BAA310: Analyzing Marketing Ethics, Advertising & Conflict Issues

This essay delves into the ethical dimensions of managerial social responsibility, focusing on conflict of interest and ethical issues within marketing. It explores various types of conflicts in the workplace, including interdependence conflicts, differences in working styles, gender disparities, leadership styles, leaks of confidential data, and intercultural differences, suggesting strategies for managers to mitigate these issues. The essay further examines ethical dilemmas in marketing, such as pricing wars, deceptive advertising, and the marketing of potentially harmful products, emphasizing the importance of consumer protection, transparency, and social responsibility in marketing practices. It highlights the manager's role in ensuring ethical conduct and promoting sustainable business techniques that prioritize both economic gains and the well-being of customers.

Running head: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MANAGER
Social Responsibility of the Manager
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Conflict of Interest
The notion of conflict of interest is when activity of one member interferes with other
persons interests. The clash of personal interests is a part of the conflict that occurs in
workplace. The loyalty of an employee depend on the fulfillment of his personal interests and
when they are not fulfilled it creates an effect on the decision making power of the
employees. There are financial gains that have a significant effect on the decision making
ability of the employees. Lack of professional relationships in the workplace lead to
conflicting situations. Employees tend to behave in a different manner when their interests
are fulfilled by another organization rather than the one they are working with presently. It is
the responsibility of the employee to discharge his duties with dedication towards his
employer but when any discrepancy arises in the sphere of discharging the duties it is
regarded as a state of conflict. There are conflicts between the employers and the parties who
are in agreement with each other. Therefore, it becomes necessary to oblige their customers
as well the employees with adopting policies that are beneficial for the people who are
affected by the policies. The conflicts also arise between one organization and the other who
are active in the sphere of business activities. The clash of interests are common that leads to
conflicts in the workplace. The potential conflicts can be solved when an individual gets an
opportunity to discuss them with the other members of the organization. The major types of
conflicts that are experienced in workplace are interdependence conflicts, different styles of
working, gender differences, leadership styles, leak of confidential data and intercultural
differences.
Interdependence conflicts: These are the types of conflict arise in workplace when the
managers are dependent on other employees for the fulfillment of their interests. The
dependency leads to discrepancies sometimes that leads to conflicts. The cooperation
becomes necessary when there are a number of people involved in an organization work

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together. The conflicts can be avoided when there are trained professionals who are efficient
at handling resistance and solving problems. They should have efficiency in communicating
the policies and resolve the problems. Consequential impositions should be highlighted to the
employees that will let in resolving the conflicts. It can be explained in the yearly sales figure
of the company that the performance of the company’s products. The performance of the
sales persons affects the marketing of the products that are reflected in the sales report. The
managers can adopt the policy of providing rewards in the form of finances to promote their
spirit of working and helping the other variants in the organization.
Different styles of working: When there is a diverse group of individuals involved in the
workplace it shows that the styles that they adopt in working are also different from the rest.
The orientations are different as the ways of thinking vary from one individual to another. It
can be explained with an example, an efficient person tends to have a different technique for
getting a work done whereas another person who is less efficient can adopt another technique
that will take a long time to complete the same task. This shows that there are a variety of
styles employed in the workplace and it is the responsibility of the manager to solve those
conflicts. The managers can adhere the concepts and ideas of both the parties and that will
lead to resisting and eliminating the conflicts from the workplace.
Gender differences: There are a number of individuals who are involved in the structure of an
organization. They come from different cultural, educational and ethnic backgrounds. These
differences in the values and outlook towards the other genders that lead to differences in the
workplace. The differences in gender often create many issues that lead to disruption of the
working structure and create conflicts. Gender discrimination is an old concept that arise in
the society. These creates an impact on the working of the organization and creates
differences between the workers. The example highlighting the conflicts based on gender is
when an organization has a woman as the head this leads to the feeling of inferiority in the

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male employees. This adds up in the responsibility of the managers to create gender equality
in workplace. In order to create equality, managers can adopt variety of procedures that
include sessions on gender equality that will remove the sense of inequality. This will lead to
the proper functioning of the working structure without any differences.
Leadership styles: The leading styles of the individuals vary from person to another this can
also lead to dissatisfaction among the employees and lead to conflicts. The policies of the
leaders can be harsh sometimes as he may push the employees. This technique of being harsh
on the employees can create conflicts. As the individuals working under those leaders can
feel the pressure and this leading to dissatisfaction. The sense of dissatisfaction is the main
force that leads to dysfunction of the working structure. This is visible that when the
individuals work under the helpful managers this leads to work efficiency. The work of the
mangers is to create a favorable environment that will lead to good work culture. The
management should formulate proper plans for training the managers as well as the workers.
This will lead to the development of better understanding between them and decrease the
conflicting scenarios.
Leak of confidential data: The employees working with an organization are the ones who
know about the activities and policies of the company. This makes the company vulnerable
and any data that is important for the company can be leaked to the competitors. The leaking
of important data can bring losses to the company and lead to conflicts. This shows that the
employees hold a very significant place in the organization. The policies that are formulated
by the management should always be in favor of the workers. The favorable policies will help
to lessen the conflicts as this will not lead to dissatisfaction. Revealing the information to the
competitors has become a common problem in the workplace in the present times. To remove
unethical practices from the workplace the need is to have efficient managers who will help
in employee engagement. The engagement of the employees will lead to improved

