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DECLARATION
Title of Term Paper : Ethics in Advertisements and Its Impact on Indian Society
I declare
(a) That the work presented for assessment in this Term PaperReport is my own, that
it has not previously been presented for another assessment and that my debts (for
words, data, arguments and ideas) have been appropriately acknowledged
(b) That the work conforms to the guidelines for presentation and style set out in the
relevant documentation.
Akshansh Kawatra
A3104612046
B.Com (H), Class of 2015
(ii)
(ii)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Akshansh Kawatra
(iii)
CERTIFICATE
I Dr. Adarsh Arora hereby certify that Akshansh Kawatra student of B.Com
(Hons) at Amity College of Commerce and Finance, Amity University Uttar Pradesh
has completed the Term Paper Report on Ethics in Advertisements and Its Impact on
Indian Society, under my guidance.
(iv)
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Page No.
Classification of Advertisement
Impact of Advertisement
Economic Impact
Social Impact
Psychological Impact
Impact of Advertisement on children
Chapter 5: Methodology
(iv)
Sample
Tools Used
(iv)
seek to penetrate into the subconscious recesses of the mind in a way that threatens
the freedom of the individual ... must be shunned.
Advertising also can have a corrupting influence upon culture and cultural values. We
have spoken of the economic harm that can be done to developing nations by
advertising that fosters consumerism and destructive patterns of consumption.
Consider also the cultural injury done to these nations and their peoples by advertising
whose content and methods, reflecting those prevalent in the first world, are at war
with sound traditional values in indigenous cultures. Today this kind of "domination
and manipulation" via media rightly is "a concern of developing nations in relation to
developed ones," as well as a "concern of minorities within particular nations.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
There have been many well known authors who have earlier done research on this
topic. One of the researches was done by Dr. Geoffrey Klempner titled Advertising
Ethics: Indian Perspective. The article highlighted the pros and cons of advertising to
Indian consumers and this study was published in the year 2004.
Another study in the context of advertising ethics was done by Mr. Vijay Menon titled
Ethics in Advertising which was published in India Today on 15th Jan 1997. He
discussed certain unethical practices in the form of examples and how they proved to
be ineffective.
Some of the famous studies done by authors earlier, are as follows :
The past studies are the clear indicators of how time has evolved over the years in the
field of advertising and how much important role it plays in our lives today.
The past studies have focused on gaining insights about the companies pursuing
unethical practices for their profits. They stated some of the methods and techniques
that the companies adopt to persuade the customers to buy the products and how well
they have been successful in doing that. But at that point of time, customers were not
that educated and when the study was carried out by me, customers had much of the
knowledge and knew what companies are doing.
OBJECTIVES
Executive Summary
Men and women who professionally engaged in advertising do have high ethical
standards, sensitive consciences and strong sense of responsibility. But the external
pressures from the clients who commission their work as well as from the competitive
internal dynamics of their profession can create powerful inducements to unethical
behaviour.
That underlines the need for external systems and structures, to support and encourage
responsible practice in advertising and to discourage the malpractices. Voluntary
ethical codes are one such source of support which already exist in a number of
places. They are only effective to the willingness of advertisers to comply strictly.
Advertising is a very important element in today's society, especially in the
functioning of market economy, which is expanding. Advertising plays a constructive
role in the exchange of information and ideas, in economic growth and in the
fostering of solidarity among individuals and groups.
Advertising ethics affects the practice of business, and also our lives. Indeed,
advertising ethics concerns us all. For example, academicians, advertisers, ad agency
personnel, consumers, media personnel, , attorneys and regulators.
INTRODUCTION
The term advertising is derived originally from a Latin word Advert ere which
means to turn the attention. Advertising turns the attention of the reader or the
listeners or viewers towards a product or a service or an idea. Advertising is a form
of communication intended to promote the sale of a product or service to influence the
public opinion to gain political support or to advance a particular cause.
