In Response to Professor Johnson...

Should John Smith sell the names? Also, Does the AMA Statement of Ethics address this issue? What in the Statement relates to John Smith's dilemma?

After reading the Statement of Ethics that the AMA runs under, it seemed quite apparent that John Smith should not sell the names. Ethics aside, when marketing, there is always an interaction with a producer and a consumer. If business is simply just business, the producer has to satisfy the consumer. If John Smith is interacting with people for survey purposes, then they are now his customer. Smith is trusting them to make their honest judgment about cars and in turn the surveyors are trusting Smith's firm to keep their information confidential. It really doesn't matter if it is the right thing or not to sell their information because if Smith sold it, then the surveyors would recognize that his firm is not trustworthy. After this, word of mouth could completely jeopardize everything that the firm does.

There are three main principles under the AMA's Statement of Ethics that must be followed by all marketers. They are: "do no harm, foster trust in the marketing system, and embrace ethical values." The principle that relates to John Smith's dilemma the most is embracing ethical values. The reason for this is because it is all about building relationships with the consumer. And while doing so create a confidence in them about the integrity of marketing.

          Core Values: Honesty, Responsibility, Fairness, Respect, Transparency and Citizenship.

If John Smith sells the surveyors information he will be in violation of all of these ethical guidelines that are meant to create a successful marketing interaction for both the producer and consumer. It is definitely a good thing that Smith wants to use the money in order to save some jobs for his employees, but this is the wrong way to do it. Could it be possible that if he sold the information it could cause even more harm to his firm than having to fire a few employees?