MKTCB574_Competency1_Part1.doc Ethical and Responsible Marketing University of Phoenix

MKTCB574_Competency1_Part1.doc    Ethical and Responsible Marketing  University of Phoenix  MKTCB/574: Marketing Social, Mobile, And Analytics  Ethical and Responsible Marketing  Marketing practices have evolved significantly over the past several decades. Several factors in societal expectations and perceptions coupled with technological advances and digital reach have caused companies to adapt their approaches to marketing in today™s world (Marshall & Johnston, 2019). At the forefront of this topic is ethics, social responsibility, and legal issues. Consumer purchasing behavior is largely impacted by a company™s marketing strategy and how these three topics are addressed within it (Parilti et al., 2014).  Ethical, Social, and Legal Issues  It is important to discern between these different issues in marketing. Ethical issues are likely the most cited in social space but often can serve as a blanketed label for most controversial topics with little differentiation of scope and nature. Ethics is a broad topic that refers to a general sense of right or wrong actions on an individual, societal, or even corporate level (Parilti et al., 2014). The challenge with ethical perceptions is that they may vary greatly and change frequently depending on numerous factors. Specifically, regarding marketing, ethical issues concern a company™s strategy in their product, placement, pricing, and promotion. Misleading advertising, unfair pricing, deceptive packaging, and predatory marketing are examples of ethical issues i