Ethical Consumerism - Google Company - Case Study Example

Number Ethical Consumerism Executive Summary Different companies believe in giving the best products to their consumers through enhancing and promoting their brand in the market. One of the ways that is becoming more popular is Ethical Consumerism where the companies believe that the consumers will take more of their products on the basis of the company setting the highest level of ethical standards. Companies reports as well as their manifesto and different techniques that they are employing are becoming more popularized in the present results as they look to gain credit from their set standards and varied ethical contributions that they look to enhance. It is therefore important to assess the ethical standards that different companies are employing and how the technique is applied to the advantage of the company. it has therefore been found that ethical consumerism is an important part in promoting the product and in making the brand known to different consumers in the market. It is an important concept and should therefore be well organized and analysed to reap benefits from the ethical standards set. Introduction Globalization and the development of different sources and access to information have caused companies to act fast and ensure that they meet the set standards by different bodies and organizations globally. If a company is not committing to a charter in environmental conservation it is ensuring that their employees and customers are well catered for and the high ratings are published. These are significant trends that have taken over the society and they are looking to change the overall concept of the people and shape their decisions. The shaping of the decisions by the people based on the ethical standards set by the company is what is referred to as ethical consumerism. The companies strive to change the mind-set of the people and also look to ensure that the people can buy their products based on the moral obligations that the company has set. This paper therefore looks at ethical consumerism concept and analyses how it is implemented in a company with Google Inc. being the case study. Ethical consumerism As aforementioned Ethical consumerism is a concept that is based on the companies hoping that the set structures and ethical guidelines that they set can influence the companies in getting the consumers to buy their products. Like any other promotion technique, ethical consumerism main selling point is the ethical considerations that are set by the company an how the company has helped the consumers either directly or indirectly. It is a concept that is mainly based on the people looking to change their views and form opinion about a product based on the different processes and contributions that the company makes to the society (Healey, 2013, pg99). The method is psychological and aims at getting people to get behind the company and do all that they can to ensure that they are able to effectively channel and rally behind all the support that they can get. There are critics to the method since there are some people who believe that the method can in some cases fail to be successful as a tool to increase the number of people buying the products since this does not improve the consumers directly but though Sshowing their moral grounds. Ethical aspects are in most cases published or highlighted in the offices to reiterate the company’s contribution to the development and the overall good (Datamonitor, 2008, pg118). This is however not an exact science and some of the people may be influenced by the standards while other may not. This raises a lot of questions on the viability of the method and how it can be improved. However the main strength of the method as a marketing tool is on the marketing plan and how well the company highlights the different models and standards that they have set. Different companies have different marketing strategies for their products so as to ensure that it reaches out to as many people as possible (Gunkel, 2014, p81). Although ethical consumerism may acts as a promotional strategy for the people it is a functional method that ensures that people see the brand impacting the society positively and as a result they support the products that are produced by the brand. The company should therefore ensure that the company markets the ethical consumerism concept and the different standards set by the company in order to ensure that they raise the best and most positive attitude from the consumers (Lekakis, 2013, pg68). Marketing concepts are the main sources in ensuring that the method is helpful in the society. Review of Google Company Google is a software company that looks to provide information for people to get access to it and improve the world. Google is firmly built on ethical standards and looks to change the world through the ethical measures that it has put in place to ensure that people can be able to gain access to all the information available. In the computer services and software provision it has been voted as being the most ethical company as it looks to develop and control the market through its innovative structures as well as the ethical standards set that ensure that the brand is attractive to the consumers (Pateman, 2014, n.d). There is an array of theories that surround the company since it’s known to be a major brand all over the world and people believe that the working conditions at the company are awesome. However the size of the offices and also the structure of the company standards does not meet the set procedures ad attributes that one may have in mind. However, the benefits that are enjoyed by the employees are remarkable since all the employees are able to get access to a good insurance cover, health cover and also other forms of benefits that are enjoyed by the company employees. The employees therefore act as ambassadors for the company and are important cogs in ensuring that the agenda of the company is sold to the outside world (Pateman, 2014, n.d). The development of the company around the pillar of ensuring the best services are offered to the employees and increasing the level of backing by the people drawn from having the best policies is one of the company’s ethical consumerism. However among its main objects is the company’s dedication to the environment and its different methods that the company uses to encourage a green environment. The company has identified the environmental degradation problem that has ravaged the earth and therefore it is looking for different measures that can be used to ensure sustainability in the environmental resources and ensuring that they have conserved it significantly (Deviney et al, 2010, pg105). Google has invested in a lot of projects that are meant to improve and conserve the environment. One