Should Businesses Participate in Politics? | Opinion

ABC Inc. has been under discussion on various social media platforms for its recent posts in favor of a politician and seems determined to support its cause. People took to Twitter to launch a trend named #BoycottABC. Facebook users reacted with bunch of memes. People with good creativity talent provided some interesting and funny memes all directed at the politically biased behavior of ABC Inc.

ABC Inc. has reported a sharp decline in its revenue mainly due to the boycott of products by the opponent party supporters who were once loyal customers of the organization. The company saw a steep decline in its reputation as a popular brand in the market.

Why all this sudden decline in company image became possible? Because some stupid regional manager suggested a political post on company’s official social media accounts to get more attention of customers. And it did get the attention but at the cost of huge decline in company revenue.

So, is it profitable for businesses to participate in politics?

In my last blog post, I stressed on participating in national politics, because it is only possible through politicians to improve the quality of life for the general masses. For details of this post titled "Politics or No Politics, please follow the below link

Politics or No Politics? | Opinion

Meeting of the higher authorities of a company on a recent controvercy
Meeting on key issues

Like the example of ABC Inc. in the starting lines, you may have heard about some companies which take sides in the political environment and support the agenda of a certain politician possibly due to monetary support in return. And hence, become the center of controversy.

For example, just recently in Pakistan, ARY is considered to be a pro PTI news channel. This image started to dominate specially during election campaign and continues to prevail.

However, this kind of behavior can prove fatal for businesses.

Politics, being the “Game of Power” is filled with emotions and attachment. People, specifically supporters are usually emotionally attached with the party. Facts hardly matter, emotions matter the most.

Now you got it? Taking sides in a political environment is that much risky. It is actually equal to zero sum game.

For businesses, profitable customers matter the most, no matter which party they belong to. So, if a business is supporting a certain political party , it will definitely hurt the feelings of opponent party supporters and the result will be emotional reaction i.e. Boycott the company.

Risks for the Businesses

  1. Loss of company reputation
  2. Loss of profitable customers
  3. Sometimes negative responses such as Boycott trends.

Note: This was all about national politics. However, the politics within the organization for power will always remain there, because where there is power sharing, there will always be politics.

Key Points of this blog post

  • Taking sides in national politics is not suitable for businesses.
  • It will have damaging consequences for it, such as loss of reputation, customers, and even negative responses.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Myth of Freelancing | Opinion

Image
Freelancing is very easy, and you can be your own boss. You can do whatever, whenever, and wherever. You may have heard these lines very often. In my opinion however, these are flawed lines and are used only to develop interest and have nothing to do with freelancing in reality. Almost all experienced freelancers would suggest you : stick to only one skill set. So that you can focus on your expertise and provide greater value. But I will somehow disagree with them because what they are saying may be quite right, but only for their own level. They rarely understand or speak on beginner’s level. The level that they are at, has much freelance work, and has a team of their own. So, they are not facing the same problems as the beginners. As a matter of fact, there are many complexities as you start your journey at freelancing as a beginner. Not only you need to be patient, which is said by almost everybody, but also you need to have enough time, enthusiasm and sometimes little i...
Read more

Embrace Equity - International Women's Day 2023

Image
Embrace Equity International Women’s Day is an important event celebrated annually worldwide, honoring the contributions and achievements of women. This year's theme, "Embrace Equity," highlights the need for gender equality, particularly in Pakistan, where women face a myriad of challenges daily. In this article, we'll discuss the struggles of Pakistani women, the progress made so far, and how embracing equity can help promote gender equality.   Pakistan is a country where patriarchal norms dominate society, and women are often viewed as second-class citizens. Despite comprising nearly half of the country's population, women are often denied equal rights and opportunities, both at home and in the workplace. Women in Pakistan are disproportionately affected by poverty, with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities.   In recent years, there have been positive changes in Pakistan regarding women's rights. The government has t...
Read more

Paper Discussion | Benefits and Reasons

Image
Paper Discussion Throughout my whole academic career, I had a negative attitude towards paper discussion i.e. I got irritated every time whenever I saw my friends discussing paper. However, it is until recently that I realized the potential benefit of paper discussion. What is paper discussion? When I say paper discussion, I mean discussion of paper i.e. exam pape r just before as well as just after the exam. Before the start of an exam, students usually discuss about important points regarding exam, or even chances of a particular question. After the end of exam, students usually discuss the answers. Defining Why paper discussion is Important? Paper discussion is important due to various reasons. Rather than discussing these reasons at one place, let's look at these reasons separately i.e. just before and after the exam. Just before the Exam Just before the start of your exam, you are almost done with your preparation and sometimes even wit...
Read more