Ethics codes help salespeople too

31st October 2015 |   Journal Of Sales Transformation

It’s not just customers who need protection from unethical behaviour; a code of ethics would also help defend salespeople.

Who at Volkswagen could possibly have thought it would be a good idea to install emissions-test-cheating software in the company’s diesel cars? The scam sought to disguise output of nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the level allowed in the United States. Eventually this was bound to be detected, and of course it was.

What’s more, the fraud was perpetrated by a company that we all understood epitomised reliability and good practice. Essentially, consumers have been mis-sold, which will inevitably destroy customers’ trust; in addition to the fines and the cost of the product recalls it will take years to recover the brand’s reputation.