Ethical Responsibility of Sales Managers

961 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethical issues and business research

Introduction

This paper will discuss how a sales manager can address ethical issues in a socially responsible way. In order to accomplish this, current ethical issues related to sales management, both foreign and domestic, will be discussed regarding an organization based in the United States. Analogies and experiences will also be discussed as they relate to study findings. In addition, the relevance of these findings to the argument made regarding solving the problem of ethical issues will be revealed. Also, recommendations will be made with respect to how sales managers may address ethical issues.
Current ethical issues related to sales management, both foreign and domestic
Current ethical issues related to sales management include topics such as unethical behaviors of salespeople in both a domestic and foreign environment. These include those situations related to the pharmaceutical industry, as well as other related industries, including incurring expenses related to marketing/sales that are considered to be beyond that of modest expenditures. The concern is that these expenditures will be passed on to the end consumer in the form of higher priced products such as pharmaceuticals and medical products, for example. Other issues include using high pressure sales tactics to coerce customers into purchasing products in the short run that may not meet their needs and may result in the loss of sales in the long run. In addition, unethical behaviors also might include salespeople that are being coerced to provide free items to customers, and this is likely to be a particularly serious problem related to sales representatives that sell diagnostic tools.
Another issue concerning ethics is that of the fair evaluation of s...

... middle of paper ...

...ven without spending money on additional marketing and promotional programs.
In other words, companies that cannot spend heavily on promotions in the Turkey marketplace, can still compete to some degree by ensuring that their salespeople meet these criteria. Many sales representatives did, however, report that they used free medically related items as a bargaining tool to get physicians to prescribe branded pharmaceuticals over generics in a high percentage of cases (Tengilimoglu et al., 2004). These issues, again, pose a great deal of concern for a sales manager in the pharmaceutical industry that must manage a domestic sales force with all of the new guidelines in the U. S. as well as for mangers that must manage salespeople in the global marketplace with the threat of these new guidelines and the need to self-regulate to some degree simply due to the threat.

Show More
Related

  • Critical Response: Critical Analysis Of The Most Ethical Dilemmas

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Critical Response: Given the three possible responses from the book, I feel like #2 is the most ethical of the three. However, I feel like all three aren’t satisfactory ways to treat this situation. I will analyze them one by one, then give my opinion of what the salesperson should do.

    Read More

  • Regulatory Changes in Direct-To-Consumer Marketing of Pharmaceuticals

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lyles, Adam. “Direct Marketing of Pharmaceuticals to Consumers.” Annual Review of Public Health, volume 23. 2002. Print.

    Read More

  • Corruption of the Pharmaceutical Industry in America

    2937 Words  | 6 Pages

    In America today, many people are in need of medical help. In fact,the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 75% of the population complain of physical problems (Federal Trade Commission 9). They complain, for example, of fatigue, colds, headaches, and countless other "ailments." When these symptoms strike, 65% purchase over-the counter, or OTC, drugs. In order to take advantage of this demand, five billion dollars is spent by the pharmaceutical industry on marketing each year . This marketing, usually in the form of advert...

    Read More

  • Servant Leadership Article Essay

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The behaviors addressed in this article are essential in the aspect of ethical decision making in management area.

    Read More

  • Chemoprevention Essay

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    We live in a world where being medicated has become a societal norm. Modern health care practices have set the stage for the proliferation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some of these practices include the emergence of managed care organizations (MCOs), the legalization of DTCA of prescription drugs, the emergence of the Internet as an alternative promotional channel, the increased desire by patients to become more involved in their own health care decisions, the disillusionment with traditional medicine, and the rise of ‘alternative’ medicine, to name a few. There is an ongoing debate as to the ultimate harm or benefit of this relatively recent practice of pharmaceutical manufacturers to direct their promotional efforts away from the physician and towards the consumer.

    Read More

  • Business Ethics Issues in the Movie Boiler Room

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ethical issues in business arise because of conflicts between an individuals personal moral philosophies and values and values or attitudes of organization in which a person works and a society in which one lives. Ethical issues can be identified in terms of the major participants and functions of business. Ethical issues related to ownership include conflicts between manager’s duties to the owners and their own interests, also separation of ownership and control of business. Financial issue includes, for example, the accuracy of reported financial documents. Ethical issues can acquire between manages and employees, then employees are asked to carry out assignments they consider unethical. Consumers and marketing issues are related to providing safe desired products for a fear price and not harming people and an environment. Accountants also face ethical dilemma, they have to deal with competition advertising commission. All of this places the accounting profession in situation of ethical risk.

