Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.

There is no universal definition of the term ethics. However, in simple terms, ethics can
be defined as the study of trying to understand whether what a person or an organization does is
either wrong or right. By talking about business ethics, this can mean a combination of proper
business policies and practices regarding a number of businesses and marketing related issues.
Basically, ethical issues in marketing refer to the way in which a marketer or a business entity
conducts its business with its customers by applying a number of marketing strategies. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
Oftentimes, businesses come under intense scrutiny since they routinely pose difficult ethical
dilemmas hence becoming very difficult to differentiate between a normal marketing practice
and an unethical behavior. By looking at marketing and ethics in the same picture, one can notice
that there is definitely a problem here. Businesses willing to achieve a competitive advantage
must promote business ethics in their operations or risk being pushed out of business by other
ethical firms (Perri, 2015: 353). This paper is an essay that demonstrates one’s theoretical
understanding and practical application of marketing using the provided topic. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.

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Essay Question
Explain the ethical issues in marketing field and identify and discuss about two companies in
Australia who has been having some issues regarding the way they pursue their business.
You can elaborate on any aspects of marketing where these companies had some issues.

Body
In modern-day cut throat competitive world, it is very important for marketers to get
involved in ethical decision making process. The goal of ethical decision making process is to ensure that businesses do what is right in order to satisfy and bring delight to its potential and
existing customers in an ethical manner. Ethical issues or problems in marketing stem from
conflicts or disagreements as each party in a marketing transaction comes up with a set of
opinions or expectations regarding how a business relationship should exist or how it should be
conducted (Lagan, A 2000: 1). Some of the danger points or ethical issues in marketing are
discussed below. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
 Market Research
It has been argued that some ethical problems in market research involve the invasion of
privacy and stereotyping. Stereotyping happens since any analysis of real populations
makes approximations while placing individuals into groups (Nichols, 2006: 40).
However, if carried out irresponsibly, stereotyping can result to a variety of ethically
undesirable outcomes. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
 Market Audience
According to Mills (2003: 74), there are some companies who have been known to
employ selective marketing for purposes meant to discourage demand from undesirable
markets or even disenfranchise them altogether. For instance, unethical market exclusion
include past industry attitudes to the minority, gay, or plus-size markets among others.
 Promotion and Advertising
During the 1940s and 1950s, tobacco used to be advertised as a product that promotes
health. Today, an advertiser who declines to tell the truth offends the law in addition to
morality (Srivastava and Nandan, 2010: 61). Negative advertising techniques may be
misleading and hence unethical in marketing.

 Anti-competitive Practices
Instances of companies using anti-competitive practices in marketing are common. For
instance, bait and switch is termed as a form of fraud where customers are “baited” or
attracted by advertising a given product at a low price and when customers discover that
the advertised product is not available, they get “switched” to a costlier product (Hahn, R,
Sabou, Toader, and Rădulescu, 2013: 25). On other instances, marketers use planned
obsolescence whereby they design a product with short lifespan so that it becomes
unfashionable after a short time making the consumer want to purchase again. Such are
unethical issues in marketing. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
 Pricing Ethics
Predatory pricing and bid rigging are other unethical issue in marketing. Through
predatory pricing, a firm may sell its products at a low price for purposes of driving a
competitor out of business or even create entry barriers for new competitors (Mills, 2003:
74).
 Fraud, deception and wrong information
Another serious ethical issue in marketing is when companies mislead prospective
customers by designing mailers consisting of either convoluted or contradictory
information. Some marketers have been known to provide misleading information about
a products quality, price, performance, and quantity amongst others. Such are unethical
issues in marketing that may end up affecting consumers (Lagan, 2000: 5).
 Privacy issues/concerns
Majority of customers are increasingly getting concern on matters to do with privacy.
Some of them have been left wondering whether their contact details may be added to several mailing lists of other companies. Some companies have been known to leak or
fail to protect sensitive details of their customers. Such are unethical issues in marketing
that businesses must put at the back of their minds (Perri, 2015: 353). Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.

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The above points are not conclusive. There are other minor but equally important ethical
issues in marketing that business entities must respect. They include posting content without
client permission, irritation and frustration, being unfair to customers among others. In Australia,
a number of companies have been having issues based on how they conduct their businesses.
Majority of such issues are unethical in nature hence affected a lot of customers in the end. One
of the industries in Australia that has been having some issues on the manner in which they
conduct their businesses is the tourism industry (King, Dwyer and Prideaux, 2006: 127). In
particular, inbound tour operator (ITOs) firms such as All Pacific Travel Concept (APTC) have
been accused of lacking some ethics based on a number of issues. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
Tourism is one of the most thriving industries in Australia. According to The Australian
newspaper, tourism contributes a significant amount of foreign exchange to Australia. However,
dissatisfaction is evident when tour products offered for purchase fail to meet expectations,
especially with respect to quality, price and origin of goods (Ruhanen and Shakeela, 2013: 38).
Inbound tour firms such as APTC has been on the receiving end of a host of accusations, one of
them being quality concerns. Quality issues appear to be primarily associated with excessive
shopping, inclusion of low-standard hotels than previously indicated, an expectation that guides
will receive tips, and rapid changes to the advertised itinerary (King, Dwyer and Prideaux, 2006:
132). In Australia, according to King, Dwyer and Prideaux (2006: 137), such inbound tour
firms have been seen to act unethically at times as they tend to provide misleading information to
customers such as quality of accommodation or fees charged in parks among others. Such
actions are unethical in nature as such package operations are indicative inconsistent product
quality or with the services promised and later provided by such tour operators or agents such as
All Pacific Travel Concept (APTC). As indicated earlier, business ethics among other consist of
providing the right form of information to consumers so that they can make informed decisions.
Apart from the tourism industry in Australia, the banking sector has also been having
some issues worth noting. Several media reports by leading news agencies in Australia such The
Australian have for instance accused certain banks of being unethical in its business practices. A
transcript taken form Australia’s World News Radio has linked a number of banks to unethical
practices especially conduced on overseas nations. Some of them have been accused of having
controversial business dealings with overseas companies that amount to unethical business
practices. Accusations are many ranging from instances of land grabbing, supporting unapproved
logging, and supporting the exploitation of children among others (International Business, 2014:
n.p). Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.
Recently, a report released by Oxfam Australia claimed that the Commonwealth Bank
was investing heavily in a Brazilian agribusiness that farm on contested land belonging to
indigenous people of Brazil (International Business, 2014: n.p). Such acts of forcing people out
of their lands by providing misleading information to them in order to source illegal sugar and
other products in exchange for huge benefits is misleading and unethical in nature. Even though
other banks in Australia have also been in the news as having unethical issues, the
Commonwealth Bank seems to be one of the banks that have some issues based on how they pursue their businesses. Issues related to human rights are important in every society. However,
when banks such as the Commonwealth Bank conduct improper land acquisition among others,
no other term other than unethical business practices fits their operations (International Business,
2014: n.p).
Conclusion
To sum it all up, marketing ethics, regardless of the product offered by companies in
business sets the guidelines under which good marketing is practiced. For companies or business
entities wishing to achieve a competitive edge, the need to market ethically and effectively is one
of the most important factors that must be adhered to. If firms do what is right and establish trust,
credibility, and respect in front of all its stakeholders, then there would be no problem between
marketing and the issue of ethics in business. Understanding And Application Of Marketing Paper.

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