Advertising generally involves an element of cost, although it is also possible to do it
for free. Free advertising is easier to get with an online business than a traditional
offsite concern. However, generally, advertisers will pay broadcasting companies,
publishers or media to provide the advertising platform of a internet, newspaper,
television or radio.
Defining Advertising
American Marketing Association (AMA) in 1963, defines Advertisement as
Advertisement is a non personal presentation of idea, product or services by an
identified sponsor.
Concept of Advertising
1. Advertising consists of written and oral messages that are directed to a target
audience.
2. Advertising persuades the public to purchase a certain product or service.
3. Each advertisement is related to a certain advertiser who is selling the product
or service involved
4. Advertising requires the advertiser to pay the publisher in return for the
advertisement.
Advertising is any paid form or message that presents goods or services of a certain
advertiser or sponsor, and should present the product in such a way as to persuade the
reader or listener to purchase the product.
CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERTISEMENT
1. National Advertising: Manufacturers think that their target is, the whole market of
a country. They select media with a countryside base. Large and established firms
belong to this category. For example, Brooke Bond, L&T, Hindustan Unilever,
Escorts, Associated Cement Companies etc.
2. Local Advertising: Small firms may like to restrict their business to Regional or
State level. Some firms first localize their marketing efforts and once they achieve
success, they spread out to wider horizons. For example, Nirma washing powder,
which initially was sold only in Gujarat and subsequently entered the other markets.
Retail stores also undertake local advertising. The area to be covered would generally
be a town or a city and media would be selected which principally relates to that area.
If we discuss about the preceding years, several newspaper supplements have
appeared which focus on a particular city and are of direct relevance to its inhabitants
like the Bombay Times and Metro. Sometimes large firms may also go in for local
advertising, e.g., when they undertake pre-testing of a product especially consumer
products in selected areas before embarking promotional campaign on a national
level.
3. Global Advertising: Multinational firms treat the world as their market. Firms such
as National Sony or Ford advertise globally, in periodicals like Times, Readers Digest.
Target Group: It is on the basis of target groups aimed at it can further be divided
into sub category as:
a. Consumer Advertising
b. Industrial Advertising
c. Trade Advertising
d. Professional Adverting
advertising to these decision makers, who are professional people. Such advertising is
called professional advertising.
Public Relations Advertising (PRA)
Organizations these days are concerned with the type of image they project they have
to communicate or promote their objectives to the general public. Public relations
tries to build rapport with various constituents of public such as customers,
employees, vendors, shareholders, government and public at large. It helps to
maintain this relationship and build a good corporate image. It is done by both
business
and
non-business
organizations.
It
represents
management
and
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of oligarchies and special interests, so political advertising can make its contribution
by informing people about the ideas and policy proposals of parties and candidates,
including new candidates not previously known to the public.
c) Cultural Benefits of Advertising
Because of the impact advertising has on media that depend on it for revenue,
advertisers have an opportunity to exert a positive influence on decisions about media
content. This they do by supporting material of excellent intellectual, aesthetic and
moral quality presented with the public interest in view, and particularly by
encouraging and making possible media presentations which are oriented to
minorities whose needs might otherwise go un served. Moreover, advertising can
itself contribute to the betterment of society by uplifting and inspiring people and
motivating them to act in ways that benefit themselves and others. Advertising can
brighten lives simply by being witty, tasteful and entertaining. Some advertisements
are instances of popular art, with a vivacity and lan all their own.
d) Moral and Religious Benefits of Advertising
In many cases, too, benevolent social institutions, including those of a religious
nature, use advertising to communicate their messages messages of faith, of
patriotism, of tolerance, compassion and neighborly service, of charity toward the
needy, messages concerning health and education, constructive and helpful messages
that educate and motivate people in a variety of beneficial ways.
