Kaitlin Hubbard

Organizational Theory & Behavior

Group Case Study: Power & Politics

Questions

1. What is your opinion regarding these online privacy issues? To what extent are you
concerned about how your personal information on Facebook, MySpace, and Google is used?
Explain.
I believe that using information about your consumers in order to improve your business or service is acceptable.
However, the manner in which they do it may not be as acceptable. There should be an option that is obvious and
not hidden in the settings, that should allow consumers to have the choice if they want their activities shared or not.
It is somewhat concerning to know that what I may do, search, or buy online is being used without my knowledge.
These websites should blatantly layout how they access this information and what they use it for. That shows the
consumer that the website companies are honest and their best interests are a priority.

2. Consider the political influence tactics. Which tactics did Facebook’s CEO Mark
Zuckerberg use after he changed the original terms of use on February 4, 2009? Describe.
Mark Zuckerberg used the legitimate power political tactic whenever he changed the terms of Facebook privacy. He
did it very discreetly and without notifying Facebook users because he can. He is the CEO of Facebook and he
basically has the power to do whatever he wants. He changed the terms based on the policies and rules of the
company. He then received negative feedback so he used his power again to tweak the policy change.

3. Of the stakeholders listed in the last paragraph of the case, which group do you think is most
powerful in terms of shaping the future direction of online privacy issues? Explain.
Of the stakeholders listed, I believe that the government is the most powerful in terms of shaping the future direction
of online privacy issues. Ultimately, users, social networking companies, advertising firms, privacy advocacy
groups, and technology companies are not nearly as powerful as the government. Whatever the government may say
or outlaw, these other stakeholders have to abide by it or risk being shut down. The government can say “No more
sharing of your users’ private information” tomorrow, and they will have no choice but to stop. But who knows if
they will enforce the rule or not, which leads to a whole different view. If the rules are not enforced, I believe that
users have the most power. If the users figure out their information is being shared and they do not like that idea,
they will eventually stop using that particular website or service. If a business has no consumers or users in this
case, their business will potentially fade away. The only reason users would not have as much power is because they
are one group of so many people. They are not necessarily on the same page with the same goal. . Privacy
Advocacy group unite the users. The users are still the most important aspect of a business because without
someone buying your product, using your service, or surfing your website, you really do not have much. Every
group in this list has some sort of power. Advertising firms spend the money and technology companies made it
possible for websites to exist.