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|CHAPTER 20 Social Responsibility and Ethics 647

answer their questions, and give them detailed advice on what steps to take. Graco went live
and interactive with specific information on the Graco Blog, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook,
and a dedicated Web page. For example, customers who messaged Graco’s Twitter account
received prompt responses from Graco’s twitterers about whether their car seat buckles
were part of the recall, plus useful, one-on-one information about how to order and install
repair kits. Graco’s swift and responsible actions in this and other recall cases have drawn
praise from both public policy advocates and customers. “I will ALWAYS continue to use
Graco products,” tweeted one customer, “thanks to the way this was handled.”29

As with environmentalism, the issue of ethics presents special challenges for interna-
tional marketers. Business standards and practices vary a great deal from one country to
the next. For example, bribes and kickbacks are illegal for U.S. firms, and various treaties
against bribery and corruption have been signed and ratified by more than 60 countries. Yet
these are still standard business practices in many countries. The World Bank estimates that
bribes totaling more than $1 trillion per year are paid out worldwide. One study showed
that the most flagrant bribe-paying firms were from Indonesia, Mexico, China, and Russia.
Other countries where corruption is common include Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Yemen. The
least corrupt were companies from Australia, Denmark, Finland, and Japan.30 The question
arises as to whether a company must lower its ethical standards to compete effectively in
countries with lower standards. The answer is no. Companies should make a commitment
to a common set of shared standards worldwide.

Many industrial and professional associations have suggested codes of ethics, and
many companies are now adopting their own codes. For example, the American Marketing
Association, an international association of marketing managers and scholars, developed a
code of ethics that calls on marketers to adopt the following ethical norms:31

• Do no harm. This means consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions by embody-
ing high ethical standards and adhering to all applicable laws and regulations in the
choices we make.

• Foster trust in the marketing system. This means striving for good faith and fair dealing
so as to contribute toward the efficacy of the exchange process as well as avoiding
deception in product design, pricing, communication, and delivery or distribution.

• Embrace ethical values. This means building relationships and enhancing consumer
confidence in the integrity of marketing by affirming these core values: honesty,
responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency, and citizenship.

Companies are also developing programs to teach managers about important ethical

issues and help them find the proper responses. They hold ethics workshops and seminars

and create ethics committees. Furthermore, most major U.S. companies have appointed high-

level ethics officers to champion ethical issues and help resolve ethics problems and concerns

facing employees. And most companies have established their own codes of ethical conduct.

Google is a good example. Its official

Google Code of Conduct is the mechanism by

which the company puts its well-known “Don’t

be evil” motto into practice. The detailed code’s

core message is simple: Google employees (know

inside as “Googlers”) must earn users’ faith and

trust by holding themselves to the highest possible

standards of ethical business conduct. The Google

Don’t be evil Code of Conduct is “about providing our users
unbiased access to information, focusing on their
needs, and giving them the best products and ser-
vices that we can. But it’s also about doing the right

thing more generally—following the law, acting

honorably, and treating each other with respect.”

Google requires all Googlers—from board

members to the newest employee—to take personal

responsibility for practicing both the spirit and let-

ter of the code and encouraging other Googlers to

do the same. It urges employees to report violations

to their managers, to human resources representa-

Marketing ethics: Google’s Code of Conduct is the mechanism by which the tives, or using an Ethics & Compliance hotline. “If

company puts its well-known “Don’t be evil” motto into practice. you have a question or ever think that one of your