Premium Essay

Social Networking in the Workplace

In: Business and Management

Submitted By nadiaweldon
Words 2003
Pages 9
Social networks have become the lifeline of communication for a working person across the world. They have become a new trend in the workplace and they continue to grow, from analyzing potential employees' profiles to promoting a business and encouraging interaction between employees. They are the platform that people share with friends and family to catch up on what is happening in each other’s life. People have little time to actually connect in the real world that makes social networks especially important.
Social network sites are web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, speak about a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and organization of these connections may vary from site to site. What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to say and make visible their social networks. While Social Networking Services have implemented a wide variety of technical features, their backbone consists of visible profiles that display a clear list of Friends who are also users of the system. The public display of connections is a crucial component of Social Networking Services. Beyond profiles, friends, Social Networking Services vary greatly in their features and user base. Some have photo sharing or video-sharing capabilities; others have built-in blogging and instant messaging technology.
Whether from their own devices or company computers, most employees use social media at work, with or without permission. Individuals can sign up for free, create profiles, share videos, listen to music, receive live updates and interact on a 24/7 basis with a community of millions. These are the days of Facebook,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Social Networking Plays an Important Role in Our Workplace

...Social networking plays an important role in our workplace In recent times, more workers around the globe are using social networks. People of every age group, big or small, know how to use the different social networking sites. A US survey showed the habits of 1,600 Internet users from the U.S., UK, Germany and Japan and found that over the past two years, social networking users in the workplace has risen from 19% to 24%. Is it being used to drive our businesses ahead, or if we’re instead wasting our companies’ time and money? Now let we see what the company and employees use it to do: In China, Renren and Xiaonei social networks are very popular now. There is no doubt that it has become one of the best ways to meet people in different parts of the world. People of every age group big or small are using numerous networking sites and creating their profile. They share information and communicate with each other. Social network provides the opportunity to strengthen the bonds between employees in a work place. Social network helps to establish interaction and information sharing between users. With the rapid growth of online users, it has helped the company to promote their business and in reality it has become a marketing tool of driving business. Companies also use it as a platform to distribute product information and some of them have translated into sales. Now look as below the SWOT analysis of social network in our workplace: Strength: It promotes and facilitates communication...

Words: 5033 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Coca Cola

...Written Communication Mark Dunne 20067332 Workplace Impact of Social Media 1 Introduction This report summarises an article written by (Bennett et al.,2009). It will focus on the benefits of social networking and the disadvantages of social networking. 1.1 Social networking Social networking is the practice of expanding ones business contacts or social contacts by making connections with people all over the world. 1.2 Benefits of social networking in the workplace. Social networking now plays an instrumental part in today’s world of business. Nardi (2002) argues that employee’s social networks lay an important place in the workplace, stating that social networking is crucial to businesses that require teamwork. Lange (2008) supports this view and says that social networks are very efficient means of initiating and maintaining contacts with a company’s different sectors anywhere in the world. By maintaining contact anywhere in the world, tasks can be done quicker and more efficiently even if you are somewhere else in the world. These sites help provide workers with a chatroom, instant messaging, discussion groups, blogging, emails and videos of work. When social networking entered the public domain, many recognised it as an opportunity to further enhance work-based communication practices (Nardi, 2002). 1.3 Critique I find with this article that it highlights all the benefits of social networking. It praises social networking, and it gives no real negative response towards...

Words: 397 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Psychologist a Nd Environmentalist

...Social Networking at the Work place Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Social Networking at the Work place 1. Statement of Policy The policy plan is about the need to have moderate use of social networking at the workplace. This policy is aimed at ensuring the employee use of social networking at the workplace does not override their ability to meet their job requirements. The plan aims at ensuring the moderate use of social networking to augment their ability to meet deadlines as the overuse of social networking reducing their ability to work well and reduces their efficiency. The current situation has seen the overuse of social networking at the workplace that has led to reduced efficiency. The employees’ ability to beat deadlines has diminished and empirical study has shown the reason as spending most of the time on social networks. The main social networking sites the employees are passing working time on include twitter, facebook owing to the ability of the two sites to connect them woih friends, family, and the Provision of real time chatting and messaging services. The policy intends to moderate the use of social networking at the workplace as a means of improving the efficiency of the employees and improve time management for the benefit of the ability of the company to meet its aims. 2. Scope of the Policy The main reason for the policy introduction is that the productivity of the employees and the work quality has been diminishing overtime since the...

