Individual Assignment on Marketing Ethics

Individual Assignment on Marketing Ethics

Full name: Lam Chun Yin Jason
student identity: 17073215d

Tutorial group: Thursday 1130-12:20
Programme: BBA (Hons) Broad Discipline of Business

Introduction:

Marketing ethics are the moral principles and values that govern the marketing actions and decisions of an individual or group. It is unlike law which has a clear definition but it still has some common universal standards to follow. According to American Marketing Association (AMA), there are six basic ethical values which are honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, openness and citizenship. Marketers utilize them to promote customer confidence. However, some corporations may practice unethical acts in order to achieve more revenue and profit.

Background:

Apple Inc. is one of the biggest and well-known multi-national technology company that develops, designs and sells electronic devices, computer software and online services. Although, it is a major technology firm, they has some unethical issues.

It is found that iPhone with ageing battery possibly cause the shutdown of devices which will appear on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7 and 7 Plus models. Then, Apple Inc. released a latest upgrade on the IOS system to slow down the CPU in order to prevent the shutdown. (Patel, 2017)According to AMA code of ethics, this marketing activity violates two ethical values of the honesty and the openness.

Honesty:

For the honesty, Apple Inc. failed to inform the customers that the ageing battery may lead to a shutdown of the devices even they knew that it might be harmful to users’ experience. Apple Inc. tried to conceal its users about the performance decline of iPhone. Furthermore, they determined to decelerate the CPU by application of an iOS upgrade rather than notifies their customers and develops a solution. They tried to save the replacement cost of ageing battery. Focusing on the short term profit rather than long term success is imprudent. For an ethical corporation, Apple Inc. should be trustful and forthright to their consumers and stakeholders. Also, they should always tell the truth in all situations and at all time. This act opposes to ethical values and not only expands their operating cost but also loses their reputation and consumer confidence. What Apple Inc. should do at the beginning is revealing the battery issue and generating a most efficient method for battery replacement, such as, providing discount or trade-in allowance..

Openness:

For the openness, Apple Inc. covered the side effects of the iOS system upgrade which will depreciate the efficiency of iPhone. They did not suggest the consumers that they can choose not to upgrade to avoid limited speed in CPU performance. They tried to hide the ageing battery issue by a misleading upgrade of iOS system. For an ethical company, Apple Inc. is supposed to create transparency and strive to communicate clearly with all their users. Also, they should disclose all the significant service risks and foreseeable consequences to their customers. This act is a breach of ethical values and also betrays the trust of current customers. Also, purchaser might consider whether Apple Inc. shelters something detrimental to them or not. What Apple Inc. should do originally is providing all necessary and available information of upgrade to consumers.

...