Ethics for Successful Life, Does Being Ethical Make It Hard to Be Successful?

The term Ethics is derived from the Greek word 'ethos' refers to the philosophical science that deals with the rightness and wrongness of human action. Ethics refers to the most important values and beliefs of an individual or a society. These beliefs help shape the character of the people in that society, teaching them what is good and bad. Ethics implies knowledge of these basic principles and the responsibility to make the appropriate choice when necessary.

Many philosophers argue that ethics implies values that are universal and are notified to one society or period. Ethics is concerned with what is good and right for society. These principles of ethics are based on practice. Ethics is a manifestation of morals and values in the form of decisions. It is an applied moral science. Just as organizational behavior is an application of psychology to behavior, ethics is an applied moral science. Morals are the standards and values are a bundle of morals. By using the principles of morals, you construct a bridge of values, and using the bridge of values cross the bridge and take the decision to move forward.

               "A combination of moral+ values + ethics = Human values". Ethics are considered the moral standards by which people judge behavior. Ethics are often summed up in what is considered the 'golden rule' do onto others as you would have them do into you. While this makes sense as a general rule of thumb, it does not truly offer much in terms of helping one to make moral decisions in daily life. Ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you but are the 'right'  choice to make. They are the choice that are examples of 'model citizen and are the examples of 'golden rules' like; don't hurt, don't steal, don't be dishonest, don't lie. But if we take ethics as a subjective philosophy then what will happen to these golden rules. Especially at the time of facing any ethical dilemma how one should decide, what is ethical and what's unethical? The organization provides rules, regulations, code of conduct, protocols that provide guidelines to work, it shows how to walk, but it does not show the correct path to walk on. Ethical dilemmas faced by managers are often more real to life and highly complex with no clear guidelines, whether in law or often in religion.

• Marketing ethics:- 

               Marketing ethics is the area of applied ethics which deals with the moral principles behind the operation and regulation of marketing. marketing ethics overlaps with environmental ethics in respect of waste problems associated with the packaging of products. In a market economy, a business may be expected to act in what it believes to be its own best interests. The purpose of marketing is to create a competitive advantage. An organization achieves an advantage when it does a better job than its competitions at satisfying the product and service requirements of its target markets. Those organizations that develop a competitive advantage can satisfy the needs of both customers and the organization.

               As our economic system has become more successful at providing for needs and wants, there has been a greater focus on organizations adhering to ethical values rather than simply providing products. This focus has come about for two reasons. First, when an organization behaves ethically, customers develop more positive attitudes about the firm, its products, and its services. when marketing practices depart from standards that society considers acceptable. the market process becomes less efficient sometimes it is even interrupted. Not employing ethical marketing practices may lead to dissatisfied customers, bad publicity, a lack of trust, lost business, or sometimes, legal action. Thus, most organizations are very sensitives to the needs and opinions of their customers and look for ways to protect their log in term interests.

               Second, ethical abuses frequently lead to pressure ( social or government ) for institutions to assume greater responsibility for their actions. Since abuses do occur, some people believe that questionable business practices abound. As a result, consumer interest groups, professional associations, and self-regulatory groups exert considerable influence on marketing. Calls for social responsibility have also subjected marketing practices to a wide range of federal and state regulations designed to either protect consumer rights or to stimulate trade.

               The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other federal and state government agencies are charged both with enforcing the laws and creating policies to limit unfair marketing practices. Because regulation cannot be developed to cover every possible abuse, organizations and industry groups often develop codes of ethical conduct or rules for behavior to serve as a guide in decision-making. The American Marketing Association, for example, has developed a code of ethics self-regulation not only helps a firm avoid extensive government intervention; it also permits it to better respond to changes in market conditions. An organization's long-term success and profitability depend on this ability to respond. Some areas of marketing ethics overlap with media ethics. to analyze marketing ethics possible frameworks are:-

• Value-oriented framework, analyzing ethical problems based on the values which they infringe (e.g., honesty, autonomy, privacy, transparency).
• Stakeholder-oriented framework, analyzing ethical problems based on whom they affect (e.g., consumers, competitors, society as a whole).
• Process-oriented framework, analyzing ethical problems in terms of the categories used by marketing specialists. (e.g., research, price, promotion, placement).

               None of these frameworks allows, by itself, a convenient and complete categorization of the great variety of issues in marketing ethics.