Words: 374 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Impact of Social Media on the Workplace

...Research Report Impact of Social Media on the Workplace By Abdul Asif 300817244 Rajdeep Kaur 300816572 Divyeshkumar Patel 300823773 Surya Chandu Sanaka 300831648 Sai Sravani Velaga 300829096 Submitted to: Prof. Phillip Alalibo GNED 219-071 Winter 2015 1. Introduction of Topic and Clarification of Research Statement “Our research topic is - The Impact of Social Media on the workplace and our research statement states that Social Media have a significant and positive impact on the workplace.” Social media is turning into an inevitable part of our society. It serves as medium to globally link people together, regardless of their physical location. Generally, people are using social media for various reasons, such as to share information, to get in touch with their loved ones, and to look for business colleagues...

Words: 2892 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Policy and Procedure

...Effective Date: March 2, 2015 Affected Employers: All full-time and part-time U.S. employees Purpose: • Social Networking: The use of dedicated websites and applications to interact with other users, or to find people with similar interests to oneself. o Examples include using sites to post images, communicating with other people through the Internet, or participate in online games. • Social Media: Websites and applications that enable users to create and shard content or to participate in social networking. o Examples include LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. • Although social media can produce many advantages, much research has concluded that it has negative effects on productivity in the workplace. It has been stated that policies within companies should be implemented to avoid these negative effects. • The goal of this policy is to implement a new code regarding the use of social media to limit social networking on computers, smart phones and tablets within the Pfizer workplace. Policy and Procedure: Social Media In the Workplace Pfizer Inc. Department Of Human Resources 235 East 42nd Street NY, NY 10017 1-212-733-2323 Policy: • Pfizer employees must refrain from the use of any social media networks on devices (such as smart phones, tablets, or computers) during the hours one is working at Pfizer. • All full-time and part-time U.S. employees are responsible for complying with this new policy...

Words: 777 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Effects of Social Networking

...SETA survey of representatives in Tribunal cases 2008 t Research Paper Workplaces and Social Networking The Implications for Employment Relations ns Ref: 11/11 2000 1 0 Andrea Broughton, Tom Higgins, Ben Hicks and Annette Cox (The Institute for Employment Studies) For any further information on this study, or other aspects of the Acas Research and Evaluation programme, please telephone 020 7210 3673 or email research@acas.org.uk Acas research publications can be found at www.acas.org.uk/researchpapers ISBN 978-1-908370-07-5 Workplaces and Social Networking The Implications for Employment Relations Andrea Broughton Tom Higgins Ben Hicks Annette Cox Prepared for Acas by: Institute for Employment Studies Sovereign House Church Street Brighton BN1 1UJ UK T: 01273 763400 F: 01273 763401 www.employment-studies.co.uk Copyright © 2009 Acas The Institute for Employment Studies The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent, apolitical, international centre of research and consultancy in public employment policy and organisational human resource issues. It works closely with employers in the manufacturing, service and public sectors, government departments, agencies, and professional and employee bodies. For 40 years the Institute has been a focus of knowledge and practical experience in employment and training policy, the operation of labour markets, and human resource planning and development. IES is a not-for-profit organisation which has over...

Words: 16924 - Pages: 68

Free Essay

Social Media

...In the recent years the popularity of social media has soared, while these technologies present great opportunities for employees, they also have the potential of legal pitfalls. With all the various advances in technology it is making it easier for people to transport and afford computers and tablets, coupled with the propagation of social media it is rapidly changing the way people communicate. People are afforded the opportunity and means to communicate with their family, friends and even strangers, which until recently were not available. New social media predominantly Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have revolutionized not only the way people communicate but also how business is conducted. Employers are now using social media as a way of recruiting and marketing. Due to the large number of users to these social networking sites, it makes it easier and more attractive for recruiters to find a possible source of hire. According to Mello (2012), as of December 2011 Facebook had over 80 million users where half of whom logged on to the site daily and the other half logged on using their mobile device. In the United States alone, there are over 20 million users to Facebook which is two thirds of the user population (New York Times, 2012). According to Social Network and Employment Law (2012), the volume of communication continues to expand for Twitter with over 30 million participants to their site; the article goes on to state that LinkedIn has over 30 million...

