Marketing Ethics White Paper SMPS Foundation

White Paper
Marketing Ethics:
The Truth, the Whole Truth,
and Nothing But the Truth…
or NOT

Taree Bollinger, CPSM and Pamela Heeke, CPSM
July 2009

The content in this White Paper applies primarily to
the following SMPS Domains of Practice:

Domain 3: Client and Business Development
Domain 4: Qualifications/Proposals
Domain 6: Marketing and Business Performance

Copyright © 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation

The information in this document is the intellectual property of the Society for Marketing Professional
Services Foundation. Reproduction of portions of this document for personal use is permitted,
provided that proper attribution is made to the SMPS Foundation.

Reproduction of any portion of this document for any other purpose,
including but not limited to any commercial purpose, is strictly prohibited.

Contact: Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation (800) 292-7677
E-mail: info@smps.org www.smpsfoundation.org

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................... i

Introduction ...........................................................................................................1

What Are Ethics and Ethical Behavior ...................................................................2
Ethical Decision Making .............................................................................3

Common Ethical Dilemmas Marketers Face .........................................................4
Stretching the Truth ....................................................................................4
Everybody’s Doing It ...................................................................................6
They Made Me Do It ...................................................................................7
Gifting Your Way to Success ......................................................................8

Truth or Consequences .........................................................................................9
Loss of Reputation......................................................................................9
Below the Bottom Line ..............................................................................10
The Prospect of Unemployment ...............................................................10
Righting Client Relationships ....................................................................11
The Ultimate Sacrifice ..............................................................................11

It May be Ethical, But is it Legal? ........................................................................12
From Stretching the Truth to Fraud ..........................................................13
From Gift Giving to Bribery .......................................................................14
From Conflict of Interest to Collusion ........................................................15

Instituting an Ethical Culture ................................................................................17
Mandating Ethical Behavior ......................................................................17
Corporate Codes of Ethics – Written or Implied?......................................18

Conclusion – Doing the Right Thing ....................................................................19

Endnotes .............................................................................................................20

Bibliography of Works Cited ................................................................................22

Acknowledgements .............................................................................................25

Authors’ Biographies ...........................................................................................25

Appendix (Sample Ethics Codes) ............................................................................

© 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation

Executive Summary

Raw egotism, greed, and the quest for more money, power, and success are all drivers of
unethical behavior; but research shows that pressure from upper management to meet
unrealistic expectations may be the leading factor. How many marketers out there haven’t felt
similar pressure?

As the history of corruption in corporate America continues to repeat itself like the movie
“Groundhog Day,” it is now more important than ever for professional service firms to start
talking about ethics and taking the necessary steps to put an end to “a VERY long day” when it
comes to unethical marketing practices.

The white paper, “Marketing Ethics: The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth… or
Not,” opens with a brief introduction and explanation of ethics and ethical behavior and provides
some suggestions on ethical decision making before launching into four major discussion
points: 1) Common Ethical Dilemmas Marketers Face, 2) Truth or Consequences, 3) It May Be
Ethical, But Is It Legal?, and 4) Instituting an Ethical Culture.

The authors’ conclusions are based on extensive secondary research, as well as interviews with
selected professionals who offered varying perspectives and insights, which are woven
throughout the paper. They include:

• The Trainer: Ford Harding, CMC, noted marketing consultant, educator, and author, who
told them: “As the years have gone by, I’ve become more and more convinced that
stretching the truth is by and large not productive, not helpful, and not necessary.”

• The Attorney: Matt Williams, JD, general manager of a national insurance company, pro
tem district court judge, and law school trial instructor, who told them: “Ultimately,
professionals are going to hold themselves to the highest standards, and they’re going to
work very hard to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.”

• The A/E/C Executive: Craig Galati, AIA, president of Lucchesi Galati, a Las Vegas-based
architectural and planning firm, who told them: “I think it’s the marketer’s job to make sure
that whatever gets put into peoples’ resumes is as factual as they can determine.”

© 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation —i

• The Marketer: Brian Dyer, former marketer for Arthur Andersen who left as a result of the
Enron scandal, who told them: “Marketing is about selling solutions to people, not creating
new problems.”

Some of the authors’ findings and observations may surprise you. Others won’t. For
instance, did you know that…

• There are simple tests you can use to help you make better ethical decisions on the fly?
They include: The Stink Test, The Spouse Test, and The Newspaper Test.

• Ethics laws regulating gifts to public officials in some states are so stringent that even
accepting a cup of coffee or participating in a raffle at a trade show may be prohibited?

• The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) stipulate that all contractors awarded federal
contracts exceeding $5 million with a performance period of 120 days or more must have a
written code of business ethics and conduct in place within 30 days of the award?

• The Project on Government Oversight maintains a Federal Contractor Misconduct Database
on its website, www.pogo.org?

• It may be the process rather than the end product that provides the real value when it comes
to developing corporate codes of ethics?

While we all know people who scoff at the idea of “marketing ethics” and label it an oxymoron, in
researching and writing this paper, the authors came face-to-face with their own ethical
dilemmas and boundaries. Their research has led them to agree with Jon Huntsman who said,
“You do not act ethically to succeed, you do so because it the right thing to do.”

© 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation — ii

Introduction

“We can learn a good deal about the nature of business by comparing it with
poker. Poker has its own special ethics … Cunning, deception and concealment
of one’s strength and intentions, not kindness and openheartedness, are vital in
poker … No one thinks any the worse of poker on that account, and no one
should think any worse of the game of business because its standards of right
and wrong differ from the prevailing traditions of morality in our society.”
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— Albert Carr

Over forty years have passed since Carr’s classic article “Is Business Bluffing Ethical?” was
published by the Harvard Business Review, and what have we learned? It is widely recognized
that some of the most disastrous business strategies in history can be attributed to corporate
executives who got so caught up in winning the game of business that they lost all sight of the
impact their actions might have on others. Nevertheless, the pattern of corporate corruption
continues to repeat itself on a national scale like the movie “Groundhog Day.”

Marketers are certainly not exempt from the long list of unethical professionals who grace the
nightly news on televisions across America. We all know people who scoff at the idea of
“marketing ethics” and label it an oxymoron. With personal and business reputations on the line,
it is now more important than ever for professional service firm marketers to talk about ethics
and take action to put an end to “a VERY long day” when it comes to unethical practices.

Seth Godin drove this point home in his book All Marketers are Liars, “Until marketers start to
take responsibility for the stories we tell and the promises we make, consumers will get
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increasingly skeptical and suspicious—and all marketers will lose.”

