Ethical And Cultural Issues With Social Networking Media Essay

good And Cultural Issues With affable Ne iirking Media EssayIt is a networkwork or a kindly structure made up individuals, organizations or the society at large base on virtues of friendship, point of intersectionion line, interests, morality etc. In other(a) words it is the grouping of individuals into specific groups based on common interests/ programmes. Although social networking is possible in person, especi solelyy in the workplace, universities, and laid-back schools, it is virtually usual online. This is due to the fact that unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with countless individuals who are flavor to meet other citizenry, to gather and share first-hand information and experiences.Online Social NetworkingSocial networking extended to the virtual space is effectively online social networking. In much(prenominal) a scenario websites are used as a common platform to meet and network and the internet binds all of the togethe r. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Depending on the website in fountainhead, numerous of these online community members share common interests in hobbies, religion, or politics. Once an individual is granted access to a social networking website he can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the indite rapscallions of other members and possibly even contacting them.Making friends is one of the m some(prenominal) advantages of such websites. Apart from friends, one can develop vocational contacts, share photos, contend events etc. A nonher one of those benefits includes diversity because the internet gives individuals from all close to the world access to social networking sites. This means that although a person is in London, he could develop an online friendship with slightlyone in China or India. Not only will that person move in new friends, merely capability also learn a thing or two ab turn out new cultures or new languages and learning is always a good thing. As mentioned, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together. While there are a number of social networking websites that boil down on particular interests, there are others that do not. The websites without a chief(prenominal) focus are often referred to as traditional social networking websites and ordinarily ware open memberships. This means that any(prenominal)one can become a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are. However, once a person is inside this online community, he can begin to create his own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.Some of the very popular online networking websites are as followsFacebookTwitterOrkutMySpaceHi5LinkedInFlickrBusiness EthicsBusiness ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics t hat examines honorable principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a occupancy environment. It applies to all aspects of line of work add and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. It changes for every business unit with the passing of time as well as geography. What qualification be ethical in Spain might be handle in Nigeria and what might be right in Nigeria may be wrong in India. Therefore, it is the fundamental duty and responsibility of the corporate house to handle such ethical and cultural issues in mind eon doing business outside(a)ly.Culture in International BusinessWhen working in the global commercial environment, knowledge of the impact of cultural differences is one of the keys to internationalist business success. Improving levels of cultural awareness can help companies build international competencies and enable individuals to become more globally sensitive.FacebookFacebook is a social networking websit e launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc., with more than 500 million active voice users in July 2010. Users can add people as friends and send them messages, and modify their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by workplace, school, or college. The websites name stems from the colloquial name of books given to students at the startle of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of back up students to get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be aged 13 or older to become a member of the website.Facebook was founded by pronounce Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The websites membership was initially limited by the fo infras to Harvard students, hardly was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It in stages added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and all over. The original concept for Facebook was borrowed from a product produced by Zuckerbergs prep school Phillips Exeter Academy, which for decades published and distributed a printed manual of all students and faculty, unofficially called the face book.YearRevenueGrowth2006$52mn2007$150mn188%2008$280mn87%2009$800mn186%2010(Estimated)$1100mn38%Revenues of Facebook over the past 5 yearsDespite all the fame and success, Facebook has met with some controversy. It has been blocked intermittently in several countries including Pakistan, Syria, Peoples Re usual of China, Vietnam, and Iran. It has also been banned at many places of work to discourage employees from wasting time utilise the go. Privacy has also been an issue, and it has been via mediad several times.Mark Zuckerberg Co-founder, FacebookMar k Elliot Zuckerberg is an American entrepreneur best known for co-founding the popular social networking site Facebook. Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook with fellow classmates Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes while attending Harvard. As of March 2010, he is the youngest billionaire in the world, with a net worth of US$4 billion in 2010, due to his 24% share of Facebook.Zuckerberg is responsible for setting the overall direction and product dodge for Facebook. He leads the design of Facebooks service and development of its core technology and infrastructure. before in life, Zuckerberg developed a music recommendation system called Synapse and a peer-to-peer client called Wirehog. However, he abandoned both to pursue new projects. Zuckerberg accompanied Harvard University and studied computer science before founding Facebook. While at Harvard, Zuckerberg created Facemash, a website that compared students dorm photos side-by-side in a fashion similar to ardent or NO T. Harvard administration was not amused, and Zuckerberg faced subsequent disciplinary treat. little than three months later, he launched Facebook.Ethical Cultural Issues with FacebookEgyptian cleric issues fatwa against FacebookFacebook has been under the scanner in many of the Moslem countries due to its inability to take in charge the reserved and strict Islamic views on social customs. One such major issue has been the issuance of a Fatwa against it by a sack up Islamic cleric in Egypt. fit to Sheikh Abdel Hamid al-Atras infidelity has increase due to the usage of Facebook leading to a number of divorces in Egypt. He says that Facebook is acting as a tool which destroys family life by back up spouses to have relations with other people which is opposed to Islamic law. Mr. Atras fountain head of the fatwa commission at Cairos Al-Azhar University. While one or other of the spouses is at work, the other is chatting online with someone else, wasting their time and flouting the Sharia. This endangers the Moslem family. According to him Facebook is a double edged sword. On the one hand it has propagated the facing pages of Islam among the youth but on the other hand it has allowed people disallow love and relations which qualifies them as a sinner in the look of Islamic Law.This controversy has evolved a lot of attention in Egypt and many senior clerics have demanded strict action against Facebook including its founder Mark Zuckerberg. The apparitional leaders also called Muslims using Facebook as sinners and have asked all Muslims to abhor the website. This has rendered staring(a) flows to the image and revenues of Facebook, denting its plans of a global presence including the reserved Arab and Islamic nations.The road aheadFacebook should really device ways to roll out country specific versions of the popular website keeping in mind the ethical and cultural barriers which are the two most important pillars of doing boffo international business . It should be extra careful in its roll out plans in Islamic nations which would not digest the liberal ways of facebook very well. uncompromising regulations should be in place so as to keep the people in check and so that the religious beliefs and practices are kept in place and not played around with.Facebook banned in PakistanPakistans regimen ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islams Prophet Muhammad. The page on the social networking site has generated criticism in Pakistan and elsewhere because Islam prohibits any images of the prophet. The presidential term took action after a group of Islamic lawyers won a hail order requiring officials to block Facebook until may 31.The Facebook page at the centre of the enmity Everybody Draw Mohammed Day encouraged users to post images of the prophet on May 20 to protest threats made by a radical Muslim group against the creators of Sout h Park for depicting Muhammad in a comprise suit during an episode earlier this year. This attracted protests all over Pakistan, majorly by students who rallied demanding that Facebook be banned for tolerating the controversial web page.In an attempt to respond to public anger over the Facebook controversy, the Pakistani government ordered Internet service providers in the country to block the page. But the Islamic Lawyers Forum asked the Lahore proud Court to order the government to fully block Facebook because the site had allowed the page to be posted in the first place, said the deputy attorney general of Punjab province, Naveed Inayat Malik.The road aheadFacebook clearly ventured into danger area by playing around with Muhammad who the muslims consider as their God. Not only did facebook not comply with Islamic norms but it flouted them too, attracting the ire of the entire Islamic community. The impart being that the website was banned in Pakistan and an Islamic version of the website was created, called MillatFacebook. This dealt a severe blow to the websites plans and aspirations and resulted in slowdown in business which was clearly limpid from the drastic drop in the growth rate of its revenues. The Deputy Attornet planetary of Pakistan also wants an arrest warrant issued against Mark Zuckerberg, and wants the Interpol to arrest him and deport him to Pakistan. The Pakistan government has also asked its representative to raise the issue with the United Nations General Assembly. The approaching for facebook in Pakistan thus looks bleak.Facebook FRIENDS Create Ethical Issues For JournalistsFacebook has captured everyones mind and it is hard to reckon that there are people with internet connections who are not on facebook. This has raised an important concern for people who are in the profession of journalism. It raises an important ethical question Does becoming friends on social media sites compromise the reporter-source relationship?Before the advent of social media, journalists regularly disqualified themselves from create verbally about family and friends. Even the most ethical reporter might have trouble writing objectively about his or her friends arrest, for example, and readers might question the credibility of the reporter and the newspaper. With social media, the line separating relatives/friends from strangers has disappeared and it therefore becomes difficult to salve against a social friend. Even if someone is able to write it, it might be biased. This came to the forefront when it was discovered that a Times reporter is machine-accessible on Facebook to two Republican candidates for office. This relationship questioned the reporters ability to report middling about these candidates and their opponents. No specific bias was noticed in the reporters stories but only the perception of a conflict of interest.Since the lines of relationships have become addled with the rise of online social media, the ethical aspect of reporting is being questioned. The contestation that would be the best solution is to be friends with both sides at any given point of time to stay away from any chances of bais towards any one party.Most reporters see Facebook as a powerful communication theory tool, and nothing more. Whats important is that their reports remain fair and free from bias.ConclusionEthical and Cultural issues form the core of international business/relations. One cannot at any point tend to ignore these two important factors, because without the successful understanding of these, international success will only be a dream. In order to make it big, companies/organizations should clearly understand these critical factors and make proper arrangements to tackle the same.