A634.5.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Is Marketing Evil?

After reading the article by El Sayed and El Ghazaly (n.d.), discuss your views on the following:

1.	Do you feel ethical guidelines make a difference to marketers? Ethical guidelines much like a policy or procedure can and do make a difference to marketers. It gives the marketer a guidebook or rule of the road, if you will on how and in which circumstances to apply the tricks of the trade of selling and providing a service. This would be predominately helpful when the marketer is selling on commission and would be an aid in alleviating the appearance of impropriety.
2.	How can companies balance the need to win with being ethical? I would surmise that the need to “win with being ethical” could be rephrased to “success in business through ethical practice”. Considering that a transaction between a client and provider should be a “win, win” for both, with the profits realized by a provider or vendor should be the icing on the cake stemming from designing a service or product that is tailored to a clients needs and requirements, and not only what is available from a vendor. Commercial Off The Shelf or COTS are a prime example of what may be available to a perspective client. The research and development has already been accomplished based upon perspective market demand and at a savings to the client when the COTS item is acceptable as an alternative to Research Development Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E,) which can be a costly and time consuming venture requiring large sums of capital. It is only after these briefly mentioned marketing and developmental tools can a vendor say they have met the “success in business through ethical practice” litmus test.
3.	Is it ethical to track your buying habits or web visits to target you for marketing purposes? Yes, and I see no problem with it as long as it is utilized as a tool for suggesting to a client or customer an alternative method of items that may suite ones needs in a better manner. For example, Amazon often describes what others may have purchased in addition to or as an accessory to what you are looking at. I find it useful if I am researching for a product or service and not quite certain of the item or its functions and my needs or requirements. I am also fond of iTunes “genius” feature when downloading music. It gives the opportunity one might not always have time or the resources to find like music at an affordable rate and ease of download capability.
4.	As a leader, how will you manage the ethical aspects of your marketing efforts? Managing ethical aspects of marketing to perspective clients and customers can be tied to researching current trends, market needs and wants that coincide with available research and developments currently in place. Reaching out to and working with perspective customers in joint ventures as a method of capturing the true requirements of a particular product and/or service. This can boost consumer confidence since the vendor has most likely invested substantial capital without reaping any profit. Also a trend in today’s market place might be to work with rivals on a project that a client or customer has an established need. The stakes are high as proprietary information and trade secrets are at stake, however, if properly accomplished, all can share in the profits of a well-executed business and marketing plan. The trick is to solicit skills commiserate with the project from rival organizations that can benefit from the venture and at the same time protect ones proprietary information. The end game will be a product or service tailored to a customer specific needs, at a reduced rate because both parties involved have a specific expertise to bring to the table.

A634.4.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Is Affirmative Action Ethical

By its very definition, affirmative action cannot be a moral or ethical program that was designed as a handout vs. a hand-up to those in need. Affirmative action like any socially engineered government program actually harms its recipients rather than help and nurtures them into prosperity. Its hypocritical methods of targeting only one of various ethnic groups in a society are mismanagement of taxpayer resources, targeting those who are the recipients as victims, thus continuing the program from generation to generation until the essence of individual thought, self preservation, pride, self-esteem and the desire to better ones self through intestinal fortitude and good old fashion hard work, are eroded to the point that these individuals and entire generations are who are now dependent upon a program with no redeeming intrinsically value.

Through insistence of affirmative action in the work place is actually placing two individuals in an uncanny and hopeless position. The first is the individual who was not considered for the position although well qualified. The second is the one hired for the position although marginally or not qualified for the position. There is a third… the employer who must now hire an under qualified individual and attempt to train at company expense and at a loss while the individual is not producing a product or providing a service. Than means the other employees must now assume the duties for the under qualified and the employer must still pay into health care (if applicable,) unemployment, taxes and social security.

Racism and slavery are and were a terrible wrong perpetrated against a faction of society, that were brought into this country against their will by private enterprise for the propose of providing a service.

Racism did not begin in these United States. Slavery did not begin in these United States. Slavery has affected people of every race and color were both slaves and enslavers, for thousands of years globally. Europeans enslaved other Europeans for centuries before the first African was brought across the Atlantic. Asians enslaved other Asians, as well as whatever Europeans they could get hold of. Slavery existed in the Western Hemisphere before Columbus ever got here (Sowell, T, 2002).

So keeping the discussion of Thomas Sowell in mind and the fact that Europeans and Asians enslaved their own countrymen, who then enslaved Africans… why it was fellow African’s, who then sold off their own countrymen just like the Europeans and Asians to the highest bidder. So from the standpoint of racism, would it not be prudent to see that Blacks in this country are/were victims if you will of racism in the highest degree, not from the Anglo Saxon in America. But whom did rather fellow countrymen subcontract of providing the prime contractor a commodity?

Also according to Sowell, Slavery was and is not limited to any particular country or race. If reparations were to be paid for slavery, everybody on this planet would owe everybody else.

Winston Churchill said during World War II: "If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost (Churchill, W, n.d.).