Words: 821 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Social Media Is Changing the Way We Communicate

...it pains me to admit, I am an avid user of all of these social networks. It is interesting to think that there once was a time when writing letters, using only home phones or physically going to see a person were the only means of communication, a time that recent generation children will only learn about from reading history books, or hearing from their families. Today I am going to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of social networks. The good being origins and advantages, the bad being disadvantages and the ugly being the dangers of social networking. In today’s society, where technology is the driving force for almost everything, there is no escaping social networking. Whether it’s being told to follow someone on Twitter, taking a photo and uploading it to Instagram or finding out more information about a company through it’s FaceBook page, you can do almost anything with the help of social networking. We have all heard of these social networking outlets, but they were not the first in the business. According to an article A Brief History of Social Media, ‘the first social networking website was SixDegrees which let people make profiles and connect with friends in 1997. This kind of interactive, social web application style became popularly known as “Web 2.0” and it really gained momentum with Friendster around 2002, followed by MySpace (2004 – 2006) and then Facebook (2007 -> ).’ In the social...

Words: 1174 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Nurse

...procedures. It establishes organizational ethics by which employees are requested to follow. This includes the professional conduct required of health professionals in the use of social media in the workplace. According to Brent (2011), "Social networking is the main source of communicating in today's society" (para. 1). Mobile communications, E-mail, Texting, and the use of Facebook and Twitter has set record breaking rates above any other form of communications in recent years (Badzek, 1998). Social networking empowers both the consumer and the health care provider. The use of the Internet plays an important role in finding health information, which allow the patient to become better informed concerning personal health, and more educated in decision-making. Health care providers also benefit by conducting real-time meetings online to discuss the most challenging cases, and to devise solutions to improve therapeutic regimens of patients. Health care providers are driven by professional connections and timely communications with patients, families, and other health care providers. Social networking is the media by which health care providers use for a range of professional purposes, primarily to educate patients or to foster provider-patient relationships, which is impressive. Although social networking has tremendous benefits to the consumer and provider, it comes with strong concerns, and confidentiality, and patient privacy issues top the list (Modahl, 2011). In recent...

Words: 1322 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Work Psychology

...1. Does your organisation look at social networking when recruiting? Yes, they look at social networking to see the profile of the candidate to know more about his life. - If so how? They look for the name in the social network. - Do they look at potential candidates through linked in etc? I guess so. 2. Do you interact with colleagues on social networking sites? Yes, with the closest colleagues. 3. What is your views on social relationships out with the workplace i.e. facebook? I think is the best invent ever, because is a way to know more about your friends and a different wat to communicate. 4. What is your company policy on social networking? they don’t’t like us to be in a social network when we are at work - Has social networking had any huge impact on your business? I think so, because my company is present in the most popular social networks. 5. Do you feel pressured by other colleagues to build peer networks? No. Im in the social network because I like it. 6. Do you feel you may miss out on work related issues or decisions if you are out of the network? No, we treat important issues in the workplace. 7. Do you think social networking is a reliable way to advance in your career? Yes. - Why? Because it’s private and you can choose what you want to publicate. 8. Do you believe social networking could damage your career if influences by personal problems? no. 9. Are you a smoker? Yes. - If yes: How often do you smoke? When you do, do you usually...

Words: 382 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Essay

...How Social Media Is Changing the Way We Communicate What is the first thing you would do if your city’s power went out? Would you light a candle? Reach for a flashlight? Or would you run for your cell phone? Most of us would choose the last option, but without power, most cell phones become useless due to lack of service. Imagine, no connection to the world outside your house. No FaceBook, no Twitter, no Instagram or Pinterest. For most, including myself, that would be a nightmare. As much as it pains me to admit, I am an avid user of all of these social networks. It is interesting to think that there once was a time when writing letters, using only home phones or physically going to see a person were the only means of communication, a time that recent generation children will only learn about from reading history books, or hearing from their families. Today I am going to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of social networks. The good being origins and advantages, the bad being disadvantages and the ugly being the dangers of social networking. In today’s society, where technology is the driving force for almost everything, there is no escaping social networking. Whether it’s being told to follow someone on Twitter, taking a photo and uploading it to Instagram or finding out more information about a company through it’s FaceBook page, you can do almost anything with the help of social networking. We have all heard of these social networking outlets, but they...

