Social networking and information system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social networking and information system - Essay Example Although most of the activity done on social media is either non-work-related or entirely harmless, employers sometimes take exception to the employees’ online postings and take disciplinary action against them. Some kinds of social media usage by employees that usually acquire disciplinary action from the employers include posting photos or videos showing some sort of misbehavior related to work e.g. tweeting about avoiding work or feigning illness, and expressing views over social media whose connection to the organization is not appreciated or approved of by the employers. The technical, legal, and ethical implications of the social media in business imparts need for government and organizations to work at their respective levels to develop safety mechanisms, security systems, and codes of ethics to guide the behavior of employees at the workplace. Business use of social media saw a two-fold increase from 11 per cent in 2008 to 22 per cent in 2009 (Sarrel, 2010). Social med ia is being increasingly used by the employees at the workplace for both non-work and work related purposes including attracting clients and developing joint ventures. Organizations use social media to engage their customers and market their products and services as social media websites â€Å"provide a cyber-meeting space for people wanting to network† (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2011, p. 270). Rise in the use of new technology in general and of the Internet and the social media at the workplace in particular implies that employees can now access information related to their employment law and employment rights much more easily than they could in the past. A vast majority of organizations and unions provide information related to their employment rights in definite sections of their websites in formats that are easily understandable including links to social media websites like YouTube and Twitter. Although employees’ increased access to information can generally be perce ived as a positive development since it increases their awareness about employment laws and assists them in dealing with work related issues, yet this also poses certain challenges for organizations. For example, employees may prefer getting information about employment laws online rather than directly approaching their managers or consulting a trade union representative. As a result, employees have a tendency of misunderstanding information that has been garnered out of context online, which in effect, complicates the interaction on specific issues between employers and employees. As social networking websites have become more popular, employees have received a platform where they can display a lot of information about themselves. This information is visible to everybody in the public and potentially to the employer. The employer can access all that information including photographs showing the activities and behavior of the employees outside of work which can have an adverse impac t on the dignity and reputation of an employee at work. Principally, an employer should not judge an employee’s performance at work based on their private life activities. Every employee has a personal life that should be respected by the employers until the employee does not breach the ethical guidelines established by the organization. Baldas (2009) argues that with the awareness that the information about private life has been accessible to the