Topic 4 – Reflective Summary ” Unethical VS Ethical “

Personally have trouble attacking this topic as it was really broad and i wasn’t sure if i was on the right track. Whether did i go out of point or did i answer the question?

Picture Credits : Google (Click image for source)

There are many examples on ethical issues but i chose the business approach using Qantas Airlines example. Quite uncommon with most of my classmates approach which i had difficulty finding guidelines to my reflection summary. I can relate to most are to the posts talking about paid bloggers and social media controversy related issues. As the examples quoted by my classmates are mainly from Singapore which is much easier to understand.

Video Credit : Youtube [1]
Other Social Media Ethical Issues besides my summary’s examples

In my point of view, people who are using social media unethically may actually have other purpose(s) in mind, be it negative, positive or both. Taking Singtel’s controversial campaign which is one of GushCloud’s issues too mentioned in Shannon’s Post. It gives a warning to influencers to think twice of posting/tweeting about other companies(false negative reviews and etc) as it is possible that legal actions maybe taken. Positive side, it will reinforce on code of ethics of the company or show the importance of code of ethics. Personally i think that sometimes crossing the line between social media and ethics may not be always negative outcome. Depends on what’s the purpose of using it for.

Picture credits : Google (Click image for source)

Another point is we all know it’s your freedom of speech online, posting something rude, crude or inappropriate, it’s against the ethics. So what happens to the freedom of speech? Amos Yee controversy (Mentioned in WanChyng’s post), he have his freedom of speech to post what he wants but ended up getting arrested. Everybody claims is unethical, but he have his point and purpose of it. Look at it at another point of view, is it really unethical ?

View my comments on WanChyng’s WordPress & Shannon’s WordPress

References
Tham, I., 2015. Singtel’s controversial campaign: Good wake-up call for social media marketing, say experts, s.l.: Straits Times Singapore. [Accessed on 10 Nov 2015] http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singtels-controversial-campaign-good-wake-up-call-for-social-media-marketing-say-experts

Amos Yee Controversy https://youtu.be/6TZPdM3xn24

[1] 10 Ethical Issues in Social Media https://youtu.be/b_fulKc5wh0

Topic 4 – Where should you draw the line between social media & ethics ?

As the usage of social media rises everyday, more companies are using social media platforms as a medium to reach out to the public/customers. Using it for marketing , advertising, feed-backs and other business purposes. But do you know where to draw the line of using it? And what ethical issue(s) are there if we crossed the line? Example: Qantas Airlines More #Tweetfails on 19 Companies That Made Huge Social Media Fails

Created a Prezi about a brief description of the Qantas and what issues they faced in year 2011, click on the link for the actual slideshow. (WordPress doesn’t support prezi’s embed codes, resorted to video)

Workers on strike which brought Qantas Airways reputation low and they proceed on Twitter campaign to gain customers feed-backs (trust).

click on image for source

The campaign immediately backfires with constant negative tweets. The PR department went on with the campaign thinking it’s the right time when it was in the middle of industrial dispute. Using social media to gain back their customers’ trust and enhance their reputation.

     

Ethical issues arises. Lack of sufficient knowledge on the functionality on social media and unable to manage digital dangers. The campaign brought their reputation to their lowest. They received criticism and sarcastic remarks. Why this happens when they have good past feed-backs from other campaigns? Did they analyze/access the campaign before and after going ahead with it? Five perspectives to deal with the issue. A Framework for Moral Decision Making

1. Utilitarian Approach
2. Rights Approach
3. Fairness or Justice Approach
4. Common-Good Approach
5. Virtue Approach

Companies should analyze their current situation before going ahead with any social media related activities. Whether is it ethical to use social media to reach out when there’s a dispute to resolve problem or seek understanding. Social media platform(s) isn’t an “all-purpose” medium for business purposes. You have to ask yourself is it an ethical approach? What is the purpose for it? Who are your target audience? What’s your “relationship” with social media? Social media is a powerful thing but it’s your responsibility to use it wisely especially when you have a company reputation at stake.

How different would you approach the issue ethically? #SaveQantas ? #FeedbackQantas? What’s your point of view?

References

Ethics and Social Media
19 Companies That Made Huge Social Media Fails
Enterprise-Related Crisis Communication on Twitter
Ethics and Social Media – Slide Share
QANTAS MARKETING CAMPAIGN ON TWITTER BACKFIRES
Ethics and the Five Deadly Sins of Social Media