Words: 1182 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Communication Vital Tool for Management??

...2009) Miller highlights the impact of globalisation in her latest offering, suggesting changes in global demographics, diversification and technological advances have attributed to such major changes within the area of organisational communication. The emergence of web2.0 which was coined in 1999 by DiNucci was launched into the business jargon by Tim O Reilly in 2004. he term is describe new way in which software developers and end-users started to utilize the World Wide Weparticipatory and collaborative fashion.” The traditional online services were affected by the burst of the dot.com bubble in the early 2000’sthe enhancement of the newer Web 2.0 services saw a new era in computer mediated communication. The move from the traditional social software’s of email, IM etc was primarily due to the development and use of software such as RSS, to enhance speed at which information is exchanged increased the demand for tools to exchange information. The growth and the increasing use of wikis, blogs, tagging etc has developed the way business communicates on a daily basis. This all brings new challenges to management and challenges their ability to adapt to the new...

Words: 1727 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Privacy

...Privacy and surveillance in the workplace In the modern workplace there are various tensions that exist between the privacy of employees and the level of surveillance that employers may employ in order to ensure that the organization functions optimally (Sprenger, P. (1999); Treacy, B. (2009); Wilkes, A. (2011)). Social networking sites are becoming more and more popular, and the internet is being used more and more to facilitate communication within organizations: “According to the Office for National Statistics' 2010 data, 30.1 million adults in the UK (60% of the population) access the internet every day or almost everyday. This is nearly double the 2006 estimate of 16.5 million. Social networking was a popular internet activity in 2010, with 43% of internet users posting messages to social networking sites or chat sites, blogs etc. While social networking activities prove to be most popular amongst 16–24 year olds, 31% of internet users aged 45–54 have used the internet to post messages on social network sites, while 28% uploaded content. Many of the adults that use social networks do so not only for social networking purposes but also for business networking purposes. Of the individuals listed in LinkedIn this year, there are over 52,000 people, predominantly in the US, Canada, India, Italy, UK and the Netherlands (in that order) with 'privacy' mentioned in their profile. Within LinkedIn there are also a considerable number of privacy related LinkedIn groups which have...

Words: 379 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Social Networking in Business and Human Resources

...Social Networking in Business and Human Resources Rebecca Moriarty Troy University Introduction to Information Systems IS 3300 XTIB Dr. Rodger Morrison February 27, 2011 With the growth and explosion of popularity of the internet in the recent past, there has been a significant increase in the use of social networking sites. More than ever people and businesses are now using the internet with the purpose of having access to social networking sites. It is in these sites that they are able to set up networks with their friends, co-workers and family from all over the world and be able to share their thoughts and ideas on virtually everything spanning from personal issues to work and business advertising. Social networking sites have therefore become a subject that is drawing a lot of research from all over the academic world. In the recent past it has become difficult for people working in human resources departments to avoid the distractions that are being introduced with the rampant use of social networking sites. In the world today millions of people are now subscribed to the providers of the social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Friendster among many others. The main activities that go on in these sites are online discussions about the common happenings in life, discussions about various interests, organizing of various events, making friends, talking about politics or mere gossip sharing activities (Jackson, 2003)...

Words: 2300 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Social Media

...Aug 11, 2013 Title of your paper: Social Media in the work place Introduction Some employers use the internet to hire future employees meaning most of their applications are done online. Some employer uses it to promote their business, for examples they use it to put different advertisement ads out. The main problem with networking in the workplace is that most people use the internet for the wrong reason. For example a hiring manager supposed to online looking for new employees that fit the needs of an opening a business may have and instead they are looking at porn. Not only have the company paid him all day to do his job that he is not during they still don’t have any potential on the opening that they have available. So either way it go the company is losing money. So if you look at it networking can be a good thing and it could be a bad thing in a business stand point. I don’t think banning social networking from business should be an option but I do think that it should limited access on what sites that they may and may not be able to access form a work computer. If they do get caught during something on a computer that is not work related should be punished or they should just lose their job all around. I think that if they make it clear what the internet is supposed to be used for in the work place and put strict rules and stick to them that they should not have a major problem. Advantages and Disadvantages of social media in the work place An...

Words: 1476 - Pages: 6