Unethical but Common Business Practices in the Marketing Field

ETHICS IN MARKETING

Ethics are a collection of principles of right conduct that shape the decisions people or organizations make. Practicing ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs, to marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in the organization.

 

In 2015, the Washington Ethics Resource Center stated that within the past year, almost half of us witnessed some form of ethical misconduct in the workplace. Some of the most common unethical behaviors include misuse of time, lying to employees, employee theft, and violating internet policies.

             

That last one is a big problem for corporations who coined the term Cyber slackers to brand us workers who surf the internet during office hours. Corporations have yet to find a practical way to tackle the multi-billion dollar problem of workers who would rather be surfing the internet, checking their social media accounts or watching The Info-graphics show on Youtube, when they should be either crunching numbers or working the phone.

Falsifying Product Information

 

Companies often band around the phrases “scientifically  proven” and “guaranteed results.” And yes, false advertising is alive and well, and on your television screen. From breakfast cereals that claim to make you more intelligent, to yogurts that keep you slim. While crossing the line between truth and lies often hauls in huge profits, it can, on occasion, hit the company in the preverbial gonads.

Beganin Caraethers was one of many consumers who brought a legal case against drinks company Red Bull, whose company slogan “It gives you Wings,” he found misleading. Caraethers had drank Red Bull for over 10 years and had not developed “wings” nor shown any signs of enhanced mental capabilities at all. Red Bull settled the class action case for $13 million in 2014, and Careathers and company flew happily away into the sunset.

 

Brand Bullying

 

 

Making a product appear superior by discrediting rival products, otherwise known as brand bullying

or advertising wars, is a common tactic that brushes the boundaries of ethical practice. One company simply bullies another out of the marketplace. Or maybe two companies go head to head and toe to toe battling it out for market share. Creative advertising is fun and fiercely competitive, but when brand marketers begin mocking their rival brands, we’re drifting into unethical waters. Pepsi and Coke have a long checkered history in the brand warfare trenches, as do phone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung. Lawsuits are uncommon with this type of practice. That’s due to corporate fear of waving the white flag and admitting that they’re the target of brand bullying. Best thing to do is regroup and fight back with a superior branding strategy.

Price fixing

 

 

This is the illegal agreement between industry competitors to “fix” the price of a produce at an inflated level. This industry standard unethical practice occurs frequently and is designed to protect market share. Nowhere is price-fixing more unethical than in the pharmaceutical industry. The deliberate pricing of drugs beyond the grasp of those most needing them – the poor and dying – is common business practice. American president Donald Trump in year 2018 accused the pharmaceutical companies of “getting away with murder,” and according to a recent article, his proposed budget will combat overpriced prescription drugs. And that’s the kind of war on drugs we want to see. Medical professionals refusing to provide emergency treatment. This refers to the questionably ethical decisions made by doctors who refuse to treat non-insured patients in emergency life/death situations. This is unethical, unprofessional, and reportedly occurs in hospitals all over the United States. Doctors, after training, must take the Hippocratic Oath, and although they can and do refuse emergency patients for many reasons, potential non-insurance coverage shouldn’t ethically be one of them. In most places in the world, health emergency care is delivered before insurance status is determined. 

So these are my views towards the Unethical issues faced in Marketing Sector. Please do share your opinion in comment section below. Thanks!