IntroductionThe term “marketing ethics” has been defined as the manner in which moral standards of fair and just practices are implemented in organization and strategy (Murphy et al. , 2005). In fact, marketing and ethics are generally considered contradictory, because the goal of marketing is money-oriented. The ultimate goal of businesses is to make profits or generate sales, while ethics are moral and societal, such as contributing to society. Introcaso et al (1998) cite Michael Novak (1998) as saying that companies could fail in the short term if they introduced an ethical model into competition, because high moral standards increase costs. As a result, many companies launch misleading advertisements, produce unsafe products, exploit labor laws and waste natural resources for their own interests. They indirectly deceived vulnerable consumers and sacrificed minority groups. Nevertheless, marketing ethics can be viewed positively and ethics can in fact be shaped in the development of blocks of competitive advantage (Wyburd, 1998). Similarly, documents from the Hong Kong Ethics Development Center (1998) also indicate that marketing ethics improves employee and company reputation, which enhances the company's competitive advantage in the long run. This indicates that ethics is a win-win strategy for businesses if managers place consumer satisfaction and social welfare above profitability. According to Meyers (2004), being ethical or not is attributed to individual characteristics and corporate culture. This report will identify how individual characteristics affect ethical behavior in an organization and its marketing strategy with the example of The Body Shop (TBS) applied and how it can find the balance. The relationship between ethical behavior...... middle of paper .... ....to some extent, it is a crucial element for Anita Roddick and TBS to persist in their ethical responsibility for years. It’s a shame-induced sense of imperative. There is also evidence that Alter and Winger consider “shaming” to be about criticizing socially destructive behavior. Therefore, “shame” could help individuals and organizations avoid behaving unethically. For example, TBS has been sold to the L'Oréal Group since 2006. During this period, the L'Oréal Group does not have an ethical image and has not adapted its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). However, TBS remains passionate about moral values, instead of changing its business philosophy. Additionally, TBS successfully influenced the L'Oréal Group by beginning to introduce 6 fair trade ingredients into a range of its brands (Global Value Report, 2011). This means that "shame" not only forces TBS to strictly stick to core values, but also affects others..