Facebook Inc. Strategic Implementation: Leadership, Governance, Stakeholders, and Ethical Analysis

 

Strategic Implementation for Facebook Company

Introduction

Brügger (2015) argues that Facebook exhibits an example of a modern technology firm over the years. Despite adjacent competitors’ acquisitions, aggressive monetization, and rapid growth, Facebook also maintains a dominant market. Facebook connects shares, discovers, and helps its users to communicate with one another via technology devices such as mobile and individual computers. Besides, its titular websites remain valuable to the advertiser as they reach a wide variety of target audiences (Hansson et al., 2013). Facebook Inc., to also stick in the competitive world market, uses monetization technique and thus fulfilling its organization objectives.

Additionally, it is aware of its adjacent social media ends. It incorporates user-oriented evaluation to acquire its new employees and secure the risk of a disinterested demographic. Consecutively, Facebook remains a vast tool for political movements such as U.S 2008 Presidential Election. Its various benefits have made it a public company, with May 2017 managing to raise its market value by $102.4 billion (Skeels & Grudin, 2009). Therefore, this paper focuses on analyzing Facebook Inc., strategic implementation processes inclusive of its leadership and governance structure, stakeholders, shareholders and ownership review and mechanisms applied on its leadership and governance, ethical framework and approach, policies, and practices.

Company Overview

Facebook serves as an American firm that offers online services linked to social networking objectives. In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes founded Facebook (Brügger, 2015). The four as a student in Harvard University through their striving roles have made Facebook be the dominant social media platform worldwide. In 2012, Facebook users totaled more than half a billion. Facebook Company’s headquarters are based in California Menlo Park. Facebook access is free, and that its capital comes from various advertisements situated on its Web Site. Facebook Company launched its social network in 2004, “TheFacebook.com,” and that its users would post their pictures and photographs.

Facebook’s major competitors are YouTube, Twitter, WeChat, and TikTok. However, Facebook remains prominent worldwide based on its extreme networking effect (Lillqvist & Louhiala-Salminen, 2014). Consecutively, its monetization technique and adequate financing have helped it have an international presence. Indeed, it has higher users’ monetization worldwide and efficient acquisition in various adjacent regions. Additionally, Zuckerberg, one of the influential leaders in Facebook Company ensure the employees fulfills set organization mission by increasing privacy and security requirement for its social media networks. Also, it aims at adding end encryption and reviews its blockchain depending on the provided public resources. Zuckerberg also ensures its members fulfill the set objectives; through his leadership team ensures they align with the set code of conduct, giving individuals the capacity to build a community that brings individuals collectively (Skeels & Grudin, 2009). The company commits to empowering everyone via rigid legal rules, which sets the expectations that organization members should adapt to.

Leadership and Governance Structure

Leadership Structure

Leadership structures such as hierarchical leadership structures outline the leaders’ expectations and drive the set objectives (Klonick, 2019). The leadership structure profoundly reflects the firm’s strategic objectives and goals. Facebook’s leadership prompts its swift rise. In the industrial lifecycle practices, Facebook indicates experienced leadership processes. Mark Zuckerberg, the Chair, Founder, and CEO of Facebook Company, applies a product and direct strategy (Terlizzi et al., 2017). Through his guidance in the past 15 years, Facebook Company has remained exceptional (Lynch& Coleman, 2018).  The principles of its leadership ensure it outlines valuable firm acquisition and hires the most efficient talent. Its leadership team is fixed on various individuals from various backgrounds with several skills and unified excellence.

Facebook’s leadership structure is hierarchical. Therefore, its logical organization’s power is based on the individual’s position instead of the person’s experience level. Hierarchical leadership structure limits abuse of power and that the management would assign set duties and responsibilities depending on the workers’ specialized capacities. Hierarchical leadership structure profoundly allows Facebook Inc., to set and give roles based on one’s skills (Terlizzi et al., 2017). Its rigidity is fixed to the fact that the firm is of high-regulated activities. A hierarchical leadership structure has helped Facebook Company set clear authority lines and understand the employees’ responsibilities and roles. Allows the company’s personnel to be responsible for their decisions and actions and that a culture of awareness and loyalty is cultivated among organizations, teams, and departments.

Consecutively, hierarchical leadership structure as applicable in Facebook Company applies a pyramid shared and top-down structure. Power is therefore shared with the level bases of subordinates. Generally, leaders ensure organization members are organized based on the set like pyramid structures in the hierarchical leadership structure. Thus, the lowest organization members take directions from their managers and supervisors (Klonick, 2019). Since time immemorial, a hierarchical leadership structure has helped managers and supervisors in the organization to create a functional system allowing them to create a transparent command chain. Each functional department is directed adhesively, ranging from sales and marketing to other departments. The plans set also align with the firm’s strategic goals, and that departments tend to collaborate adhesively as a hierarchical leadership structure also applies transactional leadership style. Generally, as applicable in a hierarchical leadership structure, the transactional leadership style helps Facebook Company eliminate confusion within its command chain as its set objectives are clear and recognized quickly by the team members. Also, it has helped Facebook Company to achieve created goals at the individual level. It defined the set goals ending points.

