Question

This assignment about interview 2 leaders from two different organizations. I have a list of questions and the two organizations. I need you to write their responses. I will attach the instructions.

Answer

Marketing Ethics

Name of Student:

Institutional Affiliation:

Contents

Introduction. 2

Question One. 2

Question Two. 2

Question Three. 3

Question Four. 4

Question Five. 4

Question Six. 5

Question Seven. 5

Question Eight. 6

Conclusion. 6

Appendix: The List of Questions. 7

Introduction

The two companies that form the subject of the interviews are Bestway Products and Fashion Utah. Bestway Products is a large family-owned enterprise that sells its products to businesses, government, and the public while Fashion Utah manufactures products for women, mainly make-up and clothes. The interviewees are Justin, marketing manager at Bestway Products and Scott, marketing manager at Fashion Utah.

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Question One

            Bestway Products’ marketing manager, Justin, stated that the most common ethical issue in marketing is the use of propaganda and exaggeration to enhance product appeal. According to Justin, this is a major problem because the company’s employees sometimes feel as if they are violating ethical norms by telling half-truths about the products they are promoting. In contrast, Scott pointed out that women are too sexualized in virtually all the marketing activities being undertaken by Fashion Utah. In his view, this phenomenon raises a major ethical concern because it makes women look like objects to be exploited as opposed to human beings with dignity.

Question Two

            Justin’s view is that it is ethically wrong for market researchers to ask intrusive questions regarding consumers’ tastes and preferences. He pointed that whenever possible, his company’s market researchers always try as much as possible to maintain the anonymity of the consumers who participate in market surveys. However, he also observed that concerns about invasion of privacy tend to affect market research negatively because participants end up withholding answers, giving vague responses, or providing irrelevant answers. Another observation that Justin made was that it is difficult for a rule of thumb to be conceptualized to govern ethical issues relating to market research because ethical concerns tend to differ based on numerous factors, including sex, demographic group, culture, religion, and social norms. 

            As for Scott, the dominant view was that invasion of privacy is a serious problem because companies are increasingly taking advantage of consumers’ vulnerability and ignorance to obtain personal information in a manner that constitutes privacy violation. Scott argued that for the problem of invasion of privacy to be resolved, consumers must know their rights. They must be empowered with information on when to oblige to requests to participate in market surveys and when to turn down such requests. Scott added that this problem has been compounded by increased competition among companies, which drives them into using unorthodox means of obtaining critical market information in their struggle for competitive advantage.

Question Three

            According to Justin, sexual innuendo has traditionally been a strong selling point for virtually all products. As much as it does not seem like the right thing to do, it will always continue being perpetuated because it has been proven to drive sales. Justin also stated that more fundamentally, sexual innuendo is a reflection of desires, tastes, and preferences of members of society. It is unfortunate that some sections of society tend to be uncomfortable with the use of sex images during marketing. At the same time, Justin reiterated that societal concerns about the use of sexual innuendo may be justified if companies seem to be overusing sex as if it is the only thing that matters in life. To resolve this dilemma, Justin stated that companies should always ensure the level sexual explicitness is adapted to specific demographic group, market segment, or clientele to avoid public outcry about indecency and profanity.

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            Scott’s view about sexual innuendo was that it may depend on the product being advertised. He gave the example of his company, which specializes in manufacturing products for women such as clothes and make-up. In his view, there is nothing wrong with the use of sexual innuendo to market such products since women use them to look sexy anyway. However, he shared Justin’s view that social conventions provide limits beyond which it is wrong to overemphasize the relationship between a product and sexuality.

Question Four

            In response to this question, Justin indicated that negative advertising techniques are unethical. This is because they promote adversity instead of innovation in the market. His opined that a company does not have to mention the brand name of its competitor to engage in negative advertising techniques targeted at that competitor. This, according to Justin, is especially the case in markets that are dominated by two large competitors. In such a market, any negative advertising strategy may be correctly be interpreted to be directed at the main competitor. For this reason, Justin indicated that he would not engage in negative advertising techniques.

