Fundamental Issues in the Ethics of Marketing

Marketing ethics deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. The importance of ethics in marketing is growing. Recognition and respect for ethics, covering a wide range of issues can be used as USP for a company or organization. Each society will have its own unwritten code of behavior; however, view of matter will change over a time. Due to this societal marketing concept has emerged which requires that marketers adhere to socially responsible and ethical practices in the marketing of goods and services. So we can say that ethics is a principle of right of good conduct or a body of such principals. Marketing ethics is the area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. Some areas of marketing ethics (ethics of advertising and promotion) overlap with media ethics.

Contrary to popular impressions, not all marketing is adversarial, and not all marketing is stacked in favor 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. A popularist anti-marketing stance commonly discussed 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 the intended buyer whose right to self-determination is infringed.

Causing harm to competitors. Excessively fierce competition and unethical marketing tactics are especially associated with saturated markets.

Manipulating social values. The victim in this case is society as a whole, or the environment as well. The argument is that marketing promotes consumerism and waste. See also: influenza, ethical consumerism, anti-consumerism.

Marketing has a major impact on our self-images, our ability to relate to one another, and it ruins any knowledge and action that might help to change that climate. Marketing/Advertising creates artificiality and influences sexual attitudes.