LICENSED RETAIL SECTOR

Ethical Responsibilities of Licensed Retail Sector

Ethical Responsibilities of Licensed Retail Sector

Introduction

Ethical decisions ensure society's sense of order and justice. But trying to determine what falls into that sense of order and justice can be difficult. One department that is frequently maligned for unethical acts in business is marketing. A major reason for this negativity is that marketing tends to be the most visible or conspicuous department to the public at large. For example, fictitious pricing, deceptive advertising and false sales pitches from sales personnel often become cannon fodder for aggrieved customers and the media. Studies have confirmed that unethical marketing decisions can engender considerable personal, organizational and social costs.

There are moral constraints built into the very dynamics through which marketing works. For example, contemporary marketing practitioners often argue that dishonest marketing will be unsuccessful marketing that the market will weed out those who violate the common morality. After all, ethics functions as a form of social control, something that is especially critical to customers, salespeople and the organization. The concept of Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) is often associated with the concept of corporate ethics and according to many definitions, CSR appear to be the ethical expression of the business. Consequently retailers' ethics may be focused on the notion of ethical responsibility to contribute to sustainable economic development; working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life.

The retailers' ethics may be analyzed from the standpoint of ethical practices, seen as “Good Actions”. Retailing plays a vital role in the economy. The retail industry is the first link in the distribution chain, from the customer's point of view. It is therefore vital for retailers to act in an ethical manner because they affect the lives of many people. One area in marketing where ethical misconduct can easily occur is the selling area. Sales personnel tend to be guided by their professional demands for bending ethics.

Marketing personnel are the unfortunate victims of the ethics gap. Institutional support for encouraging ethical behavior is more useful than a punitive or reformatory approach. If ethicality is measured, sales and marketing personnel may be as ethical as other groups in the organization. This however needs to be reinforced organizationally. Failure to structure supportive ethical work environment is a case of managerial malfeasance.

Ethics in retailing pose certain critical issues. Retailers may use certain ethical standards that guide decision making when confronting questionable situations that may not be covered by law. Retail sales has been selected as an important frame of reference as the retail salespeople are likely to encounter situations that could be ethically troublesome. The aim of this paper is to investigate the ethical practices of retailers and the ethical beliefs of retail salesforce. Little is known about the ethical perceptions of retailers despite the fact that retailing plays a vital role in the economy.

Typology of Ethical Problems in Retail Sales

Retail sales personnel confront numerous situations that may pose potential ethical ...