Targeting a Broken Heart PDF

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A Case Analysis on FacebookTABLE OF CONTENTSPageI. Facts of the CaseBackgroundCompany ProfileTOWS AnalysisII. Objectives of the CaseIII. Ethical IssueIV. StakeholdersV. Alternatives Courses of ActionVI. Effects of Alternatives on StakeholdersVII. Choosing the Best AlternativeDecision Criteria and We...

Description

A Case Analysis on Facebook

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page I.

Facts of the Case

Background Company Profile TOWS Analysis II. Objectives of the Case III. Ethical Issue IV. Stakeholders V. Alternatives Courses of Action VI. Effects of Alternatives on Stakeholders VII. Choosing the Best Alternative Decision Criteria and Weights Evaluation of Alternative Courses of Action VIII. Discussion of Results IX. Implementation Plan X. References

1)

Facts of the Case

a)

Company Profile

According to CNN, Facebook, Inc. operates as a social networking company worldwide. The company engages in the development of social media applications for people to connect through mobile devices, personal computers, and other surfaces. It enables users to share opinions, ideas, photos, videos, and other activities online. The firm's products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Oculus. The company was founded by Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris R. Hughes, Andrew McCollum, and Eduardo P. Saverin on February 4, 2004 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.

b)

Background – extremely brief description of the situation

i)Access to Facebook is free of charge, and the company earns most of its money from advertisements on the Web site. Everyone can access their profiles anywhere in the world. ii)Privacy remains an ongoing problem for Facebook. It first became a serious issue for the company in 2006, when it introduced News Feed, which consisted of every change that a user’s friends had made to their pages. iii)After an outcry from users, Facebook swiftly implemented privacy controls in which users could control what content appeared in the News Feed. iv)In 2017, Facebook’s “People Insights” blog published a post titled “What Mends a Broken Heart on Facebook.” v)In it, the company’s researchers detailed insights that they had gathered by examining “how the break-up moment influenced the online behaviors of people across France, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom who indicated on Facebook that they recently went through a break up.” vi)Indeed, a survey of consumers in 2010 put Facebook in the bottom 5 percent of companies in customer satisfaction largely because of privacy concerns, and the company continues to be criticized for the complexity of its user privacy controls and for the frequent changes it makes to them. c)

TOWS Analysis TOWS ANALYSIS

EX T ER NA L

I NT ER NA L

OPPORTUNITIES ● Can procure other social media platforms.(from pestleanalysis.com). ● Can add new services like platforms focused for job searching, medical needs(example: HMO services), etc.

THREATS ● Has numerous privacy issues. (from scu.edu) ● Privacy issues can lead to losses in terms of users, stock, etc.(from pestleanalysis.com). ● Competition is aggressive, examples are Google, Amazon, Youtube, etc. (from pestleanalysis.com).

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

● Is the leading social media platform (from pestleanalysis.com). ● Is the leading marketing and consulting firm (from pestleanalysis.com). ● Is the most influential online platform that can affect how society runs. (from britannica.com)

● System is prone to data breaches and user privacy concerns (from pestleanalysis.com). ● Due to data breaches and privacy concerns, this leads to spreading of fake news on the platform (from https://bstrategyhub.com/).

The TOWS are discussed in greater detail below: Threats ● Has numerous privacy issues. Facebook has faced a lot of privacy issues throughout their operation since they started. This case regarding targeting a broken heart is one example of this privacy issue. To

add, back in 2006, Facebook released their news feed feature wherein other people can see the life events that were posted by the user. ●

Privacy issues can lead to losses in terms of users, stock, etc.

Trust can be an issue when it comes to privacy concerns with facebook. Without the trust of the users, these can affect the perception of future users as well. As a final result, without these users, the investors might withdraw their money from Facebook. Below is an image retrieved from Statista stating the feelings of users.

●

Competition is aggressive, examples are Google, Amazon, Youtube, etc.

Competition is fierce in the social media world. Facebook cannot always be on top as the others are competitive as well. According to Statista, Youtube is one of the competitors that follows facebook in terms of the number of users.

Opportunities ●

Can procure other social media and other platforms.

Facebook can expand their reach by just not being into social media. They can also expand to other platforms like marketplaces, online dating services, job searching platforms, etc. ● Can add new services like platforms focused for job searching, medical needs(example: HMO services), etc. Facebook can further improve their current platforms. For example, they can also explore the world of video streaming like Netflix and Youtube. Strengths ● Is the leading social media platform Facebook can use this as a leverage. They have the most users compared to other platforms. They have the ability to dictate what can happen in our society as most influential people are users of the platform as well. ●

Is the leading marketing and consulting firm

Due to the large number of users, Facebook can reach a lot of users in order to market new products and services. This can expand their market by not just solely relying on advertisements. ●

Is the most influential online platform that can affect how society runs.

Facebook has the most influence in society. Users have the freedom to post any information on the platform and any post can have a negative or positive impact on the organization and the world around them.

