Is marketing evil?

            I have learned in this course’s teachings that the role of ethics is significant in business.  Organizations and their employees face daily challenges between doing the right thing and making money.  Marketing is but one tool that many businesses use to reach out to customers, and it can be exploited for good or bad.  The question that this blog seeks to answer is, “Is marketing evil?”  Although I am not a marketer nor have I worked in a marketing environment, I can provide a perspective on marketing from the viewpoints of a leader and customer. 

            I believe that ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers.  That being said, I believe the difference will be determined by the leadership and organizational culture in regards to ethics.  It is not enough to simply have ethical guidelines i.e. code of ethics or programs – ethics cannot be a “check the block” requirement.  Leaders must cultivate or reinforce one’s personal ethical behavior.  Many times in my Army career, the unit pushed Equal Opportunity, Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention, Consideration of Others, and other ethical training.  The prevailing assertion made by the instructors was “Now that you know what’s right, don’t f**k up!”  Ideally, employees behave ethically because there is a sense that the organization’s purpose is governed by principles.

            I was taught by my mentors to “choose the hard right over the easy wrong”.  However, I have learned through my own experiences and witnessing the experiences of others that that adage is far easier said than done.  One’s personal morals/ethics will undoubtedly be tested at some point in his or her career, whether it be by his or her co-workers, customers, or boss.  Imagine a situation where one was faced with reporting information to the boss, and telling him or her what they wanted to hear rather than the truth?  Thus, in addition to organizational ethics, a marketer ought to have strong personal ethics.  They may encounter marketing situations where being unethical is just as rewarding as being ethical.

            Thus, companies must balance the need to win with being ethical.  Being ethical in business is a challenge for the individual and/or organization.  Milton Friedman, the famous economist and Nobel laureate, theorized that the purpose of business is “profit maximization”.  Many organizations and their employees understand that ‘”winning” usually means making money.  Yet, organizations and employees ought to understand that there must also be a degree of corporate and social responsibility.  For instance, a marketer should not make a false claim for the sake of sales.  Consider Volkswagen’s emission scandal where the company cheated on automobile emissions tests to help push its U.S. marketing campaign for low emission diesel cars (Hotten, 2015).  Ironically, in the company’s attempt to make profit, the leadership’s unethical decisions consequently led to loss of nearly $2 billion (Hotten, 2015). 

            Yet, profit maximization can be achieved while still being ethical.  When an organization practices corporate and social responsibility, it considers the needs of stakeholders, the public, and the environment.  Friedman also noted that “profit maximization” is socially responsible “…so long as it (the firm) stays within the rules of the game” (Friedman, 2003, p. 133).  In the context of this discussion, the “rules” are the ethical guidelines.

            However, in areas such as marketing, the rules can be grey.  Consider the tactic of behavioral marketing.  It is a tactic that firms use to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes (Deschene, 2008).  The purpose of behavioral targeting is to help marketers get sales leads (Deschene, 2008).  I am familiar with this marketing tactic as I have experienced it many times.  For instance, when I shop on Amazon, the site “offers” me products that I may be interested in based on my history of purchases or searches.  In this instance, I see it as a helpful tool and consider it an ethical practice.

            However, I recognize that behavioral targeting can also have negative ethical implications.  First, I assume that most people, including myself, don’t like unsolicited advice.  (This reminded me of a humorous saying I heard in the Army, “If I wanted your opinion, I’d give it to you!”).  People do not like the feeling of being manipulated.  Moreover, people do not want to be watched, monitored, tracked, etc. without their consent or knowing, even if the intent is for “good” - consider the controversy of government wiretapping in the war against terrorism.  Thus, depending on the scope or intent of behavioral targeting, and the person’s perspective, the tactic can be either ethical or unethical. 

            Leadership in marketing is as important as in any other business function.  As a leader, I would manage the ethical aspects of my marketing efforts by focusing on the marketers themselves.  As I wrote above, I believe that an organization’s ethical guidelines will be ineffective if the individual persons do not have a strong moral center.  Thus, I would develop interpersonal relationships and a workplace culture that reinforced the value of ethics. 

            In addition, I would also provide my followers with formal “rules” to govern ethics as well.  My code of ethics would highlight integrity, honesty, respect, and duty to name a few.  Ferell (n.d.) suggested developing an ethical-decision making framework that considered stakeholders, individual perspectives, organizational culture, and opportunity.  These of course, are small steps towards developing true and lasting ethical behavior.  However, I believe that if you take care of the small things, the big things will take care of themselves.

References

Deschene, L. (2008, May 1). Retrieved from www.cbsnews.com: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-behavioral-targeting/

Ferrel, L. (n.d.). Marketing Ethics.

Friedman, M. (2003). Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Hotten, R. (2015, December 10). Retrieved from BBC News: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.