Business Ethics Liz Haman EMKT 6120 Pass out Handout #1: Ethical Situations and ask students to take a minute to complete it. Ask volunteers to give their rankings out loud to the class.
Diversity and Ethics Explain to students that because we are all different and come from a range of backgrounds, our answers our different. Ethics vary from person to person.
Objectives Define Ethics and learn how to make the right ethical choices. Learn about corporate values and ethical choices. Understand values and ethics in International Business. Relate ethics to the marketing field.
Definition of Ethics Ethics are the rules that direct your conduct and moral judgments. Help translate your values into appropriate and effective behaviors in your day-to-day life. Determine how you do business and with whom. Ethical issues can become cloudy. Where will you draw the line between right and wrong? Ethical issues become cloudy because of diversity among people, as was pointed out in the beginning of the powerpoint.
How to Make the Right Ethical Choices Learn to distinguish between right and wrong. There is no free lunch Never work for just money or power. Be honest. Act with integrity Sell the shadow for the substance. Don’t expect to receive something without working hard. Money and power do not determine happiness. Talk the talk and walk the walk. Don’t mistake charm for decency or sincerity.
How to Make the Right Ethical Choices Make certain your values are in harmony with those of your employer. Shared values provide a strong bond for employees and their organization. Don’t let your life be driven by the desire for immediate gratification. Will prevent you from taking shortcuts. 2. BMS Software focuses on the whole person- mind, body, and spirit. Employees work long hours. 3. Don’t let pressure from friends, family, or your employer make you have a “get-the-deal-done-today” attitude. This leaves little time for ethical deliberation and can lead to shortcuts which may cause you to lose sight of long term goals.
Corporate Values and Ethical Choices Corporate Crime is a problem. Honda: 18 former executives and bribery of $50 million Organizations attempting to improve ethics. Harley Davidson Tell the truth Be fair. Keep your promises. Respect the individual. Encourage intellectual curiosity.
Corporate Values and Ethical Choices Help Prevent Corporate Crime Honor ethics codes. Seek honorable coworkers. Participate in ethics training. Support whistle-blowing. Revealing wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority. If your company is doing something that is unethical in your mind, be a whistleblower. If what they are doing is legal but against your values and ethics, look for a new job where ethics are similar to your own.
Values and Ethics in International Business Examples: Bribery used to secure foreign contracts. 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Human rights violations: child labor, low wages, and long hours. Lack of sensitivity to foreign customs. US Congress passed the 1977 Act. Starbucks and Levi Strauss have focused on human rights. Foreign customs- Pass out Handout #2: Business Conversation in China.
Governmental Regulatory Agencies Serve as watchdogs to monitor for potential violations of the law: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) TV, Radio, and Telephone Industry U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Mail-type marketing materials Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Deceptive or misleading marketing tactics Sometimes our ethics can be based on or influenced by government agencies. Their laws can serve as guidelines for our own ethical beliefs and decisions.
Marketing and Ethics 3 Questions marketers ask: Product recalls Is the practice right, fair, and honest? What would happen if the product were marketed differently? What practice will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people? Product recalls Cars Tylenol In the past some car companies have had to decide if they should recall cars because of faulty parts. Unfortunately, the decision is made based on comparing the cost of the recall versus the cost of potential lawsuits due to injury or even death. McNeil Consumer Products pulled Tylenol products off the shelves nationwide in 1982 when someone was poisoned by a capsule that had been tampered with. The company developed tamper resistant packaging that we have today. Ethical decisions such as this one set the standard for other companies.
Marketing and Ethics Code of Ethics for American Marketing Association Consumerism (1900s) Societal effort to protect consumer rights by putting legal, moral, and economic pressure on business. Code of Ethics gives provisions for truthfulness and fairness in marketing activities such as advertising, selling, pricing, marketing research, and product development. To learn more, go to www.marketingpower.com and do a search for Code of Ethics and it will be pulled up. JFK came up with the Consumer Bill of Rights : To be informed and protected against fraud, deceit, and misleading statements, and to be educated in the wise use of financial resources. To be protected from unsafe products. To have a choice of goods and services. To have a voice in product and marketing decisions made by government and business.
Review Ethics are the rules that direct your conduct and moral judgments Follow the 3 steps to making ethical choices. Help Prevent Corporate Crime Support whistle blowing! Ethics and values range across international borders. Marketers follow a code of ethics. 3 steps to making ethical choices: Learn to distinguish between right and wrong. Make certain your values are in harmony with those of you employer. Don’t let your life be driven by the desire for immediate gratification Distribute Handout #3: Business Ethics Evalauation.