Topic > Ethical Issues Related to Using Social Media in the Workplace

Social media is any website that allows for social interaction. Social media is growing rapidly all over the world. More and more adults and teens are joining sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to interact with friends, family and strangers. The introduction of Social Media has changed the world in many ways. It affects each individual in different ways. Today it can also be used as a very useful tool to change a person's life, but at the same time it can cause conflicts that can have a negative impact on a person's life. Online social media has gained astonishing growth and popularity around the world, which has led to attracting the attention of a variety of research globally. By anyone's standards, these are staggering figures and yet they only apply to one social media site. It's no surprise then that social media is starting to permeate almost every aspect of our lives, whether professionally, personally or socially. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “Many companies have been adept at leveraging the power of social media to their advantage. Others have been less so, but they are catching on. However, things are never simple in the world of social media.” (Marrone 2016 , p1).In addition to the benefits, social media raises some huge real and challenging issues. It is clear that both employers and employees need to consider how social media sites can affect employment have been quick to use social media to recruit staff. Others have been skilled at allowing employees to use social relationships. Some employers have simply wanted to use social media as a better way to interact with their staff and promote a more collegial environment. “But many will be too familiar with reports of employees misusing social media in or outside of the workplace to the detriment of their employer. Some stories involved employees who were fired after posting inappropriate comments about coworkers or their employer.” (Mayer Brown 2016, p2). Very often, the legal issues behind these stories are overlooked. “Social media is a generalized term for a group of online software tools that enable greater interaction and development of online content by any web user” (Kuhns 2012, p.4). Social media includes well-known sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Social media is changing the way people and organizations communicate. The massive proportional distribution of social media has become extremely popular among Internet users. They have greatly influenced how users access and use information in all aspects of their lives. “Various social media sites have created an information explosion with access to information making it more liberalized” (Jotham 2013). In the workplace, when you use social media, you abuse working hours. With the increasing amount of time employees spend on social media sites, this risk is growing rapidly. Such employees will regularly access social media from work and even without authorization the company name, logo, trademark, copyright information or intellectual property in blogs, discussion forums or social networking sites that may infringe the right of company to control its assets. Conflicts of interest can take many forms and can intersect with other forms of badconduct, a form of exploitation of company resources, exploitation of one's job position and other personal interests that conflict with one's duties to the company. Blogging, maintaining a website, or publishing information about an industry, company, or related matter without disincentivizing your employment with an interested company. “Use blogs and other forms of social media to educate audiences, promote products and build a professional brand. The fundamental principles of honesty, integrity and fairness apply to all forms of blogging and social media” (Helm 2013). Mistakenly or intentionally providing personal information about a colleague, customer or supplier in a discussion board or chat room or through other social media is unethical, as is spreading another employee's post without their permission. “Diversity in research teams leads to better science, cultural diversity in global virtual teams has a positive effect on decision making” (Irina Raicu, June 12, 2015). Because of the many ways in which social media can be misused and thus lead to ethics and compliance issues, companies intending to use this media for commercial purposes should consider establishing standards and other expectations, but with all the benefits that social media is bringing to cooperation. world, misuse of company resources, conflicts of interest and denigration of others. “A company without an initiative to effectively identify, access and manage its approach to social media and its various tools not only misses out on the many opportunities it offers, but faces numerous risks and improves business practices and activities that could harm the company” ( Mintz 2017 ). Sending communications on social media that the company is unable to retain due to archive maintenance needs. Posting personal information or personal activity that leads your company, a recruiting firm, or others to believe that the individual is behaving in an unprofessional or otherwise inappropriate manner. This situation can harm the employer as the employee's personal reputation is tarnished and therefore impacts the individual's corporate reputation. Among the most significant mistakes companies can make is setting standards and expectations that are impractical and easily dismissed. A company must consider the practical expectations in using social media, for example, a company that bans all employees from personal use of social media in the workplace – it can do more harm than good when employees use their personal web service methods at work. “The National Labor Relations Board indicates that workers have the right to discuss working conditions freely and without fear of retaliation, whether the discussion takes place in the office or on Facebook” (Lachman, September-October 2013). A stronger ethics and compliance initiative to adopt for those companies where social media is more relevant to their business environment. Companies in an industry that relies on or is heavily involved in social media, such as entertainment, news, sports, broadcasting, marketing and advertising, should accept employees accessing social media online. The social media website is a revolutionary idea with a very bright future with more room for progress. The opportunities offered by this medium are immense and many organizations use it to improve their practices. Organizations are no longer at the mercy of the media to advertise or convey their message. “With the help of social networks, they can advertise or.