Ethical Considerations On Network Marketers’ Unethical Decisions

When a Network Marketer makes unethical choices, they do so for one of three reasons:

1. Unfortunately the Typical Network Marketer Does What’s Most Convenient An ethical dilemma can be defined as an undesirable or unpleasant choice relating to a moral principle or practice. As human beings, we seem prone to failing personal ethics tests. Why do we do something even when we know it’s wrong? Do we cheat because we think we won’t get caught? Do we give ourselves permission to cut corners because we rationalize that it’s just one more time? Is this our way of dealing with pressure?
2. Network Marketers Will Do What They Feel They Must to Seek Victory I think most people are like me: I hate losing. Business people in particular desire to win through achievement and success. But many think they have to choose between being ethical and winning. Many people believe that embracing ethics would limit their options, their opportunities, and their very ability to succeed in business. It’s the old suspicion that good guys finish last. If I believe that I have only two choices – to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it’s unethical or to have ethics and lose – I’m faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be dishonest, but nobody wants to lose.
3. A Network Marketer Will Rationalize their Choices with Relativism Many people choose to deal with such no-win situations by deciding what’s right in the moment, according to their circumstances.

According to Dr. Joseph Fletcher in his book, Situation Ethics, “right is determined by the situation, and love can justify anything – lying, cheating, and stealing … even murder. This philosophy spread rapidly throughout the theological and educational worlds … Since the 1960s, situation ethics has become the norm for social behavior. After spreading so rapidly through the world’s education, religion, and government, it has penetrated a new area – the business world. The result is our ethical situation today.

The industry of network marketing unfortunately has not been spared the spread of “situation ethics.”

The result is ethical chaos. Everyone has his own standards, which change from situation to situation.

It is interesting to note that though our decisions at one time were based on ethics, now our ethics are based on our decisions. If it’s good for me, then it’s good. Where is this trend likely to end?

Let’s take a look at what would happen if we applied this trend to network marketing:

1. What if a Network Marketer didn’t always do what was most convenient? What if we decided, as network marketers, to just handle every situation based on what was convenient to us? Not over a short period of time, but over a long period of time. What do you think would happen to our relationships with our downline, as well as our upline? Total disaster.
2. What if a Network Marketer didn’t feel that they must do whatever to seek victory? As network marketers, our entire business relies on the relationships we have with the people within our business. As business owners, if we try to “win” each and every transaction or interaction with the people in our business, over time those relationships will die off. The only way to ensure that both your business and your relationships with the people in your business grow is to seek a win-win scenario for each transaction and/or interaction.
3. What if a Network Marketer didn’t choose to deal with a no-win situation by deciding what was right in the moment, or according to their circumstances? What if they had a system to guide them? As a network marketer, or even a human being for that matter, waiting until the last moment to decide how to handle a situation without a proper moral compass will end in disaster sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, there is an increasing desire for ethical dealing in business, and as far as I can see, this desire reaches the very summit of the network marketing industry.

My next article entitled “Is the Global Market Altering it’s Ethical Behavior?” will examine this position.

See you on the Beaches of the World,

Kevin McNabb

Kevin McNabb is the author of The Responsible Network Marketer Series. Chief Executive Officer of Toronto-based. He is a network marketer, author, freelance writer, and offers seminars, and Internet training programs on personal development for the network marketing industry. For more information on the topic of this article, please see at Here

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