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sale, if less than admirable human tendencies are exploited, those responsible for such
advertising harm society and forfeit their good name and credibility. More than this,
unremitting pressure to buy articles of luxury can arouse false wants that hurt both
individuals and families by making them ignore what they really need. And those
forms of advertising which, without shame, exploit the sexual instincts simply to
make money or which seek to penetrate into the subconscious recesses of the mind in
a way that threatens the freedom of the individual ... must be shunned."
a) Economic Harms of Advertising
Advertising can betray its role as a source of information by misrepresentation and by
withholding relevant facts. Sometimes, too, the information function of media can be
subverted by advertisers' pressure upon publications or programs not to treat of
questions that might prove embarrassing or inconvenient. More often, though,
advertising is used not simply to inform but to persuade and motivate to convince
people to act in certain ways: buy certain products or services, patronize certain
institutions, and the like. This is where particular abuses can occur.
The practice of "brand"-related advertising can raise serious problems. Often there are
only negligible differences among similar products of different brands, and
advertising may attempt to move people to act on the basis of irrational motives
("brand loyalty," status, fashion, "sex appeal," etc.) instead of presenting differences
in product quality and price as bases for rational choice. Advertising also can be, and
often is, a tool of the "phenomenon of consumerism," as Pope John Paul II delineated
it when he said: "It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life
which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward? having' rather than ?being',
and which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in
enjoyment as an end in itself."14 Sometimes advertisers speak of it as part of their
task to "create" needs for products and services that is, to cause people to feel and
act upon cravings for items and services they do not need. "If ... a direct appeal is
made to his instincts while ignoring in various ways the reality of the person as
intelligent and free then consumer attitudes and life-styles can be created which are
objectively improper and often damaging to his physical and spiritual health."
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This is a serious abuse, an affront to human dignity and the common good when it
occurs in affluent societies. But the abuse is still more grave when consumerist
attitudes and values are transmitted by communications media and advertising to
developing countries, where they exacerbate socio-economic problems and harm the
poor. "It is true that a judicious use of advertising can stimulate developing countries
to improve their standard of living. But serious harm can be done them if advertising
and commercial pressure become so irresponsible that communities seeking to rise
from poverty to a reasonable standard of living are persuaded to seek this progress by
satisfying wants that have been artificially created. The result of this is that they waste
their resources and neglect their real needs, and genuine development falls behind."
Similarly, the task of countries attempting to develop types of market economies that
serve human needs and interests after decades under centralized, state-controlled
systems is made more difficult by advertising that promotes consumerist attitudes and
values offensive to human dignity and the common good. The problem is particularly
acute when, as often happens, the dignity and welfare of society's poorer and weaker
members are at stake. It is necessary always to bear in mind that there are "goods
which by their very nature cannot and must not be bought or sold" and to avoid "an
idolatry' of the market" that, aided and abetted by advertising, ignores this crucial fact.
b) Political Harms of Advertising
Political advertising can support and assist the working of the democratic process, but
it also can obstruct it. This happens when, for example, the costs of advertising limit
political competition to wealthy candidates or groups, or require that office-seekers
compromise their integrity and independence by over-dependence on special interests
for funds. Such obstruction of the democratic process also happens when, instead of
being a vehicle for honest expositions of candidates' views and records, political
advertising seeks to distort the views and records of opponents and unjustly attacks
their reputations. It happens when advertising appeals more to people's emotions and
base instincts to selfishness, bias and hostility toward others, to racial and ethnic
prejudice and the like rather than to a reasoned sense of justice and the good of all.
c) Cultural Harms of Advertising
13
Advertising also can have a corrupting influence upon culture and cultural values. We
have spoken of the economic harm that can be done to developing nations by
advertising that fosters consumerism and destructive patterns of consumption.
Consider also the cultural injury done to these nations and their peoples by advertising
whose content and methods, reflecting those prevalent in the first world, are at war
with sound traditional values in indigenous cultures. Today this kind of "domination
and manipulation" via media rightly is "a concern of developing nations in relation to
developed ones," as well as a "concern of minorities within particular nations."
