The Influence of Consumer Motivation and the Importance of Ethics in the Workplace

Consumer Motivation

Consumer motivation refers to the desire to satisfy one’s psychological and physiological needs and wants. Consumers satisfy these wants and needs by the use of purchased goods and services. Consumer motivation is easily defined as the push to have needs satisfied. It begins with a specific need, like hunger. The drive to reduce the need is then felt (we begin considering food options). The need felt becomes a desire (craving for chicken). We then reach the goal (or achieve value) by looking for a place to satisfy our need, such as going to purchase chicken at a KFC restaurant. There are two different orientations driven by consumer motivation:

• Homeostasis: which is the process of the human body reacting to maintain normal functionality, such as the need to eat.
• Self-improvement: which is the need or desire to improve one’s current state to a better level, such as the desire to buy a better car.

These two orientations are what push me, as a consumer, to purchase certain goods and services in everyday life.

Ethics in the Workplace

Ethics refer to the moral principles and beliefs that control the actions of an individual or an organization. Ethics in the workplace play vital roles in the success of a business, through the following ways:

1. Creating a conducive workplace: an organization which does not tolerate behavior such as employee harassment or discrimination generally ensures that employees enjoy working at the organization, and in this way, the firm enjoys reduced turnover and increased productivity.
2. Abiding by the law: when employees go against the law, they carry out their functions unethically. A company that insists on ethics ensures that its operations remain within the law, and avoids problems such as the sale of defective goods.
3. Creation of a good public image: engaging in unethical activities, or tolerating them, may injure the image of a firm. For instance, complains of sexual harassment at a company result in a bad reputation and losses incurred from lawsuits and fines.

Without ethics in the business world, employees would be misused, consumers would get poor quality goods and services, and businesses would have a very difficult job controlling its employees’ behavior. Ethics serve to ensure smooth operations in a business and protect employees from bad treatment.