 

Governance Structure

            Among the major governance structure model international companies apply include Carver Board Governance Structure. The Carver Board Governance structure was invented by John Carver in 1970. As one of the organizational governance system, Carver Model other than defining mandatory relationship between organization owners’ its chief executive and board of directors, further provides a guidance to fulfill the latter. The model at large presents the responsibility and authority of the board of directors and the organization owners. Other than discussing the principles and policies that the organization members should abide to the Carver Board Governance structure decision-making processes in the organization.

Facebook Company remains one of the firms applying the Carver Board Governance Structure. Carver Board Governance Structure since time immemorial helps Facebook Company focus on its end needs (Terlizzi et al., 2017). Also, the framework has allowed Facebook Company to work actively on achieving the needs of the organization. Carver Model helps Facebook Company to emphasize the roles of the Board. Considered as trustees, it also allows the Board of directors to understand the essence of ethical ownership, focus on the set organization policies and decisions. Additionally, the board of directors is forced to fulfill their fixed obligations (Lynch& Coleman, 2018). Carvel Model allows the Facebook board of directors’ members to remain competent and enlightened and achieve their set organizational goals and objectives.

Besides, Facebook Company uses Carver Board Governance principles also to outline some of the major responsibilities and authority its board of directors have particularly. For instance, the model argues that the board of directors in Facebook Company has the capacity to hire the company’s general director or the Chief Executive Officer. Also, they have the capacity to access and provide feedback the firm’s set objectives and strategies. Generally, as per the model, Facebook Company thus allows its board of directors to recruit, retains, supervise, compensate and also evaluate the manager for their effective organization governance and management. Besides that they provide direction to Facebook’s strategic mission, vision and goals and, further provide policy-based governance system in the firm.

Carver Board Governance, sometimes known as the modern governance theory applicable in Facebook Inc., is very effective. It is straightforward. Besides that, it pays a closer look at the firm’s processes, projects, and overall structures (Terlizzi et al., 2017). It also requires that the executive committee have the right group of people with the right experiences, background, and skills. Also, it allows the organization to commit to set the vision, strategies, and purposes for the organization. In the long run, it helps the organization members to manage various risks and access the exemplary performances vital for the organization’s success.

Stakeholders, Shareholders, and Ownership

Facebook Company is one of the major social networking companies which allow its users to create an account (Martin, 2017). The company, whose central focus is ensuring it connects people individually by easing community and communication development, has various stakeholders and shareholders. Facebook Company Shareholders are divided into four essential categories. Among them include defensive, offensive, swing, and hold stakeholders. Hold stakeholders have minimal cooperative capacity and competition in the firm. Therefore, Facebook’s major hold stakeholders are community groups and users.

On the other hand, offensive stakeholders have minimal competitive threat though have high co-operation capacity in the firm. They include employees and investors (Martin et al., 2018). Defensive stakeholders have lower cooperative potentials and high competition threats to the firm. They include the governments, advertisers, and competitors. On the other hand, Swing stakeholders have high co-operative capacity and competition threat to the organization and include the company’s CEO, overall chairman, and chairman technology officers.

External Stakeholders

Communities

Communities as Facebook stakeholders also affect the firm. They influence advertisers’ and members’ perception and developmental support for Facebook Company (Martin et al., 2018). Generally, the community affects at large scale the activities of Facebook. Correspondingly, Facebook Company provides the community with vital support via its various services and developmental activities.

Users

Facebook users as members of its social network receive a top prioritization in the firm’s corporate activities. They improve Facebook’s social networking mobile apps and website. Advertisers, on the other hand, are chief sources of the income Facebook receives. The stakeholders mentioned above are vital for the Facebook firm (Martin, 2017). They influence the financial status of Facebook directly. Various users profoundly use Facebook Company to create a professional profile and social network accounts, advertisement, video calling, photo sharing, and updating a person’s social status. Facebook users have the most significant number, which creates a competitive advantage for them.

Advertisers

Advertisers as Facebook stakeholders would use its site to share ads of several businesses, marketers, and products. The advertiser in Facebook Company serves as the second most critical stakeholder in Facebook since they are the primary income source (Anwar, 2018). Advertisers’ stakeholders’ primary interest is their efficient and effective advertising services and other efficient user bases. On the other hand, Facebook Company provides its advertisers with various options to meet their targeted audience. They use Facebook’s social media website they benefit from their respective networks.

Governments

The governments as Facebook Inc., stakeholders, on the other hand, are vital too. As Corporate Social Responsibility Stakeholders for Facebook, governments impose requirements on social media activities and businesses (Sakawa & Watanabel, 2020). They influence the firm’s compliance on set interests and policies on partnership and negotiations and other governmental set programs. The governments impose several regulations, policies, and laws that Facebook Company must comply with particularly. Besides that, the government needs several data from Facebook Company which the firm responds efficiently.

Competitors

Facebook stakeholders also include its competitors. Its primary competitors are Instagram, Snap Char, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn, among others (Anwar, 2018). By analyzing the various users applying other social media networking sites, Facebook Company figure out some of the essential remedies they should comply with to restore its users. Facebook adhesively provides its users with vital services that help it have a vast competitive advantage.

