Sales Ethics

Sales Ethics

What are they and how can they be better Followed?

To fully understand the nature of the question posed one must know the meaning of ethics. Webster’s dictionary defines ethics as the philosophical study of the moral value of human conduct and of the rules and principles that ought to govern it; moral philosophy, the moral fitness of a decision, course of action, etc. Basically, I believe ethics is how one makes a decision according to the social norm that surrounds him. The social norm includes not only the culture but the laws and standard procedures of the environment. These laws and norms must be fully understood before one can understand the ethical significance of one’s decision.

With that definition being stated we must look at the environment in which the activity in question occurred, a common sales exchange. The salesman obviously works for a company that governs his behaviors and measures his performance. Therefore, they provide a structure of rules for him to follow in his job. In my opinion, by breaking these rules he has acted unethically.

The world of business is very complex and filled with decisions. Wither large or small they all have an effect on the final product. Often time’s employees are monitored very heavily and are not given the change to make an unethical decision. Salesmen however are not monitored and can make decisions that greatly benefit themselves and not the company. This is the case in the example given to us. Because of the salesman’s lack of performance he has to alter his actual performance to make it seem like he is doing his job right. While this is a small and seeming insignificant procedure it can hurt a company very badly. It is not ethical and is very bad business conduct.

Some may say that this practice is all right and does not affect a company in any way. This is not true. The losses associated with these types of unethical behavior average more than $3,000 per employee per year in tangible, measurable costs. That doesn't count the losses in customer confidence, damage to the organization's reputation, loss of employee commitment to and confidence in leadership, or other, less-tangible costs.( Navran, Frank, 1997) Companies have guidelines for a reason. If they are broken then they loose money and c...

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...unethical behavior in the pursuit of business objectives. One quarter reported that their companies' managers look the other way and ignore unethical business conduct to meet business objectives. ( Navran, Frank, 1997) If managers keep pushing and pushing then salesmen will soon not be able to keep up. They almost have to cheat to keep their job.

There are many unethical practices going on in today’s business world. While they may seem insignificant they create a downward spiral that could eventually kill their business. Both managers and salesmen need to work together to eliminate the problem. Until they do unethical behaviors will continue to occur.

Works Cited

Are Your Employees Cheating to Keep Up? Ed. Navran, Frank. Copyright ACC Communications Inc 1997

Do Sweat the Small Stuff. Ed. Meyer, Charlene. Journal for Quality & Participation 26, no. 1 (Spring 2003): p. 31-32

A Typology of Situational Factors: Impact on Salesperson Decision Making About Ethical Issues. Ed. Ross, William; Robertson, Diana. Journal of Business Ethics 46, no. 3 (Sep 2003)