Ethics

A Brief Introduction of the Article
The author of this article explores leadership in organizations, ethical issues and challenges experienced when marketing fair and ethical trade. Organizations restructure their systems of operations to fit ethical requirements. There are two issues discussed in this article, first, ethics in purchasing procedures adopted by public and non-profit organizations should be observed when delivering products to the customers. Secondly, non-profit organizations carry out the mission of merging conservation education and strategies of marketing their products. The article also analyses leadership aspects in organizations when implementing ethical and fair trade (Davenport  Low, 2009).

A statement of the Problem
Consumers are not only concerned about getting goods and services from market but also consider ethical issues about production and marketing systems used to get the final product. Buying decisions relate to all aspects about a product and consumers in developed and developing countries are cautious about ethical standards followed in the production of commodities. Leadership is required of the organizational managers to promote strategies which lead to achievement of ethics in production and marketing of commodities in public and non-profit organizations. Unethical leadership practices have resulted into boycotts as people seek fair treatment from corporate leaders (Davenport  Low, 2005).

A Description of Procedures
Two marketing strategies have been used when evaluating marketing systems of no-sweat products anti-marketing ethics and de-marketing ethics. Fair trade movement had a schedule of 15 years to study ethical aspects in branded food products sold in supermarkets. The aim of the research was to encourage firms producing, manufacturing and distributing products to adhere to ethical standards. Ethical issues about human resources management, production, distribution and marketing of products were assessed out of the sampled firms (Davenport  Low, 2009).

Flaws in the Procedural Design
Researchers in this article use an individualistic approach when assessing ethical issues about marketing fair trade. The design relies on a single strategy at a time rather than using a collective approach. Transformative change cannot be achieved by a single but a number of strategies need be adopted. The duration used to carry out the survey was too long since significant changes could have been experienced within the 15 years duration (Davenport  Low, 2009).

Analysis of the data
    Samples of companies in different industries were collected to identify ethical issues being conducted by these organizations. The processes of production, distribution and marketing were surveyed to identify ethical issues about various systems. Factors such as human resources management and methods of obtaining materials as well as promotional strategies were evaluated. Consumers in developed countries require all manufacturers of products adhere to ethics about processing of products offered in the global markets. This has made all manufacturers of export commodities maintain high standards in the production process (Davenport  Low, 2009).

Limited and Justifiable Conclusions
Firms adhering to ethical standards make more sales and are able to survive in the market for a longer duration than those practicing unethical behaviors. Unethical human resources management causes boycotts and this affects the productivity of an organization. Production, distribution and distribution processes should be carried out ethically to ensure the welfare of consumers is maintained. Organizations such as Starbucks have decided to adhere to ethical standards to increase sales made in the retail stores of the company. Products of the company are sourced from fair trade sources. A shorter duration of surveying ethical aspects of trade fair products should be used in case of a future study (Davenport  Low, 2009).