The indirect but powerful influence exerted by advertising upon the media of social
communications that depend on revenues from this source points to another sort of
cultural concern. In the competition to attract ever larger audiences and deliver them
to advertisers, communicators can find themselves tempted in fact pressured,
subtly or not so subtly to set aside high artistic and moral standards and lapse into
superficiality, tawdriness and moral squalor.
Communicators also can find themselves tempted to ignore the educational and social
needs of certain segments of the audience the very young, the very old, the poor
who do not match the demographic patterns (age, education, income, habits of buying
and consuming, etc.) of the kinds of audiences advertisers want to reach. In this way
the tone and indeed the level of moral responsibility of the communications media in
general are lowered.
All too often, advertising contributes to the invidious stereotyping of particular groups
that places them at a disadvantage in relation to others. This often is true of the way
advertising treats women; and the exploitation of women, both in and by advertising,
is a frequent, deplorable abuse. "How often are they treated not as persons with an
inviolable dignity but as objects whose purpose is to satisfy others' appetite for
pleasure or for power? How often the role of woman as wife and mother is
undervalued or even ridiculed? How often is the role of women in business or
professional life depicted as a masculine caricature, a denial of the specific gifts of
feminine insight, compassion, and understanding, which so greatly contribute to the ?
civilization of love'?"
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15
16
17
18
19
Violence
Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent
programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and
effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children
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may be vulnerable to violent images and messages. Researchers have identified three
potential responses to media violence in children:
Sexual content
Kids today are bombarded with sexual messages and images in all mediatelevision,
magazines, advertisements, music, movies and the Internet. Parents are often
concerned about whether these messages are healthy. While television can be a
powerful tool for educating young people about the responsibilities and risks of sexual
behaviour, such issues are seldom mentioned or dealt with in a meaningful way in
programs containing sexual content.
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Business Ethics
Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the
world. The ethics of a particular business can be diverse. They apply not only to how
the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings
with a single customer.Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in
business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the
bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not
wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that
brings up the question of ethical behavior. Good business ethics should be a part of
every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business
with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical
by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and
it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses. Many global businesses,
including most of the major brands that the public use, can be seen not to think too
highly of good business ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for
breaking ethical business laws. Money is the major deciding factor.
If a company does not adhere to business ethics and breaks the laws, they usually end
up being fined. Many companies have broken anti-trust, ethical and environmental
laws and received fines worth millions. The problem is that the amount of money
these companies are making outweighs the fines applied. Billion dollar profits blind
the companies to their lack of business ethics, and the dollar sign wins. A business
may be a multi-million seller, but does it use good business ethics and do people care?
There are popular soft drinks and fast food restaurants that have been fined time and
time again for unethical behavior. Business ethics should eliminate exploitation, from
the sweet shop children who are making sneakers to the coffee serving staff who are
being ripped off in wages. Business ethics can be applied to everything from the trees
cut down to make the paper that a business sells to the ramifications of importing
coffee from certain countries.
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proper exercise of the right to information demands that the content of what is
communicated be true and, within the limits set by justice and charity, complete. ...
Included here is the obligation to avoid any manipulation of truth for any reason."
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As this suggests, something more fundamental is at issue here: authentic and integral
human development. Advertising that reduces human progress to acquiring material
goods and cultivating a lavish life style expresses a false, destructive vision of the
human person harmful to individuals and society alike. When people fail to practice
"a rigorous respect for the moral, cultural and spiritual requirements, based on the
dignity of the person and on the proper identity of each community, beginning with
the family and religious societies," then even material abundance and the
conveniences that technology makes available "will prove unsatisfying and in the end
contemptible." Advertisers, like people engaged in other forms of social
communication, have a serious duty to express and foster an authentic vision of
human development in its material, cultural and spiritual dimensions.
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Avoid careless errors and negligence; carefully and critically examine your own work
and the work of your peers. Keep good records of research activities, such as data
collection, research design, and correspondence with agencies or journals.
O PENNESS
Share data, results, ideas, tools, resources. Be open to criticism and new ideas.