Internal Stakeholders

Employees

Internal stakeholders in Facebook Company are the employees. The Facebook organization values its employees adhesively. Sometimes referred to as corporate citizenship stakeholders, employees contribute to Facebook’s social media businesses (Martin et al., 2018). Besides affecting the firm’s evolution by improving and developing requires services and products, employees are a set of human resources in Facebook. Employees as primary internal stakeholders play a significant role in the firm’s time and financial investments. Their functions are also defined based on their operations, tactics, and strategies applied in the firm. Other internal stakeholders are the managers and the company owners. The managers determine organization strategy and set operation strategies. Also, other than remaining accountable for set decisions, the bridge between the board of directors, shareholders, and the organization (Martin, 2017). The owners, on the other hand, have prominent shares in the firm. They have a role in the firm’s strategy and participate in the decision-making processes of the firm’s external and internal stakeholders.

Employees correspondingly are involved adhesively in the organization’s social corporate responsibility activities. Also, they focus on providing the best services vital for meeting the firm’s overall expectations (Sakawa & Watanabel, 2020). Employees in any given firm are stakeholders. They are responsible for not only responsible for creating and managing but also improving the various services provided on Facebook’s social media sites. Employees’ interest in the workplace determines the organization’s overall development and growth.

Investors

Investors in Facebook Company are efficiently categorized as vital stakeholders. Facebook Company gets its funds from its various investors (Martin, 2017). To reciprocate the latter, they provide its investors with positive working environments for present and future benefits.

Board of Directors

But also want you to do some analysis on yhe board of directors. Are they internal or external?

In Facebook Company, the Board of Directors serves also as internal stakeholders. The group financially invests in the firm and has overall interest to the firm’s success. Correspondingly, they have voting rights in the firm depending with the shares they own in the company. The board of directors for instance would vote in the company’s new acquisitions, key hiring position, liquidation, budget items and oversight the firm’s activities.

Dispersion of Ownership

 

Individual’s Name (Shareholder)Stock OwnershipType of Stock Class of Share
Mark Zuckerberg$54.3 billionCommonClass B
Accel Partners and Jim Breyer$11.4 billionCommonClass A
Dustin Moskovitz$7.6 billionCyclicalClass B
Yuri Milner and Digital Sky Technologies$5.4 billionCommonClass B
Eduardo Saverin$5 billionPreferredClass B
Sean Parker$4 billionPreferredClass A
Peter Thiel$2.5 billionPreferredClass B
Microsoft$1.3 billionCommonClass B
Chris Hughes$1 billionPreferredClass A
Li Ka-Shing$ 800 MillionCommonClass A

 

Strategic Leadership and Governance Mechanisms

Strategic Leadership

Facebook Company uses a transactional, strategic leadership style.  The Transactional leadership style was founded by Max Weber in 1947 and is an effective style commonly applied by supervisors and managers (Sanfilippo & Strandburg, 2021). The style other than focusing on the organization’s primary management processes further controls organizes, and creates long and short plans for the organization. In Facebook Company, the transactional leadership style has helped its supervisors and managers to ensure that organization members have identified the set outcomes and expectations. The leaders in the organization via the above-stated leadership structure also tend to measure individual performance and provide rewards as a strategy for motivation.

Facebook strategic leadership; transactional leadership style has affected its business success and overall value propositions. Its strategic leadership allows it to manage the value proposition of its customers and users (Ryan & Sfar-Gandoura, 2018). Also, through his leadership mechanism, Facebook Company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg provides effective social networking services for its users. Besides that, Facebook’s applicable leadership model allows its users to access free social networking, and that it serves its target audience with the right services and products. Other than offering a fundamental and practical shift on how users would access information. Its primary leadership mechanism allows it to have a vital matrix called Ansoff to raise its market share and segment. Generally, as applicable in Facebook Company, strategic leadership will enable it to improve the long-term and day-to-day performances of the organization (Helmond et al., 2019). It generally creates an environment through which its employees are committed to set visions. Also, it ensures that its organization members are effective communicators; they are dedicated and would challenge their ideas and employees around them.

Generally, the transactional leadership style in Facebook Company has had an impactful outcome on its overall performance. A leadership strategy is built on clear punishment structures and rewards for employees’ various performances (Ryan & Sfar-Gandoura, 2018). It also focuses on organization members’ efficiency, results, and performances and active organization management. Facebook Company supervisors thus control and monitor tasks and activities. They set clear rules, instructions, and guidelines, and that in their leadership processes, the punishment and reward frameworks are effectively outlined. Transactional leadership style indeed has helped Facebook Company to achieve its short-term goals efficiently. Also, there is order and effective structure in its business cycles, which is beneficial to its set objectives and goals.

Governance Mechanisms

Facebook Company governance mechanisms include external and internal mechanisms.  The above two mechanisms help Facebook Company set and meet the set strategic objectives and goals (Sanfilippo & Strandburg, 2021). It ensures it combines its guidelines, controls, and policies and satisfies the stakeholders’ needs.

