Ethics of Marketing

Topic: Ethics of Marketing

Marketing professionals face ethical questions with each new product or service they encounter. This is especially true for those whose Christian worldview may seem unfamiliar, or even antagonistic, to the secular marketplace. For this assignment, you are to research and analyze the ethical issues involved in a market that poses such ethical challenges.

In Chapter 3 of Ethical and Legal Issues in Marketing, Kotler’s article “Wrestling with Ethics: Is Marketing Ethics an Oxymoron” explores a number of product areas that present ethical issues. Although the article was written in 2004, these issues and others are still current in today’s marketplace.

For this thread, select 1 of the topics listed below or another current marketing challenge that presents similar issues:

Marketing gambling, guns, marijuana or similar products;
Products that produce greenhouse gases;
Sex in advertising or sexually explicit products;
Promoting un-biblical behavior as the norm (non-traditional couples, lying, dumb dads, disrespecting family members, etc.); or
Planned obsolescence of electronics.
Provide critical analysis of (1) the ethical issues for the consumer and society, (2) the ethical issues for a Christian marketing professional, and (3) whether and to what extent a Christian should participate in such a marketing effort. Review Discussion Board Forum Instructions regarding requirements for word counts, scholarly sources, and APA citation formats.