Ethics and Product Consumption of Products Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Ethics and Product Consumption Paper
Name
Institution
Ethics and Product Consumption Paper
Ethisphere Institute is an organization that conducts a survey of the most ethical companies in the world. For consecutive nine years, Starbuck has emerged one of the most world’s ethical companies in the world. According to the study that was conducted by Ferrel (2014), Starbuck makes efforts to being a responsible company and conducts all their businesses in an ethical manner. This paper will evaluate Starbuck’s past performance when marketing their product. These evaluations will be conducted using the six pillars of marketing code of ethics. The latter part of the paper will propose two ways in which Starbuck can make further progress in being a more ethical. Starbuck has over the years publically displayed their commitment to being socially responsible in their services and products provision.
This paper will examine Starbuck using the six pillars of marketing of the code of ethics. The pillars that will be analyzed in this case include honesty, responsibility, caring, respect, fairness and citizenship. For the nine years in a row, Starbuck has been considered among the top ethics companies in the world. According to Ethisphere Institute, the ethical survey evaluates companies in several categories. The categories that they use include reputation, ethics and compliance program and culture of ethics among other categories (Conaway & Laasch, 2014). Business analysts among other professionals have declared that Starbuck has been conducting their businesses ethically. Studies that were conducted by Conaway & Laasch (2014) indicate that Starbuck is committed to the social responsibilities. The company has earned much respect from the public because of its commitment to their mission and vision.
Honesty
According to the pillars of marketing code of ethics, honesty is the first pillar. This pillar illustrates that the company should not deceive or cheat the public concerning their products. According to Ferrel (2014), some companies only want to maximize their profit without considering the plight of the employees. For many years, Starbuck has adhered to the business ethics. The Starbuck business ethics supports the mission the company has to do the right thing. This ethics and compliance program supports integrity and honesty and supports the law. For many years, none of the company’s strategies have been indentified to be deceiving.
Responsibility
Responsibility is the second pillar that deals with the company doing what they are supposed to do. By supporting many charity events, Starbuck has demonstrated high levels of social responsibility through many charity events. A good example is a way that Starbuck engages in social campaigns. The company has been excellent in engaging in social campaigns that assist the community. Starbuck Foundation is an example of a social responsibility program Starbuck has been engaging on. The Starbuck Foundation has a primary goal of supporting the communities. Additionally, Starbuck gives opportunities to the youths where they equip young people between the age of 15 and 24 with skills. The skills the company provides assist the youths in coping with the changing global economy.
The company has recognized the problems in the society, and they are working out solutions. In many ways, the company has incorporated various societal problems to their caring marketing plan. Recently, the company came up with an initiative of providing clean water. With their Ethos Water program, the company provides clean water to the developing countries (Conaway & Laasch, 2014).
Respect
Respect is another pillar that Starbuck has adhered to and the company shows it in various ways. The company uses materials that are less harmful to the environment. Additionally, the company produces products that are environmental friendly. These actions illustrate that the company is highly respectful of the environment. Additionally, Starbuck has created a workforce that respects diverse backgrounds, different ages, races, color and skills. Workforce diversity assists the workforce to do their best.
Fairness
Fairness at Starbuck can be interpreted in many ways. One of the ways the company has shown fairness is by respecting the competitors during their marketing. According to Ferrel, Starbuck does not show any negative campaign against their competitors. In this case, the competitors build their name without being tarnished by Starbuck. For many years, Starbuck has not engaged in negative marketing efforts that may harm their competitors (Ferrel, 2014).
Citizenship
Citizenship is highly regarded in Starbuck. Conaway & Laasch define citizenship as engaging in approaches that works towards the community’s civic virtues. Ferrel states that every company in the community had a duty to act in a ways that benefit the local community. Starbuck engages in citizenship by providing the company with charitable acts that assist the local communities (Ferrel, 2014). Starbuck has also acted boldly in issues that regards to community’s political, social and economic issues.
Caring
Caring is another pillar that Starbuck largely focuses on caring for the community. On their website, Starbuck states that ever Starbuck store is a part of the community. In this case, the communities can propose ways in which the company can continue benefiting them. Additionally, the company sells environmentally friendly products. According to Co...