Ethics in Marketing Practices in Ghana - Research Proposal Example

Ethics in marketing practices in Ghana Introduction to the topic- Rationale: Marketing ethics is a branch of business management that has become quite a focus of attention over the past few years. It primarily constitutes the principles and standards that define acceptable conduct in marketing as determined by various stakeholders, including the public, government regulators, private interest groups, consumers, industry, and the other institutions. In terms of ethics in businesses; we see that their marketing area is quite influenced by this factor, being most prone to unethical practices (Baker & Hart, 2008). Conscientious marketers, over the span of their careers, are constantly faced with moral dilemmas, some minor while others of the major category, that rarely ever have a clear distinction between what is right and wrong and the best thing to do is often ambiguous (Kotler & Armstrong, 1999). It is the general perception of many that the criteria for such ethics based marketing is basically set by the free market and the legal system. This view does not oblige the companies and their strategies to go for making moral decisions for the betterment of the organization as long as the system allows it. The other more common perspective is that ethics and social responsibility are the traits that should be inculcated in the system via individual companies and managers (Kotler & Armstrong, 1999). Reason for study: Incorporation of ethics in different aspects of businesses has been much hyped upon. In terms of marketing it is the general consensus these days, that it is not only essential, but a fundamental factor whose incorporation in the strategies is of utmost importance. I, as a marketer, have specifically chosen this subject matter in view of the importance of the ethics issue in the international business sphere and to observe how big a part it plays in under developed countries and how is the reception of this concept in terms of understanding and its inculcation to counter unethical implications over there. It is my general observation that there has been little or no concrete research done in the subject matter mentioned above and that’s why this research is being conducted; in order to fill the gap between marketing practices in the advanced countries and the under-developed economies with the emphasis specifically on Ghana. There are many implications of unethical marketing practices on consumers and at the end of the research; such implications will be uprooted for the marketers to see. For this purpose, the study is basically carried out taking into consideration Ghana for the analysis because even though there are many professionals studying the ethics trends in the marketing environment in developed countries, there are little known detailed studies considering their implications and implementation in under developed countries like Ghana and analyzing their influence in the markets that have an inferior system of consumer protection. Back ground/literature review In recent years, multinational corporations have shown an increased interest in the “base-of-the pyramid markets” or “low-income segments” (Santos and Laczniak 2009) of which Ghana is part of. These markets are characterized by poverty, lack of opportunity, high literacy rates, inferior laws, and political unrests. There is no doubt that these companies, together with local companies in Ghana, are contributing towards poverty alleviation in Ghana. Even though a lot of research has been done about ethics in marketing, there has been no detailed research done on ethics in marketing practices in Ghana. Many companies have taken advantages of high poverty and illiteracy rates to sell inferior products at high prices in the country, simply because consumers are bound to buy them. People can’t read the labels on products or understand the nutritional facts on them for that matter. While the marketers take undue advantage of such illiteracy to sell their products with the aim of profit maximization, without having to be answerable of the harmful effects of the products being offered. On specific research done on the subject matter of business ethics and society, I have come to the conclusion that the business practices in the developed countries are different from what is going on in Africa, especially Ghana. Since ethics could have a negative impact on businesses, marketers in the developed countries adhere to most of the ethic codes set by the American Marketing Association and other professional organizations. There have been several instances in the United States where unethical marketing practices have resulted in legal battles between companies and the consumers. On the other hand, marketers in Ghana give little importance to such issues and even developed professional bodies such as Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana, don’t consider ethics as a part of their activities. Statement of purpose To shed some light on the role and the level of inculcation of ethics in the marketing strategies of under developed countries like Ghana. Objectives: Following are the primary objectives that will be analyzed over the course of the study: To analyze the importance of marketing ethics in view of the population of Ghana. To discuss the implications of the unethical marketing strategies on the Ghana society. To scrutinize the differences of marketing strategies based on ethics in developed and under developed countries. To analyze the importance of considering societies while crafting marketing strategies. To analyze how much businesses are operating in Ghana under ethical concepts. To discuss whether the marketers of businesses operating in Ghana are practising ethical marketing. To consider the quality versus price worth of the products being sold by businesses in Ghana. To analyze whether the businesses operating there take into consideration the factor of social responsibilities at all. To analyze whether the bad impacts of the products in the consumer market is of any concern to the marketers. To know whether the harmful effects of the products are conveyed to the consumer base or not. Aim: My research will focus on the ethics in marketing practices in Ghana. Overall, the research will reveal the importance of ethics in marketing to both the companies operating in Ghana and the Ghana consumers along with giving a general idea of the marketing trends in under developed countries. The research will also address the marketing part of business which encompasses the marketing mix variables (product, price, promotion and place), the target market (people of Ghana), marketing research and social responsibilities of companies in relation to the major ethical theories such as the Unitarianism, the Deontologists, and Rights. At the end of the project, I hope to establish a non government organization (NGO) that will enable Ghanaians to report any unethical behaviour experienced. Ghana is my country of origin, and I know what consumers are going through at the expense of unethical practices by companies who are only there for “profit”. I will be very happy to undertake such a project, because consumers in Ghana are suffering from so many marketing activities from product development to distribution that desperately need to be taken into consideration. Research methodology A descriptive research will be carried out for this study. As by Kumar (2008) descriptive research takes into account different surveys and facts that are inquired by using diverse methods and the main purpose of this type of research is to provide information on current matters. Due to the nature of the research, I will use all the necessary available methods to collect the data using both the qualitative and quantitative techniques. Qualitative research which according to Bell, Judith (2005) is a perspective used to analyze the perception of the individuals. Qualitative data is designed to discover the underlying assumptions and motives. On the other hand quantitative research will be carried for statistical analysis and also to observe relationships between different variables. Data Collection: Primary Data: Questionnaires will be designed for both the employees and the managers of different organizations providing either product or services to assess their business preferences along with the strategies that they opt for. These questionnaires will be designed to analyze the ways in which ethics is prioritized in the formation of a business strategy specifically in terms of the marketing department. Interviews will also be a part of the study. These interviews will be conducted from the businesses to get an idea about how they perceive things about the business strategies, consumer preference and over all society in general and what are the other reasons they are incorporating in their marketing/ PR strategies. Plus we would also make a use of focus groups, panels, surveys, observations and projective methods. Secondary Data: Data will be collected by using secondary sources. These sources include the website articles which are found to be linked to the topic and different journal articles related to the topic. Newspaper and magazines will also serve as a medium to provide secondary data. Books will also serve as a medium to get know how of the different methods bloggers can build relationships with brands. I will also consult other available secondary data sources available through Ghana Statistical Department, CIA Factbook, internet research, publications from marketing and other professional bodies such as the American Marketing Association, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Society for Marketing Professional Services, International Development Ethics Association, International Society for Environmental Ethics, Association of Ghana Industries, and Ghana Chamber of Commerce etc. These sources together with others could help provide information/data for the research to be completed. I will also pay close attention to new resources during the course of the research because business environment keeps changing. References Baker, M. J. & Hart, S. J. 2008. The marketing book. Butterworth- Heinamann. Oxford Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. 1999. Principles of marketing. Prentice Hall. India. Kumar, C. R. 2008. Research methodology. APH publishing. India. Judith, B. 2005. Doing your research project maidenhead: Open University. Read More