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relationships as they will be able to convey their concerns to the employees leading to
satisfaction.
Intercultural differences: The companies are expanding nowadays and this creates the
involvement of individuals from different cultures to be involved in the working structure. As
the cultures are different, the values will also differ from employee that creates conflicts. The
hierarchical differences are visible among different cultures and that leads to the lack of
involvement of the individuals in the working structure. Thus, the managers should work on
the policies of the companies by keeping in view the values and practices of the individuals in
the company to avoid conflict of interests.
Ethical issues in marketing
Marketing is an important strategy in managing the business activities of the
organization. The marketing practices should include the interests of the customers and
suppliers that will lead to the increase in the business growth. Unethical behavior in
marketing practices include the war of the price of certain products, the area specific pricing
is also considered unethical. The deceptive marketing techniques can lead to have a negative
impact on the business activities of the company. The marketing strategy aims to improve the
state of products that are managed by the company. Thus, the marketing strategy of the
company should aim at the betterment of the sales. The marketing concept of the products has
a huge impact on determining the targets who are the focus of the marketing strategies of the
company. The main aim should be to provide satisfaction to the customers and suffice their
needs better than other companies. There should be consumer laws that will provide security
to the consumers as well as guarantee their rights on the legal grounds. There are possible
clashes that arise in the relationship between the sellers and the buyers. There possible factors
that can lead to the conflicts between the sellers and the buyers that include physical

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vulnerability which includes the range of marketing those products that can cause harm to the
health of the individuals. The marketing issues should be dealt with efficiency and the
products should highlight the side effects too. This will increase the credibility of the
advertisements and remove the discrepancies. The advertisements should focus on the
potential groups and design the marketing policies in accordance to them. This shows that the
elderly and the children who are affected by the products without knowing the ill effects
should be made aware. The liability of the products lies solely on the company and it is their
responsibility to promote their products with statutory warning. The amount of information
that is required to counter the ill effects must be made available to the customers that will
remove the unethical practices. The price of the products should be declared clearly that will
lead to proper marketing practices. The offers and the rebates that are offered on the products
should be clearly stated. This will lead to the lack of theft and copying of original products.
As the issues of predatory pricing is increasing in the markets this creates competition
amongst the firms. The prices of the products should be maintained and fluctuations should
not occur often. The companies market their products irrespective of the ill effects they have
on the health of the potential buyers. The morality should be checked while promoting and
advertising the products. At times there are products that lead to offensive use of language
and content. These type of advertisements should not be promoted by the company. The
negative marketing strategies employed by one company can lead to the benefit of the other
marketing company. Therefore, the advertisements should be designed and promoted by
keeping in focus the scenario that is feasible for the potential buyers. The sphere of legality
should also be kept in mind as direct marketing can lead to spams, which is considered
unethical on part of the company. Deceptive marketing is another unethical practices in the
marketing sphere. This is because deceptive advertisements fail to identify the potential
buyers and this can inflict losses in the company. The sense that those products that are

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marketed with efficiency can be good for the customers whereas those products that are not
promoted properly lack in quality. Thus, effective marketing is important in the growth of the
company. Non sustainable business techniques that are employed in the sphere of
advertisements can lead to dysfunction. There are frauds that are made in the pricing of the
products because of the lack of information on the price. Predatory pricing can lead to create
barriers in the market strategies of the company and create discrepancy. This can also create
barriers for the new entrants in the market. Licensing is often neglected in the advertisements
as they are necessary for the promotion of the products. There should be social liability on
part of the companies that will lead to them being answerable about the quality of the
products to the buyers. Thus, it becomes the responsibility of the manager to keep a vigilant
eye on the brands that are promoted and offered by the company. The products have a direct
effect on the health of the customers that makes it the liability on part of the manufacturers to
design their products efficiently. The advertisements should not always focus on bringing
economic gains but also on promoting safe consumer practices. Competition should be taken
in a constructive way that will lead to betterment of products rather than marketing those
products that are only for increasing the sale of the products. The services should aim at
public welfare rather than promoting the gains of the producers. Thus, it shows that the
managers are responsible for all the activities that occur in an organisation.