Transcript Slide 1

CHAPTER
5
10th Edition
Selling Today
Manning and Reece
Ethics: The Foundation
for Relationships
in Selling
5-1
Making Ethical Decisions
• Business ethics: principles and standards that guide
behavior in the world of business
• They help translate your values into appropriate and
effective behaviors
• No one uniform code of ethics for all salespeople, but
many businesses, professional associations, and
certification agencies have established written codes
• See a primer on business ethics on the Web at:
See the
Website
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Code of the National Association
of Sales Professionals FIGURE
5.1
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Character Development
• Colleges and universities are beginning to
play a more active role in character
development
• Courses that focus on ethics are becoming
quite common
• Despite a growing interest in business
ethics, unethical behavior has become all
too common
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Enron—A Classic Case in Ethics
• Largest U.S. corporation to file bankruptcy
• Enron culture emphasized
• Risk-taking
• Personal ambition over teamwork
• Earnings growth at any cost
• Dishonest practices eroded company character
• But, it was listed as number5 in Fortune 2002
list! Why?
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Half-Truths Influencing the
Erosion of Character
• We are in it only for ourselves
• Corporations exist to maximize
shareholder value
• Companies need to
be lean and mean
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Management as Role Model
• Ethical standards filter down from the top
• Organization’s moral tone, set by
management, is most important
determinant of employee ethics
• Managers must infuse ethical
values in subordinates
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Company Policies and
Practices
• Company policies and practices can
have a major impact on conduct
• Developing ethical policy statements
forces company to take a stand
• Policies should include distributor
relations, customer service, pricing,
product development, etc.
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Trust:
The St. Paul
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Mutual of Omaha’s
Values for Success
1. Openness and trust
2. Teamwork (win-win)
3. Accountability/ownership
4. Sense of urgency
5. Honesty and integrity
6. Customer-focus
7. Innovation and risk
8. Caring/attentive (be here now)
9. Leadership
10. Personal and professional growth
Read more about their values at: careerlink.org.
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Discussion Questions
How would you react to each of the following?
• Your company has a set amount for mileage
reimbursement, but your sales manager tells
you to inflate your expense account to make up
for the rising costs of transportation.
• You are meeting with a customer and he asks
you to take him to lunch. You get the
impression that he wants you to pay, but your
company has a strict “no gifts” policy.
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Additional Policy Areas
• Sharing confidential
information
• Reciprocity
• Bribery
• Gift giving
• Entertainment
• Business defamation
• Use of the Internet
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International Bribery:
Where Do You Draw the Line?
The text states:
“Salespeople who sell products in foreign
markets need to know that giving bribes is
viewed as an acceptable business practice
in some cultures. However, bribes or
payoffs may violate the U.S. Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).”
To learn what is acceptable and what is not,
visit the FCPA Enforcement Website.
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Sales Manager as Role Model
• A salesperson’s actions often mirror those of the
sales manager
• Sales managers are responsible for interpreting
company policy
• Values such as integrity
and honesty must receive
constant manager support
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Personal Values
• Values are deep personal beliefs and
preferences, representing the ultimate reasons
people have for acting as they do
• Values serve as foundations for our attitudes
• Attitudes serve as foundations for our behavior
FIGURE
5.3
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When Values Conflict
You have three basic choices:
1. Ignore the influence of your
values and engage in the
unethical behavior
2. Voice strong opposition to the practice
that is in conflict with your value system
3. Refuse to compromise your values
and be prepared to deal with the
consequences
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Laws, Contracts, and
Agreements
• Legal environment plays a role in
preventing unethical behavior
• Cooling-off laws
• Uniform Commercial Code—law
influencing buyer-seller
transactions
• Oral and written contracts
• Beyond the letter of the law
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The Uniform Commercial Code
TABLE 5.1
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Develop a Personal
Code of Ethics
Some general guidelines:
• Personal selling must be viewed as an
exchange of value
• Relationship comes first, tasks second
• Be honest with yourself
and others
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Exercising Care with CRM Data
• CRM software allows storage of
transaction data and personal info
• Record facts, not opinions or conclusions
• CRM data is “mobile” and other
people may see or use it
• Do not store anything you do
not want the customer to see
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The Trust Factor
• In transactional sales, the focus is on trust
in the product
• In consultative sales, the focus is on trust
in the salesperson
• In strategic alliance sales, the focus is on
the other company and its values
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