In: Economics
Short- Response
3. Respond to the following idea: "Ethics are not a matter of law alone. A salesperson's ethical sense must extend beyond the legal definition of what is right or wrong."
What is legal may not necessarily be ethical. It is perfectly legal to leave your sales team in a lurch only to return in time to save the transaction and get all the credit for solving the issue. Your co workers (and likely your supervisor) will see it as unethical and dishonest.
A salesperson must develop a personal code of ethics
that extends beyond the letter of the law.
Bruce Weinstein, a professional ethicist who is often introduced as
“The Ethics Guy,” offers sound advice on living an ethical life. He
says we should do the right thing simply because it’s the right
thing to do. The only way you can build a loyal and growing client
base is to demonstrate that you have the customers’ own best
interests at heart. You are trying to make things better for them.
“Here is where ethics differs from the law. It
demands more of us,” says Weinstein.
Many people considering a career in selling are troubled by the
thought that they may be pressured into compromising their personal
standards of right and wrong. These fears
may be justified. The authors of The Ethical Edge , a book that
examines organizations that have faced moral crises, contend that
business firms have given too little thought to the
issue of helping employees to function ethically within
organizations. Many salespeople wonder whether their own ethical
philosophy can survive in the business world. These
are some of their questions:
“Can a profitable business and good ethics coexist?”
“Are there still business firms that value adherence to high
ethical standards?”
“Is honesty still a valued personal trait in the business
community?”
In the field of athletic competition, the participants rely
heavily on a written set of rules. The referee or umpire is
ever-present to detect rule violations and assess a penalty.
In the field of personal selling, there is no universal code of
ethics. However, some general guidelines can serve as a foundation
for a personal code of business ethics.
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