendors. All the parties involved in marketing of a specific product or a service would bring their own set of values and expectations in managing the business. The methods in which the business is conducted and the relationships are maintained would be the decisive factors for each facet of marketing to scale high (Sandilands, nd). Ethical issues in marketing exist in various segments like research and design, planning and implementation for example false advertising is one of the issues in marketing. Other issues could be copying the designs and campaigns, inserting unethical messages, exploiting social rights of people, subjecting marketing to some extreme vulnerabilities and post sales differences (Aana, 2012). Copying the designs and campaigns Examples of products which showcase a single segment of consumers like the advertisements related to detergents and kitchenware where the women are the centre of focus in general and they are showcased as the ones who are always at home (Sandilands, nd). Such type of advertisements might bring happiness and contentment to some the class of people however it might be in much of an opposition to the women as in the present times, the men are equally contributing to the household responsibilities (Aana, 2012). Inserting unethical messages There have been a lot of food advertisements around like the Kelloggs which propose that their Consumers practice eating the Kelloggs flakes for 2 weeks and they reduce in weight within 2 weeks. This is a direct example of false advertising which misleads the Consumers into false buying. The most surprising fact which is to be questioned in this context is how these advertisements pass the censor board of marketing to begin with (Aana, 2012). This poses a direct question on the ethical abilities of the concerned marketing boards of a specific Country. Misguiding the Consumers by concealing the dark side of the products Unethical practices of marketing can be mostly seen in all the beauty products where for example, if we consider the case of a product which acts as a face cream, if a Consumer tends to look at the ingredients used, he would find that most of them are chemical based which can cause harm to the skin in the longer run than offering any protection for the skin (Autier 2009). The examples of such ingredients could be Oxybenzone which is used in all the sunscreens and this in specific is reported to cause various skin allergies and infections to the Users (Autier , Dor , Eggermont Coebergh, 2011). The Product Companies conceal these facts which could be dangerous in causing Cancer related diseases because they dont think of providing their Consumers with a long term satisfaction (Acs American Cancer Society 2015). Cases of companies in Australia who has been having some issues regarding the way they pursue their business Australian Companies Lowes Best Less was recently named as the worst brands in the Fashion Industry as F D grade performers. The brand is about the Group Just which has a lot of brands to its credit like Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Portmans and Dotti. All these brands in specific have received a Grade D for their fashion and a Grade F for their Worker Rights. Most of the fashion industries are into the clothes line where the cotton for the clothes is produced in various other Countries in various conditions including the weather and working conditions. None of the Retail industries had any ideas of the place where their Cotton was being sourced from (Donelly, 2015). A recent survey conducted has reported that almost 90 91 % of the Companies didnt know where their cotton has been produced and the working conditions of the people involved in producing cotton and almost 70 75% of the Companies have reported that they had no idea where their fabric was also sourced from (Donelly, 2015). This situation has arised because most of the Fashion Retail Industries dont perform any audit or meetings in terms of connecting with their Vendors and Fashion supply chains where they can communicate about their concern for the quality of produce and quality of living conditions of their workers. Most of the times the brands Just dont interact with their Workers and they are also unaware of if the issues related to the work environment of their workers. There have been some of the Companies like Cotton On, H M, Etiko and Audrey Blue which has been graded A consecutively for their care and concern towards their Employees and the Environment. All these brands of the A Category have boycotted Cotton from the Worlds largest cotton exporters Uzbekistan which had a lot of children under the ages of 10 working in their cotton fields. The Companies with unethical marketing and sales standards have not boycotted the cotton imports from Countries like Uzbekistan and have been graded with lowest grades of D F (Donelly2015). Marketing Obesity There have been a lot of discussions based on entertaining and retaining junk food as it involves most of the bigger names in the Food Industry like the Mc Donalds and Dominos. It has to be propagated that advertising is only a simple