Blog Post 3

What's Your Mission

Statement of Ethics

AMA provides a detailed Statement of Ethics that they claim to follow and refer to in every business decision.  It is important to have a clear and concise Statement of Ethics so employees of AMA know what their social responsibilities are as a member of the organization. Consumers are responsible for using and supporting businesses with strong ethical values. Consumers should try inform themselves on the companies they use and support to make sure that the organization has principles that do not harm the environment, take advantage of the vulnerable and the organization is proud of the product or service they are promoting.

Honesty and Responsibility

An honest and responsible company will keep their customers even if the service or product fails. AMA defines honesty as “Honesty – to be forthright in dealings with customers and stakeholders.”[1] An honest company will keep their customers coming back because organizations will stand by their products even if they fail and then take responsibility for them. Responsibility does not stop at customer satisfaction for AMA. Responsibility must do with the responsibility to their stakeholders, environment, and vulnerable target markets are listed as responsibilities for the organization. The environment is a topic many people look over because usually they are not directly affected by the misuse of the environment by corporations and organizations. The Australian e-waste is becoming a largely overlooked problem because it is not happening on our front door, but it is the companies responsibility to stop wrongly advertising their clean way of disposing of e-waste and our responsibility as consumers to stop supporting and using organizations who are not truthful to their ethical principles.

Transparency

AMA defines transparency as “to create a spirit of openness in marketing operations.”1 Organizations should all have this for one of their ethical values. Organizations should be proud to let customers, potential customers and stakeholders look into their operations and see how they work. Corporations should not try to hide any part of their procedures, if a corporation is reserved, closed off to the outside world the company may be conducting their business unethically. Transparency allows the customer to make a more informed decision about what they are putting their money into. Transparency allows customers to have the full view of the company and allows them to make more informed decisions and this can have a lot to do with their purchasing decisions. The example of e-waste, one might use the company but not know the repercussions of their decision to use this company. After learning about the seemingly non-existent ethical decisions made by the company a consumer will be willing to pay more and use a company that disposes of e-waste safely and ethically.

Implementation

Implementing these values into day-to-day and long-term business decisions are what separates the ethical business from the non-ethical. A company can list all these things and market to their consumers and stakeholders that they are a honest and worthy company for their business but if the values are not followed then they are misleading. Marketing to the community is only half the battle. A company’s success is built on credibility, and once the credibility is lost it is hard to gain the consumers trust and respect back. The example of the Toyota recall, after they called the recall they lost many of their current customers and even more potential customers. It has taken years for them to rebuild the company name and reputation. Other companies, if they are not loyal, trustworthy and creditable can lose a large portion of their market.

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[1] American Marketing Association. “About AMA – Statement of Ethics.” Accessed

September 24, 2014. https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement-of-Ethics.aspx

Blog Post 2

American Marketing Association: Marketing to Marketers

What is AMA?

AMA stands for the American Marketing Association. They strive to keep up with the ever-changing marketing ideas in order to provide the most up to date, resourceful organization. AMA does not only provide the necessary and useful tools that help foster new revolutions in the marketing world but also provide connections and job opportunities. Essentially, this is the online marketing headquarters that is available for anyone who wishes to use this resource.

Mission Statement

AMA’s mission statement is, “The American Marketing Association is a professional association for individuals and organizations leading the practice, teaching and development of marketing knowledge worldwide. Our principle role is to serve as a forum to connect like-minded individuals and foster knowledge sharing, provide resources, tools and training and support marketing practice and thought leadership around the globe.”[1] AMA’s mission statement is strong, it states their purpose, it is concise and brief and it acknowledges the company stakeholders who are the ‘individuals and organizations leading the practice, teaching and development of marketing knowledge worldwide.’ Even though they state their name in their mission statement, the company would be recognized due to their prestige and reputation.

Vision Statement

Though it is not explicitly stated, in their About AMA section, they write, “The AMA is constantly innovating and evolving, helping to shape the field as well as keep abreast of the changing global marketplace to help our members excel in their careers.”1 This could be viewed as a sort of vision statement. They want to continue to adapt and innovate their resources, products and assets to continue to serve their customers and stakeholders with the leading, cutting-edge services. Having a vision statement is important to show customers and potential customers where they are going and how they are going to get there. Vision statements are especially important for potential customers who plan on making a long term investment into a corporation.

Marketingpower.com > AMA.com

American Marketing Association deciding to change their domain to marketingpower.com because it in and of itself is a marketing decision. It helps them stand out from other organizations that may have similar names. I went to the trusty Google.com and I googled “AMA” and I got over thirty-two million results. American Marketing Association was not listed after four other organizations in the results. Some of the other listed organizations that came up when I searched were; amazon.com, American Management Association, American Medical Association, American Motorcyclist Association and the Academy of Model Aeronautics. American Marketing Association when searching for “AMA” does not stand out, it can be easily skipped over because we, Americans in particular are lazy beings. However, if you google “Marketing Power” the American Marketing Association is the first website listed on the results page. This distinguishes them from other companies and it broadcasts that they are a strong company. This is a marketing technique to separate themselves from other companies and organizations, which have the same acronym. People who are going onto American Marketing Associations website have an obvious partiality and liking for marketing (their target market) and therefore they will pick up on this cunningly placed marketing technique. 

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[1]American Marketing Association. “About AMA.” Accessed September 24, 2014.

https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/About.aspx?clicksrc=footer

Blog Post 1

Sophomore Goals

Academic Goals

This semester my academic goal is to submerge myself more into my education. The biggest mistake I made my first year at Saint Michael’s College was doing my work just to get a grade and to get it done. I was content with receiving a lower grade than I knew I was capable of obtaining. I did not get as much out of my classes as I should have because I was not concerned with my grades but more concerned with submitting a mediocre assignment on time. This was also largely attributed to procrastinating my work to the night before it was due. My academic goal for this semester and every semester preceding this one is to immerse myself more into my studies so then I can receive better grades and be able to walk away with lasting lessons and knowledge of the topic of studying. My other academic goal for this semester is manage my time better because then I will have more of an opportunity to accomplish my goal of getting more out of my classes. I have to remember that being in college is a privilege, not a right and I need to take my academic more seriously.

Personal Goals

 A personal goal of mine this semester is to also commit myself more to being in the best shape I can for not only myself, but also for my team. Being on a team at the collegiate level is a time consuming but also one of the most rewarding experiences I have gone through. This summer I committed a lot of my time to improving on my skills for myself and my team and I know that all of my teammates have done the same because we share the common goal of succeeding and being one of the top teams in our league. Working hard in the off-season is just as crucial as it is to work hard in season. I learned that from the returning players who have been my mentors. I want to go into the season being as fit and focused as I can while still balancing my schoolwork.

Professional Goals

This semester my professional goal is to improve my grades so I can then apply for an internship this summer. Internships are competitive and good grades are essential to be able to get the opportunity to have an internship over this summer. Internships are indispensible and the learning experience I will receive from interning opportunity will be a hand on experience that cannot be compared with what can be taught in a textbook. Interning would allow me see how the internals of a business are completed on a day-to-day basis. It would also allow me to hopefully narrow where I would fit in a business, whether it is finance, marketing, management or some other concentration of business. Classes, such as this one, will prepare me to confront problems that arise in the real business world. I currently am employed at restaurant around school and I hope to gain important teachings such as teamwork, communication skills and confronting complications. These skills will later help me in the business world as well as other aspects of my life.