Facebook Company’s internal mechanisms help it to set foremost control techniques vital for monitoring its activities and progress. It helps control its users’ page activities, and that via its internal mechanism, it tends to take corrective plans and actions (Ryan & Sfar-Gandoura, 2018). To maintain its interior control fabrics, Facebook Company uses its internal mechanism approach to serve the needs of the organization and its internal stakeholders, who include owners, managers, and employees. Besides that, the firm internal mechanism helps it understand its outlined objectives, outline clearly its performance measurement approaches and systems and other reporting systems. Among its central internal mechanisms are management oversight, board of directors’ structure based on their responsibility, independent internal audit policy development, and control segregation (Helmond et al., 2019). Oversight management internal mechanism helps Facebook Company management team commit clearly to deliver the most effective services based on the set objectives.

On the other hand, Facebook Company’s external mechanism incorporates governments, regulators, financial institutions, and trade unions that serve the firm’s entity objectives. Among the trade unions recognized in Facebook Company is Michigan’s Union, ensuring the firm meets the workers’ legislation needs (Sanfilippo & Strandburg, 2021). Michigan’s Union represents a counter-balance in the organization. Besides providing the workers are represented well in productivity deals, they reduce workplace inequality incidences via set policies and standards.

Ethical Framework

Facebook Inc., uses the virtue ethics framework. It is a form of character-oriented approach to morality assuming that individual acquires their virtues via practices (Garlington et al., 2021). As applicable in Facebook Company, the virtue ethics framework ensures that its employees remain honest, generous, just, and brave. Ancient Greeks and Aristotle invented the virtue ethics framework. The approach argues that by applauding the proper habits, individuals are likely, even during ethical challenges to make the right decision (Sytsma, 2020).  In Facebook Company, virtue ethics helps its employees to understand what it means to be righteous throughout their performances.

Virtue ethics framework in Facebook Company allows it to focus on habit development promoting human happiness and excellence. Besides that, recognizing the employees’ rational behavior reminds them of being sensitive to their personal and social life dimensions (Sytsma, 2020). Racial behavior enables employees to have abstract principles, provide the firm with moral motivations (Garlington et al., 2021). The group also displays trustworthiness, respectfulness, and take responsibility for their designated tasks.

Ethical Policies and Practices

Ethical Practices

Ethical practices applied in Facebook Company are vast. Among its ethical practices is giving the people the voice to air out their stories and connect with their built programs and products. Also, they focus on building vast connections and understand its community as major stakeholders (Hallinan et al., 2020). They believe that the community shares the potentiality of helping its people connect adhesively. Their primary focus is also serving everyone and protecting their users’ privacy, and keeps them safe. Facebook Company is committed to safeguarding its communities from any harm. Besides that, Facebook Company practices are focused on connecting employees and community members with one another. Thus, in their overall focus, they ensure they embrace inclusion and diversity, remain respectful and kind, create a secure environment, be transparent and loyal and safeguard the company assets.

Facebook’s inclusion and diversity practices are focused on helping its team members boost their cognitive diversity (Ohman & Aggarwal, 2019). It ensures that their employees from vast experiences and background help one another grow and get empowered. Additionally, Facebook Company’s diversity practices confirm that it prohibits any form of discrimination. Thus, it ensures that individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origins, are provided with a sense of belonging Ohman & Aggarwal, 2019). Indeed, Facebook Company’s ethical practices have helped its employees to treat everyone with accorded respect. Besides that, it helps the organization consider the perspectives and needs of others and focus on the set guidelines such as harassment, complaint, and respectful communication policies.

 Ethical Policies

Facebook’s significant policies are fixed to its overall code of conduct. Its ethical policies thus require its employees to be respectful and kind. As noted on its website, its members are responsible for creating an inclusive and respectful community that allows its users to share their experiences (Hallinan et al., 2020). Their primary focus is treating the community with paramount respect regardless of their tenure, position, or employment status. Additional policy applicable in Facebook Company is creating a safer working environment. They promote the latter by following appropriate health, environmental, safety guidelines, laws, and policies. Also, the company members are expected to be transparent and loyal. Therefore, they prevent any form of interest conflicts and follow recognized guidelines in their area of operation. Besides that, its policies require the members to protect the firm’s confidential details. Facebook Company members mustn’t disclose or improperly share the firm’s confidential information (McClain, 2017). The members to understand the latter’s importance are expected to understand the firm’s policies and confidential information. Besides that, they are expected to comply with relevant details and agreements when connecting with third-party personnel.

Generally, Facebook Company’s ethical policies require its members to act in accordance with the set organization principles. Thus, they should follow the established procedures and requirements as indicated in the company policies and code. Also, in Facebook Company acting lawful means cooperating during the company investigation and never retaliating against individuals raising concerns in good faith (McClain, 2017). Also, Facebook Company ensures that its members follow the set policies to safeguard its assets. The members are thus expected to adhere to set guidelines. Respect its users and IP rights information and maintain the overall security of its provided personal devices and other technology equipment.

