John Smith Scenario

Should John Smith sell the names? Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? Go to AMA website; look at their Statement of Ethics; write a blog posting on what the AMA Statement of Ethics contains that relates to John Smith’s dilemma.

John Smith should not sell the names. The American Marketing Association Statement of Ethics broadly addresses this issue. First off, the statement of ethics is a list of ethical norms and values that marketers should follow. In this specific case, it relates to "foster trust in the marketing system", listed under ethical norms. What this means is that marketers should be striving to do what's best in good faith as well as avoiding deception in pricing, product design, and communication. In the scenario it states that he could potentially be selling personal information to another company without their consent. In doing this he would be violating the the ethical norm having to do with having trust in your company. Just from the introduction to the Statement of Ethics site alone shows he shouldn't make this deal and deceive his customers.

There are also other places within the statement of ethics that are relevant to this scenario. Listed under the ethical values section is honesty. It states in this section that marketers should strive to be truthful in all situations and at all time. This is relevant because if John goes along with this deal he will break this code. Unless John told the people who filled out the survey that their information may be distributed, that would be fine. By not listing that on the survey he would be dishonest by selling their information without their consent. Also under ethical values is fairness. In this section it is stated that marketers should avoid knowing participation in conflicts of interest and seek to protect the private information of customers, employees and partners. John would be breaking this code also if he went through with the deal. He would not be protected his customers personal information only for his benefit.

Since John would be breaking many codes within the American Marketers Association Statement of ethics he should not sell the names for $8,000. Right of the bat you would be able to tell he is breaking the code "foster trust in the marketing system" listed at the top of the website. It would not be right of John Smith to break this ethical norm. Also, he would break ethical values going along with this decision. This would include breaking the honesty and fairness codes. My immediate reaction to this question was yes. The reason for this was because John Smith needed the money for himself and his employees. But after doing some research on the American Marketers Association website it was clear this would be an unethical action. Do you believe it is unethical for a company to give personal information out, such as this instance, if their is fine print at the bottom stating that your information may be distributed?