http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003654896
To me social networking isn't necessarily a terrible thing. I mean there are some ethical issues that surround it but overall one has to accept that not everyone will agree with you and not everyone will share your morals or ethical beliefs.
For some companies using social networking can be a plus. For example Target achieved success and great reviews when it posted a page on Facebook. College students all over praised the site and really found it helpful. I personally think this was a great move by Target because it helped them to achieve one of their goals, which is to relate to a more trendy and younger community.
However, this is not always the case. For instance Wal-Mart experienced some negative feedback and scrutiny from the public. First of all Wal-Mart is not known for its trendy styles, but for its cheap prices. For many college students posting a page on Facebook is pointless and stupid. Also, Wal-Mart has already been mixed up in a social networking scandal so posting a page on Facebook could appear as another one of their ways to promote their own well-being.
These two cases show us the fine line between when it may be okay to social network and when it may not be okay. For some I think it is just a matter of current reputation and community status.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Glengarry Glenn Ross
After watching Memet's play I walked away feeling a little overwhelmed, probably because I have never heard the "f bomb" dropped so much in two hours in my whole life. But aside from that I couldn't believe all the backstabbing, manipulation and unethical behavior that was going on throughout the whole play.
It is clear to see how Mamet views the ethics of the business world. If I had never known anything about the business world and I never knew anything about ethics and morals in the business world, I think I would have walked away from the play thinking to myself "Is this really how the business world is suppsoed to operate?" I don't personally believe that all organizations are cut throat like this. However, I do believe that some may exist. I also don't think that currently sales people and organizations do not need to be so cut throat. I mean the sales world is competitive, we all know that, but taking it to the extreme that Mamet took is in my opinion a little over the top and outdated.
It is really disturbing to think that there are probably some businesses out there that are really like that. There was nothing but bribery, blackmail, stealing, cheating, etc. I mean you name anything unethical and it was portrayed in this play. I think the only ethical decision that was made by anyone was when the boss turned in the guys who robbed the place, and still he didn't even do it for the right reasons -- he did it cause he didn't like the guys.
I realize that there is competition in the sales industry and keeping the numbers high is what keeps you in the business, but doing it unethically is not the direction you should take. Just take this play as a prime example of everything that is done wrong in sales.
It is clear to see how Mamet views the ethics of the business world. If I had never known anything about the business world and I never knew anything about ethics and morals in the business world, I think I would have walked away from the play thinking to myself "Is this really how the business world is suppsoed to operate?" I don't personally believe that all organizations are cut throat like this. However, I do believe that some may exist. I also don't think that currently sales people and organizations do not need to be so cut throat. I mean the sales world is competitive, we all know that, but taking it to the extreme that Mamet took is in my opinion a little over the top and outdated.
It is really disturbing to think that there are probably some businesses out there that are really like that. There was nothing but bribery, blackmail, stealing, cheating, etc. I mean you name anything unethical and it was portrayed in this play. I think the only ethical decision that was made by anyone was when the boss turned in the guys who robbed the place, and still he didn't even do it for the right reasons -- he did it cause he didn't like the guys.
I realize that there is competition in the sales industry and keeping the numbers high is what keeps you in the business, but doing it unethically is not the direction you should take. Just take this play as a prime example of everything that is done wrong in sales.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Corporate Apologies and Southwest Airlines
One would think that the rule of thumb when an organization is accused of being unfair or accused of mistreating its consumers that the first response would be to apologize. However, this is not the case with all organizations. In fact some organizations will wait to make any type of apology, even if it is informal. I think this is bad PR. I believe that as an organization you are supposed to consider the client. I mean one must be realistic and think that the client or consumer is not always going to come first, but in the Southwest Airlines case this should have been the issue.
When Southwest Airlines kicked Kyla Ebbert off the plane because of her short mini-skirt there was an immediate uproar. The media was eating this up, saying that Southwest Airlines over reacted and the only reason why Kyla Ebbert was asked to leave the plane was because she was an attractive young woman. Personally, I didn't find her outfit that offensive, I have seen much worse in Wal-Mart. Southwest Airlines didn't even attempt to make an apology especially when Ebbert made it perfectly clear that she was offended and couldn't understand why she was being asked to leave the plane. Intially the airline refused to make an apology to Ebbert, it wasn't until Ebbert appeared on numerous talk shows that Southwest finally decided to make the apology, but they shouldn't have wasted its time.
As quoted from the so called apology the CEO stated "we were caught with our pants down and we were looking for the naked truth..." so where dose the apology come into play. I mean yes the airline apologized, but where was the sincerity? I mean really, if you are going to apologize, don't be smart ass' and do it for the right reasons. If a company is only going to apologize to get the media off its back then don't bother. Finally, this so called apology did nothing but enrage the public even more and it certainly didn't make Ebbert feel any better.