Analysis of Organization’s Ethical Approach

Facebook Company embodies a robust ethical approach fixed to normative theory. Its ethical systems focus entirely on the most effective practices regulating human conduct. The firm sees the concept of morality as a human norm (Newstead et al., 2018). Thus, there ethical approaches include the virtues approach of ethics and the human-centric design approach. The human-centric design approach focuses on users’ interests, which include forming profiles, creating new friends, and publicizing activities. Facebook’s operation hence extends to the principle of transparency and that the users developing new profiles must provide the accurate details of their birth dates. The primary focus in transparent principle as applied in its ethics approach is encouraging authenticity and providing the most age-effective access to various content.

Facebook Company’s human-centric ethical approach allows its shareholders and stakeholders to be the center of the set innovation, implementation, and design processes. The strategy applied since time-immemorial ensures Facebook’s activities are results orientated, measurable and iterative. Thus, their primary focus is ensuring they understand social media dynamic systems as it cuts across its stakeholders and ecosystem (Newstead et al., 2018). Working with stakeholders in Facebook Company allows it to create remedies and strategies that help it overcome social media networking challenges and create valuable and impactful opportunities to meet the firm’s set needs. The human-centric ethical approach in Facebook Company has allowed it generally to understand its shareholders’ and stakeholders’ needs holistically. When a company meets the needs of stakeholders, for instance boost their experiences, behaviors, and perspectives about Facebook Company (Sison et al., 2017). Also, it provides Facebook Company with a nuance understanding of their stakeholders’ needs and how they would design and improve their policies, programs, boost strategies to meet set expectations and actions.

On the other hand, Facebook Company Virtue’s approach of ethics has its set goals and nuanced objectives centered towards the development of its users. Therefore, the company staff ensures their ideas are based on thoughtful reflections of virtues (Tsoukas, 2018). To fulfill the principles of virtue approach of ethics, the organization members practice specific traits in their line of duty. They include fairness, integrity, generosity, prudence, and self-control. Ancient Greeks and Aristotle discovered the virtue ethics approach. It is a form of the character-oriented method, and thus Facebook Company workers in their line of duty ensure they are brave, honest, and generous. Profoundly their duties and principles are ordained to moral and honorable traits.

Ethics approaches in organizations help the firm members to adhere to specific ethical traits. Effective moral qualities in business help the organization prevent any legal challenges, create customer loyalty and help retain high-skilled employees (Tsoukas, 2018). Companies with high customer loyalty cases have a long-range organizational reputation and success. Enhancing the organization’s reputation helps create a positive picture in their respective marketplace. Other than getting new customers, the firm also gets referrals. Also, retaining high-skilled employees in the firm other than leading to their career advancement also impacts the organization. It increases the productivity, creativity, and innovation level of the firm. Besides that, the firm experiences a right in their profitability and thus more substantial growth.

Components of Social Corporate Responsibility Strategy in Facebook Inc

CSR refers to the responsibility amongst corporate firms to satisfy the needs of the stakeholders and take responsibility for their actions and business decisions. The major components of Facebook’s CSR strategy include philanthropic responsibility, human rights responsibility, and environmental sustainability.

As a philanthropic responsibility, Facebook is one platform that has promoted higher social equality by empowering the marginalized and the power to share the same platform with the noble class in society. Facebook has also addressed many problems that affect millions of people globally including poverty elevation efforts.

On human rights, Facebook has already embraced the fact that internet access is an essential right to citizens. The company plans to enable 5 billion people who have never accessed the internet to go online (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). Apart from creating more Facebook users, this move would cater to a fundamental human right: access to information. Several governments, including Costa Rica, Finland, and Estonia, have embraced the strategy by taking a stance that all their citizens should have free access to the internet. The United Nations also urged the governments to ensure that the internet is an essential infrastructure just like roads.

The environment is a critical aspect that Facebook has invested in conserving through technological resources and funding. Facebook Inc. made an operative decision in 2010 when they announced to put up data centers and resign from their past practice of leasing their space for other service providers; a move that would help with environmental sustainability (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021).

The company has created visibility over its energy consumption. For instance, in 2012, Facebook Inc. shared on numbers of emissions that had been secretly kept for a long time because of competitive issues (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). By disclosing the number of emissions, it became easier for them to identify reduction potentials, send a message of goodwill to the investors and work on their brand image. With this strategy, Facebook Inc. managed to reduce costs and take complete control of the activities that were happening, including reducing energy. In the years that followed, Facebook put up high-tech facilities worldwide. For example, the company has high-tech facilities in Lulea, Forest City, and Prineville. In 2016, the company announced its plan to build a green data center in Clonee, Ireland that would cost 200 million Euros (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). By directing their centers in cool-climate locations, they can use fresh air from outside instead of using chillers. By 2015, 35% of Facebook’s energy consumption was from non-nuclear and non-fossil sources (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021).

Triple Bottom line Strategy at Facebook Inc.

Triple Bottom Line is a strategy that pushes companies to commit to environmental and social concerns as a top priority, just like they focus on profits. The theory holds that instead of just focusing on one bottom-line, profits, the business should focus on three bottom lines: people, planet, and prosperity (Munzel, Meyer-Waarden & Galan, 2018).

