BUS 530 Module 4 Discussion / Reflective Discussion

Thanks to the Internet and all kinds of online resources, consumers can now use asymmetric information for their advantage. For instance, buyers can research insurance rates, car prices, and restaurants and hotels online and learn a lot about what other consumers say about these businesses. In the past, these buyers had much less information to use when judging the qualities of goods,  services, or companies.

At the same time, however, this advantage is a double-edged sword, because companies profit from the Internet too, as they use online resources to develop informational advantages over consumers. For instance, companies can now use online research tools such as "cookies" to determine the viewing behavior and the "clicking" habits of consumers, and thus develop marketing campaigns to take advantage of carefully sourced consumer habits.  Discuss.

• · Identify one substantive topic in the course that you will use in your job in the future. Specify the topic, your job, and how you will use this knowledge to make better decisions.
• Looking back at the analytical tools you used throughout the course, name one specific instance when you could use one of these tools to better understand your organization, the market, or the environment in which your employer operates.