Weaknesses ● System is prone to data breaches and user privacy concerns Facebook is facing a lot of complaints with regards to data privacy and this can lead to a reduction in the number of users. ● Due to data breaches and privacy concerns, this leads to spreading of fake news on the platform Facebook should find a way on how to control the posts of its users. They need to have a process wherein it can detect the news that is real or fake. If Facebook loses the trust of its users, it would be their downfall. 2)

Objectives of the Case

In the context of business ethics, this case study aims to: ● To discover an ethical process to gather information from users to utilize for the company’s growth. ● To check the organization safety nets for any case user privacy breach ● To compare the data gathering practices of the organization with other competitors. 3) Ethical Issue: How can Facebook further improve their security system to address the privacy and data breach issues?

4)

Stakeholders

Stakeholder Group Users

●

Impact on the Stakeholder Lose their trust on Facebook

●

Personal data of users can be

stolen ●

Can compromise the safety of

users ●

Can possibly affect physical and

Investors

mental health negatively. ● Can lose their invested money

Competitors

● ●

Lose their trust on Facebook Will gain new users

●

Will have an advantage in terms of

marketing strategy Facebook as a company 5)

Alternative Courses Of Action

●

Facebook to establish an ethics committee to comment on future ventures

Facebook is a registered company, therefore should abide by the 1978 US code of business conduct and ethics. Facebook should establish an ethics committee to study if they have violated these rules and to avoid paying legal fines.

● Facebook to establish a quality assurance team that focuses on the current privacy and data security. People care a lot about their privacy and when there is a data breach. This is where the confidence of the user took place to continue the service. Facebook's quality assurance team should focus on safeguarding the data privacy of their user. The violation of a user's right to privacy can also lead to permanent suspension of the company’s trading license.

● Facebook to involve a third party company/consultant to help them address these data privacy issues. Facebook to tie-up with a third party that has expertise on data privacy matters. This helps focus more to mitigate the issue and strengthen their terms and data policy. ●

Facebook to rebuild their services around encryption and privacy

This includes rebuilding Facebook features that comply with data privacy and data security. It would mean that the organization would need to look back into all of their existing processes to check on ethical loopholes.

Description of the alternative 6) Effects of Alternatives on Stakeholders Alternative 1: To establish committee that focus on Business conduct and ethics Stakeholder Users

Effects ● Users would be able to regain their trust to facebook ● Increase the number of active users

Investors

● Investors would be able to regain their trust to facebook ● Will recover the company’s share price

Facebook as a Company

● Will allot a budget to build a team that will solely focus on compliance of business conduct and ethics ● Might be a threat for them but will think of any loophole that might advance them ● A threat to their users/consumer to go back to facebook platform

Competitors

Alternative 2: To establish a quality assurance team that focuses on the current privacy and data security Stakeholder Users

Effects ● Users would be able to regain their trust to facebook ● Increase the number of active users

Investors

● Investors would be able to regain their trust to facebook ● Will recover the company’s share price

Facebook as a Company

●

Quality assurance team to focus on privacy

and data security if passes in different global regulatory restrictions such as GDPR in European countries (General Data Protection Regulation) ● Would require minimal budget as the staff can be pulled out from other existing teams inside the organization. Competitors ● Might be a threat for them but will think of any loophole that might advance them ● A threat to their users/consumers to go back to facebook platform

Alternative 3: To involve a third party company/consultant Stakeholder Effects Users ● Might have another doubt to the capability of third party in terms of safeguarding their data privacy and may result to another leakage Investors

● May have trust-issue to connect with another party and pull-out their share instead

Facebook as a Company

● To invest in a third-party to help resolve their issue ● This will result to a new budget allocation and may incur high expense ● Might be a threat for them but will think of any loophole that might advance them

Competitors

Alternative 4: Rebuilding Facebook services around encryption and privacy Stakeholder Effects Users ● Users need to understand the agreement of data privacy before agreeing with the terms ● Users to revisit the setting and privacy of the platform

Investors

● Investors would be able to regain their trust to facebook ● Will recover the company’s share price ● Will gain new investors as they would think Facebook is being revamped for improvement.

Facebook as a Company

Competitors

Rebuilding their services by enhancing the features of the platform such as: ● To add more transparency to its News Feed algorithms like “Why you’re seeing this post” and managing what to see in the news feed ● Putting a control to the Ads, Apps,websites and games that are connected to the facebook account. You can manage what you’re sharing with an app or remove it completely ● To impose strict measurement to partnered apps and developer from the platform that will not agree on the thorough audit ● Will think of other ways to compete with Facebook ● May copy what Facebook will do in terms of rebuilding

Choosing the Best Alternative The group will use the Markkula Framework as illustrated below:

Alternative 1: To establish committee that focus on Business conduct and ethics Utilitarian Approach

Rights & Duties Approach

Justice & Fairness Approach

Who benefits from the act? Who are burdened? Does the act maximize the total net benefit to everyone concerned (stakeholders)? The users and investors will benefit from this ACA. The burden would be on the management team of Facebook to ensure that this ACA would materialize. Yes the act maximizes the benefit of all the stakeholders as this would improve Facebook’s services being offered to old and new users and investors alike. Does the act respect the moral rights of everyone concerned? Does it treat everyone as persons and not merely as things? The ACA respects the moral rights of the stakeholders. It would treat everyone as persons for Facebook would increase the security of the users and investors private data. Will the act lead to a fair distribution of benefits and burdens? If it will cause inequality, will it improve the situation of the least advantaged persons? The ACA would lead to fair distribution of benefits and burden as it would assign each task to the respective teams that would handle it. As the privacy security of Facebook improves, the users and investors would greatly benefit from it.

