Final Experiential Activity
Marketing Dilemmas
Marketing Ethical Dilemma One
I decided I wanted to do something different for the summer. I had applied at two
different places up in Alaska to work at. I had got both jobs, but decided on one because there
would be more people my age working there. I didn’t know much about the company and didn’t
know anyone else up there, but I decided to go anyway. The company I went up to work for was
in the tourism business. It was a dry-land sled dog touring company that had been in operation
for many of years. They were very popular in the sport, had many miles in the sport, and also
were very well-known for their tour. I decide that they were creditable and could offer me a
good summer job. I flew up there by myself and the manager met me at the airport. The first
couple of days I went through some training and learned everything that I needed to know about
the operation. I worked in the gift shop for three days out of the week and the other days I was
outside working with the dogs in the dog lot.
I didn’t have any problems working outside with the dogs. We didn’t have to talk to the
tourists much and we got to interact with the dogs. The tour guide was the one who did most of
the talking, while the handlers (me) rode along and helped if anything went wrong. The tour
guides job was to provide the guests with an entertaining and educational tour.
I guess the place I did have a problem was when I was in the gift shop. As an employee
working in the gift shop, it was our responsibility to go around town and fill up all the brochure
holders and also to sell/advertise the ride to the tourists in town. We advertised for a two mile
ride and an hour and half long tour, but really the ride was maybe a mile long and the length of
the tour depended on if we were running on time or not for that day. It was hard for me to lie to
people when they asked how long the ride was and how long they were on the ride, because I
knew it was a lot shorter than what people expected. The company deceived the tourists by
stopping half-way and letting them get off the cart and take pictures. The dogs didn’t need the
break but the tours stopped to “waste/fill” time. Another thing that I felt uneasy about was they
had us bring five week old puppies with to town to attract tourists so we could tell them about
our tour. (Note: Puppies are usually six to eight weeks old before they leave their mom.) We
were in town anywhere from a half hour to a couple of hours advertising our tour. There were
about seven of us girls who were sent to town to promote our tours and were told to do these
things. All the tourists that we came in contact with were influenced or affected by our actions.
What should I do at this point?
Marketing Ethics Dilemma Two
My second situation also happened while I was working up in Alaska for a second
summer. The company I worked for the second time I was up in Alaska was another dry-land
sled dog touring company. Most of the tours we gave were sold by the cruise ship lines that
came to port. This company was a little different. I did know someone who worked there and
was a manager at a different location. She was a reliable and trustworthy source of knowledge
about the company. She was the one who helped get me a job with the company. This company
had been in operation for over six years and had contracts with the cruise ship lines. They had
expanded to a new location just the year, and now had two locations. The manager I knew was
the manager at the secondary location, which was completely different than the location I
worked at. The primary location had over 300 dogs on site and over eight tour guides.
Over the years, those in the marketing department started to exaggerate to the
representatives who sold the tours to the guests on the ship. All the tourists were told that the
tour guides were all mushers who had completed the Iditarod. (The Iditarod is a world famous
sled dog race across the state of Alaska; more people have climbed Mount Everest than the
number of people who have completed the Iditarod.) The problem was the summer I was up
there, was that only two of the eight tour guides had actually completed the Iditarod. One tour
guide was from California and had no racing experience at all. He had worked there the summer
before and was promoted to tour guide. Another tour guide was from Montana who had worked
at a kennel for a season, but had no racing experience either. Another tour guide was from Iowa
who had worked for the company previously. He had taken a couple of summers off doing
something else but he came back because of the money was good. He also had no racing
experience. Some days, people would fill in as tour guides if they were needed. In one
particular case, the guy did not even know that mushing existed until he got there that summer.
He had no dog handling experience and also no racing experience. The company was falsely
advertising the tour guides that were at the location.
What should I do at this point?
What Actually Happened
A. In the first situation, I couldn’t do much. All the brochures that people had said an hour and a
half ride. If they asked how long the ride was, I would tell them a range like: 30-45min. And
also if they asked the distance I would give them a range of a mile to two miles. I did ask the
owner of the company why they advertised for a two mile ride when that wasn’t true. He said
that when they first started it was two miles but they have shortened it since then, but didn’t
change the brochure much besides the prices and the pictures. The owner had no problem
deceiving people because all he was concerned about was getting people on the ride, which in
return meant money in his pocket. About the puppy situation, I still brought puppies into town
with me when I went to advertise. I was more conscious about the time the puppies were away
from their mom when I took them. If they were really young, then I just decided not to take
them with me. Sure I may not have attracted many people without the puppy, but I felt a lot
better if they were really young. I was more concerned about the puppy’s health and well-being
when I decided if I should bring them or not.
B. In the second situation, I did tell the tourists the truth if they asked. I did point out to them
which tour guides actually have completed the Iditarod and also the dogs that had completed the
Iditarod. Some tour guides said their dogs were in the Iditarod when really they weren’t. I felt
good about telling the truth to the guests because they were given false information from the
representative on the cruise ship. The company use to have a lot more experienced mushers that
completed the Iditarod, but as the years have gone on, not many have come back. The company
didn’t change anything in the way they advertised the tour or the tour guides.
Summary
Even in summer jobs there are ethical dilemmas. We can decide to do what is right;
which may mean going against the company or we may just carry on doing our jobs. I learned
that a lot of people in the business world are more concerned about the profits rather than doing
the ethical thing. I also learned that people can deceive in even the littlest details when they
advertise to consumers. I hope that in the future I will continue to grow as a person and make
ethical decisions as I am faced with challenges in the business world. I learned that I need to be
aware of the challenges that I will face and be prepared to react in an ethical way. I learned that
people are deceiving when they want your money. We will all be faced with ethical dilemmas;
the difference will be in the way we react to them.