Applying Sonya Rosenberg's Three Golden Rules To Social Media

Social networks have been making a splash in the internet world over the past couple of years. In some studies into the monitoring of social media activity by employees has

The popularity of different social media platform like Facebook, MySpace, twitter, LinkedIn, group me etc. has forced many companies to create new policies about social media. With the increasing use of social media policies in both the business and the personal lives, it is very important to set suitable strategies policies of social media. Therefore, I reviewed and critically analysis some of the boundaries on social media policy of a company called Best Buy. Let’s take a look at Bes Buy, which is the biggest multinational consumer electronics corporation in America.

A growing hot topic, and cause for concern is the increasing use of social media in the workplace. The landscape for communication has changed, and the line between personal and professional communications has been blurred. How will your employer manage the risks associated with the use of social media and at the same time, gain the benefits that this media form provides? While many employers were initially concerned that employees would use company time and equipment for socializing with friends, they are quickly learning that many social networks can also be used directly for work purposes.

According to a survey report done by the Kelly services with 170,000 people from 30 different countries, 55% of all the participants believe that the use of social media for both the personal and professional posts can cause problems in the workplace (Bennett, 2012). According to a study done by the proof point, many US companies that have hired the employees more than 1000 in number face a real problem with their employees to use social media (Ostrow 2009). Almost 17% of these companies had faced serious disrepute due to the offensive comments on the social media websites (Ostrow 2009). Almost 13% of the US companies have investigated the use of personal text messages that have been found to infringe the company’s law (Ostrow 2009).

Although the Privacy Act and PIPEDA exist to regulate what personal information is collected in order to protect the employee, these legal means are not enough. The common thread between the two is that the information collected should be collected and used for the stated purposes. The Privacy Act applies to federal institutions, whereas PIPEDA applies to the private-sector, yet neither specifically state social media. As mentioned in this article, the person’s privacy rights should not end simply because the technological advancements are not incorporated into our legislation. However, privacy laws should be able to incorporate social media as it is one of society’s most common method of communication. As society changes, our laws should accommodate. I believe the current criteria are not specific enough, if just cause can be proven and if there is no discrimination, that is seen to be enough for termination. I think that the better option would be the proposal set in this article.

POLICY: This policy provides guidance for employee use of social media, which should be broadly understood for purposes of this policy to include blogs, wikis, microblogs, message boards, chat rooms, electronic newsletters, online forums, social networking sites, and other sites and services that permit users to share information with others in a contemporaneous manner.

Today’s biggest ethical issue in the United States is employers and coworkers posting on social network websites costing themselves and others to lose their job. Due to the misuse of social networking by employees, employers across the country are setting policies regarding employee’s use of social network. Employers are setting policy as to what employees can and cannot say on social websites when they are on or off duty. An example is a news article I came across while browsing the web, article name: Waitress fired after complaining about bad tips on Facebook.

Skype, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook are a few popular social media sites that are used today. As a society, people no longer have to meet up face to face for a social gathering. This era of social interaction online. Not every one person shares the same common sense. However, employers should not control the lives of employees on the internet because this epoch of online communication and not everyone believes in same moral judgment.

Labor laws set out the obligations and rights of employers with regard to work-related benefits, such as wages and overtime, workplace safety and the welfare of employees. There are provisions that an organization and union organizer must recognize to form relationships that are cohesive. All workplaces, including ones with unions require higher morale, efficiency, participation, and flexibility to be successful. Each of these agencies serves a purpose to the Labor Relations Laws. As the union organizer the obligations rest on knowing the federal agencies, and know what each does and how they apply to the labor relations process.

The age of “technology” has changed communication in both our personal and professional lives with the advent of social media. Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and others have global connections to the external world. The readiness of I-pads, laptops and smart phones has provided both the individual and organizations alike to have instantaneous engagement to a broad and large audience over one or all of the social media networks. The relationship between the employee and the organization can be tested if company social media policies are to broad or restrict the employee’s rights under the labor laws protected by the National Labor Relation Act (NLRA) under Section 7 and Section 8. On the other hand, the organization is seeking

The use of Social Networking will be utilized and maintained for the company by the marketing department only; any personal use will be strictly prohibited by employees or volunteer staff while performing duties; Example Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, Flickr, Google, Pinterest or LinkedIn.

This is out of my comfort zone and yet a double standard at the same time since I have accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn that are current. Social media is out of my comfort zone because I have had a few bad experiences that impacted my private and personal life. In addition, my experience as an officer taught me to keep private life under lock and key and my social media life closely guarded. For professional and assignment purposes, my social media site example will be LinkedIn.

At any institution of employment it is generally known that an employer has the ability to monitor their employees’ network station. It is legally permitted to monitor employees’ use of the internet that are owned and operated by that institution, during duty hours. The law also protects employees’ from discrimination when hiring or firing employees’ based solely on information posted on their social network. Generally speaking, people should also be conscious of information they display on social media websites. This is to prevent identification theft, imposters and predators from acquiring information they can use to destroy your credit or reputation. A controversial topic is whether employers should be allowed to discipline or fire

Employers do have a right to access employee information on social media. The information obtained from this media can be used in hiring and retention decisions. Social media contains a lot of publicly available information that can be used to evaluate current and potential employers. To guard against lawsuits that relate to negligent hiring and retention it is only practical that employers scrutinize whoever they want to employ using social media (Elzweig & Peeples, 2009). However, care has to be taken to guard against liability for invading privacy of their current or potential employees.

Social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook have created a new ethical dilemma for many businesses. Corporations, small businesses, and even universities are struggling create policies to manage their employees social networking behaviors. Social networking access, particularly for recruiters, can provide personal information about potential employees, which would otherwise not be available. A business must follow statutes and guidelines when disclosing information to the public. Individuals on social networking sites have no such constraints. Employees can and do make comments about their employers online. Employers can and do watch what employees post online. Any individual can send or post potentially damaging information