This paper addresses these concerns and other consequences of unethical behavior. It
provides suggestions for surmounting common ethical dilemmas professional services
marketers face and touches upon methods for creating an ethical culture within a firm. In
preparing this paper, the authors performed extensive secondary research as well as
interviewed four professionals who each offer a different perspective on the topic:
• The Trainer: Ford Harding, CMC, noted marketing consultant, educator, and author
• The Attorney: Matt Williams, JD, general manager of a national insurance company,
pro tem district court judge, and law school trial instructor

© 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation —1

• The A/E/C Executive: Craig Galati, AIA, president of Lucchesi-Galati, a Las Vegas-
based architectural and planning firm
• The Marketer: Brian Dyer, a former Arthur Andersen employee who lost his job as a
direct result of the Enron scandal

Our findings support the supposition that when the chips are down in business, doing whatever
it takes to win (including bluffing) can lead to a devastating losing streak that doesn’t stop with
money. Its widespread effects range from the loss of trust and reputation to the loss of freedom
and even life. As Robert Solomon emphasizes in his book A Better Way to Think about
Business, “There is too much at stake for too many people to think of business as merely a
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game.”

What are Ethics and Ethical Behavior?

“A principle is a principle and in no case can it be watered down because of our
incapacity to live it in practice. We have to strive to achieve it, and the striving
should be conscious, deliberate, and hard.” — Mahatma Gandhi

Key principles associated with ethical behavior include honesty, integrity, loyalty, respect,
transparency, and consistency. The majority of us grew up being taught at least some of these
values, but how many of the firms that we work for go beyond incorporating them into their
mission/values statements, and why do some marketers and companies inevitably fail to live up
to them?

According to Brad Johnson and Charles Ridley, authors of The Elements of Ethics for
Professionals, “No one stands above the potential of deception, evasion, and out and out lying.
When money, power, success, or prestige is on the line, even highly regarded professionals
have been found to cut corners, falsify data, plagiarize, and dupe the public, clients and their
4 5
own families…” Do you recognize the names: Nixon, Milken, and Madoff?

Other influencers likely to convince professionals to cross the line into unethical territories were
cited in a global survey on business ethics commissioned by the American Management
Association (AMA). Conducted by the Human Resource Institute (HRI), the study found that
“pressure from management or the Board to meet unrealistic business objectives and
deadlines” was the leading factor most likely to cause unethical corporate behavior. The “desire


to further one’s career and to protect one’s livelihood” were ranked second and third,
respectively, as leading factors.

Ethical Decision Making
Figure 1: How to Measure Ethical Behavior

Realizing there is probably not a Ford Harding (The Trainer):
professional services marketer out there The Stink Test: “If it stinks don’t do it. If it feels
wrong, don’t do it.”
who hasn’t felt similar pressures, we
asked our sources for advice on how to The Spouse Test: “How would you feel if your
spouse found out about it?”
make better ethical decisions. They
Matt Williams (The Attorney):
offered their guidance and even provided
some tests to help you answer that “There’s the appearance of impropriety, there’s ethics
and morality, and then there’s the law and corporate
question for yourself. (See Figure 1: How compliance. Those standards may be different, but
ultimately professionals are going to hold themselves
to Measure Ethical Behavior.) In addition
to the highest standards, and they’re going to
to these tests, Ford Harding offers six work very hard to avoid even the appearance of
impropriety. When they’re uncertain about it, they’re
other measures in his book Creating going to seek guidance from their corporate
compliance or their legal staff.”
Rainmakers, including the authors’
favorite: “Is the finesse even necessary?” Craig Galati (The A/E/C Executive):
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“I think that honesty is first and foremost. Then, [I
ask] is it legal? Are all the issues balanced and do
Another reliable barometer for judging you have all the information you need to make a
what is ethical, and what is not, is peer decision? Are you hiding something or is someone
hiding something from you? Do you feel right doing
review. Peer review can improve the it? A mentor of mine once said, “If it was in the paper
tomorrow and your mom was reading it, how would
quality of your work, help with your you feel?”
professional development, and reduce the
Brian Dyer (The Marketer):
risk of behaving inappropriately. (Unless,
“The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have
of course, you are hanging out with shady them do unto you. Take intellectual property for
characters.) Make it a habit to discuss example…on one of the projects we were doing,
another platform came up for re-purposing the
ethics with your peers via such avenues information, but the information really belonged to the
CEOs we were working with. It necessitated going
as SMPS roundtables and networking back to them and getting their permission to use it on
opportunities, as well as LinkedIn and another platform, because it wasn’t what they had
originally agreed to or aligned with their perception of
other social networks. what we were going to do with the material. Wouldn’t
you want to know how your name is going to be
used?”


Common Ethical Dilemmas Marketers Face

“A half truth is a whole lie.” — Yiddish Proverb Poem

Tests for ethics help us measure whether a behavior is unethical, but they are of little help in
resolving ethical dilemmas. Some common dilemmas and ways to deal with them are discussed
below.

Stretching the Truth

“Most executives from time to time are almost compelled... to practice some form of deception
when negotiating… By conscious misstatements, concealment of pertinent facts, or
exaggeration… they seek to persuade others to agree with them… If the individual executive
refuses to bluff from time to time… if he feels compelled to tell the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, he is ignoring
Figure 2: Stretching the Truth is Not
opportunities permitted under the rules Recommended
and is at a heavy disadvantage in his Galati’s Advice: “I think that for some reason our
business dealings,” wrote Carr in 1968. 7 profession has tolerated that [stretching the truth] in
marketers, but if you talk to the ones that are really
successful, they didn’t get successful by pulling those
These behaviors are often passed along kinds of stunts. The people I’ve learned from have
always kind of preached to just tell the truth. If you
to those entering the field as “finessing” or
have a project that has a problem, you’re better off
“putting a spin on it.” But those who do so just not putting it in than you are trying to hide or talk
around the issues.”
are only lying to themselves. They need to
call their own bluff before their clients do it Dyer’s Advice: “Don’t. Don’t do it. You just better
have the numbers. You need the numbers to support
for them. Our sources agreed. (See anything that you are doing. Marketers decide what
the face of the company is going to look like. They
Figure 2: Stretching the Truth Is Not set the sales pitches along with the sales team. They
Recommended.) decide the language to be used. And decide what the
triggers are going to be by highlighting the benefits.
They’re creating the skin.”
Johnson and Ridley advocate choosing
integrity over finesse: “Integrity demands Harding’s Advice: “As the years have gone by, I’ve
become more and more convinced that stretching the
clarity in the presentation of one’s truth is by and large not productive, not helpful, and
credentials, achievements, and not necessary.”

experience. Ethical professionals refuse to inflate or misrepresent the nature or efficacy of their
services. Whether motivated by egotism, inadequacy, or greed, inaccurate presentation of
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credentials or services always constitutes a fundamental ethical breach.”


