Mary Kay Cosmetics

Mary Kay Cosmetics, as the name indicates, is a company similar to Avon in that it relies on doortodoor sales of beauty products to women in their homes. The women who are employed by Mary Kay Cosmetics are called independent beauty consultants, and they can obtain high incomes and many different kinds of prizes or rewards for their success. However, they do not receive salaries or benefits packages. Thus, their income depends completely on their current performance.

According to Julia Lieblich (1996), the basic philosophy of Mary Kay Cosmetics can be stated as "God first, family second, and career third" (p. 10B). Lieblich noted that the company started from the premise that God was involved in all decisions and all business activity, and that this helped them to attract a certain type of employee, or salesperson.

Mary Kay herself is very clear about her religious and ethical commitment. In her 1995 book that is autobiographical, but primarily about values and living a life with good priorities, she indicated th

. . .
of behaviors are right, while other kinds of behaviors are wrong. She indicated that standards should be applied at all times, in all situations, with all people. Essentially, her standards come from Christianity, with an emphasis on the Golden Rule. She started from the premise that there is a God, that God is good and knows best how human being should behave, and that this guidance is available to people in formulations like the Golden Rule. This affected every decision that she made, according to Mary Kay. She indicated that all business decisions were made on the belief in the Golden Rule and holding god as the first priority (Ash, 1995, p. 208). Ethical Conflicts or Dilemmas Unfortunately, like all individuals, Mary Kay has been accused of violating her own precepts in some instances. For example, one of her sales directors, Claudine Woolf, claimed that she was let go from the company when breast cancer limited her sales. On the other hand, the company claimed that she was not ever fired because she was never actually an employee, simply an independent consultant. They also asserted that they were sensitive to her and other women with breast cancer, actually waiving Claudine's sales requirements (Guthrie, 1998, p. 12
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mary Kay, Golden Rule, Kay Cosmetics, Kay Ash, Claudine Woolf, Cadillacs Cadillacs, Tabernacle Baptist, mary kay, Role Model, golden rule, Tribune December, kay cosmetics, People August, mary kay cosmetics, ash 1995, moral philosophy, kay ash, mary kay ash, independent beauty consultants, religious ethical, mary kay, role model, family career, god family career, started premise god,
Approximate Word count = 2085
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Mary Kay Cosmetics