R ESPONSIBLE M ENTORING
Help to educate, mentor, and advise students. Promote their welfare and allow them to
make their own decisions.
R ESPECT
FOR I NTELLECTUAL
P ROPERTY
Honor patents, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property. Do not use
unpublished data, methods, or results without permission. Give credit where credit is
due. Give proper acknowledgement or credit for all contributions to research. Never
plagiarize.
C ONFIDENTIALITY
Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for
publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records.
R ESPONSIBLE P UBLICATION
Publish in order to advance research and scholarship, not to advance just your own
career. Avoid wasteful and duplicative publication.
Social Responsibility
Strive to promote social good and prevent or mitigate social harms through research,
public education, and advocacy.
Non-Discrimination
Avoid discrimination against colleagues or students on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity,
or other factors that are not related to their scientific competence and integrity.
27
C OMPETENCE
M AINTAIN
AND
IMPROVE
YOUR
OWN
PROFESSIONAL
COMPETENCE
AND
L EGALITY
Know and obey relevant laws and institutional and governmental policies.
A NIMAL C ARE
Show proper respect and care for animals when using them in research. Do not
conduct unnecessary or poorly designed animal experiments.
H UMAN S UBJECTS P ROTECTION
When conducting research on human subjects, minimize harms and risks and
maximize benefits; respect human dignity, privacy, and autonomy; take precautions
with vulnerable populations; and strive to distribute the benefits and burdens of
research fairly.
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
IN
RESEARCH
Although codes, policies, and principals are very important and useful, like any set of
rules, they do not cover every situation that arises in research, they often conflict, and
they require considerable interpretation. It is therefore important for researchers to
learn how to interpret, assess, and apply various research rules and how to make
decisions about how to act in various situations. The vast majority of decisions that
people must make in the conduct of research involve the straightforward application
of ethical rules.
Research Methodology
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Sample Size: 50
The samples were undertaken on the basis of the convenience which can
give best possible results.
1. Questionnaire:
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a) Structured Questions: The structured questions are those questions that impose
a limit on the respondent to answer the question. It is usually in the form of
Yes/No questions.
Statistical Tools
1. Bar graphs:
Bar graphs were used for the interpretation of the questionnaires in the project.
They were used to show the result from different number of respondents in the
form of numbers.
2. Pie chart:
Pie chart was another form of statistical figure used in most of the questions.
1.
30
a. News Paper
c. Radio
b. Television
d. Internet
e. Others
20
Newspaper
Radio
Television
30
Internet
Other
2
48
Internet.
Lowest number of respondents used radio.
31
10
Very Low
71
Low
Average
Column2
7
High
Very High
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Some felt that companies do not have concern for its customers which can be
seen in the advertisement and said that companies only believe in fooling
people and leads them to include unethical practices.
3.
being unethical?
80
32
A- According to respondents,
4.
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Form of Impact
Economic impact
Social impact
12% 16%
Psychological impact
42%
30%
Advertising
to children
42% respondents felt that psychological impact was more on them due to
advertisements followed by social impact (30%), economic impact (16%) and
advertising to children (12%).
5.
Yes
55%
45%
No
55% said that they dont purchase a product/service if they feel that the
advertisement is unethical or is claiming to provide something that is not
present or is harmful where as 45 % did not care about the unethical element
being present in the ad or being influenced in their purchasing decision.
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7.
In the future, would you refrain from buying a product/service because you
Yes
No
38%
62%
8.
35
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
74
15
4
Column2
Most of the respondents said that there should be some strict laws involved for
handling such ads. The current laws by censor board and government are not
very strict because some of the companies are still continuing to show some of
their unethical ads.
Rest of the respondents believed that companies should be taken to court for
falsely claiming something or for any other unethical practices. Huge
imposition of fine was another alternative they suggested.
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9.
presented slightly lower returns than a fund company with low ethical standards if
it yields higher returns?
25%
Yes
No
75%
This question was included to check how much value respondents give to
ethics when it involves them.
