Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 6

Business Ethics - Essay Example Some important factors that come under the consumer vulnerability are as follows: Constitutional vulnerabilities: These may include the physical or mental disabilities which affect the consumers being unable to grasp or understand the information which may be in contracts, labels, advertisements etc and the ability to use or obtain services or products. Developmental vulnerabilities: Cognitive limitations play a bit role in this type of vulnerability. These are related to comprehending what is being told, knowledge level, which includes judging, reasoning and mental development. Another factor that is part of this is motivational factor. This concerns the adequacy concerns, security or health concerns and discovering ones individuality (Kaufman-Scarborough and Baker, 2005). These above mentioned factors are mostly found in children, adolescent (Martin and Gentry, 1997) or elder consumers (Moschis, 1992). Situational vulnerabilities: These may be internal or external factors affecting the consumer’s ability to interpret things and be taken advantage off. Some of these factors include personal crisis, which may involve stress related circumstances like finance, health, injury, etc, (Gentry et al., 1995) and sometimes language barrier or inability to understand legal wordings. External factors tend to include the surrounding economy or living conditions (Lee, Ozanne, and Hill, 1999) and even the barriers preventing from access. In other words, consumer vulnerability can also be defined as a powerless state, which may arise from the discrepancies in the interactions via media or face-to-face marketing or utilizing of marketed products or services without comprehending the complete information. It can be said that the actual vulnerability always arises from the consumers’ personal state, characteristic, or conditions he/she is in during the utilization of products or services which may get stuck or slow down and may affect perceptions of