Don’t be fooled thinking you won’t be caught, or if you are, the client won’t really care. Galati
said he has been in more than one proposal debrief where the client exposed what they
believed was unethical behavior in their competitors’ proposals without giving the name of the
firm. In one instance, the client told him the competitors used one of his firm’s projects in their
proposal without giving credit. The client recognized it as a Lucchesi Galati project and told him
they wouldn’t work with that firm because of it. Another tactic he said competitors often use is
showing a photo or master plan of a big campus site that they didn’t do instead of zeroing in on
the one building within the plan that they actually worked on.

If your firm seriously lacks the experience and skills to perform the work in the first place, why
are you pursuing it? The more ethical choice would be to refer the client/work to a firm that has
the necessary competency. In doing so, you build a relationship and bond with that other firm. It
most likely will return the favor at a later date.

However, even ethical professionals may be tempted to operate outside their established
competence for many reasons: financial stress, impatience to get ahead, and something we’ve
all run across—“raw egotism.” If you find yourself facing this dilemma, consider Johnson and
Ridley’s advice: “If you would be uncomfortable with colleagues knowing that you are offering a
particular service or engaging in a specific professional practice, you could be bordering on
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incompetence.”

That being said, there is nothing unethical about asking for work that you may be “less than
qualified” to perform as long as you are up front about it. Consider the following example shared
by an SMPS member:

The State of Washington issued an RFP for a License Plate Renewal Study. One of the
requirements was for the proposing firm to have performed a number of these studies in the
past. No firms responded. The state reissued the RFP, but did not remove the stipulation. With
a little research, the firm’s marketer determined that only a handful of states had ever sponsored
such studies and estimated that the probability of another firm in Washington having performed
one was practically nil. The marketer suggested that her firm respond, but do so honestly. The
firm submitted a proposal clearly stating that it had never performed a license renewal study.
The proposal detailed the firm’s competence and capabilities to perform each of the individual
tasks outlined in the scope, and connected the dots for the selection committee. The marketer


did not attempt to mislead. The firm merely illustrated how the sum of the parts could equal the
total even though it had never performed “the total.” The firm landed the job!

Everybody’s Doing It!

Everybody’s doing it. All you mothers and fathers of teenagers reading this go ahead and say it:
“So if everybody jumped off a cliff—would you jump too?”

The “everybody’s doing it” excuse neither makes something ethical nor protects you from the
consequences. Williams suggests looking at the housing and financial crises of 2008-2009 as
evidence of this. He told us that if you talked to people in the appraisal industry during the
subprime mortgage crisis, many would tell you:

“If we had not written the appraisals the way we were told to write them, we wouldn’t have
gotten the business (because everybody else was doing it).” That behavior not only had
disastrous impacts on many of those appraisers and on the companies that were pressuring
that kind of behavior, but it has had disastrous impacts on our economy.

The same behavior can be found in the professional services industry, where some firms try to
use the “everybody’s doing it” excuse to justify low balling and bait and switch tactics. In low
balling, a firm submits a bid to perform a project at a price below what it knows is necessary.
The game plan is to win the job so the firm can get to the negotiating table. Once there, the firm
claims certain tasks were not included in the proposal and it raises its price. On occasion, a firm
will wait until it is halfway through the project and ask for the remaining money via change
orders. Bait and switch is similar in that once a firm wins a job, it will switch out the key
professionals listed in the proposal with less qualified (and lower salaried) staff members.

As in everything, there may be exceptions. Harding believes if you are up front with the client
about changing out personnel, and the client agrees, then it’s not a bait and switch. He stated
that the key is whether you knowingly include yourself in the proposal because you know the
client loves you, but fully intend on having someone else do the work. In other words is it your
intent to mislead?

Still, if everybody is doing it, and it helps the firm win a major project, isn’t it worth the risk?
Consider what Williams told a traffic offender who was trying to get out of a speeding ticket.
The offender reasoned that since he was driving in a group of six cars and he was the only one
pulled over, it wasn’t fair for him to pay the ticket. Williams responded: “Well, you admit that you


were violating the law. The fact that you were the one who got picked up I understand is
frustrating. But they’re just as guilty of violating the law as you are. Just because they got away
doesn’t mean you do…The nature of the law is when you behave in a certain way, you have to
deal with the consequences.”

So, how do firms who refuse to engage in low balling and bait and switch compete with those
who are? Methods include putting a guarantee in your proposal to stand behind your quote as a
counter to low balling or citing the number of times you have come in on time and budget on
previous work. If your contracted backlog, coupled with the number of proposals you are
pursuing, makes it difficult to guarantee the availability of certain employees, state that. Let the
prospective client know that you will be selecting a qualified staff member with the skills and
experience that best matches the client’s final scope of work and who has the availability for the
duration of the project.

They Made Me Do It!

Is unethical behavior excusable when your job is on the line? Several marketers claim they are
forced by their bosses or employers to act unethically. If you find yourself facing this dilemma,
be honest. Start by resisting the urge to lay blame for unethical behavior at the feet of the CEO
of your firm. Crossing ethical boundaries is your choice.

We recognize that you may have thought you were climbing aboard the Love Boat when you
joined your firm, and it wasn’t until you had set sail that you discovered you had mistakenly
boarded Jack Sparrow’s Black Pearl. Walking the gang plank can be a daunting exit strategy,
but it is your choice whether you resist or acquiesce.

Abuse of power comes in many forms. It can be overt and direct, as in “Do this or you’ll lose
your job.” Or, a colleague can insinuate that “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll help me
cover this up.” At first glance, it may appear as if the ethical choice would be to resist
involvement in either situation. However, loyalty and obedience are also characteristics of
ethical individuals. Therein lies the rub.

We recommend that when you find yourself caught between acting upon your boss’s unethical
request or your loyalty to your firm, consider what might happen if you were to acquiesce. If you
have a boss who insists you do something unethical to keep your job, how secure is your job in
the first place? If your boss is willing to lie to the client or cheat the firm, is it much of a stretch to


conclude that he might just as easily make you walk the gang plank when he gets caught? Isn’t
it better to get off the ship with your reputation intact, than try to re-market yourself with a skull
and cross bones on your resume?

Dyer reminds us that “In any company, there are checks and balances. If you are being required
to do something unethical, you need to keep a diary and cover with email. I personally feel you
need to find out ways to make sure that your voice has been heard.” One tactic that Dyer has
used is to talk to somebody trustworthy in the company off the record.

