Ethics and Social Responsibility

Ethics and social responsibility are very important for marketers. `As we discussed this week, The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility shows that marketers are expected to be profitable, obey the laws and regulations, and be ethical. Also at the top of the pyramid there is the philanthropic dimension which goes even further than marketing ethics. It is not required of a company, but it does suggest goodwill. Today, companies are becoming more philanthropic by going ‘green’ and developing pricing, promotion, and distribution of products that are not harmful, but helpful to the environment. However, being profitable is still at the top of the expectations for marketers.

An article published in The New York Times on May 29, 2009, “A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immorality,” focuses on a group of Harvard M.B.A.’s that want to set a new standard as business leaders. At Harvard and other top business schools, there have been new ethics courses that have concentrate on personal and social responsibility in a corporation rather than just making money. The graduates are highly concerned with the community, workers, and the environment of the corporations. Since the financial crisis this year, they along with many other people are more concerned with what is happening rather than being greedy.

I really enjoyed this article and it is nice to see that these graduates want to be more ethically and socially responsibility rather than just wanting to make the most money. Bruce Kogut, director of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Company Center for Leadership and Ethics at Columbia stated that, “We’re seeing a generational change that understands poverty is not just about Africa and India. They see inequities and the role of business to address them.” There are so many inequities across the world, which are affecting everybody. The industrialized countries such as the United States are taking resources away from the countries that need them the most. So knowing that these M.B.A. graduates want to commit to using the ethical and socially responsible principles is wonderful because they can make a difference. Overall, I feel as if the philanthropic dimension is going to be more important and widely used by marketers more in the future to come.

Do you feel as if marketers are going to become more ethically and socially responsible in the future or stay focused on strictly making money?