Ethics of Care

Human Dignity and Common Good Approach

Virtue Approach

Does the act show proper care to people we have special relationships with? Will it earn the trust of people we value? Yes it shows proper care to the users, investors and the company itself. Does the act promote dignity and allow total human development for everyone? This ACA promotes the dignity of the stakeholders and it would also develop and improve the company’s existing processes. Will this option lead me to act as the sort of person I want to be? Yes this ACA can be the right approach as it would promote fairness, respect, trust and growth of all the stakeholders surrounding the organization.

Alternative 2: To establish a quality assurance team that focuses on the current privacy and data security Utilitarian Approach

Rights & Duties Approach

Justice & Fairness Approach

Who benefits from the act? Who are burdened? Does the act maximize the total net benefit to everyone concerned (stakeholders)? The users and investors will benefit from this ACA. The burden would be on the management team of Facebook to ensure that this ACA would materialize. Yes the act maximizes the benefit of all the stakeholders as this would improve Facebook’s services being offered to old and new users and investors alike. Does the act respect the moral rights of everyone concerned? Does it treat everyone as persons and not merely as things? The ACA respects the moral rights of the stakeholders. It would treat everyone as persons for Facebook would increase the security of the users and investors private data. Will the act lead to a fair distribution of benefits and burdens? If it will cause inequality, will it improve the situation of the least advantaged persons? The ACA would lead to fair distribution of benefits and burden

Ethics of Care

Human Dignity and Common Good Approach

Virtue Approach

as it would assign each task to the respective teams that would handle it. As the privacy security of Facebook improves, the users and investors would greatly benefit from it Does the act show proper care to people we have special relationships with? Will it earn the trust of people we value? Yes it shows proper care to the users, investors and the company itself. Does the act promote dignity and allow total human development for everyone? This ACA promotes the dignity of the stakeholders and it would also develop and improve the company’s existing processes. Will this option lead me to act as the sort of person I want to be? Yes this ACA can be the right approach as it would promote fairness, respect, trust and growth of all the stakeholders surrounding the organization.

Alternative 3: To involve a third party company/consultant Utilitarian Approach

Rights & Duties Approach

Justice & Fairness

Who benefits from the act? Who are burdened? Does the act maximize the total net benefit to everyone concerned (stakeholders)? The users and investors might not benefit from this ACA as the third party consultant’s integrity would be questioned. The burden would be on the management team of Facebook to ensure that this ACA would materialize. The act might not maximize the benefit of all the stakeholders as this would jeopardize Facebook’s services being offered to old and new users and investors alike. Does the act respect the moral rights of everyone concerned? Does it treat everyone as persons and not merely as things? The ACA might not respect the moral rights of the stakeholder and it would treat everyone as persons for Facebook would need to share the users’ and investors’ private data to this third party consultant. Will the act lead to a fair distribution of benefits and

Approach

Ethics of Care

Human Dignity and Common Good Approach

Virtue Approach

burdens? If it will cause inequality, will it improve the situation of the least advantaged persons? The ACA would probably not lead to proper distribution of tasks because the third party consultant would take on the task by themselves. This would probably not improve the privacy security of Facebook and in turn user and investors would not benefit from it. Does the act show proper care to people we have special relationships with? Will it earn the trust of people we value? This ACA has the most risk of not showing that Facebook cares for their users, investors and the company as it would create more problems in the long run as there is a possibility of private data leaking out. Does the act promote dignity and allow total human development for everyone? This would not promote dignity and total human development as Facebook would only pass the burden of their issues to an outside organization. Will this option lead me to act as the sort of person I want to be? This ACA can be one-sided as it focuses solely on how Facebook can resolve the issue by not looking at the other stakeholders’ concerns which would not lead me to who I want to be.

Alternative 4: Rebuilding Facebook services around encryption and privacy Utilitarian Approach

Rights & Duties Approach

Who benefits from the act? Who are burdened? Does the act maximize the total net benefit to everyone concerned (stakeholders)? The users and investors will benefit from this ACA. The burden would be on the management team of Facebook to ensure that this ACA would materialize. Yes the act maximizes the benefit of all the stakeholders as this would improve Facebook’s services being offered to old and new users and investors alike. Does the act respect the moral rights of everyone concerned? Does it treat everyone as persons and not

merely as things?

Justice & Fairness Approach

Ethics of Care

Human Dignity and Common Good Approach

Virtue Approach

The ACA respects the moral rights of the stakeholders. It would treat everyone as persons for Facebook would ...