To what extent does the concept of ethics affect online business Essay

To what extent does the concept of ethics affect online business - Essay Example In relation to the study the company which has been selected is Global Media, a London based online mass media organisation which acts as a platform where different mass media houses can market their offerings to the customers. Advertising as well as marketing companies can utilise the services offered by Global Media Company to market as well as distribute their products. These products and services include literary works as well as advertisements for various goods that are related to the media fraternity. This online agency is primarily concerned with providing a network for media organisations to link with their customers. Global Media has a large database for customers as well as providers of different products and services. All the transactions between the media organisations as well as customers are facilitated by Global Media Company. Payments for these products and services offered are done online. Basically, Global Media Company is responsible for compiling and managing the database for various media houses. The organisation operates at a global level since it deals with stakeholders from different parts of the world. A close analysis of the operations of Global Media Company shows that there are broadly two lessons that can be learnt from it. The network approach taken by the organisation overlooks some of the important societal values that characterise people from different backgrounds since the company is mainly driven by the concerns of the proprietors. The other issue that is of concern in this particular case is related to ethical marketing since it can be observed that the company at times give precedence to its profit oriented goals at the expense of the needs of the other stakeholders at large. Thus, these two issues are discussed in detail below and the lessons leant are also outlined. The other part of the report will discuss the measures that can be taken by the managers at Global Media to resolve the issues for the betterment of the compan y in its future operations. Network approach The main issue with the network approach by Global Media is that the model of communication is mainly linear. The main problem with this model is that special consideration is given to the sender of the message and it follows a linear direction. However, the use of the internet has made it possible for information to flow from different angles where all the stakeholders are treated as equal. According to McQuail (2000), this model of communication is criticised because it follows a linear channel from the sender to the recipient. Indeed, the organisation is in business of marketing various products and services to different stakeholders but the problem is that the communication process is skewed in favour of the people who are responsible for designing the message. Molwana (1997) acknowledges that there are several communication networks in society and everyone belongs to one or several of these. As such, people are members of groups, coo peratives and other