Social Media Summative Assignment Week 5 Essay

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relevance of a well-developed social media policy cannot be overstated. This is more so the case given that in addition to ensuring that their public image and reputation is not tainted; organizations need to protect themselves against liabilities arising from the actions of their employees. A new employee could be overenthusiastic about their new position and deem it fit to post, blog, and tweet about the said position and other info about the company. When their posts appear alongside other unrelated and non-professional (or even obscene) personal posts they have made in the past, this could put in question the caliber of people the company hires. Employees could, also, in seeking to defend their companies or other related reasons post abusive or false information about a rival company; or worse still, leak confidential data about the company they work for -- leading to legal suits

Regardless of the relevance of social media use in the organizational setting, there is, however, need to ensure that employee productivity is not affected via the utilization of the company's information systems for activities that are not work-related, i.e. constant updating of profiles and chatting with those in their networks. Instead of banning non-work-related computer activity, employers could instead harness the power of social media to further the organization's agenda by adopting a good social media program. This text develops a policy that a fictional organization, ABC Company, could embrace to guarantee the best outcomes as far as its social media program is concerned.

Literature Review

According to Keyes (2013, p. 90), "social networks have always been a vital aspect of people's social lives and communications." They cannot, therefore, be delinked from the organization's way of doing things. Some of the companies that have in place well-developed social media policies include, but they are not limited to, Adidas Group, Apple, the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Dell,, LiveWorld, L.A. Times, IBM, and Greteman Group. There is need to review case studies so as to develop a good social media policy for ABC Company. On that note, two examples of social media policies will be highlighted in this section -- Greteman Group and G4S.

Greteman Group avails to its client base in the aerospace industry a wide range of services including public relations, advertising, and marketing. It has its headquarters in Wichita, KS. The company has a well-defined social media policy that clearly sets the standards of behavior with regard to the use of social media by employees. The overall social media use philosophy of the company is: "while you are on company time, please refrain from online activities that don't bring value to Greteman Group. Think of your personal time online in the same way you think of personal phone calls or emails" (Greteman, 2016). This is understandable, given that "a 2009 survey of 300 Australian workers led by marketing Professor Brent Coker found that 70% of respondents engaged in 'leisure browsing' online while at work ... " (Jenkins, Ford, and Green, 2013, p. 308). On Blogging, the company points out that the online activities of employees have an impact on the image of the company -- it therefore advises employees to be smart by never disclosing company and client information deemed private and confidential. Some of the other key items captured in the company's blogging guidelines include, but they are not limited to, avoiding personal blogs during working hours, making it known that opinions and viewpoints posted on personal blogs are those of the blogger and not of the company, and seeking clarification from the supervisor when in doubt over what to post or not to post. On Social networking the company has in place some guidelines to regulate employee use of sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. These include; never accessing personal social networks during working hours, being smart when making posts so as not to embarrass the company or its clients, and being mindful of what is posted about competitors. Activities that are not work-related are also discouraged, i.e. online shopping, blog reading, watching of social media videos, etc.

G4S is a multinational security firm that concerns itself with the provision of security and a wide range of other related activities such as handling of cash. Its head offices are located in London. With its social media policy, G4S intends to empower those in its employ "to use the social web in an effective ad supportive way that gives" the company's clients, "colleagues and any external viewers the best possible understanding of who we are and what we do" (G4S, 2016).

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While the company points out that social media could be an excellent way to communicate as well as engage with the world, it also observes that there are various risks associated with the same that all employees should be aware of. In an attempt to minimize the risks posed by social media utilization by employees at the workplace while at the same time harnessing its power and benefits, the company has in place several guidelines:

While the company clearly points out that it is well aware that social media use by employees cannot be, in its entirety, work related, it advises employees to be judicious with what they share. Uploading of employee photos, posting of work related info, distributing information about the workplace, etc. are some of the things that are not permitted, particularly given the nature of the company's operations. Also, in an attempt to avoid legal suits, the company advises employees to observe confidentiality agreements and business ethics policy when making posts on social media platforms. G4S makes it clear that employees are legally liable for their online posts or presentations (G4S, 2016). It should also be noted that the company is well aware that it could have its reputation destroyed by its own employees' online behavior. Therefore, it advises its employees to only post what they have knowledge of, avoid being linked to controversial content on the web, and steer clear of spamming.

Social Media Policy: ABC Company

This is the social media policy of ABC Company, a company that concerns itself with the supply of medical equipment.

1. Overview

The social media policy of ABC Company intends to provide those in the employ of the company with primary guidelines in their utilization of social media. The company appreciates the fact that social media is an important medium that has revolutionalized the way we communicate and engage. The company is, however, aware that social media use could be disadvantageous and detrimental to consumer confidence and its brand image if wrongfully or irresponsibly used.

2. Policy Highlights

2.1 Scope: All ABC Company employees are expected to comply with the contents of this social media policy.

2.2. Anything employees of ABC Company post in their private networks could be constructed to be the official position of ABC Company

As an employee of ABC Company, you must at all times be cautious in your posts so as not to mislead those who read such posts into believing that the said posts are made on behalf of ABC Company

As an employee of ABC Company, you must clearly state, in those instances where you mention the company, that the views you express are your own and do not in any way represent the official position of the company

2.3. Adherence to the relevant regulations, laws, and policies of ABC Company

All employees of the company must ensure that they do not infringe on the rights of others in their social media engagements. In addition to not infringing on the intellectual property rights of others, employees of ABC Company must not post abusive, dishonorable, or even false information about competitors, other firms, or their colleagues at work or in their social circles

2.4. Honesty and Responsibility

Employees of ABC Company must, when posting information on any social media platform, realize that such information could be viewed by a large number of users who could end up interpreting the said information wrongly

Employees of ABC Company should avoid posting comments or views that could be seen as unjust or discriminative to specific groups or classes of people

All posts made by ABC Company employees must respect the generally accepted decency and social standards

2.5 Information confidentiality

Certain information is confidential on the basis of its content. Such information, which could include information about ABC Company and its stakeholders, must not be posted

All information that has not yet been availed to the public must not be posted. Such information could have been learnt by the employee in the course of his or her day-to-day engagement with the company and could include profit and loss declarations, managerial declarations of any nature, and employee benefits.

2.6 Virality of Information

Employees must appreciate the fact that information could be hard to delete once it is posted. Information, once posted online, also spreads very fast and may reach thousands of people within a few hours. The relevance of "thinking twice" before posting any kind of information….....

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