Week Four Journal

Running head: EMPLOYEES’ SOCIAL MEDIA CONDUCT 0

Employees’ Social Media Conduct

Kaleena Springsteen

PHI 103 Informal Logic

Daniel Hayes

March 20, 2017

P1- Social media is part of our day to day life connecting with friends, families and loved ones

P2- Social media can impact negatively in our day to day interaction, affecting the organization negatively

P3- Social media can taint organizational image if employee’s accounts are not checked or tamed

P4- Companies need to check employees social media in order to regulate and help restore good image of the entity

C-Therefore, monitoring employee’s social media will go along in restoring company image and position.

Technology savvy, the Internet, and social networks have reduced the world into a global village. Human privacy has been put to the test with social media key in the sharing of info, events, and activities across the globe. It has force employers resolving to use social to monitor its employee’s code of conduct outside the organizational setting. Arguably, workers are significant to an organization, and they carry the image or brand of the entity thus having more power to encourage certain attitudes and perceptions as to their employer at work and out of work (Pearson, 2010). It is, therefore, precise for companies to take good care of their image through monitoring and instilling discipline against those who violate social media code of conduct by either acting in a suggestive manner that will have negative impacts on the entity. However, the view can be stated otherwise thus prompting the question, should it be legal for employers to discipline or fire employees by content aired on social networks even if the activity was not done on the job.

The way employees behave after work or outside the company setting matters and have a great impact on the company’s brand image regardless of either it was private or public (Qualman, 2010). As such, companies who are mostly engaged in business are required to shield their employer by having a frequent monitor of their worker’s social media code of conduct that which can indirect or direct ruin the reputation of the company. A perfect example is a teacher who results to vulgar language in social media may prompt his or students to view the post and may have a dire impact on them. It is not easy to have social media conduct and professional ethics detached because employee’s behavior may reflect their ethical conduct at work (Kaplan & Heinlein, 2010).

Therefore, it is prudent to administer discipline and punish workers who seem not to show right conduct in the social media content. Some many argue that is not right to go for that option, stating that it is based on assumptions that employee conduct on the social media portrays a negative image on the employer’s side. Qualman 2010) argues that there is exist a master-servant relationship between the worker and employee thus a servant portraying bad influence means a rogue employee. Hence, bad content on employee’s social media impacts negatively on public admirations against the company.

Unfortunately, there is a common wave followed by most employees, propagating negative information targeting their employer. Some of the messages can evoke bad relationship or taint a bad picture on the employer. Failing to screen employee’s social media means propagating negative information about the company or creating division amongst employees thus the lack of morale (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). It is the jurisdiction of every employer to make sure it monitors and scrutinize employees to promote a code of respect.

In conclusion, it is the solemn right for employers to defend their brand image at all times. How they go about concerns them more, the top management of a company is usually in trouble whenever something bad about the pops out. A close look on the employee’s social media guarantees employers of safe investments and good company reputation.

Reference

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.

Pearson, C. (2010). The cost of bad behavior: How incivility is damaging your business and what to do about it. Human Resource Management International Digest, 18(6).

Qualman, E. (2010). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. John Wiley & Sons.