The Contract Theory

The contract theory holds that when a person buys a product or service, he or she is entering into a contract with the manufacturer. The manufacturer (and by implication the employee representing the manufacturer) has four main obligations:

1. To make sure the product or service complies with the contract in several respects: it should do what its advertisements say it can, it should operate a certain period of time before needing service or maintenance, and it should be at least as safe as the product information states and the advertising suggests.
2. To disclose all pertinent information about the product or service, so that the potential consumer can make  an informed decision on whether to purchase it.
3. To avoid misrepresenting the product or service.
4. To avoid coercion.

Critics of the contract theory argue that the typical consumer cannot understand the product as well as the manufacturer does, and that consumer ignorance invalidates the contract.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Ethical Decision-making

1. Define the problem carefully and be certain that all the pertinent information has been gathered. Too often we act without taking time to obtain the necessary information;
2. List all the parties that you believe may be affected by the decisions (the stakeholders). A decision that does not take into account the way in which  it will affect others is not an ethical one regardless of its actual consequences;
3. List all the relevant core values that you believe are involved in the decision that you had previously developed;
4. List all the possible alternatives of what you can or cannot do.
5. Choose and prioritize:

• Of all parties you have listed above, select the one that you believe is the most important for purpose of making this decision;
• Of all the core values you listed above, select the one that  you believe is the most important for purposes of making this decision;
• Of all the options you listed above, select the one that you believe will cause the greatest good or least harm

6. Make decision based on the above priorities;

7. Devise a strategy that will effectively implement your decision.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Making a Good Contact

• Greet your prospect warmly and sincerely, using eye contact.
• Allow your prospect some time to get acclimated to being with you, some time to talk. Don’t come on too strong. But don’t waste you prospect’s time, either.
• Engage in casual conversation at first—especially about anything pertinent to what you are about to discuss. Make it friendly and not one-sided. Be a good listener. But let the prospect know that your time is precious. You are there to sell, not to talk.
• Ask relevant questions. Listen carefully to the answers.
• Qualify the prospect. Determine whether or not this is the specific person to whom you should be talking, the person with the authority to give you the go-ahead, to buy. Try to learn, during the contact, what to emphasize in your presentation.
• Try to learn of your prospect’s attitude toward your type of offering. Tune in on his or her fears, expectations, and feelings—so that you can tailor your presentation to them.
• Learn something about the person to whom your contact is directed, so that he or she will feel like a person rather than a prospect. Make your prospect like you, for people enjoy doing business with people they like. But don’t be phony. Don’t be syrupy.
• Be brief, friendly, outgoing, and truly inquisitive. But be yourself.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.