Social Responsibility

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MARKETING ETHICS 1

Social Responsibility and Marketing Ethics

Ryan Middleton

Grantham University

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MARKETING ETHICS 2

Social Responsibility and Marketing Ethics

Ethics are our belief about what is right and wrong. Although these beliefs may vary from one individual to another or one company to another, ethics and business responsibility are an important part to any company's marketing department. The goals of the marketing department are to target an audience, appeal to that audience, and get the audience to purchase that particular product or service. In doing this, a company must make sure that they are first abiding by all laws and regulations, but they should also strive to be sure that they are acting ethically and honestly. One interpretation of morality may vary greatly among individuals, but it still exists.

Many people attribute Jeff Skilling of Enron as saying “A firm’s only responsibility to society is to earn a fair profit.” We all know how that kind of thinking worked out for Enron. Corporate social responsibility generally refers to business practices based on ethical values, with respect for people, communities, and the environment. To say that a corporation’s only responsibility is to earn a profit is irresponsible in itself. Businesses have many other responsibilities such as protecting the environment and respecting the customers. The ethics of any business is the foundation of corporate social responsibility.

Business sustainability is often defined as managing the triple bottom line - a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. However, this approach relies on an accounting based perspective and does not fully capture the time element that is inherent within business sustainability. A more robust definition is...