ETHICAL ISSUES IN MARKETING

Abstract

In this era of cut-throat competition, a lot of companies are exclusively focusing on the bottom-line (profitability) neglecting ethics altogether. One of the functional areas where there is a gross neglect of ethics is that of marketing. The companies just want to sell their product by hook or by crook. In this context, it is extremely important to understand various issues in marketing ethics so as to ensure consumer-welfare. 
 Marketing ethics relates to ethical methods adopted by companies while marketing their products. Marketing ethics means convincing the potential consumers to buy company’s products using ethical means. It is all about providing ‘correct’ and ‘complete’ information to the potential buyers about the product and its price. It requires avoiding deceptive and misleading information to prospective buyers about the company’s product. 
 The main objective behind the current paper is to describe various issues in marketing ethics. In other words, the paper tries to bring out different unethical means adopted by modern companies for marketing their products.
 The paper has been divided into four sections. The first section provides various definitions of the term ‘marketing-ethics’ and describes the objectives of the paper. The second section describes various ways of unethical marketing adopted by modern companies to boost their sales. The third section suggests measures to ensure ethics in marketing. The last section highlights the long-term benefits which the companies will reap by adopting marketing ethics.