People

Facebook Inc. considers all the stakeholders such as the users, communities, employees, and individuals throughout the business’ supply chain when it comes to people. Facebook’s connection with corporate social responsibility is significant to this part of the triple bottom line theory. Facebook has many initiatives that it considers part of its corporate social responsibilities, including its commitment to advance human rights, equity, and inclusion, eradicating hunger and ending poverty (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018). Facebook Inc. promotes inclusivity, equity, gender equity for its workers, ensuring a safe and healthy working environment. Regarding the community, Facebook Inc. promotes community engagement and volunteerism. These CSR initiatives adopted by the company are essential for the stakeholders, but they are also crucial in improving the business’s brand image and improving business (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018).

Planet

Stakeholders are increasingly becoming aware of the impact that businesses have on the planet and the importance of global issues. Many people in the world are aware of climate change and the problems of global warming (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018). In the recent past, there has been a push on businesses to help in minimizing environmental impact. Big corporations have taken steps to create a regenerative impact on the planet. Climate change is an urgent environmental issue with significant impact in the world today. Climate change helps in tackling the challenge of global warming (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018). Facebook is committed to reduce emotions and water impact and protect the environment and workers in the supply chain. Apart from reducing environmental impact, Facebook leverages its core services to increase access to information on climate change and inspire action while partnering with other organizations to provide solutions that would create a better planet for everyone. Facebook does not have emissions in its global operations and plans to reach zero emissions in its supply chain by 2030 (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018).

Prosperity

Triple bottom line theory also focuses on the prosperity and profits that the business creates for itself and its stakeholders. Through Chan and Zuckerberg initiative, Facebook has used different strategies to elevate people from poverty and increase their economic empowerment (Biswas, Raj & Srivastava, 2018). CSR ensures that people can enjoy fulfilling and prosperous lives, including their technological and social progress. Facebook Inc. is a giant social network in the globe with more than 2.8 billion users (Chuang& Liao, 2021). Facebook Inc. is amongst the most popular social networking sites in the world founded by a tech innovator, Mark Zuckerberg. Besides his leadership and talent, Zuckerberg is globally known for using his business for charity. Together with his wife, they established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015 (Chuang & Liao, 2021). This initiative focuses on education, science, economic opportunities, and justice. So far, the couple has donated 1.9 billion dollars to this initiative (Chuang & Liao, 2021).

 

Value of CSR Strategy for Facebook Inc

Businesses are expected to give back to the society that provides them the opportunity to be successful. Failure to give back to the community would harm the company’s reputation and brand image. Facebook Inc. has greatly benefited from its CSR strategies. CSR has enabled Facebook Inc. to engage customers and users. Building a rapport and creating relationships with the customers is one of the most critical factors in business, and making social responsibility helps the company in building this. CSR allows Facebook Inc. to engage its customers in new different ways (Goh et al., 2020). Because CSR is about creating a positive impact, it provides more straightforward ways of connecting with the users and customers. For example, many Facebook users are conscious of the planet and only want to engage with businesses that take environmental issues seriously (Goh et al., 2020). The environmental sustainability programs initiated by Facebook make it easy for customers who are environmentally conscious to connect with Facebook and have a positive relationship with it (Goh et al., 2020). Having a positive relationship with customers can do a business to have a potential increase in users and raising profits.

CSR strategies for Facebook Inc. have led to the improvement of brand perception.  Social acceptability helps in strengthening a company’s image and brand.  A company’s public perception is vital to the customers’ confidence in the company (Goh et al., 2020). By having a positive image through the CSR projects, Facebook can make a good name for itself. It would be recognized for its success in what they do and its acknowledgment of social responsibility. Facebook Inc. engages positively and actively with the users, and as such, their employees interact with new customers and indirectly market the company (Goh et al., 2020). Businesses that promote CSR projects actively can openly talk about these efforts through media platforms (Goh et al., 2020) Sharing with the public about a company’s CSR initiatives is a robust branding tool that helps build publicity for the business.

CSR projects help in supporting employee engagement. Facebook Inc., just like any other company, has employees performing better when they engage in CSR projects (Isil & Hernke, 2017). These programs have shown to be more effective economically when employees and team leaders engage in them. People hunting for jobs have also been shown to look for companies that have CSR ambitions. Since the best talents often look for companies with values in CSR programs, getting the best skills requires a company to be socially conscious of getting back to the community (Isil & Hernke, 2017). Facebook Inc has continued to attract outstanding talents because of its CSR projects.

CSR has enabled Facebook Inc. to promote its collaboration and innovation within its business. Employees tend to improve in innovation and teamwork when they engage in suitable social activities (Isil & Hernke, 2017). For example, through the Chan and Zuckerberg initiative, the employees have engaged in innovative ways to elevate poverty. Many skills have been developed when dealing with CSR projects (Isil & Hernke, 2017). The employees have learned about different skills, including leadership skills, communication skills, and many more, as they continue to gather local insights. The new skills can help improve business within the workforce and enable the company to enhance.  With happy employees, the work would be of higher quality.

Type of Organizational structure of Facebook Incorporation

 

Facebook Inc. employs matrix organizational structure. This type of organizational structure helps in addressing the business needs especially innovation and creativity. The organizational structure combines elements of corporate- function teams and the divisional teams. The structure is employed in the following ways:

Corporate organizational structure

The corporate organizational structure of Facebook Inc. helps maintain the corporate teams to stay focused on their business role, which is handling operational activities throughout the organization’s structure (Karne, 2020). The structural feature depends on the different needs of the online media business. For instance, Facebook Inc. needs technology research to continue thriving in a highly dynamic virtual business (Karne, 2020).

