Example Of Essay On Yahoo! In China

Business expansion to new market segments offers immense opportunities for success. On the other hand, such expansion presents with an array of challenges. This is evident in the case of Yahoo!’s expansion to China. At the beginning of its expansion in China, Yahoo! generated immense profits. However, Yahoo!’s presence in China generated various controversies, which clouded its success. This paper offers an analysis of an array of issues relating to Yahoo!’s expansion to Chinese markets.
A close analysis of the case of Yahoo! in China depicts an array of ethical and social responsibility concerns. These ethical issues emanate from Yahoo!’s decision in the case involving the Chinese State and Shi Tao who was charged and sentenced to ten years basing on information that Yahoo! provided to the State (Sucher & Baer, 2011). The first social responsibility concern is the responsibility to respect human rights. As a social responsibility, businesses are required to respect human rights in the market contexts, they operate from. Yahoo! contravened this social responsibility by exposing Shi Tao, who used its platform to expose the Chinese States disrespect for human rights. One of the major human rights is the right to demonstrate peacefully. Yahoo! failed to guarantee this right by exposing Shi Taos’ quest to expose the Chinese government’s dictatorship in preventing press coverage of an anniversary in commemoration of numerous assaults and deaths caused by the Chinese government in the spring of 1989. The assaults and deaths occurred when the Chinese government forces used violence on pro-democracy protestors against the autocratic Chinese government.
The second ethical responsibility concern aligned with Yahoo!’s decision in the case of China is Yahoo!’s denial of its responsibility for investigating how information of email users was being used by the Chinese government. When Yahoo! was summoned by the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Yahoo!’s general counsel; Callahan Michael provided false testimony. Precisely, Callahan denied that Yahoo! did not provide the government with any information that was used in the charging and sentencing Shi Tao (Sucher & Baer, 2011). However, details later emerged that the Chinese government used evidence from Tao’s email, which was provided by Yahoo!. Businesses have the ethical responsibility of providing truthful information when needed. Yahoo! contravened this ethical responsibility. Besides, Yahoo! acted in an ethically irresponsible manner by not informing its users to the extent through which information shared in their emails could be shared with third parties.
There are various strategies that Yahoo! could have adopted as a way of preventing the ethical issues that arose from its case in China. In the first ethical responsibility concern, Yahoo! should have informed its users on how information derived from their Yahoo! emails were shared with third parties. Precisely, Yahoo! should have informed its users of the risks of disseminating certain information through their platforms. As such, Yahoo! should not have been liable for disrespecting human rights because Tao would have understood the risk; hence, his arrest would have been his sole responsibility. In a nutshell, Yahoo! should have ensured maximum transparency with its customers on Chinese governments censorship of internet information and the circumstances in which such content or information could be shared with the government. With regards to the ethical issues aligned with providing a false testimony, Yahoo! should have informed their counsel on the need to remain truthful on matter aligned with the company’s actions (Sucher & Baer, 2011).
Business expansion into the global markets does not occur in isolation nor spontaneously. Instead, it calls for a concise analysis of the global market contexts that business is seeking to expand its business activities. One of the major factors to consider when expanding to global market segments is the culture of such contexts (In Plangger, 2016). Cultural differences between the original and foreign market segments can present both opportunities and challenges. In the case of Yahoo!’s expansion to China, the cultural differences between the United States and China presented varying opportunities and challenges. The most eminent opportunity presented by the cultural differences between the United States and China aligns with the fact that the Chinese culture is characterized by an innate fascination towards technological innovations. Compared to the Americans, it has been hypothesized that the Chinese culture is more receptive to technological innovations. This presents as an opportunity for Yahoo! because its services that are aligned with technology are more likely be consumed at a higher rate by the Chinese. On the other hand, language as a cultural factor presents as a challenge in Yahoo!’s expansion to China. Compared to the American language, the Chinese language is more complex; hence, difficult to integrate into Yahoo!’s business concepts.
Another factor that businesses should consider when expanding into the global markets is the politics. As such, political differences between the United States and China can present as an opportunity and a challenge. The political landscape of China is autocratic in nature, whereby the government controls various factors. This presents as a challenge to Yahoo! because such a government implement dictatorial legislations that are not favorable for business growth. Nevertheless, the political landscape of China can present an opportunity for Yahoo!’s success in that abiding by such legislations would not hinder Yahoo!’s business activities.
In Plangger, K. (2016). Thriving in a New World Economy: Proceedings of the 2012 World Marketing Congress/Cultural Perspectives in Marketing Conference.
Sucher, S. & Baer, D. (2011). Yahoo! in China. Harvard Business School, 1-26.