Social responsibility and ethics in marketing

and dimensions of social responsibility
To define and describe the importance of marketing ethics
To become familiar with ways to improve ethical decisions in marketing
To understand the role of social responsibility and ethics in improving marketing performance

Social Responsibility
The Nature of Ethics
Incorporating Social Responsibility and Ethics into Strategic Planning

Responsibility

The Dimensions of Social Responsibility
Social responsibility
An organization’s obligation to maximize its positive impact and minimize its negative impact on society
Marketing citizenship
The adoption of a strategic focus for fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic social responsibilities expected by stakeholders
Stakeholders
Constituents who have a “stake” or claim in some aspect of the company’s products, operations, markets, industry, and outcomes

Asmus, with Sandra Waddock and Samuel Graves, “100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2003,” Business Ethics, www.business-ethics.com/100best.htm (accessed Oct. 24, 2003).

Social Responsibility

FIGURE 4.1

Source: Archie B. Carroll, “The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders,” adaptation of Figure 3, p. 42. Reprinted from Business Horizons, July/Aug. 1991. Copyright © 1991 by the Foundation for the School of Business at Indiana University. Reprinted with permission.

Responsibility (cont’d)

The Dimensions of Social Responsibility
Marketing ethics
Principles and standards that define acceptable marketing conduct as determined by various stakeholders
Cause-related marketing
The practice of linking products to a particular cause on an ongoing or short-term basis
Strategic philanthropy
The synergistic use of organizational core competencies and resources to address key stakeholders’ interests and achieve both organizational and social benefits

how a company's employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions

of the European Commission.

specific development, pricing, promotion, and distribution of products that do not harm the natural environment
Green Marketing Goals
Eliminate the concept of waste
Reinvent the concept of a product
Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs
Make environmentalism profitable

efforts of independent individuals, groups, and organizations to protect the rights of consumers
Lobbying government officials and agencies
Letter-writing campaigns and boycotts
Public service announcements
Coverage by the news media and the Internet
Consumer “Bill of Rights”
Right to safety
Right to be informed
Right to choose
Right to be heard

Relations
Expectations of firms as “good corporate citizens”
Philanthropic contributions to civic projects and institutions
Educational, health, cultural, and recreational
Employee volunteer participation
Employment opportunities and economic development

(cont’d)

Gray
Areas

(cont’d)

Ethical Issues in Marketing
An identifiable problem, situation, or opportunity requiring a choice among several actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical

Ethical Decision-Making Process in Marketing

FIGURE 4.3

(cont’d)

The Ethical Decision-Making Process
Influence factors
Individual—personal values and principles of right and wrong, socialization through family, social groups, religion, and education
Organizational—work groups, committees, coworkers
Opportunity—business and organizational conditions which limit, punish, encourage, or reward ethical/unethical decisions

Values to Employee Satisfaction

FIGURE 4.4

Source: Ethics Resource Center, The Ethics Resource Center’s 2000 National Business Ethics Survey: How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work (Washington, D.C.: Ethics Resource Center, 2000), p. 85. Reprinted with permission.

Compromise Ethics Standards at Work

FIGURE 4.5

Source: Ethics Resource Center, The Ethics Resource Center’s 2000 National Business Ethics Survey: How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work (Washington, D.C.: Ethics Resource Center, 2000), p. 38. Reprinted with permission.

(cont’d)

Improving Ethical Conduct in Marketing
Codes of conduct (ethics)
Formalized rules and standards that describe what the company expects of its employees
Ethics officers
High-ranking persons (known to respect legal and ethical standards) in the organization who have responsibilities for
creating and distributing codes of conduct.
providing advice about ethical issues.
overseeing and enforcing of the code of conduct.

(cont’d)

Implementing Ethics and Legal Compliance Programs
Provide open communication and coaching on ethical issues (create a value-based corporate culture).
Enforce standards and impose penalties or punishment for codes of conduct violations.
Revise compliance programs as necessary.
Make compliance programs an essential part of the overall marketing strategy implementation.

Ethics into Strategic Planning

Overall Strategic Marketing Planning

Ethics Individual and
group decisions

Social Responsibility
The total effect of marketing decisions on society

Ethics Into Strategic Planning (cont’d)

Evaluating whether an activity is ethical and socially responsible
Ask other persons in the organization for their approval.
Contact concerned consumer, industry, and governmental groups.
Check company policies.

Ethics into Strategic Planning (cont’d)

Being socially responsible and ethical is not easy.
Requires organizational commitment to
constantly monitoring trends and changes in society’s values.
developing control procedures to prevent organizational decisions and actions from damaging customer relations.
attempting to predict the long-term effects of products and actions taken to meet current societal wants.

Ethics Into Strategic Planning (cont’d)

Social responsibility and ethics improve marketing performance.
Socially responsible companies (and their employees) can better respond to stakeholder demands.
A company’s reputation for social responsibility is important to consumers’ buying decisions.
Social responsibility and ethical behavior reduce the costs of legal violations, civil litigation, and damaging publicity.