Page 205 - The Handbook of Persuasion and Social Marketing

Ethical Issues of Social Marketing and Persuasion 197

Implementing Ethical Decisions

After social marketing professionals determine what the ethical alternative
is in a given situation, they must implement it. Implementation is particu-
larly important because even individuals who have identified the ethical
response can make bad ethical decisions if they do not know how to act on
their values. Giving Voice to Values (GVV) is a business ethics research and
curriculum development initiative that focuses on post-decision-making
implementation. It is designed to enable individuals to develop the skills
that they need to put their values into action (Gentile, 2010). GVV draws
on the concept of scripts from social psychology, which are cognitive
structures that, when activated, help people organize and understand
events (Abelson, 1981). Through GVV, individuals develop ethics-related
scripts by studying cases that present typical ethical dilemmas in their
professions. Through the cases, individuals practice articulating argu-
ments and rehearsing action plans related to giving voice to their values
and acting on them (Gentile, 2010). Research has demonstrated that peo-
ple who have built scripts are those who are likely to have the courage to
put their scripts into action in difficult circumstances (London, 1970).
GVV educational programs that focus on ethical issues in social marketing
could certainly be developed for academic degree programs and continu-
ing education programs.
As the above discussion indicates, acting ethically draws on many of the
same skills of imagination, resourcefulness, problem solving, persuasion,
and action that social marketers—indeed, all effective marketers—use in
responding to and implementing other types of strategic and tactical deci-
sions. Nonetheless, social marketing often presents a complicated context
for ethical decision-making, and reasonable people can disagree about
what type of social marketing is right and ethical. The authors argue that
disagreement is not the problem, but the failure to recognize the immense
ethical questions that social marketers must respond to is. Social market-
ers must embrace their ethical responsibilities and engage in reasoned,
reflective decision-making based on sound moral principles.

References
Abelson, R. P. (1981). Psychological status of the script concept. American
Psychologist, 36(7), 715–725.
American Marketing Association. (2008). Market segmentation [Definition].
Retrieved from http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dL
etter=M#market+segmentation