Resistance may cost you your job, but failure to resist may cost you your physical and moral
well being. One solution is to anticipate the coercion before it becomes an ethical dilemma.
When you get a new boss, become someone else’s new boss, or pursue a new client
relationship, discuss your ethical boundaries and make your expectations clear from the get-go.
Anticipation readies you mentally, prevents you from being caught off guard, and gives you the
courage to withstand coercion.

If you do choose to debark, before you set sail on a new ship, investigate your target firm’s
ethics and value system to determine if it is aligned with yours. Does it have a code of ethics?
If not, does it have a published mission/value statement? What is its reputation in the industry?

Gifting Your Way to Success

Is giving gifts to clients ethical? Gift giving is a common means for professional services firms to
maintain client relationships, and to say, “thank you for your business.” However, a gift you
might see as a gesture of goodwill can look to someone else as a reward for mutual favors.

Beyond what is spelled out in federal and state regulations for public sector officials, Galati
offers a simple measure for marketers, as ‘givers,’ to use to determine the true intent of a gift:
“Taking somebody to golf doesn’t seem to me to be out of line, because what you’re really doing
is just getting time with that person to enjoy a conversation and build a relationship. What I have
a problem with is when they’re just perks without any connection to the relationship. For
example, buying someone a set of golf clubs instead of taking them golfing, or sending
someone on a trip but not going with them.”

The distinction is that you’re not furthering the relationship; you’re trying to gain favor. To avoid
any misunderstandings, marketers should determine what the industry’s professional standards


are in terms of value and other considerations before giving a gift. This helps avoid putting
clients in a position where they feel they must reciprocate for a large gift or putting them on the
spot by offering something that they can’t legally accept.

Diane Swanson warns that giving clients gifts can open a can of worms. She suggests that
instead of gifting, use “cause branding.” Given the economic climate, Swanson said that a
donation to a food bank or other charity stretched thin by economic woes might be more
appropriate and meaningful than a gift that will just sit on a desk or hang on the wall. She points
out that this is especially true if the charity relates to the client’s type of business such as giving
to a breast cancer charity in the name of a client whose customer base is women. 10

Truth or Consequences

“Teach your children well.” — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1970

The consequences of telling the truth and otherwise abiding by ethical standards can be
formidable—loss of job, loss of promotional opportunities, loss of client relationships, and loss of
collegiality. But the consequences of acting unethically can be much worse. They range from
loss of reputation to loss of personal freedom, as in jail time. The worst case scenario is loss of
life.

According to Dyer, “Marketing is about selling solutions to people, not creating new problems…
When it comes to a question of ethics, are you really creating more problems by saying if we fly
under the radar this is a solution? That’s where you run into trouble.”

Loss of Reputation

A marketer’s reputation can be tarnished in three ways: 1) by his/her own unethical behavior,
2) by working for a firm with an unethical reputation, or 3) by his/her firm’s association with a
firm that is perceived to tolerate unethical behavior. Those who worked for Arthur Andersen
during the Enron scandal can attest to the truth of the latter case. Many former clients convicted
Andersen based on the strength of rumors and fear of what might happen to them, rather than
actual misdeeds. In point of fact Arthur Andersen was acting as an external auditor to review
materials that were actually prepared by Enron’s internal auditors.

Sometimes just being accused of unethical behavior can ruin relationships and make it difficult
to reestablish credibility. One SMPS firm marketer told us that her firm frequently teams with


large engineering firms as a subconsultant on a non-exclusive basis. But on one particular
proposal her firm agreed to go exclusive with Firm A. Both Firm A and Firm B were shortlisted.
During the interview process, Firm A learned that Firm B had included the marketer’s firm in its
proposal and accused the marketer of breaching their exclusive agreement. This was blatantly
untrue, but when Team B won, Team A was livid. Even though the marketer’s firm had little
impact on the reason Team B was selected, Team A insisted that the marketer’s firm abide by
the exclusive agreement and not perform the work.

Below the Bottom Line

If reputation is not an issue for you then consider the financial impact. Jon M. Huntsman,
chairman and founder of Huntsman Corporation, relates a story in his book Winners Never
Cheat that illustrates this point. After negotiating a deal to purchase Sweetheart Plastics late
into the night for $800 million, Sweetheart’s chief negotiator raised the ante at midnight by $100
million. Huntsman refused to be pressured and walked away from the deal. Sweetheart’s next
highest offer was only $660 million. “Greed cost Sweetheart Plastics $140 million and a lawsuit
11
from Sweetheart’s bondholders for unethical behavior.”

Another form of financial loss is the loss of repeat business when the behavior is found out.
Competitive pursuits are much more costly than follow-on or sole-source work. While the
unethical behavior may win you the job, it won’t secure the client relationship.

Finally, unethical behavior may also cause a decline in productivity. When we act unethically our
behavior is in discord with our morals. That leads to stress. Employees who are stressed all the
time are not productive, nor are they clearheaded enough to make sound decisions. Thus, by
allowing unethical behavior to continue unchecked, you may be placing your firm at financial
risk.

The Prospect of Unemployment

As a marketer at your firm, you may not end up in jail or even be fined for complicit involvement
in an unethical act, but you could lose your job. How? If your company folds as a result of being
convicted either in the eyes of the law, or by the industry your firm serves, where does that
leave you? Dyer found out firsthand when Arthur Andersen experienced a global shutdown as
the result of the Enron scandal. This is even more astounding when you consider that at the
time, according to Dyer “What Enron was doing wasn’t really illegal. (Congress passed the

© 2009 Society for Marketing Professional Services Foundation — 10

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 in response to the accounting scandals.) The questions on
everyone’s mind were rather: Was it ethical? Was it moral? Everybody was up in arms because
they lost so much money on their pensions. The numbers hurt people. So Arthur Andersen was
indicted on shredding. It was about obstructing justice; it wasn’t about numbers manipulation.”

Move ahead five years. The unemployment lines have lengthened with the addition of former
bankers, lenders, appraisers and others associated with the subprime mortgage debacle. It is
doubtful that even the whistle blowers envisioned the result of unethical choices being made by
or forced upon so many in the banking and real estate industries.

Righting Client Relationships

It is true that some clients expect marketers to include “a little spin” in their proposals. Doing so
may not dissuade them from selecting your firm. Depending on how much spin is used or how
often, you may still win the job, but lose the client’s trust. Dyer shared with us a story that the
office managing partner at Arthur Andersen told to all new employees. The partner compared
business relationships to a piece of paper. If you crumple the paper into a ball, it destroys your
ability to write on it. If you unfold it, you can write on it again, but there will always be the
markings and lines from the crumpling. Once you are caught lying, you introduce an element of
distrust and suspicion into your relationship. Like the paper, your relationship will never be as
smooth again. The wrinkles will always be there.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Are you prepared to give your life or take another’s life for the sake of the corporation’s bottom
line? Consider the peanut butter product recall in early 2009. Nine deaths have been attributed
to the peanut butter products that were contaminated with salmonella, and it appears the
company was aware of this possibility when it shipped the products.

