Assalamualaikum w.b.t,
Today's post is my reflection on the fourth week of classes for MKTG 4312 (Responsible Consumerism). The first part of the topic is on consumer ethics which is defined by Muncy and Vitell (1992) as 'the moral principles and standards that guide the behavior of individuals as they obtain, use, and dispose of goods and services.' Consumer ethics is important as consumers shape the demand for goods and services. If unethical customers use and dispose of goods in a bad way and constantly increase the demand for new products, the environment will be negatively impacted. Consumers can directly help in decreasing unethical firms in the economy through boycotting. For example, consumers globally can help in reducing Zionist powers by boycotting products with ties to Israel.
The second part of the chapter is about the ethical issues in product, price, place, and promotion or better known as the 4P marketing mix. For products, there is an ethical issue in producing products that are harmful to people. Take Marlboro as an example - it produces cigarettes that are very harmful to smokers and the people around them. Ethical issues that are related to price can be shown through the issue of medicine prices. In some countries, life-saving medicines such as diabetic medicines are priced exorbitantly which leads to a lot of people not being able to afford them. Regarding the place, an ethical issue might arise if a firm chooses to expand its business location to unethical places such as Israel. In terms of promotion, ethical issues might come up when the firm uses deception to promote its products. For example, the company might promote a discount which will lead customers to buy the products. In reality, the company has not informed the customers that only a small amount of products will be discounted, which leads to the customers being tricked.
The third part of the chapter is the customer ethics and the responsibility of the consumers. Customers must be aware of their responsibility and carry out those responsibilities. The first responsibility is to use the product safely. For example, when users use a medicine, it is their responsibility to use the product according to the prescribed dosage and according to the directions. Next, customers need to choose and purchase products carefully.
While it is the producers' responsibility to produce safe products, the consumers should do their part and choose carefully. For example, if a consumer is allergic to peanuts, it is their responsibility to carefully read the labels of a product to ensure that there are no peanuts in the product. Another responsibility of the consumer is to speak up when faced with issues that will affect others. For example, if a consumer faces an issue with a product, it is their responsibility to speak up and make sure that producers are aware of the issues so that the producers can improve themselves.
The last part of the chapter is on consumer protection. While it might seem like a daunting issue, there are actually guidelines in place to protect consumers. Some guidelines are the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection and Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Act 599). Some examples of effective consumer protection are adequate customer law, effective consumer associations, and access to redress mechanisms. While there are guidelines in place to protect customers, there must be a will for firms and the government to want to protect the consumers.
Thank you for reading. Comment down below on whether you think consumer protection in Malaysia is adequate or not.
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