Social Media The Internet Worth 25 Points Initial Post Answe
Social Media The Internetworth 25 Pointsinitial Postanswer The Ques
Social Media & The Internet Worth 25 Points Initial Post: Answer the Question using a minimum of 150 words, based on your Chapter 4 "Ethics" reading and related work/life experience - support your viewpoint. Provide a thoughtful, professional and thorough answer using at least 3 terms as gleaned from chapter 4. 2nd and 3rd posts: Provide feedback to two of your classmates. Each reply must be a minimum of 50 words or more. Question : Do you think social media and the Internet has made salespeople more ethical? Why or why not?
Paper For Above instruction
The advent of social media and the Internet has significantly transformed the landscape of sales professions, influencing the ethical behaviors of salespeople in complex ways. From an ethical standpoint, these digital platforms have the potential to promote transparency and accountability, but they also pose new challenges that can compromise ethical standards. Based on Chapter 4 "Ethics," the concepts of integrity, honesty, and accountability are central to understanding the ethical implications in this digital age.
On one hand, social media facilitates greater transparency, allowing salespeople to openly communicate and demonstrate their genuine intent, fostering trust with consumers—this aligns with ethical principles of honesty and integrity. For instance, salespeople can share honest product reviews and respond transparently to customer inquiries, promoting ethical behavior through openness. Furthermore, the digital record-keeping nature of social media ensures accountability, as salespeople’s actions are more visible, discouraging unethical practices such as misinformation or manipulative tactics.
Conversely, the anonymity and reach of social media also enable unethical behaviors such as deceptive advertising, exaggeration, and targeting vulnerable populations. The pressure to meet sales targets can tempt some salespeople to distort facts or conceal crucial information to close deals, thereby violating ethical standards. The temptation to use manipulative tactics conflicts with the core ethical values discussed in Chapter 4.
Thus, whether social media makes salespeople more ethical or not depends largely on individual integrity and the organizational ethical climate. While the platforms can support ethical practices through transparency and accountability, they can equally facilitate unethical behavior if ethical standards are not adequately emphasized and enforced. Overall, technology provides the tools; it is the ethical responsibility of salespeople and organizations to use them responsibly.
References
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. Oxford University Press.
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2019). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases. Cengage Learning.
Laczniak, G. R., & Murphy, L. R. (2019). Ethics in Marketing. Routledge.
Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2016). Marketing Ethics & Society. Routledge.
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2017). Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do It Right. Wiley.