Was not the purpose of this thread to discuss the need for disclosure?
If you stand to benefit from providing advice the only ethical thing to disclose that fact to your audience.
Does a salesperson / rep who clearly represents a given brand have an obligation to "disclose" anything to anybody? Not if they are dealing directly with the person who signs the checks for any purchases, for example when they are dealing with a dive shop *owner* There is *nothing* left to disclose about the relationship.
Does this same sales person need to disclose to the dive shop owner if they are offering some sort of bonus to the sales staff for pushing their brand? Of course they do, otherwise they are trying to corrupt the staff, by creating a conflict of interest. The honest reps will be entirely open about such arraignments.
I've had a store owner suggest to me that I needed to offer his staff "spiffs" for my goods to compete with other brands that did provide such "spiffs"
Of course this same owner also told me that *His* money was in the pockets of the people that walked into his store and it was his job to get all of it before they left. Needless to say I offered no “spiffs” and terminated him as a dealer. I want my customer to buy my goods because they have made an informed decision that they are fit for their purpose and are a reasonable value, not as the result of aggressive sales efforts. Could I sell more if I er, ah well, elected to use a different marketing model? Maybe, but anybody that’s selling into the technical, or technical inspired scuba space is kidding themselves if they think it’s a path to early retirement.
Is it wrong for a salesperson to buy the store owner a meal? Of course not; it could be a very good technique to get some time free of distractions to discuss business.
Would it be wrong for the same salesman to buy the store staff a meal without the owner’s knowledge? Of course; the ethical salesman would ask permission of the owner to do so. What store owner would refuse such a request from an honest rep?
The idea that capitalism requires or excuses unethical behavior is sad IMO. Naïve maybe, but it is still sad. We should all aspire to raise standards not excuse those who lower them.
That such practices have become the common, i.e. vulgar, does not make them right. The degree does not make them ethical either. “Well it was just a few dollars, or just a few discounts, or a store credit, or just one dinner” All are just excuses.
The reality is people generally know right from wrong, they just want to rationalize bending the rules (or pretending there are no rules) when it suits them.
Tobin
