The Corporate Use of Social Networking Websites: Effective or Problematic?

Social networking now a day plays a major role for building a larger pool of people we know. It is almost inevitable to avoid developing a love-hate relationship with Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and many other SNSs. Sometimes, they can be such entertainments and on the other time, they can cost your time. Likewise, today’s workforce faces a controversial issue of how to integrate their use of these social network websites. “Work and social media: Striking a balance” by Debora L. Cohen argues that more companies are encouraging their employees to use SNSs freely for developing public relations, making sales and promoting new marketing ideas. It is also said that some of the downsides of allowing the use of SNSs in the work place are just temporary or short term, and are controllable by providing an education from top to bottom approach. As long as the managers train employees, the companies will improve profitability and the employees will improve technical job skills that can advance their careers. Based on her point of view with a catchy title, I got interested in if the utilization of SNSs in corporation is always a good thing.

Sue Zeidler’s article, “Looking for a job? Try LinkedIn or Twitter”, suggests that since the financial crisis and economic downturns, more companies are using SNSs as an essential recruiting tool. Despite the bad economy and the tense competitions between jobseekers, blooming of social network websites introduces a new way of getting exposed to the job opportunities by enabling people to build up their creative profile through blogs or Linkedin. Therefore, chances of potential employers viewing their interesting profiles are easier and effective in a way that people in needs can contact each other by categorized job fields and connected accounts of the jobseekers through the shared link on their profile. So far, we can conclude that the use of SNSs brings advantages to the both of company and job seekers by building up more connections of who we know, but what are some of the issues associated with utilizing the use of SNSs?

Other than well-known cases regarding hiring or laying off employees through Facebook, most recently, the largest Canadian insurance company, Manulife, ended the sickness benefit of the employee who is on her sick leave from a job with IBM after finding out the posted pictures on her privately set Facebook. The employee’s sick leave was due to the depression and her privately posted picture of herself on the beach that Manulife found out is said to be very happy looking. This is not only the case. There are numerous articles that talk about the companies’ inappropriate use of SNSs for checking up on their clients or current employees causing harm to one’s privacy. Can we say that it’s the employee’s poor use of public posting or Manulife’s invasion of privacy? In Manulife’s point of view, their corporate use of SNSs was to preventing misuse of the sickness benefit by the client. On the other hand, her image reputation has been ruined by the privacy interruption because the employer thought she needs a sick leave which the insurance company proved it to be wrong.

It is certain that some of the problems associated with corporate use of SNSs raise privacy issues. Yet, I personally believe that there is a need for self-awareness and self-responsibility in using the SNSs instead of relying on the new policies to protect your private information. Like Debora mentioned, if there are more long-term benefits in corporate use of SNSs, these short-term issues can be solved by education and training. Even though SNSs are continuously shoring up their privacy policies and coming up with flexible settings for users, the increasing numbers of new social network websites and regulating users are not easily controllable. This increasing trend of craving for more social network websites makes it even more complicated to set universal standard for the appropriate corporate use of SNSs because they are ran by multi-tide connections within different cultures, nationals and organizations in the worldwide. Corporate use of SNSs are not always good for everyone but nevertheless, it can be more of an effective source for them in a long-term if the users are more aware of their decision making on their public postings that could cause trouble for themselves later on.

Sources:
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=830457
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/York+winners+will+tweet+from+toilets/2272074/Work+social+media+Striking+balance/2132763/story.html
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/York+winners+will+tweet+from+toilets/2272074/Work+social+media+Striking+balance/2132763/Looking+LinkedIn+Twitter/1889910/story.html
http://www.betanews.com/article/The-fallacy-of-Facebook-privacy/1259258619
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10404633-71.html