The principles governing behavior of an individual or a group, establishing what is appropriate and indicating what is right and wrong.

• Can vary from country to country and industry to industry

pre 1930 -> 1930-1960 -> 1960-1990 -> Post 1990

Objective: Making sales -> satisfying customer needs -> building partnerships

Orientation: short-term seller needs -> short term customer needs -> long term customer and seller needs

Role of salesperson: provider -> persuador -> problem-solver -> value creator 

Activities: taking orders and delivering -> aggressively convincing -> matching offerings to needs -> creating new alternatives, matching buyer needs with seller capabilities

• Ethical behavior:
• Personal goals, customer goals, company goals, company policies, laws, social norms, values of significant others
• Personal code of ethics

• All salespeople behave this way
• No one will be hurt by this behavior
• This behavior is the lesser of two evils
• This conduct is the price one has to pay for being in business

• Check your motives for gift giving
• Make sure the customer understands no strings attached
• make sure the gift does not violate either companies' policies
• Safest gifts are inexpensive business items imprinted with the salesperson's company logo

Bribes are payments made to buyers to influence their purchase decisions

Kickbacks are payments made to buyers based on the amount of orders placed

Personal benefit to purchasing agent, but negative to the firm because product's performance is not considered in decision

Ignoring the purchasing agent's policy, go around his or her back, and contact other people direclty involved in the purchasing decision.

Risky and unethical

• Give ample notice
• Offer assistance during the transition phase
• Don't burn your bridges
• Don't take anything with you that belongs to the company

• the legal guide to commercial practice in the United States. Defines the following terms:
• agency
• Sale
• Title and risk of loss
• oral vs written agreements
• obligations and performance

FOB (free on board) destination - seller has title until goods are received at the destination

FOB factory - buyer assumes responsibility and risk of any loss or damage incurred during transportation

• Assurance by the seller that the products will perform as represented. Sometimes called a guarantee.
• expressed
• implied

Glowing descriptions considered to be opinions that customers cannot reasonably rely on.

"this is a top notch product"

"this product will last a lifetime" 

Occurs when a salesperson makes unfair or untrue statements to customers about a competitor, its products, or its salespeople.

Statements are illegal when they damage the competitor's reputation or the reputation of its salespeople

A special relationship in which two companies agree to buy products from each other.

Illegal when one company forces the other into the agreement. Only legal when mutually agreed to.

Unjustified special prices, discounts, or services given to some customers and not others.

Justified if results from differences in the cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery

or differences in the quality

or if it is an attempt to meet prices offered by competitors.

Small sums of money or gifts, typically made to low ranking managers or government officials, in countries where these payments are not illegal

Permitted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act amendment, when customary in the culture

Look at policies of the home country and othe company. Mostly considered unethical

Paying larger sums of money to higher ranking officials to get them to do something that is illegal or to ignore an illegal act.

Illegal under foreign corrupt practices act