mechanism of delivery of the product information. The term Product information here is critical because the Companies advertising the product or the service should highlight all the facts related to the Product (Dr Jolly, 2011). The two products which come under this category are the junk food and alcohol. As per the report to the New South Wales University by the Australian Centre for Health Promotion, Marketing has been identified as the main core of issues to overweight and ill health as it can influence the consumption patterns of teenagers and children as they are the most innocent age group (Dr Jolly, 2011). Consumption of such unruly food items can enhance the risk of obesity which is almost hidden during the marketing of such products. The same case can also be applied to the fast food snacks which fall into the Chips category. Television has been the greatest promoter of such food categories in order to target the innocent audience such as the children who watch television. A study which was conducted by the Australians Divisions of General Practice ADGP has confirmed that almost 90 96% of the junk food related advertisements are shown during the children show timings. Fig: (Aph 2011) Australians Divisions of General Practice ADGP has also confirmed that there were no healthy messages which were promoted during the shows or there were no signals which have shown that the children would become obese on eating such junk food products. This is a classic example of straight false marketing where the marketing ethical standards are not practiced. This takes place in all the unregulated and unsolicited environments where the Governments have not imposed any restrictions on the type of food products which are sold. Australians Divisions of General Practice ADGP and the Australian Cancer Councils have come together to regulate stricter policies in marketing products of various categories by regularising the unregulated environment. They have together ensured that the genuine societal concerns were all addressed and solved with such interventions (Dr Jolly, 2011). Advertising should be planned and delivered in a thoughtful way where the information is not challenging for people to analyse and they should be able to accept in a positive way which in turn can help in promoting the sales of the products. Brands should be marketed in a way where they can be fun to accept and follow as treats for entertainment and life where they can also be valued for longer terms. Availability and provision of wide types of choices might be the trend in the present times however this trend has been promoted with the entry of newer brands in the market which sell the similar products. This promotes a sense of responsibility of marketing a specific product like the one which Cadburys has adapted and implemented (Afr, 2015). The Brand has involved a lot of kids the cartoon development where it has spent millions of dollars in designing the cartoon. The Management at Cadburys felt that they are promoting a responsible way of marketing as it is the Childrens product and it is they who have to own it (Afr 2015). The Australian Food and Grocery Council AFGC have also developed a responsible method of marketing where the junk foods are marketed and promoted with a greater sense of conscientiousness and value (Dr Jolly, 2011). References Aana 2012, AANA Code of Ethics, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://aana.com.au/content/uploads/2014/05/AANA-Code-of-Ethics.pdf. Acs American Cancer Society 2015, Cancer Facts Figures 2015, American Cancer Society, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@editorial/documents/document/acspc-044552.pdf. Afr 2015, Strong Ethics are more than their own reward, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/strong-ethics-are-more-than-their-own-reward-20150525-gh93l3. Dr Jolly, R 2011, Marketing Obesity Junk Food, Advertising and Kids, Viewed on August 25th2016, https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1011/11rp09. Autier, P 2009, Sunscreen abuse for intentional sun exposure. Br J Dermatol 161 Suppl 3: 40-5. Autier, P, Dor JF, Eggermont AM, Coebergh JW 2011, Epidemiological evidence that UVA radiation is involved in the genesis of cutaneous melanoma. Curr Opin Oncol. 2011 (2): 189-96. DOI: 10.1097/CCO.0b013e3283436e5d. Acs American Cancer Society 2015, Cancer Facts Figures 2015, American Cancer Society, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@editorial/documents/document/acspc-044552.pdf. Donnelly, B 2015, Damning report on exploitation in Australian Fashion Industry, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/damning-report-on-exploitation-in-australian-fashion-industry-20150415-1mm4yz.html. Hendy, N 2016, Nine ways to get Customers to love your Business, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://www.smh.com.au/small-business/growing/nine-ways-to-get-customers-to-love-your-business-20160804-gql7so.html. Sandilands, T nd, Marketing Issues that have ethical implications, Viewed on August 25th 2016, https://smallbusiness.chron.com/marketing-issues-ethical-implications-24089.html.