Advertising 7

MAR 3271, Advertising 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

9. Examine regulations and ethical concerns of advertising. 9.1 Describe an ethical dilemma that exists within the advertising industry. 9.2 Explain how government regulations impact advertising practices.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

9.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 14 Unit VII Essay

9.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 14 Unit VII Essay

Required Unit Resources Chapter 14: Regulations and Ethical Concerns

Unit Lesson As we begin this lesson, think about what you think ethical business behavior might look like. Have you worked for organizations of which you questioned their ethical stance? Likewise, do you know of organizations of which you question their ethical practices? Ethical business behavior begins with your own personal standards of morality, which revolve around your sense of what is right and wrong or good and evil (Clow & Baack, 2016). The study of ethics involves a discipline that examines your own moral standards and that of the culture within a business. From there, the discipline evaluates the level of reasonableness and the implications on one’s everyday life. Maintaining ethical standards in business, including advertising, supports the following trends and behaviors:

 Businesses cannot survive without solid ethical standards and policies.

 Generally speaking, customers, employees, and society in general care about ethics and would rather associate with those practicing ethical behavior.

 Ethics actually promote and contribute to increased profits. Differentiating business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important comparison in this discussion. CSR refers to a specific set of responsibilities or obligations that the corporation has toward society. One needs to identify exactly what these obligations look like. One school of thought suggests that CSR requires that the corporation be run only for the benefit of the shareholders. Another school of thought suggests that the corporation should be run for the benefit of all stakeholders. This differentiation brings about the profit motivations of shareholders and the varied motivations of the stakeholders. So, how do business ethics and corporate social responsibility relate? Basically, business ethics is a justification for corporate social responsibility. Maintaining a culture of moral standards within a business (as defined by business ethics) creates a solid justification for the entire practice of CSR. As managers within an organization look to ensure that they are creating an ethical culture within their organization, there are four simple steps to assist in this process:

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE

Ethical Concerns

MAR 3271, Advertising 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

 Recognition of an ethical situation: Realizing the fact that an ethical situation even exists is absolutely the first step in maintaining an ethical business environment.

 Determining ethical course of action: Determining specific tactical actions and policies with an eye on whether they could be easily implemented within the organization is a crucial second step.

 Deciding on the ethical course of action: Once the tactical process has been determined, the appropriate decision makers in the organization must be on board with respect to supporting the decision.

 Implementation: This step is one of the most difficult and most crucial within an organization. Actually implementing and supporting the ethical behavioral standards within the organization can be the most difficult step in the process. This is particularly true if it is necessary to significantly shift the way of thinking within an organization.

Ethics

The environment is one specific area of ethical concern within organizations. This addresses concerns about preserving our environment for future generations. What responsibilities do organizations and businesses have with respect to investing resources to protect the environment? This involves several aspects, including pollution, resource depletion, global warming, and greenhouse gases. Pollution involves the contamination of the environment by human activity; for instance, waste disposal or the burning fossil fuels are contributors to pollution. Consumption depletion involves the overuse and depletion of certain resources that have become scarce. Finally, global warming suggests that the temperatures around the globe are increasing due to the rising levels of greenhouse gases. This involves an overabundance of gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons gases that actually absorb and hold heat from the sun. Since those gases are within our atmosphere, the heat within those gases influences the temperature surrounding our planet. The discussion here that is under continuous scrutiny is whether an organization is ethically responsible for investing what could be significant resources into preserving the environment.

Regulations Regulation around business ethics tends to focus on antitrust laws, consumer protection laws, environmental laws, and laws protecting the public’s general interest. Anti-trust laws were originally intended to prevent the abuse of monopoly power. Such laws made it illegal for groups of companies to limit supply and keep prices high. Consumer protection laws center around protecting the consumer against companies that might dilute products or reduce overall stated quality of the product in an effort to pad their profits. Environmental protection laws prevent companies from treating the environment without regard. Finally, laws relating to the public’s general interest revolve around protecting the overall general interests of individuals within a certain community.

Flash Cards

Access the Unit VII Flash Cards PowerPoint. PDF of Unit VII Flash Cards Note: In order to experience the full functionality of the presentation, it is recommended that you view the PowerPoint version. When viewed as a PDF, the buttons within the presentation may not work.

Reference Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2018). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications (8th ed.).

Pearson. https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134485027

MAR 3271, Advertising 3

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. The following video addresses how businesses can approach ethical concerns on a global level, including subcultural factors: BillDanielsEthicsUNM. (2012, September 7). Global business ethics issues [Video]. Cielo24.

https://c24.page/9qhbqeaxb8mc72c95kee9hn4xd This video includes closed captioning, and a transcript can be found underneath the video. The following video addresses ethical concerns that would allow businesses in the Western world to do business in the Eastern world and vice versa: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (2014, July 28). Global business ethics: China and US issues [Video].

Cielo24. https://c24.page/c6ppdm8rw9ad25m2tunyq3a9zz This video includes closed captioning, and a transcript can be found underneath the video.