GECCIS QUESTION

Innovation and Ethics related to marketing

Innovation in marketing is the implementation of a new marketing method involving significant changes

in product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing. Innovation simply can
be defined as the creation of products from new distinct ideas which have never been produced in a
specific market before. From the HR perspective, innovation can be defined as implementation of new
ideas, thoughts, methods and technologies to better meet the ever-evolving requirements of an
organization and its workforce. Ethics in terms of marketing are simply the societal norms and cultural
values of a particular target market segment which needs to be addressed and respected. Practicing
ethics in marketing means deliberately applying standards of fairness, or moral rights and wrongs, to
marketing decision making, behavior, and practice in the organization. Ethics in HR are the role of
conduct and fair play a business protrudes unto its labor with the intention of treating its both skilled
and unskilled labor justly and morally.

Nokia Corporation, more commonly known as Nokia, is a Finnish multinational telecommunications,

information technology, and consumer electronics company, founded in 1865 with its headquarters in
Espoo, in the greater Helsinki metropolitan area. In 2018, Nokia employed approximately 103,000
people across over 100 countries, did business in more than 130 countries, and reported annual
revenues of around €23 billion. The company made use of effective innovation strategies when it faced
competition from Apple, an American consumer electronics company. It challenged Apple’s dominance
in the technology sector by adopting a new global marketing strategy.

This strategy comprised of two levels: the marketing mix and the channels through which Nokia
marketed itself. Nokia’s new slogan #Switch best summed up these two elements. First, in terms of its
products, Nokia introduced a new range of cellphones built to beat Apple called Lumia. This is what a
diversification strategy looks like in action. By introducing a new product to a new market, Nokia tried its
best to compete with Apple’s increasing innovation in the technology sector by taking a very risky move.
The Lumia had a physical design similar to the IPhone, yet more styled than the IPhone. It also sold in a
variety of colors to attract more customers by suiting different tastes, unlike the uniform IPhone at that
time. The innovation here worth noting was the slogan #Switch Nokia made use of by indirectly
advertising its new range of high quality phones by motivating consumers to switch from the IPhone and
try something more exclusive. Moreover, the influx of technology in marketing mixes was also seen
when Nokia made use of a multimedia site namely YouTube to advertise its products as the new
innovative business in the market. Secondly, Nokia’s strategic alliance with Microsoft back in 2011 could
also be seen as a definite example of Nokia trying to secure its employees and their employments. A
strategic alliance is basically an integration of two companies to achieve a certain strategic objective
over a finite period of time. The objective behind this alliance was to use the traditional strengths of
both the companies against the stiff competition both were getting from Apple IOS and Google’s
Android at that time.

The R&D set up at Nokia was also rather different from that of other companies. While most large
companies had centralized R&D facilities with tall hierarchical structures to facilitate strict control over
processes and research, Nokia's R&D operations were scattered across the world in 69 sites, and its
19,579 (as on December, 2002) engineers, designers and sociologists were given complete freedom to
operate and develop their own ideas, over and above their officially designated research projects. The
structure was flat and most of the employees reported directly to the head of R&D. This increased
freedom allowed the employees to develop their skills and as a result contribute more to the
organization.

Furthermore, ethical considerations have also had a major impact on the way organizations advertise
their brand and their products. The morals of society are very important for multinational companies
because if they are ethical in their work, they are respected by their customers and develop a sort of
brand awareness followed by brand loyalty as the ultimate result. The energy and resource industry is a
clear example of ethics and their impacts in an organization and its objectives altogether. After the
Exxon Vales oil spill in 1989 and the Deep Water Horizon spill in 2010, most oil companies rebranded
themselves to enhance their corporate images and improve stake holder relations. For example,
Chevron, an American energy company, now has “protecting the environment” as one of its marketing
mix, particularly promotional techniques. Chevron has branded itself as a socially responsible
organization. CSV AND CSR HERE. Similarly, Nike has dropped many of its sponsorship deals with
athletes who have fallen from grace in the public’s eye for example the athlete Lance Armstrong.

IMPACT OF STAKEHOLDERS BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL

CONCLUSION