Fundamental Issues in the Ethics of Marketing
Fundamental issues in the ethics of marketing
[edit]Frameworks of analysis for marketing ethically
Possible frameworks:
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 AMAStatement of Ethics.[1]
Stakeholder-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect (e.g. consumers, competitors, society as a whole).
Process-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems in terms of the categories used by marketing specialists (e.g. research, price, promotion, placement).
None of these frameworks allows, by itself, a convenient and complete categorization of the great variety of issues in marketing ethics.
[edit]Power-based analysis
Contrary to popular impressions, not all marketing is adversarial, and not all marketing is stacked in favour of the marketer. In marketing, the relationship between producer/consumer or buyer/seller can be adversarial or cooperative. For an example of cooperative marketing, see relationship marketing. If the marketing situation is adversarial, another dimension of difference emerges, describing the power balance between producer/consumer or buyer/seller. Power may be concentrated with the producer (caveat emptor), but factors such as over-supply or legislation can shift the power towards the consumer (caveat vendor). Identifying where the power in the relationship lies and whether the power balance is relevant at all are important to understanding the background to an ethical dilemma in marketing ethics.[2]
[edit]Is marketing inherently evil?
A popularist anti-marketing stance commonly discussed on the blogosphere[3] and popular literature[4] is that any kind of marketing is inherently evil. The position is based on the argument that marketing necessarily commits at least one of three wrongs:
Damaging personal autonomy. The victim of marketing in this case is
[edit]Frameworks of analysis for marketing ethically
Possible frameworks:
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 AMAStatement of Ethics.[1]
Stakeholder-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect (e.g. consumers, competitors, society as a whole).
Process-oriented framework, analysing ethical problems in terms of the categories used by marketing specialists (e.g. research, price, promotion, placement).
None of these frameworks allows, by itself, a convenient and complete categorization of the great variety of issues in marketing ethics.
[edit]Power-based analysis
Contrary to popular impressions, not all marketing is adversarial, and not all marketing is stacked in favour of the marketer. In marketing, the relationship between producer/consumer or buyer/seller can be adversarial or cooperative. For an example of cooperative marketing, see relationship marketing. If the marketing situation is adversarial, another dimension of difference emerges, describing the power balance between producer/consumer or buyer/seller. Power may be concentrated with the producer (caveat emptor), but factors such as over-supply or legislation can shift the power towards the consumer (caveat vendor). Identifying where the power in the relationship lies and whether the power balance is relevant at all are important to understanding the background to an ethical dilemma in marketing ethics.[2]
[edit]Is marketing inherently evil?
A popularist anti-marketing stance commonly discussed on the blogosphere[3] and popular literature[4] is that any kind of marketing is inherently evil. The position is based on the argument that marketing necessarily commits at least one of three wrongs:
Damaging personal autonomy. The victim of marketing in this case is
References: 4. ^ Paton, Maynard (2 January 2004). "Twenty Years Of The FTSE 100". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 10 February 2010. 9. ^ Ascribed to Cadbury plc. (19 January 2010). "A history of Cadbury 's sweet success". London: Times Online. Retrieved 30 May 2010. 10. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (27 January 1987). "General Cinema buys 8.3% of Cadbury Schweppes". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 11. ^ Holson, Laura M. (18 September 2000). "Cadbury to Pay $1.45 Billion For Snapple". New York Times (New York Times). Retrieved 2008-06-18. 18. ^ [2] Cadbury Dairy Milk to go Fairtrade in 2010 – Choclovers.com, August 2009 19. ^ Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent (23 January 2010)."Kraft pledges to honour Cadbury 's Fairtrade sourcing commitments at Guardian.co.uk" 22. ^ MacAlister, Terry (4 December 2009). "Don 't try to make a quick buck from Cadbury, Mandelson tells Kraft". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-01-10. 24. ^ a b Richardson, Tim (16 January 2010). "Get your hands off our sweets!". Guardian (London). Retrieved 28 April 2010 25. ^ "JP Morgan, BofA gear up to fund Hershey 's Cadbury bid".The Business Standard 26. ^ 3:51 p.m. 20 Dec. 2010 (22 January 2010). "Hershey: No plans for Cadbury bid". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 27. ^ de la Merced, Michael J.; Nicholson, Chris V. (19 January 2010). "Kraft to Acquire Cadbury in Deal Worth $19 Billion".New York Times 28. ^ Jannarone, John; Curtin, Matthew (16 January 2010)."Hershey 's Chocolate Dreams" 32. ^ Wood, Zoe; Treanor, Jill (19 January 2010). "£2m a day cost of Cadbury deal – plus £12m for the boss". The Guardian(London) 33. ^ Costello, Miles (18 December 2009) 34. ^ Weisenthal, Joe (8 September 2009). "Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Win Big In Kraft-Cadbury 's". The Business Insider 35. ^ Taylor, Peter (8 September 2009) 36. ^ Sunderland, Ruth (22 November 2009). "RBS kept client Cadbury in the dark as it prepared to back Kraft 's hostile bid". Guardian (London). Retrieved 28 April 2010 37. ^ "Clegg attacks Brown over RBS funding for Cadbury bid".BBC News 43. ^ Warde, Miles (16 March 2010). "Cadbury Keynsham workers 'sacked twice ' at bbc.co.uk". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-12-21. 54. ^ Namrata Singh, TNN, 19 Jun 2010, 02.51am IST (19 June 2010). "Cadbury India puts in place new top brass - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21. [edit]Further reading Bradley, John (2008) Cadbury, Deborah (2010). Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World 's Greatest Chocolate Makers. PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781586488208.