Moral Philosophies

MORAL PHILOSOPHIES

1. Moral Idealism 2. Utilitarianism

Moral Idealism - considers certain individual rights or duties as universal, regardless of the outcome. For example: Consumer Bill of Rights - codified the “ethics of exchange” and gave consumers the right to safety, to be informed, to choose and to be heard.

Utilitarianism - focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number of people, assesses the costs and benefits of behavior. For example, inoculations. Some people do get sick from shots but most of the population is protected.

These moral philosophies relate to business with the concepts of: 1. Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility - the idea that organizations are part of a larger society and are accountable to that society for their actions. 1. Profit responsibility - companies have a simple duty to maximize profits for owners or stakeholders. 2. Stakeholder responsibility - consumers, employees, suppliers, distributors. Do no harm 3. Societal responsibility - a )preserve the environment and b) general public a) Green Marketing - consists of marketing efforts to produce, promote, and reclaim environmentally sensitive products. b) Cause Marketing - occurs when the charitable contributions of a firm are tied directly to the customer revenues produced through the promotion of one of its products.

Firms will conduct a social audit.

Social audit - is a systematic assessment of a firm’s objectives, strategies and performance in terms of social responsibility.

Social audits increase as companies seek to achieve sustainable development

Sustainable development - involves conducting business in a way that protects the natural environment while making economic progress.

CONSUMER ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Consumers have an obligation to act ethically in the exchange process Some consumers engage in unethical practices. The cost to marketers in lost sales Theft prevention expenses is huge:  Fraudulent insurance claims: $10 billion annually  Downloading unauthorized music, movies, and software via the internet $40 billion annually  Theft prevention packaging: $billions annually