U06A2 - Societal Impact Analysis

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SOCIETAL IMPACT ANALYSIS

Societal Impact Analysis

Margaret Leung

MBA 6110Unit 6 Assignment 2

Capella University


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Abstract

Ethics are a set of beliefs which influence how individuals, groups and society behave.

Ethics need to be taken into account when marketing a business. Businesses have social

responsibility. The impact of their products and activities on society must be ethical. Practicing

ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs

to marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in the organizations. This paper aims at

describing my opinion of marketing and its relationship with society. It also addresses some of

the positive and negative consequences of marketing. This paper further explains the effects

that these consequences have on the society.


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First, it should be noted that the impact of marketing on individual consumers is harming

consumers by 1) high prices, 2) usage of mislead techniques, 3) use of methods to impose the

goods, 4) sale of unsound or unsafe products, 5 ) use of planned obsolescence of goods and 6)

low-level maintenance of disadvantaged consumers (Lummus, 2003). But in general, the

marketing system is usually blamed for the fact that it panders to the spread of such evils of the

modern society, as excessive commercialism and artificial desires, lack of necessary social

goods, cultural erosion, and excessive political influence of business.

Enterprise system really encourages excessive interest in materialism. Today, people are

often judged not by what they are, but by what they own. A person is not considered successful,

if he/she doesnt have a house in the suburbs, two cars, most fashionable clothes and latest

gadgets (Lummus, 2003). On the other hand, studies show that the abundant variety of products

to meet all human needs makes the situation change in the opposite direction. Modern people

begin to lose passion for acquisitiveness. They spend more time on recreation, games, learn to be

grateful for small favor, pay more attention to the establishment and development of close

human relationships and ordinary human happiness, rather than the pursuit of things (Fitchett,

2000).

In this case, the preference for material things is not observed as the natural human

feeling, but as the aspiration created by marketing, stimulating peoples passions. To create the

samples of the good life based on materialism, marketing uses mass media: demonstrative

consumption is applied in order to make other people envious. To earn necessary sums of

money, people start working harder. Their purchases contribute both to the growth in output and

the increase of production capacity of industries. In turn, the industrial production increasingly

relies on marketing to stimulate the desire to acquire the produced goods. Therefore, people are


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viewed as a certain link that connects the production and consumption and could be easily

manipulated.

However, in this conclusion, the opportunities of business in the creation or promotion of

needs are likely to be exaggerated. In normal social conditions, people face a number of ways of

life contradicting each other and choose only some of them on their own taste. In addition,

people have a natural protective reaction against exposure to the media, selective attention,

perceptual distortion and memorization. The media are most effective when appealing to the

existing needs, rather than trying to create new ones (Fitchett, 2000). Moreover, people are

looking for information concerning the purchases of a broader nature, and therefore do not rely

on single sources of information. Even at small acquisitions, which could be committed under

the influence of advertising messages, repeat purchases will occur only if the operational

properties of the goods meet the expectations of the consumer. Finally, the high failure rate of

new products on the market contradicts to the assertion of the ability of firms to control the

demand of the society (Bansal, 2001).

If to look deeper, our needs and values influenced not only by the actors of the market,

but also the family, people of our circle, religion, our ethnicity and educational level. For

instance, if Americans are too mercenary, it is only because the system of values which they hold

has been formed during the fundamental processes of formation of society, which in its

significance are deeper then the results of the impact of business media.

Marketing is also accused of over-stimulating demand for goods for personal

consumption (e.g., cars) to the detriment of public welfare (roads, on which these cars drive).

Distribution of goods for personal use requires an appropriate level of public services, which are

usually not enough (development of streets, freeways, traffic control and parking services, the


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safety and protective services from the police and hospitals). In the example with cars, despite

quite clear need to maintain a balance in this field, the result is horrendous traffic jams, chronic

colitis of cities, leading to social imbalance and social costs that neither producers nor consumers

are willing to pay for (Lummus, 2003).

Critics argue that the marketing system also brings an erosion of culture. Serious TV

programs are interrupted by advertising inserts; printed materials are lost among the pages of

advertising, wonderful landscapes are defaced by billboards. Advertising invasion is

continuously introducing thoughts about sex, power, and prestige into human consciousness

(O'Shaughnessy).

Another direction of criticism comes down to the fact that business possesses wide

political power (e.g., there are politicians who support the interests of specific sectors of industry

to the prejudice of the public) and excessive power over the mass media, limiting the freedom to

an independent and objective coverage of events. On the other hand, the media now start

publishing bolder editorial content designed to interest various market segments. Excessive

power of business causes the creation of life counter-forces for neutralizing its expansive

interests (Bansal, 2001).

Marketing does have its positive side in which it provides consumers with information

and creates awareness of the product. For example, the HIV/AIDS have created awareness of

this disease among communities throughout the world. The campaign includes the development

and giving out information about the HIV virus and how it could be avoided through television,

radio, outdoor, online and print media. Another good reason for marketing is that it encourages

people especially younger generation to instill in themselves good habits, such as drinking milk.

For example, the got milk campaign featuring celebrities with a milk mustache and quote from


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the featured celebrity praising the goodness of milk and what it can do for you. Featuring

celebrities give this campaign an edge specially reaching younger targets, since they are the ones

most likely to be idolized by famous people; hence follow in their idols footsteps and drink

milk.

In general, nowadays most companies have already recognized all the new rights won by

consumers. Thus, the enlightened marketing encompasses five main principles: marketing with

customer orientation, innovative marketing, value marketing, marketing of public mission

awareness, and socio-ethical marketing (Flichett, 2000). Marketing system should function in a

way to capture, maintain and meet the needs of consumers and improve their quality of life. In

its quest to meet the needs of consumers, business can perform certain actions, which do not

bring benefits to the society everybody. So, marketing activity should develop the basic

principles of ethical behavior. Any system of morality is based on the idea of good life and

correlation between individual and social well-being. Having worked out clear principles,

marketing activities will be able to cope with many complicated socio-ethical problems both in

the field of marketing and other spheres of human activity.


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References:

Bansal, H.S., Mendelson, M.B., & Sharma, B. (2001). The impact of internal marketing activities

on external marketing outcomes. Journal of Quality Management, 6(1), 61-76.

Fitchett, J. A., & McDonagh, P. (2000). A citizens critique of relationship marketing in risk

society. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 8 (2), 209-222.

Lummus, R.R., Duclos, L.K., & Vokurka, R.J. (2003). The impact of marketing initiatives on the

supply chain. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 8 (4), 317-323.

O'Shaughnessy, J., & OShaughnessy, N.J. (2007). Reply to criticisms of marketing, the

consumer society and hedonism. European Journal of Marketing, 41 (1-2), 7-16.

U06A2 - Societal Impact Analysis

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