    Read More

  • Unethical Business Practices in Glengarry Glen Ross

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    As in any other discipline that entails interaction with individuals, the aspect of ethics must include a conscious principle. To define ethics in its simplest form, it is known as the ability to distinguish right from wrong. In the movie, the sudden pressure from management drives the company’s salesmen to increase sales with no regards to ethics in order to maintain job security. All of the main characters had made their fair share of unethical decisions, out of desperation, to increase their sales and ultimately to keep their jobs. The degree of each decision can be left for viewers to determine the level of appropriateness based on their own values. Personally, although all characters have made unethical decisions, the most ethical salesman was Ricky Roma. Ri...

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism, Kant's Deontological Ethics, And Virtue Ethics

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.

    Read More

  • Ethical Mission Statement

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyone knows that when a customer is making a decision on a business to conduct business with. They are usually concerned with what that business has to offer them. Although many of these times they are not looking for a materialistic item to benefit them. It is something as simple as using ethics in the mission or in everyday customer service where companies fall short. Making sure that the mission and the Employees have a clear understanding of the ethical precautions expected of them can go a long way with the

    Read More

  • Managerial Ethics

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s fast paced business world many managers face tough decisions when walking the thin line between what’s legal and what’s socially unacceptable. It is becoming more and more important for organisations to consider many more factors, especially ethically, other than maximising profits in order to be more competitive or even survive in today’s business arena. The first part of this essay will discuss managerial ethics[1] and the relevant concepts and theories that affect ethical decision making, such as the Utilitarian, Individualism, Moral rights approach theories, the social responsibility of organisations to stakeholders and their responses to social demands, with specific reference to a case study presenting an ethical dilemma[2], where Mobil halts product sales to a garage, forcing the garage owner to stop selling solvents to young people. The second section of this essay will focus on advice that should be given to any manager in a similar position to the garage owner with relevance to the organisational strategic management, the corporate objective and the evaluation of corporate social performance by measuring economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. It will address whom to think of as stakeholders and why the different aspect could cost more than a manager or an organisation could have imagined.

    Read More

  • Marketing Ethics: The Ethical Ethics Of Deceptive Advertising

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Introduction In order to generate sales, marketers often promote aggressively and uniquely, unfortunately, not all marketing advertisements are done ethically. Companies around the globe spend billions of dollars to promote new products and services and advertising is one of the key tools to communicate with consumers. Conversely, some methods that marketers use to produce advertisements and to generate sales is deceptive and unethical. Ethical issues concern in marketing has always been noted in marketing practice.

    Read More

  • Ethics in Business Decision Making

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior (Fieser, 2009). Many of the decisions one faces in a typical day could result in a multitude of outcomes. At times it can be hard to determine whether or not the decision you are making is an ethical one. Many philosophies have been devised to illustrate the different ways of evaluating moral decisions. Normative ethics focuses on assessing right and wrong behavior. This may involve reinforcing positive habits, duties we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior (Fieser, 2009). Of the many normative philosophies two stand out to be most accepted; teleology and deontology. Although they oppose each other in how actions are evaluated, they uphold many similar characteristics under the surface.

    Read More

  • Social Network theory

    2456 Words  | 5 Pages

    Seevers, Matthew (2007). "A Social Network Perspective on Sales Force Ethics". The Journal of personal selling &sales management (0885-3134), 27 (4), p. 341-353.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues in Business

    1834 Words  | 4 Pages

    The textbook defines business ethics as “the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of business people.” Business ethics also govern the members of a profession and the actions of an organization. Many organizations put into place an ethical strategy which is “a course of action that does not violate accepted principles.” These principles are used to guide organizations and employees to make the right decisions.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Ethics In Business

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ethics is the study of right or wrong and the morality of the choices that individuals make. That basicly means the set of morals or responsibility that a person, group, or field have. Ethics can also be classified as code of morals. In business there are ethics that portray to business. These are called business ethics, business ethics just happen to be the application of ethics, morals, into the business field. Some examples of business ethics are obeying all rules and regulations even when nobody 's looking, which is pretty self explanatory, you shouldn’t be breaking rules. Even if it is as simple as washing your hands after you use the restroom or straight up lying to your customers, they are the ones making you money so if they find out

    Read More

More about Ethical Responsibility of Sales Managers

Open Document