When Southwest Airlines kicked Kyla Ebbert off the plane because of her short mini-skirt there was an immediate uproar. The media was eating this up, saying that Southwest Airlines over reacted and the only reason why Kyla Ebbert was asked to leave the plane was because she was an attractive young woman. Personally, I didn't find her outfit that offensive, I have seen much worse in Wal-Mart. Southwest Airlines didn't even attempt to make an apology especially when Ebbert made it perfectly clear that she was offended and couldn't understand why she was being asked to leave the plane. Intially the airline refused to make an apology to Ebbert, it wasn't until Ebbert appeared on numerous talk shows that Southwest finally decided to make the apology, but they shouldn't have wasted its time.
As quoted from the so called apology the CEO stated "we were caught with our pants down and we were looking for the naked truth..." so where dose the apology come into play. I mean yes the airline apologized, but where was the sincerity? I mean really, if you are going to apologize, don't be smart ass' and do it for the right reasons. If a company is only going to apologize to get the media off its back then don't bother. Finally, this so called apology did nothing but enrage the public even more and it certainly didn't make Ebbert feel any better.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Morality, Ethics and Values... All for one and one for all!!
For so many people the thought of morality develops for many reasons, personally I believe that our morals are a learned process that take time to develop. Which would explain why some people have conflicting morals. But you have to ask yourself where do you draw the line between morals and values and what about your ethical stance? If I tell you that I believe it is morally wrong for a large organization like Apple, for instance, to drop the price of the iphone only after two months, would you agree or disagree? And if you were to look deeper into this statement, one would have to ask what are the values of Apple? If this does not seem to make since let me try and explain my thoughts.
When we are born we are molded to be accepted by society, for instance, in western societies girls are praised for being thin and beautiful while men are praised for being strong and handsome. However, what happens to the people that do not fall under this category, is it morally wrong not to accept them as part of society just because our society values attractive physical appearance? Personally I think it is extremely morally wrong.
So now lets get back to high dollar corporations. For many large corporations money is the answer to all problems... sell, sell, sell that is what workers are trained to do. But to what extreme do we finally take a step back and ask ourselves is the right? Does this go against my morals? Is this ethical and if not what actions should I take to change it? Would I want someone to do this to me? It is hard for individuals within a company to stand up and say this is morally wrong, and that this is not ethical. Why? Well because everyone wants to be accepted by society or a group within society and going against the group is not always the easiest choice to make. It is at this point that people should say because I do not believe this is morally acceptable or ethical I am going to embrace my values and speak my mind. It is a wonder why more organizations do not take a step back and take these very steps. I mean what did Apple achieve in dropping the price of the iphone? Obviously they value money, innovation, quality, technology, etc. However, when the price of the iphone was dropped the loyalty of Apple consumers went down while the hostility against Apple went up. And in the long run Apple ended up having to give money back to the enraged public and all they could say was "Oh sorry, that's the way it is!"
So what exactly did they achieve? Because Apple didn't take the time to consider other the values of others and only thought of what could best benefit them it is a good possibility that they lost a large number of loyal followers. And when they develop a new product, it would be acceptable to speculate that society will think twice about purchasing an Apple product as soon as it hits the sale rack because of this debacle. Therefore, one should always consider not only their own values, morals and ethics, but those of society and the individuals within society.
When we are born we are molded to be accepted by society, for instance, in western societies girls are praised for being thin and beautiful while men are praised for being strong and handsome. However, what happens to the people that do not fall under this category, is it morally wrong not to accept them as part of society just because our society values attractive physical appearance? Personally I think it is extremely morally wrong.
So now lets get back to high dollar corporations. For many large corporations money is the answer to all problems... sell, sell, sell that is what workers are trained to do. But to what extreme do we finally take a step back and ask ourselves is the right? Does this go against my morals? Is this ethical and if not what actions should I take to change it? Would I want someone to do this to me? It is hard for individuals within a company to stand up and say this is morally wrong, and that this is not ethical. Why? Well because everyone wants to be accepted by society or a group within society and going against the group is not always the easiest choice to make. It is at this point that people should say because I do not believe this is morally acceptable or ethical I am going to embrace my values and speak my mind. It is a wonder why more organizations do not take a step back and take these very steps. I mean what did Apple achieve in dropping the price of the iphone? Obviously they value money, innovation, quality, technology, etc. However, when the price of the iphone was dropped the loyalty of Apple consumers went down while the hostility against Apple went up. And in the long run Apple ended up having to give money back to the enraged public and all they could say was "Oh sorry, that's the way it is!"
So what exactly did they achieve? Because Apple didn't take the time to consider other the values of others and only thought of what could best benefit them it is a good possibility that they lost a large number of loyal followers. And when they develop a new product, it would be acceptable to speculate that society will think twice about purchasing an Apple product as soon as it hits the sale rack because of this debacle. Therefore, one should always consider not only their own values, morals and ethics, but those of society and the individuals within society.
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