Research Of The Ethical Standards example essay topic

IMC and Ethical Concerns With the constant advances in technology, the business world has become global. Companies compete with the business across the street as well as the business halfway around the globe. Organizations must be innovative to not only thrive but also just to survive. They must be aware of the internal and external factors both locally and globally that can affect their business.

Internal Factor and External Factors Internal factors are within the organization. They encompass the marketing mix, ethics, corporate culture, and diversity. The company should ensure that the internal factors are conducive to and support the marketing message that they are trying to convey. If a company's advertised benefit is excellent customer service, employees need to be empowered to take care of customer concerns quickly. If the organizational structure is vertical, the internal factors may not be in line with the message and will create dissatisfaction among consumers. External factors are factors such as the culture or social standards in a community, the economic status of the nation, technological advances, legal parameters, the competitive landscape, and ethics.

These factors are not within the control of the company. Businesses should be flexible and be able to react to changes in the business environment and implement necessary changes internally. In order to do this, research is essential. A company must know all that they can about their product or service, the local and global market, their competitors, how they want to be perceived, how they are perceived, and their target market.

Businesses research through primary and secondary sources. Without research, a company will be unaware of all the factors that influence their business. With competitive advantage almost nonexistent, companies need this to maximize their revenue and increase market share. This research, Ethics 3 although always essential, is vital in a company that operates globally.

Different factors influence businesses in different areas of the globe. Customers behave differently. Ethics, both an internal and external factor, become an issue for organizations. Ethical Challenges The Enron and Worldcom scandals bolted the issue of corporate ethics into the headlines.

Today, the ethics of a company are just as important as the actual product or service that the business provides. Ethics refer to whether an action is right or wrong. Ethics are subjective. One person may find an action unethical while another feels the same action is acceptable. This becomes even trickier when taken into the diverse global business environment.

Organizations must research each market to ensure that their actions are ethical within those specific boundaries. "Culturally-based differences influence how consumers perceive business practices, including those practices that have ethical content. Such effects should become increasingly relevant as marketers expand their efforts from one culture to the next. Marketers must understand the necessity to familiarize themselves with the culturally-based ethical norms that are dominant in the countries they have targeted for entry (Singhapakdi et al, 1999, p. 257)". Acts such as CD piracy or brand counterfeiting are illegal and are considered unethical by consumers in the United States; however, these are quite common business practices in many East Asian nations. For example, China has recently been accused of intellectual property theft of products such as movies, music and computer software originating in the USA.

Other Asian markets are similarly flooded with Taiwanese and Korean 'knock-offs's uch as Rolex watches and Swiss army knives. Questionable practices such as these might discourage marketers from expanding into those countries (Singhapakdi et al, 1999, p. 259). Ethics can also be looked at from a consumer's point of view. Some cultures are Ethics 4 more individualistic than others. Collective societies are more concerned with the good of the group as opposed to personal gain. Individualistic societies are more apt to question ethical norms and practices while those in the collective society usually accept standards without question.

Some countries do not mandate health warning labels for cigarettes or limit the age of purchase to 18 (web). This action by a company in the United States would be questioned immediately. Organizations must be aware of what a society's ethical standards are before entering their market. They must act within the ethical bounds of that nation. If they do not, the resources used to enter that market place will be wasted and they risk great financial loss or a blemished reputation. Today's global market place dictates that companies are knowledgeable about how their brand is perceived in their markets.

They must also ensure that they maximize revenue potential by entering all of their target markets and communicating effectively. This can not be done without the research of the ethical standards within those markets. Ethical Questions: 1. Should profit be king? In other words, should executives go against personal ethical standards as long as it is considered ethical within the chosen market? 2.

Should marketers label products that may have adverse health effects or limit their sale to minors, even when not required to by law? 3. What questions should be asked to determine whether an action is ethical? Ethics 5 ResourcesSinghapakdi, A., Raw was, M., Ahmed, M., & Marta, S. (1999). A cross-cultural study of consumer perceptions about marketing ethics. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16 (3), 257-273.

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