Facebook Stakeholders
Identify relevant stakeholders associated with Facebooks’ business model.
For the success of any business, all the stakeholders must be satisfied by the model being used, and this is what Facebook has always been focusing on. Stakeholders always need value to be created for them so that they can develop a stronger relationship with the business they are associated with (Friedman 10). Stakeholders, in this case, refer to the different groups which have some stake in activities that enable the thriving of Facebook business. Facebook’s relevant stakeholders include its customers, who are free users and advertisers, its employees as well as Mark Zuckerberg, who was the core founder and any other financial source. Each of these stakeholders has a way in which they contribute to the business, as well as what they expect in return (Friedman 4). Advertisers have the greatest role as Facebook stakeholders since they are the main source of revenue, which is realized as they pay for what they wish to advertise to be displayed on the platform. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, has to oversee the management of the platform and ensure that all customers are fully satisfied, and their complaints are addressed accordingly. For free users, their role exists where they come across relevant ads for which they may develop interest depending on their preferences, a property which benefits those who had posted the advert. The adverts are generally provided through the “Newsfeed” functionality, which is considered as the most important feature on the Facebook platform (Jacoby 22). Maintenance of a good relationship between these stakeholders as well as appraisal of their responsibility has therefore been the main reason why the Facebook business model has emerged successful hence making it impossible for competitors to provide significant competition.
Who is involved and/or affected? What are their interests?
Amongst all these stakeholders, each of them is affected depending on what they expect from the relationship. Free users may be affected by new products that are introduced to them through ads, while advertisers may realize the effect of an expanded market. Contrary, customers may face the impact of unnecessary expenditures due to the influence of ads, while advertisers may realize stiff competition if their competitors use more strategic ads. Zuckerberg only faces the effect of increased profits as the number of customers continues to grow. As stakeholders engage them with Facebook business, they always expect some benefits or some support in return (Friedman 13). Free customers always expect to be connected to other people across the world, as well as being fed with the latest information. Employees expect financial benefits equivalent to their work, while advertisers always want their ads to be displayed to the highest number of potential customers.