Ethical, Regulatory and Environmental Issues in MarComs and Promotional Practice

1. Ethical, Regulatory and Environmental Issues in MarComs and Promotional Practice Week 1 Lecture 2 Chapter 3

2. Ethics • Moral principles and values which guide thinking, decision making and action.

3. Ethical Concerns • Misleading or false advertising • Targeting to children and teenagers • Targeting Economically Disadvantaged People • Shocking, tasteless or indecent material • High pressure sales techniques • Intrusion on personal privacy (telesales) • Payment of bribes to win business • Reward schemes for selling • Hospitality to clients • Vulnerable clients

4. Is it Justifiable? • To target poorer segments with cigarettes and alcohol • Use of stereotypes in advertising • Women, men, families, ethnic minorities. • Is branding fraudulent

5. Basic Consumer Rights • The right to safety • The right to be informed • The right to choose • The right to be heard

6. Ethical Decision-Making Models • Smith’s Three Questions • Consumer capability • Is the target market vulnerable in ways that limit consumer decision making? • Information • Are consumer expectations at purchase likely to be realised? Do consumers have sufficient information to judge? • Choice • Can consumers go elsewhere? Would they incur substantial costs or inconvenience in transferring their loyalty? (Smith, 1995)

7. Ethical Decision Making Models • The golden rule • Act in a way that you would expect others to act towards you • The professional ethic • take only actions which would be viewed as proper by a panel of your profession. • The TV test • would I feel comfortable explaining this action to the general public on the TV?

8. Regulatory Aspects • Voluntary Codes of Practise • Statutory Laws • Honest, Legal and Decent • Protect vulnerable groups – children

9. Social Responsibility • Focuses on the responsibilities of the organisation towards the general public – not only its customers and other connected stakeholders.

10. Environmental Issues • Not encouraging abuse of the environment. – waste, excess behaviour • Triple bottom line • People • Planet • Profit • Corporate Social Responsibility

11. Corporate Respnsibility • Three driving forces • Increased awareness of how production and consumption of resources affect the environment and the organisation is part of the cycle • Recognition and acceptance that organisations need to cooperate and collaborate with other orgs. in order to have a strategic advantage • Consumers are having increasing influence in terms of their rights and views of business

12. Corporate Responsibility • Three concepts • Profit responsibility • Maximise profits while sticking to the rules • Stakeholder responsibility • Meeting obligations to those who can affect the achievement of the organisation’s objectives • Societal responsibility • Making a positive impact on society

13. Corporate Responsibility • The TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE • PROFIT • PEOPLE • PLANET