Good Marketing Ethics - Essay Example

In reaction to such trust shown by their customers, some companies increase their spending towards ethical marketing. The UK Co-operative Bank is a perfect illustration of a business that endeavours to observe ethical principles that are dependent on the ethical practices that in which their consumers believe.

The activities of businesses will always positively or negatively affect the surrounding environment and thus the community. Business operations predictably result in social as well as ecological consequences. Some firms, by their very character, have a vast and obvious effect on society and the environment. The impact of businesses in the financial services field is not always evident. The UK Cooperative Bank is aware that through its banking as well as finance services, the bank can be more influential and insightful than using the direct effect of actual operations. This bank has, therefore, put statutes in place to guarantee that this impact is managed.
      
The UK Cooperative Bank's Ethical Policy was initiated in 1992 to determine exactly what ethical standards would preside over the kinds of business operations in which the bank would participate. When looking to decide what ethical principles to embrace, a financial institution must take into account whose ethics to embrace. The UK Cooperative Bank decided to base its Ethical Policy on consumer concerns because it would be their money that would form the capital used by the bank (Reynolds and Newell, 2011). Twenty years later, the bank continues and is still the singular high-street bank that allows consumers to voice opinions on how their funds are utilised. This process encourages customers to give their input in the continuing improvement of the bank’s Ethical Policy (Davies, Lee, and Ahonkhai, 2012).

To make sure that its Ethical Policy is realised successfully, Ethical Policy fulfilment methods are incorporated into the bank’s daily operations. Once they apply for banking services with The Co-operative Bank, all clients are usually required to answer an Ethical Policy survey. These surveys are distributed through the bank branch’s Business Relationship Manager, and/or an official of the institution’s New Business Centre. This official evaluates the suggestions against the Cooperative bank’s Ethical Policy. If a subject of concern or possible policy conflict is recognised the issue is referred to the Ethical Policy division for further examination. The Ethical Policy division appraises the suitability of the suggestions from customers against the corporate policy statements as well as the approximately 1,750 plus case studies that are on record (Koslowski, 2011). Where necessary, an additional in-house study will be carried out and the pertinent outside sources conferred with before making any decisions.

When it is discovered that there exists no conflict with the bank’s policy, then the suggestions of consumers can be ratified as laws concerning ethical marketing practices (Brinkmann, 2004). This means that the Cooperative bank will turn down investment opportunities despite any likely financial improvement if the customers are uncomfortable with the venture. The consumers’ expectations, as articulated via the Ethical Policy, are sustained at all times. A perfect example of this was when the bank turned down 29 per cent of business proposals in 2002 alone because of its agreements with its customers in its Ethical Policy (Ottman 2010).

Adidas is another example of a company that upholds desirable ethical standards. Adidas is an international leader in participating in activities that lessen the damage to the world’s ecosystems. In the sports field, Adidas also sets standards about its declared intentions on engaging in ethical buying. It also promotes moral responsibility in the method it uses to make its products, marketing policies and the conditions in which its workers in international branches of Adidas work (Brenkert, 2008). There are statistics to prove that Adidas freight emits 175 grams of carbon dioxide CO2 while in road freight, the figures are 147 grams. Adidas spends a lot of time and capital on research methods that are more efficient in creating products without necessarily generating waste that is not biodegradable (Arnold, 2009).

Adidas has branches in more than 20 nations some of which include Vietnam, China, Turkey, Indonesia, and Thailand (Smit, 2009). The company has repeatedly stressed its opposition to backward practices such as child labour, discrimination of women, low wages and salaries, extensive working hours and working in unhealthy environments. For example, in most developing nations, Adidas has representatives that oversee operations and ensure that children under 15 years are not employed in any capacity. They also make sure that workers are not forced to work more than 60 hours every week (Smit, 2009). To support and protect these standards, Adidas teams usually audit and monitor their developing world suppliers. When the contractors default on one of the ethical principle clauses, Adidas reduces operations there and seeks to set operations with more transparent contractors. For the suppliers that observe the corporation’s ethical policy, Adidas uses the fair wage strategy to determine just rewards. In this policy, the wages are determined by a mechanism in which the output, input and efforts of the contractor are used as benchmarks to assess the performance of the branch.