Granted, this example may be a bit extreme, but inherent in unethical behavior is the fact that it
gets easier the more you do it. If it happens often enough, it will no longer be “breaking news”
and the line between ethical and unethical we have drawn may disappear all together.

A review of ENR.com bears this out. The incidences of ethical misconduct have exploded to the
point that Engineering News-Record magazine devotes a section of its online magazine,
ENR.com, to “Ethics & Corruption” under BIZ MGMT. A recent review of headlines includes:


“Rigger Faces Manslaughter Charges in Deadly NYC Tower Crane Collapse” and “Chinese
Official Receives Death Sentence for Corruption on Construction Job.”

It May Be Ethical, But is it Legal?

“When I was sworn in here, I swore to tell the truth and the whole truth, not the
partial truth.” — Kenneth Lay, Enron Corp. founder

The ultimate consequences of unethical behavior are potentially legal ones. We have all heard
rationalizations such as: “It’s not illegal, so who cares? What are they going to do, sue me?”
Most people would agree that a person can behave unethically without breaking the law. On the
other hand, just because something is considered acceptable behavior by a group of people,
that doesn’t make it legal either.

As stated earlier, some marketers go so far as to tout common marketing practices such as
inflating a resume in a proposal, getting inside information on a selection process, or buying a
potential client a round of golf in hopes of earning some extra points over the competition as
best practices. With these types of activities being proselytized throughout the industry, how
many marketers even stop to consider whether or not they are legal?

While it would be an oversight to write a paper on marketing ethics and not touch on the law, the
authors of this paper are not lawyers. If you are questioning the legality of your firm’s marketing
practices, you should consult an attorney. That said, we asked Judge Williams for his thoughts.
Williams told us: “There’s a lot of case law that relates to when things are illegal and when
things are not. The reality is that much of it is very fact specific and very context specific.
Sometimes it can be very subtle in terms of when a line is crossed and when it’s not. For
example as an attorney representing a client, I can say, ‘It is my opinion that X is the truth.’ But
I have to be careful when I say, ‘X is the truth,’ especially if I know that X is not the truth. Those
are fairly clear boundaries…”

So, how do professional services marketers minimize their firms’ risk of breaking the law? If the
firm is fortunate enough to have an attorney on staff, consulting with that person is an obvious
answer. However, oftentimes deadline-driven marketing activities simply do not allow for the
time or budget to get your firm’s attorney or outside counsel involved. So marketers need to
proceed with caution to avoid stepping across the boundary from unethical to illegal.


From Stretching the Truth to Fraud

Marketing proposals are frequently incorporated into the professional services contract. With
that knowledge, there are some pretty clear laws that could come into play in terms of stretching
the truth. For example, to practice architecture and engineering (and several other professional
services) in the United States, an individual is required to be licensed in the state in which the
professional services are to be delivered. Therefore, it could be considered unlawful to claim on
a resume (or to imply) that a team member is a licensed architect or engineer when she isn’t.
13
The same would apply to falsely claiming a firm is licensed to practice in a particular state.

It is conceivable that these examples, as well as falsely filling out personnel inventory forms or
affirmative action documents, claiming ADA compliance, or “adjusting” hourly pay rates to meet
billing ratios, might fall under the legal connotation of perpetrating a fraud—an intentional
deception for personal gain. If the fraud is serious enough, and you are caught, the punishment
could range from an immediate stop order on the project and loss of the contract, to the inability
to bid on future work for that client for a specified number of years.

Other consequences include cancellation of your license or registration to practice or conviction
of a felony depending on the seriousness and the state. All states maintain general criminal
statutes designed to punish fraud. For example, Arizona has a fraudulent scheme and artifice
statute that spells out that anyone who “knowingly obtains any benefit by means of false or
fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, or material omissions" is guilty of a felony
(Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-2310(A)).

What role, then, does the marketer play in policing this type of behavior? For example, if a
project manager asks a marketing coordinator to inflate his resume, is it the marketer’s
responsibility to challenge that behavior? Galati believes marketers do have a responsibility to
question and challenge these types of issues to the best of their ability.

“I think that it’s the marketer’s job to make sure that whatever gets put into peoples’ resumes is
as factual as they can determine.” He admits, however, that there are limits on the amount of
background research a marketer can do. “The gray areas are the tougher ones… if you
recognize that something’s not right or you don’t remember it that way, it’s important to get
another opinion on it,” said Galati.


Harding seems to agree, to an extent. When asked what a marketing coordinator should do if
asked to include old project descriptions in a proposal when the RFP asks for projects in the
past five years, he said, “I think everybody has to make their own decision there… It’s hard to
judge what someone else does in that kind of circumstance… I would be concerned that if it’s
for a government client, it might cause you legal problems… I think my bias would be to push
back.”
Figure 3: Oregon Law Places New Restrictions
on Exhibitors
From Gift Giving to Bribery
Subject: OMFOA Sponsorship/Exhibitor Guidelines
Even when giving gifts is ethical, as Importance: High
discussed earlier, it is not always legal. Thank you for your continued support to our
organization. As you are aware, with the passage of
Most states have laws prohibiting the Senate Bill 10, which went into effect January 1,
2008, the rules that govern what public officials can
giving and receiving of gifts if it influences
receive and interested parties can give have
an official action, but there is a wide significantly changed.

disparity in the details of such laws. (A To ensure that OMFOA adheres to the new rules, we
are asking that any raffle item that you are intending
quick internet search can provide links to
to “give away” be donated to OMFOA. OMFOA will
resources for laws relative to the states in then give away the items with names drawn from the
Exhibitor cards. Conference attendees will be given
which marketers work.) Certain state laws an Exhibitor card and will have to get signatures
are so stringent that even accepting a cup from the Exhibitors in order to be eligible for any
drawings. Please limit the cost of any item to be
of coffee or participating in a raffle at a given away to $50. Please do not have any corporate
tradeshow may be prohibited. logos on the items to be given away. Also, please
be aware that items that you give from a
vendor booth and receptions and dinners are
At the Oregon Municipal Finance Officer all subject to the new rules.
Association’s annual conference in 2008,
With regards to sponsorship of events at OMFOA
organizers asked exhibitors not to have Conferences you will continue to be recognized as a
sponsor at various times during the conference but
individual raffles at their booths. As a your sponsorship will not be tied to any
result of newly enacted state legislation, particular food, beverage, or entertainment.
For example, your company name will be displayed
exhibitors and sponsors were only at the luncheon if you have provided a certain level
allowed to contribute gifts to the OMFOA of sponsorship to OMFOA but there will be no
implication that you paid for lunch. The Board of
sponsored raffle game that did not display Directors will be discussing upcoming sponsorship
opportunities for future conferences and we are
corporate logos and that were valued at
confident that we will be able to provide different
less than $50. (See Figure 3, Oregon Law sponsorship opportunities that will meet everyone’s
goal.
Places New Restrictions on Exhibitors, for
the full text of the email that explains other We very much appreciate your continued support to
our organization. We just want to make sure that we
restrictions as well.) Marketers should be follow the new ethics rules.


aware of these types of restrictions in their state and at tradeshows they plan to attend.

