E-Business Portfolio 6: Legal, Ethical, Social and Cultural Analysis

This report, submitted as Portfolio 6, delves into the legal, ethical, social, and cultural issues that affect the design, use, and implementation of e-business systems. It highlights the significance of e-commerce in modern business, emphasizing its opportunities while acknowledging the associated risks. The report explores the importance of legal frameworks in online transactions, addressing concerns about internet fraud, hacking, and cyber security. Ethical considerations are discussed, including the need for transparency and trust in online dealings, and the potential for customer dissatisfaction due to issues like unresponsiveness and failure to fulfill commitments. The report references several academic sources to support its arguments, ultimately advocating for the development of an effective framework to manage the complexities of e-business and ensure its responsible and successful operation. The report emphasizes the importance of addressing these issues to foster customer trust and ensure the long-term viability of e-business practices.

RUNNING HEAD: E-BUSINESS 1

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Portfolio 6) Legal, ethical, social and cultural issues that affect the use, design, and
implementation of e-business systems
The purpose behind carrying the E-commerce depicts an effective way through which business
activities are carried. This helps in presenting a world of prospect for doing businesses. E-
commerce provides ample of opportunities to get better business processes. Gone are those days
when people used to conduct business through phones, faxes and mobiles. Nonetheless, just as
any new business tool, e-commerce acts as an efficient tool. It's significant to recognize the legal
issues and potential risks to make certain deals regarding the appropriateness of E-business
function (Voola, Casimir, Carlson and Agnihotri, 2012).
The issue related to the law on the Internet is a composite one. With no law at all, yet, the
Internet would be no place to conduct business. It is important to create certainty by following
law and responsibilities in business. It is through the law an individual is able to gain
effectiveness. They make life more predictable. By legalizing the act over internet it will not
only help in managing the business activity but to deliver the results in a better way efficiently.
Most of the transaction taking place over the internet is bound under the legal framework. In the
recent time, there are possibilities of internet phasing and hacking. Under such a situation it is
evident for the cyber cell located in every country to take care of these activities. Hence it is
evident to incorporate a proper framework in order to deal with the issue. This will help in
gaining trust of every individual. An individual customer feels safe and secured after using the
internet as a tool to do business (Aldiri, Hobbs and Qahwaji, 2008).
Online business has a potential risk on the customers as well as business. With the anonymity of
the internet it is difficult for an individual to gain information about the person involved in
business. Getting involved in E-business requires lot of ethics in order to gain competitiveness.
There is a continuous theft of information over the internet. Since you can’t use cash in online
transaction. It increases the amount of risk to an individual. To avoid the problems it is important
to manage the functions in the most appropriate way (Caniato, et al 2009). Online selling can
cause damage to the customers. The business organization fails to return or commit for the
purchases made by the seller. Unresponsiveness on internet is the major issue faced by the
business organization. In order to deal with the issue it is necessary to take proactive measures.

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Though there are issues in the E-business process but it is only possible by developing an
effective framework (Anumba and Ruikar, 2009).
References
Anumba, C.J. and Ruikar, K., 2009. e-Business in construction. John Wiley & Sons.
Caniato, F., Cagliano, R., Kalchschmidt, M., Golini, R. and Spina, G., 2009. Evolutionary
patterns in e-business strategy. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 29(9), pp.921-945.
Aldiri, K., Hobbs, D. and Qahwaji, R., 2008. The human face of e-business: Engendering
consumer initial trust through the use of images of sales personnel on e-commerce web
sites. International Journal of E-Business Research, 4(4), p.58.
Voola, R., Casimir, G., Carlson, J. and Agnihotri, M.A., 2012. The effects of market orientation,
technological opportunism, and e-business adoption on performance: A moderated mediation
analysis. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 20(2), pp.136-146.