            Scott’s views on this issue were slightly different. According to him, negative advertising techniques are just but one of the numerous advertising strategies available to companies in a free market economy. Thus, he pointed that he would readily use negative advertising techniques for his company. Scott’s only concern was that some companies end up erring by using this advertising technique as the main (if not the only) driver of rivalry and competition. To this extent, Scott shared Justin’s observation that the resulting rivalry, hostility, and price wars may have a negative effect on innovation, product quality, and customer service.

Question Five

            Both Justin and Scott stated that there is nothing unethical about the use of electronic spam and telemarketing. Justin’s explanation was based on the claim that electronic spam is just like cold-calling, which has been used traditionally in corporate America without triggering any ethical concerns. Scott, on the other hand, explained his support for electronic spam and telemarketing by arguing that contemporary firms must adapt to new technologies in order to gain competitive edge. In his view, these new advertising channels are an embodiment of this technological change.

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Question Six

            Justin responded to this question by saying that a pricing strategy is an integral part of any company’s efforts to become the most dominant player in the market. His view was that if the pursuit of that objective necessitates the setting a very low price that drives competitors out of the market while creating barriers to the entry of new competitors, so be it. In contrast, Scott was noncommittal on the issue of setting a very low price, arguing that the ethical dimension of such a strategy may vary from one industry to the other. In Scott’s view, such strategies should be discouraged in industries in which a dominant player can gain a monopoly status by edging a weaker competitor out of the market by offering very low prices and later on using its monopolistic power to adjust prices upwards at will.

Question Seven

Both managers indicated that they would not sell customer information because it would be both unethical and illegal. According to Justin, another reason for not selling that information was that the buyer would most likely be a competitor. In his view, that would be tantamount to giving away his esteemed customers to another business enterprise. In his view, Scott highlighted the need for employees to refrain from such practices because they can erode the consumers’ confidence and loyalty in the company and its products.

Question Eight   

            Justin stated that the first step would be to withdraw both the product from the market. He also said he would promptly pull down the misleading advert. In Justin’s view, the best response should involve embarking on a product development strategy aimed at perfecting the quality of the product. In contrast, Scott said that his response would depend on the prevailing market situation. He explained that if the item being advertised was part of a whole product range that is widely known to have certain imperfections, he would not pull down the advert. Instead, he would simply add a disclaimer at the bottom of the poster, advising consumes about possible side effects and how to deal with them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the two managers, Justin and Scott, provided interestingly different views on some of the questions raised. For example, their views differ on the most pressing ethical issues for business, the use of sexual innuendo, negative advertising techniques, and low pricing strategy. However, there were some areas where the two managers seemed to share the same opinion, such as invasion of privacy, the use of electronic spam and telemarketing, and the selling of consumer data.

Appendix: The List of Questions

1. Question about: Business Ethics. What ethical issues you see most often in marketing?

2. Question about: Market Research. There are arguments about some ethical problems in market research like invasion of privacy. What do you think?

3. Question about: Advertising and Promotion. Some companies use Sexual innuendo (hints) is a mainstay of advertising content. What do you think about this type of advertising and promotion?

4. Question about: Advertising Techniques. The negative advertising techniques, the advertiser highlights the disadvantages of competitor products rather than the advantages of their own. Is it legal if a company did that type of advertising technique without mention other brand name? If yes would you do that?

5. Question about: Delivery Channels. Direct marketing is the most common advertising channels (TV commercials and direct mail). Recently electronic spam and telemarketing become more uses. From your point of view do you think it’s fine or unethical?

6. Question about: Pricing. Practice of selling a product or service at a very low price that may drive competitors out of the market, or create barriers to entry for potential new competitors. What do you think about that?

7. Question about: Market Research. Companies are always looking to get in touch with customers and find out about purchasing patterns. If company would like to buy the customer data from you for marketing purpose, like emails, addresses, what type of goods they bought. Would you sell that information?

8. Question about: Scenario could happen. Many products poster says it’s safe to use but in fact it’s not. If you discovered a flaw in one of your products. what would you do?