“Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.” Mark Zuckerberg, founder, co-founder, whatever (depending on litigation) and CEO of Facebook
Well, except that Facebook hired a PR firm to cajole, convince, and coax op-ed writers and other bloggers/journalists to post negative stories about Google’s Social Circle — a bit of a threat to Zuckerberg et al..  E-mails reveal that the PR firm, in full persuasive swing, did not indicate who its client was. Both those who wrote without disclosing their PR motivator (and lack of curiosity about their solicitor and their solicitor’s client) and the folks at Facebook have been hoisted by their own petards. Transparency, transparency, transparency, they cry. But, who knew that when the going gets tough competition-wise that transparency is a tall order.
Beneath the social responsibility/do-good label that has always been associated with the cyber companies, from the dot-com era to the social media present, is a maddening moral superiority born of the irrational good fortune handed to the young and inexperienced for a singular good idea. They know not how to continue after that — we already rewarded you for that idea, now where can you take us? Suddenly, they are in the world of business, a world far more ethically challenging than the hermetically sealed environments of garages and dorm rooms where the absolutes flow glibly from the tongues of bright inventors using others’ capital and sallying forth with nothing to lose and no competitors.  When they enter the business world, i.e., after the initial idea wears thin, they find themselves ethically challenged. They are no different from those they mocked in their defiant and all-green supernatural success.Â
This latest breach of Facebook’s own ethical absolute indicates the inability of young ‘un billionaries to think deeply and reason when it comes to standards and practices for doing business. We know you did something no one has done before, but there is a world of knowledge not on anyone’s home page or profile. Absolutes hurled about with the once-in-a-era financial windfall seem unassailable, until you enter the realm of competition and tough choices between making money or acting ethically. For Google, “Do no harm,” was a lovely motto until it came across the potential of the Chinese market. There’s money in a country where death is the penalty for practicing Christians, and prison awaits those who question the government. For Facebook, a nice whisper campaign through a third party can cut Google’s potential off at the knees. Transaprency? We meant that for everyone else.
Here’s an absolute for Facebook it should have learned from these headline revelations about its conduct: this stuff comes out. Indeed, your product has lost many applicants jobs because of what was posted about them on your site. Transparency is indeed a sticky wicket, especially when you have to live with it economically.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