Geographic Divisions

The regional division is a significant feature in Facebook Inc.’s organizational structure. The different geographical locations where Facebook operates determine this structural characteristic. Facebook utilizes these divisions because of the differences in social media networking and virtual advertising in different geographical locations. This organizational structure helps in addressing the behavioral differences in people using Facebook Inc products (Karne, 2020). For instance, the advertisers from Latin America often use Facebook services differently compared to the European and African advertisers. The human resource department across the different regions is also managed differently according to the regional corporate cultures.

Product-based Divisions

Product Based Divisions is another organizational structure used by Facebook Inc. This structure involves using global and corporate teams to deal with operations that handle specific company products. This corporate and global scope is an effect of the online and digital nature of the social media services the company provides (Isil & Hernke, 2017). Whereas most of the operations carried out by the company deals with social networking services, diversification and expansion of their products are also considered significantly. For instance, the business is finding ways of adding more product lines in the future. This would ensure that more product divisions and corporate structures are made. Such developments would affect the marketing mix of the company (Isil & Hernke, 2017). Marketing tactics and strategies are based on the management of the products.

Suitability of Matrix Organizational Structure of Facebook Inc

Increased Efficiency and Proper Utilization of Resources

One of the significant advantages of the matrix organizational structure in Facebook Inc. is increased efficiency and proper utilization of resources. The company always ensures that they have the right amount of work assigned to the right people at the right time under this organizational structure (Zeller, 2018). Consequently, the company makes maximum use of resources and prevents any wastage. For a multinational organization like Facebook Inc., the matrix structure ensures that the resources are well managed since specialized employees are readily available, different projects can be launched quickly, and tasks handled on time.

Establishment of Cross-Functional skills

A matrix organizational structure ensures that the employees having different sets of skills are mixed which provides a learning opportunity for the employees and enables different skills from many other workers (Davarpanah et al., 2019). This is an excellent advantage regarding the individual growth and development of the employees, which can be utilized later by the organization. With this kind of structure, the company can minimize the costs of projects as resources can be shared.

Flexibility

The matrix organizational structure allows Facebook Inc to be flexible when operating a global business. There are healthy relations across different organizational structures as they share helpful information about leadership from their various organizations, which can help in propelling the company higher (Zeller, 2018). This structure allows the leaders to address challenges arising from different departments, handle employees with much ease and increase the effective outcome from the employees.

Matrix organizational structure is the right type of organizational structure for Facebook Inc because of its multinational operations in the virtual media business (Zeller, 2018). The company’s flexibility is essential, enabling the company to respond efficiently to the market trends and changes. The matrix organizational structure also helps the company stay in control and focus on its operations in different parts of the world (Davarpanah et al., 2019). Further, the product-based divisions help in supporting innovations and creativity in developing more products. Matrix structure is the best for Facebook Inc. as it helps the company to respond to the large scale projects in its multinational business. The company’s projects require quick infusion of technological skills and proper processing of high volumes of information. Matrix model is the most suitable structure to deal with these heavy projects within the necessary time frame. Matrix organizational structure responds quickly to the interdisciplinary needs of the company without any disruptions to the functional structures of the organization.

The key issues from Facebook Incorporation as discussed in this document include its leadership and governance, ethical practices, the company’s corporate social responsibility and the organizational structure.

 Facebook’s Strategic action plan

For this part, first introduced what is the key issue from each of the 4 topic areas (in the document)

Then, mainly focus on the strategic action required by the organization to address the issues identified in your discussion and analysis.

last, few sentences for the recommendations.

Regarding the leadership, Facebook Inc. utilizes hierarchical leadership structure. This structure has enabled the company to limit abuse of power and assign responsibilities depending on the skills and talents of the workers. Hierarchical leadership structure profoundly allows Facebook Inc., to set and give roles based on one’s skills (Terlizzi et al., 2017). Its rigidity is fixed to the fact that the firm is of high-regulated activities. A hierarchical leadership structure has helped Facebook Company set clear authority lines and understand the employees’ responsibilities and roles. Allows the company’s personnel to be responsible for their decisions and actions and that a culture of awareness and loyalty is cultivated among organizations, teams, and departments.

The transactional and strategic leadership style of the company helps it maintain business competitive advantage, increasing the accessibility and efficiency of the services it provides to its users. Facebook Inc. utilizes cost leadership as a competitive strategy over its competitors. This tact involves reducing the costs of conducting business. Cost reduction allows the company to minimize its prices competitively. The company provides its services to the international space and global market. This condition is realized through the nature of the business operated by the company (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). For instance, Facebook uses computing technology to enhance the efficiency of networking in its platform. The virtual nature of the business enables the company to quickly reach out to users across the world, therefore, satisfying the competitive scope of the strategy they employ. The cost leadership strategy helps in achieving the strategic objective of expanding the user base of Facebook. Using this generic strategy, the company can satisfy its objectives by growing its membership which currently has more than 2 billion active users every month (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). Experts have linked Facebook’s intensive growth to its cost leadership strategy. Facebook has managed to proliferate through an intensive strategy of market penetration. The goal of the intensive growth strategy is the maximization of the company’s market share. For instance, as one of Facebook’s strategic goals, the company maximizes its share in the current markets by putting up alliances with other companies dealing in telecommunications to increase the number of people who can use its services (She & Michelon, 2019). The intensive growth approach helps in supporting the cost leadership strategy by maximizing market reach using the available assets.

