subject: Ethics Are Good For Individuals And Are Good For The Country [print this page] Ethics Are Good For Individuals And Are Good For The Country
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language states in it's new college edition that " Ethics is:
1. The study of the general nature of morals and specific moral choices to be made by the individual in his relationship with others;........
2. The rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession. "all citizens share in the blame for lax municipal ethics." (Christian Science Monitor).
3. Any set of moral principals or values.
4. The moral quality of a course of action;fitness;propriety: I question the ethics of his decision."
I don't know anyone in the industry who hasn't been touched by the sleaziness of some sort of laxes in ethical behavior. It seems that in some cases this type of behavior is taught and pasted on to the new-bies. I've found that many people who are not a part of the over-all industry but has some type of dealings with the internet marketing industry, has walked away with a bad taste in their mouths and bad things to say.
This reputation is not growth orientated. The industry is losing tons and tons of money.
It seems that since the wall street fiasco, question about ethics in the industry has exploded. Buying by consumers have slowed because of a fear of dishonest dealings.
The citizenry is suffering from an ethics depression. The citizen could stand a ethical inoculation, especially the business people's especially the business people in our industry. It has to start some where it might as well be with us.
In the internet marketing industry we could adopt a code of ethics. There may be such a device that exist already. I'm unaware of any except The American Marketing Association's Code of Ethics.It's directly related to marketing in general but has a section relating to internet marketing. Adopting this document maybe the way to go,. A document can be drafted for the industry in particular if necessary. In the course of executing business at times a fine line is drawn between the ethical and the unethical.One marketer may really believe it is alright to say his/her product is the best and another may say there is none better implying that theirs is as good as they come. These marketers seem to disagree.The first marketer maintains that there is nothing wrong with his/her statement and the other one doesn't want to be guilty of outright lying. So they fib to the customer.
A psychologist would never disclose information about his/her clients outside of their professional duties. To do such, would be a violation of their workplace ethics, or their moral/professional standards. A good mechanic and I said a good mechanic would never repair a item in a automobile while intentionally sabotaging another. It would be unethical. In the same manner, it is considered unethical to advertise a product as having certain qualities if the product doesn't have these advertised qualities.
There is room for disagreement but it shows why the industry needs a code that is clear and unambiguous. Everyone will follow the code for the industry. Well maybe not everyone but enough will, to make a difference.
Each occupation has certain general ethical standards that are agreed on, for the existence of theirprofession. Let's make our move now.
