Marketing Ethics

Fall, 2003

Instructor: Dr. Linda Ferrell
Phone: 766-3723                        Office:  226
Office Hours:  M,W- 12:30-1:00 and 2:00-3:00 as well as by appointment.
E-Mail Address: LFerrell@uwyo.edu 
Supplemental Websites: www.e-businessethics.com,  www.hmco.com, www.e-businessethics.com , www.uwyo.edu/lferrell and www.bbb.org.

Texts: O.C. Ferrell, John Fraedrich and Linda Ferrell (2002) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 5^th  edition, Houghton Mifflin Co (+ select marketing ethics articles, readings, and additional cases).

Class Attendance: Required.  Note: We will meet on M/W and Fridays will be used for team projects until the last 2 weeks of class when we will meet on Fridays for BBB presentations.

Code of Ethics for Class: Handed out and discussed first day of class.

Course Philosophy and Design: Marketing ethics is designed to immerse you in organizational ethical decision making processes, issues, organizational control mechanisms, and benefits of developing comprehensive and due diligence ethics programs.  As a marketing major, most of your activities both inside and outside the organization have ethical dimensions.  Particularly many marketing functions represent boundary spanning roles between the organization and outside constituents and as such present challenges in the areas of: honesty and fairness, deceptive advertising, price fixing and anti-trust, product misrepresentation and liability, billing issues, etc.  We will explore organizational successes and failures to better understand how to manage this area.  In addition, you will complete a team ethics audit of a company.  The class will be very interactive and meshed with current organizational practice in developing integrity based ethics programs.  There will be 2 exams.

Course Objectives:

           -provide you a clear understanding of the difference between personal and business               ethics in marketing organizations

            -understand the organizational mechanisms to support ethical decision making

-allow you to evaluate the implications of the legal pressure for ethical behavior in                 organizations

            -understand key ethical issues related to product, pricing promotion, and distribution

            -be aware of current ethic training tools and techniques

-enhance your problem solving skills in solving and managing ethical dilemmas within a         marketing organization

            -effectively utilize all outside resources in supporting case analysis and class discussion

-gain exposure to organizational ethics experts providing a diversity of perspectives &           experiences

-to learn what criteria are valued in ethics program through “hands on” experience with  the Better Business Bureaus’  marketplace ethics award program        

Teamwork Component: There are 3 team projects in this class.  Depending on the class size, the teams are expected to consist of 4 members.  There are certain conditions that I will assume this semester regarding team performance and consideration.  Each team member is expected to meet at the agreed upon times, or virtually if this is a mutually compatible solution.  Team members are to engage equally in all the behind the scenes elements of the case analysis and Internet research project (including research, outlining the approach, assessment, write-up and presentation).  If at any point my assumptions are incorrect, please let me know!! Sooner rather than later is greatly appreciated.

Class Projects:

1.) Team Case Analysis-each team will complete a detailed case analysis (10-12 pages, plus bibliography-minimum) and present their case assessment, analysis, and outside research to the class. Presentations will run from 20-25 minutes.  To successfully assess a case, you must engage in additional research to gather more background information as well as current update information on the company and situation.  You may also wish to contact the organization or media sources directly for more information.  Your assessment should evaluate what led to the ethical/legal issue, how the company reacted, what should have been done to prevent the problem, how they should prevent such situations in the future, and is the company “on track” today.  Written reports are due on the day of the presentation.

Presentation: 20-25 minutes

Paper: 10-12  pages (minimum) plus bibliography

2.) Better Business Bureau Project (team)-Each team will be assigned a business category and search the Weld county area for strong candidates for the BBB Business Ethics Awards (the Torch Awards).  This will involve researching the types of businesses in Weld county that fit into your category, interviewing managers and owners to determine level of commitment to business ethics initiatives and working with the businesses to formalize their nominations and support materials.  This may involve videotaping employees to verify commitment, collecting evidence of programs such as codes of ethics, mission and values statements, and any additional support of an ethical organizational culture.   There will be much more detail on this project provided in class. 

Presentation: 25-30 minutes

Paper: 15-20 pages (minimum) plus bibliography

3.) Ethics Simulation-each team will complete 2 behavioral ethics simulation.  During this simulation you will assume a role within an organization and deal with an ethical dilemma from the perspective of that individual.  You will each be given different roles within the organization (Director of Research and Development, District Sales Manager, Advertising Director, etc.) and come together to collectively resolve a company-wide ethical issue.   Team recommendations will be made in the form of a short managerial report!(1/team).

Team Paper: 2-5 pages each

Midterm and Final Exam: Your midterm and final exam will be a combination of multiple choice and short essay questions.  The final exam will not be comprehensive--it will cover the second half of the semesters’ and text’s material.  The exams will focus heavily upon text content and application.  You will have the entire class period to complete each exam.  Grades and overview will be provided during the following class period...barring unusual circumstances and with the exception of the final exam.  You cannot miss an exam without first contacting me and receiving an excused absence for the exam, indicating that some unusual circumstance has occurred which will prevent you from taking the exam.  If you do not receive my advance “okay”, the missed exam will count as zero.

Participation, Professionalism, and Attendance-As with most of your senior level courses, participation and attendance are critical to fully understanding concepts and applications.  Your attendance alone is not sufficient to receive full credit in this category.  You must also come to class prepared to discuss the topics, cases, and participate in the events scheduled. This element accounts for 10% of your grade.  I will provide sign in sheets for each class period to document attendance.  Participation will be noted throughout the semester.  If you miss a class period, you are responsible for finding out what you missed from a classmate.  Do not contact me for an update on what you missed or to “clear” your absence.

Academic Integrity/Professionalism-Academic dishonesty of any type will not be tolerated.  This includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism (copying other’s work as your own-in part or in total-without the appropriate citations) and copying others responses during exams.  In addition, classroom professionalism is to be maintained at all times. This means that when the professor is speaking or when students are presenting their work, the classroom should be silent, with the exception of invited questions. As in any academic environment, questions are welcome, but informal chatter or communication among class members becomes a distraction for all those in attendance and, as such, will not be tolerated.  Cellular phones should be “turned off” during class and students are expected to wear professional dress during presentations.

Course Evaluation and Grading:

Grading Scale:

Note: There will be NO curving of final grades.  Roughly ½ of your grade in this course will be determined by team and individual performance over which you have enormous control.

Course Schedule*

(*subject to change as announced in class or through Internet communication)