Or, as Thomas Sowell has so eloquently put it: “The ancestors of black Americans were not taken from some Eden, and there is no Eden for black Americans to return to today. If compensation were to be paid for the difference between where they are and where their ancestors came from, they would owe money, not receive money. But it would be ridiculous to lose the future because of the past” (Sowell, T, 2002).

Ancestors of slavery today have more opportunity to prosper in areas that most people globally would die for the opportunity to have. Why do I address this, simply because the very faction of society that was wronged, is the one that must rise itself up and beyond affirmative action, welfare babies, WIC, food stamps, and any other source of governmental transfer payment, that is engineered to keep its recipients down trodden and dependent upon an entity that is stuck like the movie “Groundhog Day”.

Reference: THOMAS SOWELL, C. S. (2002, Jan 29). THE FACTS ABOUT SLAVERY. South Florida Sun - Sentinel. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.

A634.3.5.RB_LarsonKurt, The Harder They Fall

As the title of the article by Kramer states “The Harder They Fall”, is an accurate depiction of those who basically get too big for their britches much too fast. Like the article discussed the career and life of Marjorie Peel who turned her back on her family and possibly more only to eventually fall from grace loosing everything tangible and intangible before, during and after the fall.

Winner Wants All

I to have seen those while in the military, the “golden children” destine to fame and fortune, rank and all the prestige that goes along side of it suddenly lost. Those “golden children” much like Marjorie, paid the ultimate price of rising to the top much too soon. Some have lost their careers, most their families and self-respect. All lost the resect and admiration of their peers, and for the rank and file brass… they became a mere causality, with another young and naïve “golden child” waiting in the wings for this one to fail so they may take their place. Never realizing that it is a long line with causalities and destroyed lives.

I have also witnessed those also while in the military and beyond become addicted to the pleasures and status that accompany those who have worked their way to the top by what ever means available, including the honorable, ethical and moral methods of hard work and perseverance, only to crash just like the rest because of an indiscretion, or getting caught with the office girls while traveling instead of their wife.

Sins of Omission

One individual (senior management) was forced to retire after a subsequent investigation of $500.00 was found to be missing from the organizational Sunshine Fund. The fund was used to send flowers from the organization for joyous and sorrowful life’s events of federal employees and their families. The individual who eventually confessed was a GS-14 director who threw away a lucrative career.

Rules Are For Fools

Highly successful military and airline pilots who have created themselves into a being that is above reproach and questioning, are typically the ones that when a mistake is made and the contributing factors have all aligned like a line drawn though the holes of several slices of Swiss cheese (affectionately called the “Swiss cheese model,” these individuals are found to be the biggest contributing factor to accident, loss of life and hull loss of aircraft. The theory of this is they are incapable of error “in the flight deck” and those who are forced to fly with these self proclaimed Titans, and are incapable or afraid of reporting because of the gap that exists between a seasoned pilot and a new co-pilot. They are afraid and uncertain of themselves to the point they might go blindly all the way to the scene of the crash, and never say a word.  All because the culture of an organization or flight deck is so prohibitive and intimidating to these up and coming individuals.      

A634.2.4.RB_LarsonKurt, Theories of Ethics

In chapter 2, Lafollette (2007) discusses Consequentialism and Deontology. Discuss your thoughts on these two theories.

To begin much like my chosen profession with the U.S. Government, it is always prudent to clarify and offer concise definitions regarding a topic.

Consequentialism - the doctrine that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences (the new oxford American dictionary).

Deontology - the study of the nature of duty and obligation (the new oxford American dictionary).

Based upon my reading in LaFollette about Consequentialism and Deontology, I find that I can be characterized as a Consequentialist. I can say this based upon a close look at Consequentialism and its attributes that give reason in areas like: Which consequences should be counted, how much weight and consideration should be paid to those consequences that do count, or how these considerations should be used when deliberating.

I also find that Consequentialism is an attribute that can be tied to the art of critical thinking and its three parts, which are briefly described as:

1.    Critical thinking involves asking questions.

2.    Critical thinking involves attempting to answer those questions by reasoning them out.

3.    Critical thinking involves believing the results of our reasoning (Nosich, 2012).

Deontology on the other hand according to LaFollette, has two marks in its favor over Consequentialism. It is discusses the way that most of us acquired and developed our moral beliefs, and its main competitor (Consequentialism) is subjected to some rather serious criticism because Consequentialists believe that hard rules (laws or society) are not applicable when it comes to morality.

Deontologists claim that moral rules will enjoin others and promote the happiness of others… sort of a utopian train of thought if you will. Deontology does in-fact does face its own problems. They believe that although consequences do not account for everything… they do account for morally something. That said, Deontologists should either give consequences appropriate and equal weight, or, provide contrary opinions.

To sum up the differences between Consequentialism and Deontology would be in my opinion like summing the differences between Republican and Democrat, or Conservative and liberal. I also gathered that although not specifically pointed out in the chapter, Consequentialism and Deontology could be somewhat geographically influenced as well as gender and age bracket.

References

LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell.

Nosich, G. M. (2012). What is critical thinking. In J. McPherson (Ed.), Learing to think things through (4 ed., pp. 2-46). doi:www.pearsonhigher.com