Chapter 4 Ethical and Social Responsibility in Marketing

Code of Ethics

A formal statement of ethical principles and rules of conduct. The American Marketing Association Statement of Ethics: Honesty, Responsibility, Fairness, Respect, Openness, Citizenship.

Moral Idealism

A personal moral philosophy that considers certain individual rights or duties as universal, regardless of the outcome. (No harm/safety)

Utilitarianism

A personal moral philosophy that focuses on "The greatest good for the greatest number" by assessing the costs and benefits of the consequences of ethical behavior.

Social Audit

A systematic assessment of a firm's objectives, strategies, and performance in terms of social responsibility.

Profit Responsibility

Companies have to maximize profits for their owners or stakeholders. [Stakeholders]

Whistle-blowers

Employees who report unethical or illegal actions of their employers.

Sustainable development

Involves conducting business in a way that protects the natural environment while making economic progress.

Green marketing

Marketing effort to produce, promote, and reclaim environmentally sensitive products.

Societal Responsibility

Obligations that organizations have (1) to the preservation of the ecological environment and (2) to the general public.

Social Responsibility

Organizations are part of a larger society and are accountable to that society for their actions. [Profit Responsibility, Stakeholder Responsibility, Societal Responsibility]

Triple-bottom line

Recognition of the need for organizations to improve the state of people, the planet, and profit simultaneously if they are to achievable sustainable long term growth.

Consumer Bill of Right

Right (1) to safety, (2) to be informed, (3) to choose, and (4) to be heard.

Cause Marketing

The charitable contributions of a firm are tied directly to the customer revenues produced through the promotion of one of its products.

Economic Espionage

The clandestine collection of trade secrets or proprietary information about a company's competitors.

Ethics

The moral principles and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual or group. [Laws are society's value and standards that are enforceable in the courts.]

Stakeholder Responsibility

The obligations an organization has to those who can affect achievement of its object. [Suppliers, distributors, employees, consumers]

Corporate Culture

The set of values, ideas, and attitudes that is learned and shared among the members of an organization.

Business culture

comprise the effective rules of the game, the boundaries between competitive and unethical behavior, and the codes of conduct in business dealings.