Every business is created to generate a profit for the owner/investors. This is why entrepreneurs are known to do everything possible to ensure that they meet this particular goal. However, while most of them push the boundary while maintaining their integrity and staying within the limits of the law, some choose to go against their moral compass and engage in unethical behaviors so long as they can get the customer to buy more of their product.
While being unethical does not necessarily mean breaking the law, Unethical business practices might come back to hurt you, especially where the consumer realizes that you engage in these kinds of behavior. Here are a few examples of unethical behaviors that some modern business engages in regularly today.
Misleading Product Claims
Traditionally, marketing was usually done through print media, TV, or radio. This meant that it was easy to track someone who pays for a given advertisement as the money trail was easy to follow. However, this meant that businesses had to be very careful regarding the information they provided consumers concerning a given product.
It meant that even though they would sometimes exaggerate the product’s benefit to shine it with the best light possible, they knew better than to lie as this had lots of legal repercussions outrightly. However, this is not the case today. With digital online marketing, monitoring who placed a given advert might turn out to be complicated.
This makes it easier for anyone to run a highly misleading advertisement without running the risk of getting caught by the law. Companies are now using influencers and fake reviews to try and make false product information more believable to the consumer. This is unethical as it influences consumers to purchase a given product by lying to them about its benefits.
The use of fake reviews is prevalent, especially among essay writing services. This is why students are asked to be very vigilant when choosing to work with an essay service. It is essential to ensure that a company is legit before deciding to pay for essay. Ensure that you visit online ranking sites to find more information about top-notch and reliable services such as same day essays.
Hidden Agreements
The inclusion of hidden terms in user agreements has become rampant, especially in companies that sell software. They make a habit of creating very long user agreements to reduce the likelihood of a customer going through the whole document. Unfortunately, this allows the inclusion of dubious terms in user agreements to benefit the company at the expense of the consumer.
These companies ensure that you agree with all these terms and conditions before you can use the product. Some even go as far as refusing you to download the software without agreeing to these terms. This is unethical as a consumer might find themselves giving up their right to privacy to use a given product.
For example, you might find yourself giving a particular software the right to access your personal information and giving its parent company the right to sell this information to third parties. While this might not necessarily be illegal, it is highly unethical as the company used dubious ways to try and dupe the consumer into giving up their private information.
Fraudulent Accounting
The provision of doctored financial documents has been going on for a long time. However, it has grown to extraordinary heights with the emergence of the age information/ digital age. As a result, managers are actively presenting doctored financial documents to make their companies seem more profitable.
This is very dangerous as it hurts the investors who buy the company’s shares thinking that they will make a profit as it is a profitable venture, which is not entirely true. When it comes to light that the company’s financial documents have been doctored, the result is a collapse in its share value which translates to a loss for the investors.
It is essential to point out that not all unethical business practices are illegal, and not all unfair business practices are corrupt. This blog looks to point some of the most common unethical behaviors that business people engage in today. However, this does not mean that these practices will necessarily land them at odds with the law.
Even though some unethical practices might not land you in jail, they will ultimately hurt your business by damaging your relationship with the consumer. Remember, where the target market does not trust you or your product anymore, they will end up boycotting the product, which will translate to huge losses on the company’s part.