75% respondents were not willing to risk their investment or get fooled by the
advertisement that shows high profits without showing any negative results.
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10.
45
42
40
35
32
30
25
20
14
15
10
10
5
0
Strongly Agree
Agree
No Opinion
10. What suggestions would you like to give to stop or avoid from being
influenced by unethical ads?
Research proper pros and cons of the product before buying it.
Unethical ads should be banned and more stringent laws should be made.
There should be proper legal authorities to look into the matter and prohibit
such ads.
Dont buy the products of those unethical companies. They will lose the value
in the market and will then learn a lesson.
Customers should not follow the ads blindly.
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1. After completely analyzing data it can be said that the people are aware of unethical
elements being shown in ads which are creating negative impact on society and
majority of them have got awareness from television.
2. People think that ads related to sex products are most unethical. These ads are not
trying to stop youth for going in a wrong direction but they are encouraging them.
Other Important Findings:
1. Most people said that the government should bring in more stringent laws to stop
these ads and take action against the companies. Other possibilities according to
people were in the form of taking the companies to the court and imposing heavy fine
on them.
2. Most of the people said that they dont purchase a product which they perceive as
unethical in some or other form. They also said that even in future, they will restrain
themselves from purchasing products that they perceive unethical.
3. Survey shows that 42 people believe that companies being ethical can also be
profitable. They need not adopt unethical practices for their profits.
4. One question was included to check how much ethical people really are in the form
of investing in a company with high ethical standard while presenting low returns and
investing in a company with low ethical standards while presenting higher returns.
The result shows that even today, no matter how much benefit person might get, they
will not like to get themselves attached or involved in a company who pursue
unethical practices. 75% people felt this.
5. 42% believed that advertisements have a psychological impact on them followed
by social impact.
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LIMITATIONS
Every project faces some limitation and this project was no exception. Some of the
limitations faced were -
Since the responses were only from one part of Delhi, the report cannot be
generalized for whole Delhi and NCR.
Some of the respondents were not willing to devote time for the survey. Most
of the time, they were busy and were not willing to respond.
There could have been vast exploration on the topic but due to limited time
availability, it could not be explored more for study.
At times, they were not able to understand the questions which enforced me to
make the question understand to the respondent in detail.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Unethical elements and practices will damage the companys brand name.
Once damaged, it will be difficult to achieve that goodwill again.
Do follow the rules and regulations laid down by the government. Breaking
those laws will land them in huge trouble and it will be difficult for them to
get out of the jail.
Dont get easily influenced by the advertisements. Cross check many times
before making a purchase decision.
Learn from the experiences of other people. They can better tell whether the
company has falsely promised or not.
Make sure to write down to the company in the case unethical elements in the
form of obscenity, fraud etc. This will make them realize their mistake.
Make sure that children dont get negatively influenced from the
advertisements.
41
To Check whether companies are abiding to the rules and regulations related
to advertisements.
Do take strong actions on the companies in the form of banning the product,
heavy imposition of fine and even liquidating the company.
CONCLUSION
42
So, the final conclusion can be derived in the sense that companies are required to be
ethical, no matter how much competition they face. Unethical practice will bring the
customer only once but an ethical practice will bring the customer again. Companies
are required to follow the laws brought by the government as unethical practice can
land them into huge trouble in the form of liquidation, ban of product etc. So, be
ethical and be profitable.
REFERENCES
Articles :
Khothari, C.R. (2006). Research Methodology, Page no. 67-69
Arun Kumar, L. Tyagi (2003). Advertising Management.
Menon, Vijay (1997). Ethics in Advertising
Klempner, Geoffrey (2004). Ethics and Advertisement.
Websites :
http://www.ddindia.gov.in/Business/Commercial+And+Sales/Code+for+C
ommercial+Advertisements.htm
http://www.etstrategicmarketing.com/smNov-Dec2/art7.html
http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business
%20Ethics/BECG002.htm
www.brandbuilding.com/books/food.html
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