Police raided a computer school in Delhi and seized pirated copies of MS software. The school has been sealed and action has been initiated against the owners of the school.
Before you rush to blame the corporates for taking customers for another ride, think again. Industry analysts and consultants have turned the whole issue of ethics in companies and their brands on its head and are increasingly questioning the value systems of customers themselves.
Most people tend to believe that companies are the main cause for defective or poor quality brands. But that's only half of the problem, says Raghu V Vishwanath of Vertebrand Management Consulting , a business consulting firm.
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The other half of the problem, says Vishwanath, are the consumers themselves. "Brand values are nothing but a reflection of human values. A customer who doesn't lay large emphasis on age-old value systems like integrity and perfection, are far more forgiving with brands which does not perform as per its reputation."
This in turn encourages marketers to compromise on the brand values, which are