of the gadgets that Google has invested in is the cooling of the data centres to ensure that they are set within the best levels to ensure the data centres do not have a detrimental effect to the environment. The company also encourages its employees to use the free bus service, bicycles and also to use electric cars as they go to work. This minimizes the level of emissions from the different vehicles that the employees may have (Pateman, 2014, n.d). There is also an investment in the solar and wind power energy as it looks to eliminate any form of carbon emissions from the company. The company is looking to be the first carbon free area in the world with their headquarters being a champion in ensuring that they have successfully implemented the project first (Pateman, 2014, n.d). The company has a marketing strategy where it markets all these initiatives and ensures that more people are able to understand the different aspects of the company in order to want an association with the company going forward. The company is also looking to address the problem of gender imbalance at the company. The number of women is too low compared to their male counterparts (Pateman, 2014, n.d). There is a feeling that the company may be discriminative but given the number of technically able women in the computer services sector there is a probability of more people working at the company to come from the male gender. This has therefore caused the company to think of instituting a change where it is looking to change and improve the numbers of women through giving women scholarships on some of the courses that the women are not many but are required in the company. These factors ensure that the company is attractive to members of the society and they look to change the face of the company thereby raising the number of consumers for their products. The company has taken over the computer services sector and as a result more consumers want to be associated with the brand due to its ethical considerations. Opinion survey A survey conducted revealed that the good conduct and the moral obligations that are set by a company are important tools in ensuring that people buy the products. When asked about how the consumers get their information, they cited the internet and also the television sets are some of the most commonly used methods (Aveda, 2014, pg77). This was to set a basis for the best marketing methods that can be used by companies to ensure that they are able to reach out to the consumers. Secondly the consumers were asked of their preferred brand. This was mainly in the computer services sector to ensure that there was uniformity in the answers (Datamonitor, 2008, pg70). The brand ethical concepts and obligations to the people were also on the agenda and with people being asked to compare with another company. This was mainly to assess the level of concentration and keenness that the people have on the companies’ ethical obligation and contribution. The question of whether they can buy a commodity based on the level of ethical consideration employed by a company came last. After looking at the results it was evident that the people were in most cases influenced by the ethical obligations and messages that they received. This meant that the different consumers paid attention to the trends and measured the reactionary measures and steps taken by different companies to ensure they would achieve better standards that would lead to better and more attractive aspects for the consumers. There is a need to investigate and analyse the target consumers before coming up with the best methods for the company. The marketing aspect is also another factor that needs utmost attention since the ethical consumerism cannot be viewed by the people if it’s not well marketed. Conclusion Ethical consumerism is an important aspect to the consumers as it shapes their attitude and opinion about a product. It is therefore important to ensure that the company invest heavily on the best mechanisms and procedures that are meant to usher in ethical behaviour and advocacy in the company. It acts as a campaign strategy and is meant to reap in benefits to the company through drawing people to the specific brand and ensuring that they want the brand as their best choice. Although there are beliefs that the method may not be effective it is a very good method if only it is used effectively and the proper marketing procedures are implemented. Recommendations One of the recommendations is that a company should market the ethical considerations and aspects that it has invested in to ensure that the consumers can gain access to it Secondly there is a need to ensure that the company conducts a survey on the consumers that it most likely looks to establish its control on There is a need to ensure that the company invests in the best procedures and policies that are aimed at drawing support for the product and also ensuring that the consumers are more drawn to the product as a moral obligation Investing in looking for inventive and better methods that can help in enhancing the level ethical obligation is maintained is also important for the company Additionally there is a need to involve the consumers, community members, and the employees in the company when drafting the best ethical methods for the company Bibliography Aveda Case Study: Adapting to the Changing Developments in Ethical Consumerism. 2014. Paul # 011 44 161 238 4056: Datamonitor Plc. Datamonitor (Firm), 2008. Aveda case study: Adapting to the changing developments in ethical consumerism. London: Datamonitor. Devinney, T. M., Auger, P., & Eckhardt, G. M, 2010. The myth of the ethical consumer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gunkel, C, 2014. Politicizing Consumer Choice: Ethical Dimensions of Consumerism in the United States. Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. Healey, J, 2007. Consumerism. Thirroul, N.S.W: Spinney Press. In Healey, J. (2013). Ethical consumerism. Lekakis, E. J, 2013. Coffee activism and the politics of fair trade and ethical consumption in the global North: Political consumerism and cultural citizenship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Pateman, N. (2014). Google: The World’s Most Ethical Company? - Inbound. Retrieved from https://inbound.co.uk/blog/google-worlds-ethical-company/ Appendix 1. What is your best product in the computer services and software products 2. What is your preferred method of accessing information about a company? 3. Are you influenced by the ethical standards of a company? Yes No 4. What are the ethical standards that have made you make your choice 5. What are the ethical standards against other companies that have made you go against the other companies? 6. What do you want to see your chosen company improve in terms of the ethical standards in future? Read More