Analyzing Business Ethics: Social Marketing, Data Use, and Privacy

This essay examines the ethical dimensions of social marketing, focusing on the benefits and risks associated with its use by companies like IBM. It explores the tension between leveraging social media for marketing and respecting individual privacy rights. The essay discusses how companies use social networking to advertise and collect consumer data, contrasting this with individual users' expectations of privacy. It addresses concerns about tracking on social media, highlighting the potential for violations of personal rights and the sale of user information. Furthermore, the essay differentiates between private social networks, such as IBM's Blue Pages, and public platforms like Facebook, emphasizing the varying levels of privacy and transparency. It concludes by arguing that companies do not have the right to use personal information shared publicly for their gain without explicit permission, underscoring the infringement of personal rights and relevant laws. Desklib provides access to this essay and numerous other study resources for students.

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business Ethics

BUSINESS ETHICS 1
Question 1
The benefits of social marketing help the employees of the company to understand the
networking tools. IBM has created the social network that is behind its firewall that creates
friending with other employees. The social marketing helps in increasing the social capital
that creates correlation between bridging and bonding social capital with the increased use of
Facebook. The benefit that the company use social media for the consumer data collection
that helps employees to monitor consumer demands through the use of social networking (Li,
Terjesen & Umans, 2018)
The benefits have often been converted into risks for the companies like IBM. The
chances of a data leak that is every another case and has happening in every other company.
Question 2
The company use social networking for the purpose of advertising their business and
to make the reach of their services to individuals. The company’s main purpose is to do
marketing that for earning profits. Whereas individuals use social networking to get
connected with the friends, for gossips and following the World news. The companies see
social networking is a platform to promote goods because the reach of social networking is
much wider than any other source (Weiss, 2014).
Question 3
Tracking on social media is a big concern for all social media users and it violates the
personal rights of an individual. Although the tracking purpose is for advertising but they
have the access of the information that they use. It becomes the big issues when this
information has been sold to other companies for the earning purpose.
Social Media has been used to stay in touch with family and friends so that an
individual can share its activities and information with them. However, it can be said that
individual has put their information for the view of public, so it can to be said to be a concern
for an individual that anyone is viewing their information (Weiss, 2014).

BUSINESS ETHICS 2
Question 4
Blue page network is a private social network that is different from the social
networks like Facebook and Twitter and they can be used for different purposes. For example
if an employee post the data that is related to the company that is seen by both personal and
work contact.
In a site like Blue Pages where one thing is common that all people have something in
common as the company in they are working. Therefore, privacy is much more secure to post
things that one cannot do on Facebook. IBM has a policy that no one can sign up
anonymously that keeps a transparency in the network (Weiss, 2014).
Question 5
Social Networking sites such a Facebook, Twitter has been used for sharing the
information and activities of an individual. The companies use this platform to promote
business activities and for that they use user’s information for their business purpose and in
the prospect of companies it is nowhere wrong to use the information that has been shared in
public.
It has been challenged that it is the breach of various laws and it is an infringement of
privacy. The companies cannot use the information of an individual without his permission
and it is the infringement of the personal right. Therefore it can be said that companies do not
have any right to use any personal information for their gain (Crane & Matten, 2016).

BUSINESS ETHICS 3
References
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. USA: Oxford University Press.
Li, H., Terjesen, S., & Umans, T. (2018). Corporate governance in entrepreneurial firms: a
systematic review and research agenda. Small Business Economics, 17(1), pp 1-32.
Weiss, J. (2014). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach.
California: Wetchester Publishing Services