Key Issues

One key issue faced by Facebook is scale. With customers in more than 155 countries, it is not easy to manage the customers in all these countries and allow for freedom of speech for different countries with different regulation standards and cultures (She & Michelon, 2019). Facebook had more than 2.3 billion users across the world by 2019 (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). Facebook Inc. faces a lot of challenges to navigate the many pictures, videos and posts on their daily business. Because of the scale, millions of posts go uncensored.

Another key issue is the failure of Facebook Inc. to manage privacy and trust of marketers.  In the recent past, Facebook Inc. has been sharply criticized for mismanaging privacy and trust of the marketers. In one of the privacy mismanagements cases that Facebook had with Cambridge Analytica, Facebook ended up losing 41 billion dollars in market value since the investors backed off (Kaiser, Keller & Kleinen-von Königslöw, 2021). The state and Federal agencies have since investigated Facebook. Many companies stopped to advertise with Facebook.

Recommendations

Facebook Inc. should invest in artificial intelligence to help provide solution for the problem of uncensored posts, pictures, and videos. Facebook has already started conducting research on artificial intelligence from scratch. The artificial intelligence can already detect the terrorist content and pornographic posts. Even so, there is a big challenge of understanding the posts, pictures and videos from other languages and put the posts into contexts and get the real meaning behind the posts. This is the area that the Facebook should focus on. Facebook should enhance standards of business conduct to increase its growth. Nowadays, the competitive forces are in global businesses as they face different regulatory, social, and legal settings. Many multinational companies often attempt to ignore essential principles and standards of conduct to gain undue competitive advantage. These practices can question the reputation of the organizations.  Facebook Inc. should develop internal programs and management systems and guidance that stress how they are committed to good corporate citizenship, good business, and good practices (Braccini & Margherita, 2019). Facebook should develop programs like certification services that contribute to the accumulation of expertise in the critical areas of their concern. The efforts would help in promoting social dialogue on what contributes to good conduct. The guidelines for such programs should include shared expectations for business conduct and the reward given to people who adhere to them.

Facebook Inc. should earn marketers’ trust. Facebook Inc made a move of purchasing Microsoft Atlas to bolster its advertising (Braccini & Margherita, 2019). The idea here is that if Facebook can measure the effectiveness of a campaign, then it would attract more advertisers. The more advertisers it gets, the higher the prices it would charge. Indeed, Facebook is an effective advertising channel.

 

Conclusion (required revision for the conclusion)

Facebook Inc. uses corporate social responsibility programs to address the interests of its stakeholders. From social justice to education and creating a healthy community, the Chan Zuckerberg initiative uses technology in the different focus areas of the initiative to impact lives. CSR strategies for Facebook Inc. have led to the improvement of brand perception.  Social acceptability helps in strengthening a company’s image and brand. The organizational structure of Facebook Inc. can be described as a hybrid combining divisional and hierarchical organizational structures. Hybrid model is the right type of organizational structure for Facebook Inc because of its multinational operations in the virtual media business. Facebook uses computing technology to enhance the efficiency of networking in its platform. The virtual nature of the business enables the company to quickly reach out to users across the world, therefore, satisfying the competitive scope of the strategy they employ.

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Appendix

Facebook Board of Directors

No.Board of Director’ NameProfessionalism
1Catalina Botero-MarinoAttorney from Colombia
2Jamal GreeneA Law Professor from Colombia
3Michael McConnellA Constitutional Law Professor in Stanford Law
4Helle Thorning-SchmidtA social Democrat and 1st Denmark woman to be the Prime Minister
5Afia Asantewaa Asare KyeiHuman Rights Advocate with dual citizenship from South Africa and Ghana
6Evelyn AswardLaw Professor in Oklohoma University
7Endy BayuniA journalist from Indonesia
8Katherine ChenPublic Relations and Statistics Professor at National Chengchi Univeristy in Taiwan
9Nighat DadAn Internet Activist and Pakistan Lawyer
10Suxanne NosselPEN America Chief Executive Officer
11Tawakkol KarmanA journalist and Temeni human rights activist
12Maina KaaiA human rights activist and a lawyer from Kenya
13Sudhir KrishnawamyA civil right activist, constitution expert and India’s National Law School Vice Chabcellor
14Ronaldo LemosLawyer and an academic from Brazil
15Julie OwonoInternet Sans Frontieres Executive Director and a lawyer.
16Emi PalmorFormer Israel Ministry of Justice former Director-General
17Alan RusbridgerA journalist from British
18Andras SajorA legal academic from Hungary
19John SamplesCato Institute Vice President
20Nicolas SuzorAustralia’s Queensland University of Technology Associate Law Professor

 

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