Course Overview:

This module examines various ethical interactions of companies with different stakeholders. A company markets its products to its customer base. Marketing often raises ethical questions.

If you ask a chief executive officer (CEO) what are his or her goals for the company, the CEO may tell you many things. The real answer is that the CEO wants to maximize the wealth of the shareholders. Because the moment the shareholders (usually a number of large institutional shareholders) feel that the CEO is not maximizing their wealth, they can remove the CEO.

Companies maximize wealth by increasing sales, profits, or market share, which they achieve by developing new products, improving their current products, and advertising their products.

Where is the line drawn between accuracy and puffery? Webster defines puffery as "exaggerated commendation especially for promotional purposes" ("Puffery," 2011).

Puffery serves to "puff up" an exaggerated image of what is being described and is especially featured in testimonials. Many consumer advocates complain that puffery should be illegal and that there should be truth in advertising.

Puffery. (2011). Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.

Module Readings and Assignment:

Complete the following readings early in the module:

Module overview

From your course textbook, Law & Ethics in the Business Environment, 8th read the following chapter:

Marketing and Technology: Choice and Manipulation

From the Argosy University online library resources, read the following articles:

Pohl, M. (2010). Three little pigs of deceptive advertising. Pharmaceutical Executive, 30(9), 30, 32. (ProQuest document ID:757065267)

Assignment: Discussion-Information Gathering and Ethics in Marketing

Using the Argosy University online library resources or the Internet, research and read two articles on information gathering and ethics in marketing.

Respond to the following question:

What ethical dilemmas do marketing professionals face in gathering information on customer bases through smartphones and social media?

Submission Details:

In a minimum of 500 words, summarize and post your responses to this Discussion Area. Support your work by citing sources according to APA standards.

When you submit your papers through turnitin.com, your overall similarity index score should not be exceedingly high, with ten to fifteen percent being the maximum, Please make sure your APA formatting of citations. I have provided the APA resource cite for you. Please work on using literature within the span of the last 5 years, keep in mind there should not be any one, two, or three sentence paragraphs

Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Do the following when responding:

Read your answers.

Provide substantive comments by

contributing new, relevant information from course readings, Web sites, or other sources;

building on the remarks or questions; or

sharing practical examples of key concepts from your professional or personal experiences

Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to ideas.

Make sure your writing

is clear, concise, and organized;

demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and

displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.