BARRIERS TO INTRODUCTION ENFORCEMENT OF ETHICAL STANDARDS 1

BARRIERS TO INTRODUCTION & ENFORCEMENT OF ETHICAL STANDARDS 1. Organizational Culture Organization culture is defined as shared meanings, values, attitudes and beliefs that are created and communicated within an organisation Organizational environment, of which corporate ethical values is a part, is an important determinant of ethical behaviour in marketing Unethical corporations do not merely select and retain dishonest employees; they create them as well and behaviour 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 1

q Culture incorporates: i. Unwritten rules ii. Assumptions about expected behaviour iii. Styles and attitudes formed from national culture iv. Prevailing orthodoxies or moralities in the society and environment that surrounds the organization and from which most of the employees come q Within every organization there exist various subgroups and alliances which create networks and links through the organization and across organizational boundaries 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 2

q These sub-cultures share patterns of behaviour and philosophies that arise from their backgrounds, training, social class, education or any other affiliations that create stronger bonds within the organization 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 3

BARRIERS TO INTRODUCTION & ENFORCEMENT OF ETHICAL STANDARDS A more ethical corporate culture generally raises ethical intentions of employees Moral philosophies of idealism and relativism explains ethical decision making Forsyth (1980) defines idealism as the degree to which individuals assume that desirable consequences can, with the 'right' action, always be obtained Idealistic individuals adhere to moral absolutes when making ethical judgments 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 4

Forsyth (1980) argues that highly idealistic individuals feel that harming others is always avoidable Relativism is defined as the extent to which an individual rejects universal moral rules when making ethical judgments Relativistic individuals embrace a moral philosophy based on skepticism Relativists generally feel that moral actions depend upon the nature of the situation and the individuals involved, and when judging others they weigh the circumstances more than the ethical principle that was violated 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 5

Organizations may have some norms that are distinctly marketing in character – for example, norms that guide product and service quality, advertising content, and treatment of customers These norms help establish and maintain the standards that delineate the “right” things to do and the things “worth doing” Such standards can influence individuals’ choices and lead to actions that are desirable to the organization Research indicates that there is an interaction between individual values and the organization’s value systems Formalization of ethical values in organizations is the key to influencing employee behaviour 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 6

BARRIERS TO INTRODUCTION & ENFORCEMENT OF ETHICAL STANDARDS • Top management’s articulation and action are required if values are to influence behaviour • Top level management needs to be supportive of ethical codes for there to be compliance by employees 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 7

2. Perceived Importance of Ethics Ethical decision-making is a function of ethical judgment, evaluation of alternative actions by considering what people perceive as probable consequences, the desirability of those consequences, and the relative importance of various stakeholders (see teleological theory) Individual's preferences for alternatives in situations having an ethical content will be in proportion to the probability that the actions contribute to the individual’s goal attaintment 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 8

BARRIERS TO INTRODUCTION & ENFORCEMENT OF ETHICAL STANDARDS 3. Organizational Climate The climate of an organization is defined as the dayto-day experience of the employee It comprises the experiences and perceptions of the organization It is a management function that includes setting standards and incorporating them into policies for employees to follow Unethical standards lead employees into behaving unethically 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 9

Organization climate includes creating communication systems (one-way or two-way) Communication that ignores employee’s voice and which make them feel less important can encourage unethical behaviour 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 10

4. Corporate morality If the employees of the company have no functioning moral code of behaviour other than that set out by society as a whole, they will never adopt any of management’s exhortations about ‘doing the right thing They will tend to see themselves as separate from the organization, owing no loyalty to it 5. Leadership 6. Personal feelings 7. Level of internal corporate control 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 11

Strategies adopted by organizations to rationalize unethical marketing • • • Denial of responsibility Denial of injury It is acceptable Denial of victim Appealing to higher authority 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 12

Strategies for Preventing Unethical Behaviour i. iii. iv. v. vi. Leading from the front Training employees to question their actions Internal audits Performance evaluations Nurture ethical environment within the organization Review corporate practices 30/10/2021 owinojoseph@gmail. com 13