In his article, Corporate Gifts to Public Officials, Brian Maas cautions that according to some
federal criminal laws, even when a gift falls within the legal limits, it can still be deemed a bribe
or illegal gratuity. “The federal courts have ruled that no quid pro quo is required to violate the
gratuities laws. If a gift is made ‘for or because of any official act’ —whether in the past or the
future—then the official who receives the benefit (and in many cases the entity making the gift)
14
could be subject to criminal prosecution.” In other words, you can get in as much trouble for
offering a gift as a client can for accepting one.

One reason for these restrictions is an effort by the government to keep a lid on bribery and
kickbacks. But what distinguishes a gift from a bribe? “When you start talking about things that
are gifts—trips, plane tickets, trinkets, meals—it becomes more complex and more subtle,” said
Williams. “But, you have to return to your core principles. If the gift is being offered to influence
decision making, then certainly the question should be asked, is it not only in compliance with
the standard moralities of ethics, but is it also in compliance with the corporate or government
gifting laws or policies, and is it something that is, in fact, going to influence someone
improperly? If the answers to those questions are yes—that it either violates those or is meant
to improperly influence—then your answer is clear.”

The indictment of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is one example where a public
servant was charged with using his position for personal gain to the detriment of his
constituents. He was indicted on federal corruption charges and solicitation of bribery for
conspiring to sell Barack Obama's vacated United States Senate seat to the highest bidder,
among other counts of racketeering and fraud

From Conflict of Interest to Collusion

The mere existence of a conflict of interest is neither unethical nor illegal. In general, any time
an individual or corporation is in a position to use its authority in some way for personal gain, it
could be considered a conflict of interest. Every time a dual relationship exists, the possibility of
a conflict of interest may also exist. As an example, our firm’s vice president sits on the Board of
Commissioners for a local water district. This could be construed as a conflict of interest if we
were to propose on work for that district. But it would only become a conflict, if he was also on
the selection committee or in a position to influence those making the ultimate decision. When a


conflict of interest exists, the simplest solution is for those involved to disclose the fact and
recuse themselves.

As with gift giving, Congress and many state legislatures have enacted statutes that define
conflicts of interest and specify sanctions for violations. At the very least, professionals, such as
engineers, architects, and medical providers, who are involved in a conflict of interest can be
subject to disciplinary proceedings before the appropriate committees of their respective
licensing bodies.

There are many federal government contracting cases posted on the Project on Government
Oversight (POGO) website that illustrate what happens when this boundary is crossed. One
example is the Harris Corporation case. In 1995, Harris Corporation agreed to forgo as much as
$1.6 million in federal payments to settle allegations that the company improperly obtained
information to win a communications system contract from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). The federal government alleged that in 1983 Harris employees got information
15
from a FEMA employee relating to the agency's criteria for evaluating bids.

Marketers may ask ‘Why is this illegal’? Isn’t it just an example of wiring a job? Yes and no.
Failure to disclose a conflict of interest raises the question as to whether a firm won the job
based on “insider information” or because it was the best choice to perform the work. Using a
personal relationship to win a contract may be viewed as a savvy marketing strategy by some,
but it is clear that the federal government doesn’t agree. And at the extreme, failure to disclose
the relationship may be construed as collusion. Collusion is defined as a secret agreement
between two or more parties for fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purposes.

Another case, which in the authors’ opinion might be construed as collusion, is the United
States of America v. Darleen A. Druyun, the Air Force’s former chief acquisition official. The
POGO posting states that Druyun was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for her part in
a conspiracy to assist Boeing in a tanker lease contract in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 208, which
deals with personal financial conflicts of interest. She was also fined $5,000 and ordered to
perform 150 hours of community service. Subsequently, Boeing entered into a global settlement
with the Department of Justice for $615 million to resolve this and other pending
investigations. 16


Instituting an Ethical Culture

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people
will find a way around the laws.” — Plato

At the core of every successful company is a culture of ethical behavior. Whether the firm’s
values are formalized and published as a set of written statements or whether they are simply
understood as the rules by which all employees operate, they provide a cohesive bond. Ethical
firms can be trusted, and ethical employees trust one another. Solomon puts it this way: “A
culture carries right at its heart a sense of mutual belonging and the sense that one’s own
interests lie, not contingently but necessarily, with the group. The more we dehumanize the
corporation and focus on financial rather than cultural interests, the more inefficient we will
be.” 17

Mandating Ethical Behavior

Yet both corporations and Congress alike persist in trying to get us to act ethically by legislating
or mandating that we do so. In 2002, Congress considered the corporate world today so
challenged when it comes to ethics that it enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in an attempt to
regain credibility for the marketplace that was destroyed by the Enron scandal and others like it.

In 2007, the Department of Justice created the National Procurement Fraud and Task Force
aimed at rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in contracting for federally funded projects. The
same year, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) revised long mandated ethical behavior
standards for federal contractors (FAR Part 9 (9.104-1(d)). According to Bell, Rosenberg &
Hughes “News in Brief,” October 2008, a section was added to the FAR which stipulates that all
contractors awarded federal contracts exceeding $5 million with a performance period of 120
days or more, must have a written code of business ethics and conduct in place within 30
days of the award.

Despite this legislation, the subprime mortgage fiasco and subsequent financial fallout one year
later (2008) support our hypothesis that legislating ethics isn’t going to curb unethical behaviors.


Corporate Codes of Ethics – Written or Implied?

A written code of ethics, whether by federal mandate or corporate choice, will not necessarily
make a difference. According to Huntsman: “Core values, reinforced by regular consultations
with one’s internal compass, are more critical to a company than defined regulations. If
determining whether behavior is ethical automatically requires searching the official rulebook, it
is an indication that we are vulnerable to missing danger signs. If we must check to see if our
18
activity is wrong, it probably is.”

Without a collective understanding of the firm’s value system, an underlying culture of ethical
behavior cannot exist even when a written code is published. In fact, those bent on unethical
conduct will quickly surmise how to use “The Code” to justify unethical behaviors not specifically
spelled out. Similarly, if a code is published simply because of a corporate board’s insistence
that the firm do so to impress clients or in response to the latest fad, it will not change employee
behavior or create an ethical culture.

