Business Law

Reading 6.1 “Moral obligations of sales people”

Carson: the ethics of sales

Four moral duties:

Different kinds of salesperson have different kinds of duties to their customers

* Golden rule= most plausible construed as a consistency principle

* Sales should driven by golden rule

Criticism and Extend David Holley theory: provide more plausible theory based on mutual rational consent

Critics on Holley: fully informed duty

Purpose 6 moral duties

* Fully answer questions

* Provide buyers with safety warnings

* Refrain from lying and deception

Sales should driven by golden rule

Provide the modified version of David Holley’s view, who oppose caveat emptor

Kantian perspective: deception and lying are both immoral

Reading 6.2 Phillips “manipulative advertising”

Advertising manipulate our needs and fears

Four possible attacks

1. Manipulative advertising has negative consequences for utility

2. Undermines personal autonomy

3. Violates kant’s categorical imperative (respect to person version)

4. Weakens the personal virtue

Critic:

No complete definite basis for condemning it.

What is manipulative advertising?

1. By socializing them to embrace consumerist values

2. By dictating individual purchase decisions.

Associative advertising: associating product with a nonmarket good. Influence consumer perceptions (Using linkage

Provide criticism from utilitarianism, Kant autonomy, and virtue ethics perspective

Utilitarianism:

1) Generate little additional utility, and deny autonomy ( Dependency effect creates desire)

2) Power to distort consumer choices among brands and products

Socialize life of consumption

It do not yield ult

Use Levitt’s argument and phil himself tend to agree with Levitt’s view

* Consumers are aware of ad illusion

* Consumers want and need to be manipulated. (life is boring)

* People gain utility by accepting ad illusions

Autonomy:

Little utility is generated when we...