The Octopus card Essay Example

to selling customers’ personal data to third-party companies, earning a total profit of HK$44 million over the last 4.5 years (Tsang ; Ng, 2010). Due to these deceptive practices, Octopus got involved in commercial exploitation of customers' personal information for profit-making purposes.

On average, every cardholder has been approached by other companies approximately 1. times for commercial purposes. Octopus' "personal data policy" is a highly detailed, fine print document that outlines how the company handles personal data. It specifies that personal data can be utilized for "marketing of goods and/or services by us, our subsidiaries and our affiliates or any of our selected business partners." However, this information is tucked away in an inconspicuous corner on the lower right section of the company's homepage, resulting in many Octopus cardholders not having read the document beforehand (Ng, 2010).

Furthermore, Octopus continued to deny the issue when it became public until a former Cigna employee provided the necessary proof. These two incidents prove Octopus's deceitful intentions regarding the use of their customers' personal data. Recommendations Considering deceptive personal data usage strategies, Octopus could indeed generate a significant amount of income in the short term by selling Octopus Card holders' data. However, as a public utility, it should focus more on every stakeholder and aim to maintain long-term relationships with its customers in order to ensure survival and long-term profitability.

Octopus must promptly cease all transfer of personal data to external corporations and ask those entities to erase all customer data in their possession to avoid unwarranted exposure of information. Following this, Octopus should express regret and assure that it won't be sharing user-specific data with third-party companies for marketing purposes

henceforth. Moreover, Octopus must make their "personal data policy" clearly visible on their website or consider removing such provisions if they are committed to no longer selling personal data.

Also, the adoption of corporate social responsibility is increasingly prevalent in numerous businesses. This encompasses the deliberate steps a firm takes to consider the ethical, societal, and ecological consequences of its business practices and its stakeholders' issues. Thus, greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility is strongly advocated. As a result, Octopus should take into account their stakeholders, and not merely prioritize profit when making every decision.

Hence, such actions potentially amplify the capacity of the corporation to develop an ethical corporate persona and restore client confidence in Octopus. Summarizing, this report delves into issues relating to the ethicalness of Octopus's marketing practices concerning consumer privacy data. The report culminates with the conclusion that Octopus's monopoly in the industry and its widespread use by Hong Kong citizens does not exempt it from lapses in managing customer private information and engaging in some unethical behaviors.

Recommendations for enhancing the reputation of Octopus include 1) stopping the provision of personal data at once, 2) urging associated companies to remove all customer personal data, 3) expressing regret and pledging to restrain from sharing customer personal data with third parties, 4) presenting a clearer "personal data policy" and getting rid of related terms, 5) assuming greater corporate social responsibility. With these measures, Octopus can mitigate the negative impacts resulting from this issue and establish a moral corporate image which will be beneficial for profitability in the long-term.