Morality (Consumer Ethics)

Morality, with reference to consumer ethics, refers to the codes of conduct that are followed by members of a consumer society to avoid causing harm to other human beings. Moral decisions made by each consumer, either directly or indirectly, are responsible for protecting the well-being of all members of society. In a business transaction, both the buyer and the seller are expected to act according to their own economic interests; however, a mutual trust in the morality and ethical behavior of both parties is essential for establishing a long-term and successful business relationship that is beneficial to both parties of the consumer society.

Corporate scandals involving companies such as Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and many others have caused concern and suspicion among consumers about business ethics and corporate social responsibilities. However, business behavior is not always independent of consumers' own immoral, unethical behavior and acceptance of dishonesty. A holistic approach of shared responsibility of business and consumers on issues such as Fair Trade and social and environmental sustainability is growing in popularity in the 21st century. Moral and ethical consumers are motivating companies to recreate their policies to be sustainable in three areas—the planet, people, and profit. Positive buying, such as purchasing energy-saving lightbulbs and household appliances, is encouraged by the consumer media, and negative buying, such as driving gas-guzzling vehicles, is positioned as less desirable to consumers.

[Page 309]According to past research, consumers in Western and Eastern cultures have different interpretations and tolerance for morality and ethics; that is, what is right and what is wrong. A consumer learns his moral values from the culture in which he has been brought up and behaves accordingly. In Western cultures, such as in Germany, under certain circumstances a questionable behavior may be considered “good” and an individual may avoid the consequences of such a behavior. For example, morality was not a consideration for a German company when it sent 95,000 tons of household plastic waste materials to Pyongyang in North Korea without considering safety and environmental sensitivity. In France and Germany, companies are allowed to treat bribes of foreign officials as a business expense. If a situation permits, ignoring moral values is not uncommon to Austrian consumers. In Eastern cultures, integrity, fairness, and high standards are generally the social customs; however, they are preached but not always practiced by high-ranking officials and leaders of the communities. For example, officers in Indonesia did not object to taking bribes from Wal-Mart, the giant U.S.-based retailer, and the senior minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, accepted a discount offered by a real estate developer.

There are criticisms of multinational corporations (MNCs) for exploiting natural and human resources in the countries in which they operate. Some of the MNCs, such as Wal-Mart, earn significantly more revenues than the gross domestic product of entire countries, such as Pakistan, Israel, and Romania. Often these MNCs are criticized for using their power to manipulate the governments of these countries to gain special privileges. To avoid controversy, many MNCs are adopting codes of corporate social responsibility to foster labor rights, protect the environment, and work against corruption, bribery, and other similar issues. However, whether such codes are genuine or part of corporate green-washing is important to ascertain.

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