Nike n KFC Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility

Individual Assignments

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the following questions:
1. What is Nike’s impact on consumers? Do most consumers need the high tech Nike builds into its shoes, thus increasing costs and prices? Explain your answer.
2. Is Nike creating materialism, or is it responding to it? Defend your answer.
3. Comment on Nike’s response to the “sweat shop” issues. What are your feelings about their comment that they are playing by the rules of the individual country? Should Nike try to change those rules if they are in conflict with typical U.S. practices?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond the questions from the instructor.
1. What are the primary criticisms of marketing? Which of the criticisms are fair? Unfair?
2. What is a deceptive practice?
3. What are deceptive practices that can take place in marketing?
4. What is planned obsolescence? Is it good or bad? Explain your answer.
5. Does marketing have a responsibility to serve all customers? Or only profitable ones? Who decides this?
6. What “evils” has advertising been accused of? Are these fair or unfair? Comment.
7. What is consumerism? What are the various “rights” under this concept?
8. What is environmentalism?
9. What is environmental sustainability? List and describe the four parts of Figure 20.1.
10. What is green marketing? Does it work?
11. According to Figure 20.2, what are all the marketing decision areas that may be called in question under the law?
12. List and describe the various forms of enlightened marketing. Which do you prefer? Why?
13. List and describe the forms of products shown in Figure 20.3. Which of these are desirable, and which are not?
14. How do firms meet their social responsibility function?

Outside Example

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA, claims animals have rights, and humans have no right to eat them, use them to produce clothing (leather goods and furs, for example), or for testing purposes. They are against practices they say are cruel and barbaric, everything from corporate animal farming to breeding dogs and cats to supply our nation’s pet supply.

The organization targets high profile companies and their practices, recently targeting Perdue Farms and KFC for cruelty to chickens. Their activists have been known to break into test labs and release the animals there. Others have released dogs that were with their owners at dog shows.

Some have decried PETA as the lunatic fringe, while others praise their efforts to force us all to treat animals humanely.

1. Should PETA be able to release animals they truly believe are suffering? Defend your answer.
2. If you were Perdue Farms, and PETA released videos taken undercover at one of your processing facilities, how would you react? How much influence would this have on your marketing practices?
3. If you worked for a fur manufacturer, how would you counteract PETA’s campaign to get people to stop wearing fur?