Instead, it is the process or act of developing a code of ethics, rather than the end product that
may be what enables a firm to recognize and root out unethical behaviors as well as those
employees who practice such behaviors. This process usually takes several months and comes
with its fair share of squabbling. But amazingly, Solomon, who has facilitated a number of such
studies, has found that in the end, they all come out pretty much the same.

• A prominent dedication to the customers;
• A cooperative conception of the community;
• An affirmation of respect for the individuals;
• An emphasis on teamwork;
• Some reference to innovation, initiative, or entrepreneurship; and
• Insistence on integrity (of course). 19

Other values hotly debated in ethics codes, according to Solomon, include a return to
stockholders and whether it should be reasonable, maximum, or fair and being the best versus
humbly “striving for excellence.” The sample ethics codes included in the appendix to this paper
include these criteria and more.

With or without a formal code, at the very heart of every successful firm’s culture are the
employees who have the courage to follow the moral compass in the face of marketplace


pressures. According to Huntsman, “Regardless of who is holding the compass, or how they are
holding it, or what time of day it happens to be, north is always north and south is always south.
20
Following one’s moral compass is not for the faint of heart or the cold of feet.”

Conclusion – Doing the Right Thing

America’s ideas of business ethics continue to be rocked by scandals from the savings and loan
crises to the Enron/WorldCom fiascos to the AIG bailout. And Wall Street continues to run
amok. Does ethical behavior really make a difference in an unethical nation? We think so.

We close with a tale of two companies: Arthur Andersen and Huntsman Chemical.

Arthur Andersen’s success was in a large part due to its incredible code of ethics instilled in all
employees by its founder and namesake. In 2001, Arthur Andersen boasted 350 local offices in
84 countries and employed 85,000 people. Under the leadership of its namesake and his
immediate successors, Arthur Andersen enjoyed a reputation for honesty and trustworthiness
within the accounting profession. But the 89-year-old company’s demise, as chronicled by
Barbara Toffler in her book “Final Accounting,” was largely due to straying from those very same
ethical standards as well as by being tainted by the “company” the firm kept (Enron).

Jon Huntsman was also the namesake of his company, Huntsman Chemical. He grew its
annual revenue to more than $12 billion by consistently making ethical choices. Before going
public in 2000, Huntsman Chemical was one of the largest privately held chemical companies
and one of America’s biggest family-owned and operated businesses. He did it honestly and,
unlike Arthur Andersen (the company, not its namesake), Huntsman stayed the course.

Just one of the examples of putting ethics before profits that Huntsman shares in his book
Winner’s Never Cheat is his story of a joint venture with Mitsubishi in Thailand known as HMT.
With $30 million invested in HMT, Huntsman met with the country’s minister of finance who
showed him 19 new Cadillacs explaining that they were “gifts” from foreign companies.
Huntsman responded that he did not engage in that sort of thing. Shortly thereafter, he received
a call from the Mitsubishi executive, who was responsible for Thailand operations, asking for
Huntsman Chemical’s share of HMT’s various government official kick backs, amounting to an
annual obligation of $250,000.


“Without my knowledge Mitsubishi had been paying these ‘fees’ on our behalf. We sold our
interest in HMT to Mitsubishi for a loss of $3 million,” writes Huntsman. “But it was a blessing in
disguise when several years later the entire industry tanked due to the Asian economic crises.
Ethical decisions can be cumbersome and unprofitable in the near term, but after our refusal to
pay ‘fees’ in Thailand became known, we never had a problem over bribes again in that part of
21
the world.”

The authors doff their hats to Huntsman, who believes, as we do: “You do not act ethically to
succeed, you do so because it the right thing to do.”

Endnotes
1
Carr, Albert Z., Harvard Business Review, “Is Business Bluffing Ethical,” January-February 1968.
2
Godin, Seth, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (New
York: Portfolio, A member Penguin Group, 2005), p. 101.
3
Solomon, Robert C., A Better Way to Think About Business: How Personal Integrity Leads to Corporate
Success (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) p. 21.
4
Johnson, W. Brad and Ridley, Charles R., The Elements of Ethics for Professionals (New York:
Palgrave MacMillan: a division of St. Martin’s Press, 2008), p.11.
5
Nixon: The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the presidency of Richard Nixon that
ultimately led to his resignation on August 9, 1974. The scandal began with the arrest of five men for
breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office
complex in Washington, D.C. The press reported that the immense scope of crimes and abuses included
campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal
wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted
these operations. Tape recordings revealed that Nixon had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up
the break-in. Milken: Michael Robert Milken is a prominent American financier and philanthropist who
almost singlehandedly created the market for high-yield bonds (also called junk bonds) during the 1970s
and 1980s. After he was sent to prison on finance-related charges, his detractors cited him as the
epitome of Wall Street greed during the 1980s, and nicknamed him the Junk Bond King. Ironically,
admirers, like George Gilder in his book, Telecosm, note that "Milken was a key source of the
organizational changes that have impelled economic growth over the last twenty years. Most striking was
the productivity surge in capital, as Milken … and others took the vast sums trapped in old-line
businesses and put them back into the markets." Madoff: Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is an
American businessman and former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who was
convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme that has been called the largest investor fraud ever committed by
a single person. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff - cite_note-MadoffAllocution-1) On March 12, 2009,
Madoff pled guilty to an 11-count criminal complaint and admitted to defrauding thousands of investors.
Federal prosecutors estimated client losses, which included fabricated gains, of almost $65 billion.
Source: Wikipedia
6
Harding, Ford, Creating Rainmakers, (Avon Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation, 1998) p. 174.


7
Carr, “Is Business Bluffing Ethical?” p. 3.
8
Johnson and Ridley, The Elements of Ethics for Professionals, p. 13.
9
Johnson and Ridley, The Elements of Ethics for Professionals, pp. 89-90.
10
Kansas State University, News, U.S. Newswire, Washington, November 26, 2008, K-State Business
Ethics Expert Discusses How to Give Holiday Gifts Ethically, Fairly at the Office.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS156126+26-Nov-2008+PRN20081126
11
Huntsman, Jon, Winners Never Cheat, p. 116-117.
12
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Pub.L. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, enacted July 30, 2002), also known
as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called
Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law enacted in response to a number of major
corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia,
Peregrine Systems, and WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the
share prices of the affected companies collapsed, shook public confidence in the nation's securities
markets. Named after sponsors Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-
OH), the Act was approved by the House by a vote of 334-90 and by the Senate 99-0. Source: Wikipedia
13
Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual, Chapter 2 - Part B - Basic Economic Offenses, Section 1:
Theft, Embezzlement, Receipt of Stolen Property, Property Destruction, and Offenses Involving Fraud or
Deceit. Source: http://www.ussc.gov/guidelin.htm
14
Maas, Brian W., “Corporate Gifts to Public Officials,” Copyright 1998 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
LLP. Source: Findlaw for Legal Professionals, http://library.findlaw.com/1998/Jul/1/128655.html
15
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) Federal Contractor Misconduct Database, Source:
http://www.contractormisconduct.org

16
Ibid Project on Government Oversight.
17
Solomon, A Better Way to Think About Business: How Personal Integrity Leads to Corporate Success,
p. 50.
18
Huntsman, Winners Never Cheat, pp. 96-98.
19
Solomon, A Better Way to Think About Business, p. 53.
20
Huntsman, Winners Never Cheat, p. 18.
21
Huntsman, Winners Never Cheat, p. 36.


