COMM 101 105 UBC – Wong, Yen Fung

Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg introduced a redesigned Facebook profile page at the annual f8 conference. Being held annually, the conference also saw the release of Timeline, an application that allow one to tell their whole life story through a single Facebook page. The launch effectively redefined how Social Sites function in the society today.

(Anyone interested in the full content of the conference can check out this link.)

I feel that such a move is an exemplary example of product differentiation in the business world. Through product differentiation, companies can make its product stand out from the rest of the competitors in the market. For Social sites, it would mean increased users, thus more revenue from advertising on their sites.

Though beneficial, i feel that there are downsides to the changes on Facebook. For one, old users  might not be able to adapt to the changes that are being made, resulting in old users switching to alternatives that they find more comfortable with. Another cause of concern could be the security issues involved with more personal information released. With people putting more private and personal information onto Facebook, there is increased pressure on Facebook to prevent hacking of such information.

There are pros and cons to the changes made on Facebook.

Different People have Different views. So what do you think of such a move by Facebook?

Article Citations:  Barnett, Emma. “Facebook F8: Zuckerberg Announces Revamp.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited, 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8783010/Facebook-f8-Zuckerberg-announces-revamp.html>.

Picture Sources: Source of f8 Logo

It is fair to say that the above logo is well known among people nowadays. With over 64 million customers a day, it is evident that McDonald’s reach in people is far and wide.

Although its monumental popularity , there are multitude of controversies that McDonald’s are involved in. One notable incident would be the McLibel case in 1990s.

 

The McLibel Case (Click for more Details of the Case)

The McLibel case effectively highlighted the company’s unethical business behaviors.

The article allow us to understand some of McDonald’s unethical behaviors. Examples are as given below:

– Advertisements that are aimed towards children.  Directly targeting children allowed the company to establish themselves among their niche groups.

– Nutrition level of McDonald’s food falsified by their own ‘nutritionist’. Despite evidence that their food are linked to serious diseases like obesity and diabetes, McDonald’s would promote it to be nutritious without fail, playing with the figures that they publish to the public.

                                  

 Facts about Nutrition of Fast Food

The two examples are just some of McDonald’s unethical practices.

These unethical actions have resulted in the rise of societal problems that must be resolved.

On a final note, i feel that something must be done to keep such corporations in place.

Companies should have an adequate amount of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as they progress in society.

Although McDonald’s might be unethical, I believe majority of us would still be a big fan of them.

They are simply irresistible.

Citations:  McINFORMATION NETWORK. “The McLibel Trial.” M C S P O T L I G H T. McINFORMATION NETWORK. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/index.html>.

 Source of Macdonalds Logo

Source of McLibel Key Figures

Source of Ronald Macdonalds Picture

Source of Macdonalds Advertisment

Comments: Business Ethics in Baseball – Ganasan Ponjani