Deck 6: Marketingoperations

Question 1

What is marketing with and without ethics? Why do many people see ethics and marketing as intension?

Answer 1

Marketing without ethics emphasizes profit over any other concern. It sees the customer only as a source of revenue and values as driven by the surrounding market. Marketing with ethics , on the other hand, sees each transaction as contributing to a company's reputation. It connects marketing to an overriding value proposition and company identity.
Historically, marketing and values have been perceived as being in conflict, because many people felt the role of marketing was to encourage sales of shoddy or even morally questionable products. It seemed to emphasize consumer's baser natures and wants. For this reason, many consumers and managers alike felt a company's marketing could be viewed as unaffected by its usual ethical standards.

Question 2

As you think about STP, what are some of the central ethical questions that emerge for you?

Answer 2

STP , short for segmenting, targeting, and positioning, looks for ways to narrowcast marketing directly as those consumers most likely to buy a certain product. Since it often relies on demographic information many consumers think of as personal, STP raises serious privacy concerns. Not only do many consumers object to having their personal information stored for sales purposes, such databases have also proven to be highly vulnerable to criminal invasion. There have also been accusations of racism with regard to how STP techniques were applied, as when subprime mortgages were advertised to specific ethnic groups. Your answer may vary, but clearly STP depends on demographic stereotypes that are highly suspect and often morally repugnant.

Question 3

How should ethics play a role in shaping marketing strategy? Why?

Answer 3

When selecting marketing tactics, an ethical manager must examine whether those strategies are faithful to the company's core values, character, and brand identity. Does this campaign respect the consumer's needs and value to the company? Is it respectful of cultural and competitive ideals? Does it affect stakeholders positively?
Ethical considerations are especially important, not only for their intrinsic rightness, but also because marketing is the foremost component of a company's public perception. Therefore, it affects a company's ongoing reputation and worth.

Question 4

What is operations with and without ethics? How different are they?

Question 5

How does ethics relate to the core elements of operations?

Question 6

How does ethics relate to the supply chain and many of the challenges posed there for companies? What kind of practical guidance would you offer managers of operations?