Bibliography of Works Cited

BOOKS

The Elements of Ethics for Professionals by W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley;
Palgrave MacMillan, 2008, New York, 210 pages.
This book is patterned after Strunk and White’s classic reference tool The Elements of
Style. The authors have condensed a wealth of published material on professional ethics
and reorganized it as an easy-to-use reference tool. According to the book jacket, it
contains seventy-five of the most important and pithy truths about ethics for
professionals in all fields, such as integrity, loyalty, justice, respect, and delivering one’s
best in the business environment. Each chapter starts with a story followed by
discussion and ends with a synopsis of the key components.

A Better Way to Think About Business: How Personal Integrity Leads to Corporate
Success by Robert C. Solomon; Oxford University Press, 1999.
Robert Solomon’s goal is to provide a one-of-a-kind business manual to show you how
to be ethical without sacrificing profit. He believes that most executives do want to take
the ethical high road, but fail when they try to reconcile their ethics with their bottom
lines. Solomon ascribes to the Aristotelian approach to ethics—a corporation is
embedded in the community and that corporate values are meaningless unless they are
transformed into action. In fact, according to Solomon, deficient values actually destroy
businesses. The book also debunks the pervasive myths that encourage unethical
business practices. An interesting feature of the book is Solomon’s catalog of business
virtues which may prove to be of value for firms in the process of developing code of
ethics.

Winners Never Cheat: Everyday Values We Learned as Children (But May Have
Forgotten) by Jon M. Huntsman; Wharton School of Publishing, 2005.
Don’t believe that it is possible to run your business ethically and make a profit? Read
Jon Huntsman’s book. Huntsman doesn’t just explain the theory of professional ethics,
he shows you how to put it into practice. This is a true story of how Huntsman applied
his ethical beliefs to his business decisions on a daily basis.


All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World by
Seth Godin; New York: Portfolio, A member Penguin Group, 2005.
According to Seth Godin, all marketers tell stories, and if they do it right, people believe
them. In fact, Seth ascribes to the belief that people buy the story, not the products: “We
believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better—and look—cooler than $20 no-
names... and believing it makes it true.” The main focus of this book is on how to
develop a marketing pitch for consumer products. But in “Chapter 8: Important Aside:
Fibs and Frauds” Godin touches upon “stretching the truth dilemmas.” He writes that
“fibs are true” and frauds are inauthentic. We disagree. Just because you can get
someone to buy your storyline does not make it the truth.

Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed, and the Fall of Arthur Andersen by Barbara Ley Toffler;
Broadway Books, New York, 2003.
In her tell-all tale of the downfall of Arthur Andersen, Inc., Barbara Toffler takes readers
on a journey from the firm’s beginnings to its ultimate demise. She carefully lays out how
straying from the ethical behaviors drilled into what were referred to in the early days as
“Andersen Androids” led to the eventual demise of the firm. According to Toffler, while
we contributed the downfall to the Enron scandal, the real culprit was the change in the
culture that led up to the scandal.

Other books reviewed for this paper:

You Want Me To Do What? When, Where and How to Draw the Line at Work, Nan DeMars,
(A Fireside Book: Simon and Schuster, 1998, New York).

Lying Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, Sissela Bok, (Vintage Books: Random House,
Inc., 1999, New York).

Creating Rainmakers: The Manager’s Guide to Training Professionals to Attract New
Clients, Ford Harding, (Adams Media Corporation, 1998, Avon, Massachusetts).


The ABCs of Building a Business Team that Wins, Blair Singer, (Warner Business Books,
2004, New York).

My First Book of Business Ethics, Alan Axelrod, (An Executive Board Book, Quirk Books,
Philadelphia, 2004).

ARTICLES

The following articles, though published years ago, are classics. They are must reads for
anyone exploring the subject of professional ethics practice.

Laura Nash, Harvard Business Review, “Ethics Without the Sermon,” November-December
1981.

Albert Carr, Harvard Business Review, “Is Business Bluffing Ethical,” 1964.


Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge and share credit with our primary sources: Matt Williams, JD; Craig
Galati, AIA; Ford Harding, CMC; and Brian Dyer for taking the time to be interviewed and to
review the draft of this white paper. Their stories from the trenches lend not only credibility but
flavor to the final product. We also thank the SMPS Foundation and our coaches, Jane Caffey,
CPSM, and Nancy Usrey, FSMPS/CPSM for providing us with the opportunity to share our
findings with the SMPS community and beyond.

Authors’ Biographies

Taree Bollinger, CPSM and Pamela Heeke, CPSM currently work in the professional services
industry as marketers. They are employed by FCS GROUP, which serves a niche market within
the A/E/C industry. As director of administration and marketing and finance officer, Taree
oversees and directs the firm’s business practices which include marketing, financial operations,
accounting, human resources, systems administration, and facilities management activities.
Pam is the firm’s marketing manager.

Pam has been a professional services marketer since 1996, holding positions with architecture,
engineering, construction, and financial and management consulting firms. She has been an
active member of SMPS since 1997, chairing various committees and serving on the board of
both the Indiana and Seattle chapters. She is a past president of the Seattle chapter and
currently serves on the SMPS National Striving for Excellence Task Force.

Taree has been a professional services marketer for 14 years. She is an active member of
SMPS, where she has served on the Seattle chapter’s Regional Conference Committee and
chaired the 2007 Salary Review Committee. She is the author of the 2008 SMPS Foundation
white paper “A Seat at the Boardroom Table.” She is also a member of the Society of Human
Resource Management (SHRM).

Both authors received their CPSM certifications in 2005 and have a long history of publishing
articles and books. Contact them: Taree Bollinger, CPSM — tareeb@fcsgroup.com;
Pamela Heeke, CPSM — pamh@fcsgroup.com


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