The Essay On Social Networking Platforms' Impact On Effective Communication And HR Management.

Tertiary students are expected to demonstrate research skills and the ability to critically analyse the value of research sources in a business style report. This assessment is delivered in two parts, a proposal and then a business report. In the first part of the assessment you must write a short proposal (bullet points will suffice) of what will go into the report that you will write about in your second assessment. The topic is of your choosing and will have been designed in your response to the first assessment. The proposal can be submitted when ready for review and will be marked quickly to give you feedback for the report writing.

This assessment addresses the following subject learning outcomes:

1. a) Demonstrate academic skills appropriate to the level of study
2. b) Demonstrate research skills and referencing appropriate to the level of study
3. c) Critically analyse texts and/or multi-modal material in a business context
4. d) Identify and apply effective communication methods within a business and academic environment
5. e) Evaluate the use and importance of technology in presenting business communication

Use the following structure for designing your proposal (bullet points of what will be included in each element will suffice):

• Introduction – state the purpose of your proposal and list any assumptions or limitations under which your proposal is to be read
• Background – use the research you conducted in assessment 1 to clarify the topic further and state how you will apply the evidence you gathered
• Context – provide a context of the organisation that you will use in your report to demonstrate relevance or to implement your chosen strategy
• Proposal – provide a high-level outline that shows what you are intending to include in your report  The proposal document serves to provide you with a blueprint of the content for the report you will write. Following the structure from module 2, write the report. It is expected that you will demonstrate:
• A comprehensive understanding of the topic you have chosen
• Evidence of research and application of reliable and relevant evidence
• Critical analysis and the ability to develop coherent arguments
• Effective communication in the form of professional writing skills, presented in a report

Social media platform allow people to interact and communicate within the network system. They enable the users share information, develop relationships and create some contacts among individuals of different ages, social classes and professionals. The social media is a complement of the already existing offline relationships. They provide a social and technical infrastructure for interaction and communication through the use of messages, wall posts and comments. Very little has been done on social media since previously many of the studies dominantly focused on particular media. Social networking platforms have a vast mechanism in which they help to develop value in an institution. The impact of social networking platforms is great therefore the benefits can be quantified to the nature of a job (Goyal, 2012).  

Market competition is increasing daily with the drastically changing business environment.  There is a need for the managers to adjust and adapt proficient methods to gain advantage over competitors as well as enhance the performance of the organization. In many organizations there is lack of interest in using social networking platforms and many consider it as the last option in their human resource strategies. In most cases employers in many organizations focus on service delivery. Therefore, if organization’s social media platforms such as Facebook, websites, Instagram and twitter accounts are not properly structured   and no frequent update is made to attract and motivate the employees (Lehtimäki, 2016). . This kind of attitude and perception has contributed loss of opportunities for many organizations. 

Background

Some  recent  studies have revealed it  is quite  essential  to use  social media  in a better structured and professional  manner  to  develop their   strategies   to attract more competent work force and also meet  their different needs. The impact of social media in human resource has demonstrated some potential if utilized in the right manner. Marketing via social media is a procedure that allows an individual to endorse and promote   services and products through online channels to reach a large number of people in the community (Golbeck, 2013). . Social media is a good platform that facilitates the employers to share information with their employees about the services and products of that particular organization.  Using platforms social media to reach the emplyees provides a platform for honest communication where they can give their ideas and demands to help one continue improving hence outdoing the competitor. In the modern world people are more informed and knowledgeable hence making it much important for the organizations to be available and approachable to get the views of the employees. Managers must realize the importance of using social media platforms to influence more customers and competent employees into their businesses. Social media is one of the most influential tools of communication between the employers and the employees. It helps the organizations top management to keep in touch with all the employees. the  influence of social media  within an organization  is so high and if  utilized  effectively  the company  can  maintain  and attract  competent  employees  to work for them (Guo,  Pathak, & Cheng, 2015) .

Micro blogging

Social  media  sites  offer a  good platform  for the  organization’s different professionals  to debate  on various policies, promote  professional ethics  and share any other necessary information. Workers and employers in an organization can use social media to improve the quality of services, increase personal awareness and   create a health professional network (Brake, 2014).

Often,  employees  in an organization may use social  media  platforms  to consult colleagues  on issues  regarding different matters within an organization,   get  updates on the recent  industry development  as well as  get  some information that may help them professionally. The platforms such as Facebook and twitter can be utilized by the employers to discuss new ideas and other challenges in an organization with the employees. People  in social media tend  to be  more  honest and free to speak out their concerns and give their genuine  opinion  on different  matters  which makes  it a  better  place to engage them. 

 Micro blogs provide a more concise and dynamic form of exchanging information through social media. They allow individuals to write and post a number of brief and precise messages within a short period of time.  One of the most popular micro blogging platforms is twitter. The users may publish their messages using “hashtags” which allow people to easily access messages related to a certain topic or group.  For some time now, twitter has been used during seminars and conference to get comments from the audience. In most cases, twitter has proven to be a suitable method of communicating urgent matters to a large number of people within a very short period as long as they have a mobile phone. Proper utilization of twitter different organizations leads to enhanced employee and employer communication, saving of resources and improved relations among the employees. Twitter is also known for saving time and opportunities by preventing unnecessary meetings and office visits. Organizational news, promotions and other information in an organization can be shared through twitter therefore enhancing communication among different departments.  Twitter has also been proven to be quite useful during crises and emergencies   hence essential in every organization (Carim, & Warwick, 2013).

Professional networking

 Many employees in an organization may participate online either for personal or professional benefits. The social media platforms used by professionals in a company in most cases targets the colleagues.    Such professional networking platforms are often accessible to individuals in a specific profession or department. Apart from the business discussions, social media can be utilized by various organization to address the challenges faced by the workers, suggest different strategies of approaching  matters as well welfare of all the workers within an institution. The platforms  if well explored can be of great help in engineering  a good and better way of communication between the employees and employers (Perrin, 2015) .

Social media gives the employees and employers an opportunity to discuss related issues freely. In many organizations such discussions have proven to increase productivity either at the department level or organizational level depending on where it is utilized.   Effective communication through social media leads to workers increasing their productivity. Social networking sites like twitter Plaxo , and  facebook  enable  employers to  get new  knowledge  and ideas from employees. Social site are powerful tools to connect people with common goals and interests. This media helps the employers to bring together the employees in order to increase and ease productivity through transfer of the necessary knowledge to all members of staff in an organization (Gulyas, 2013).

Professional networking

Social media is a terrific avenue in which the accomplishments of the employees can be recognized both externally and internally.  An organization can give recognition to  the outstanding  employees through the social media. Such recognition gives room for the staff members to interact and build cohesiveness in an organization. Workers are able to congratulate each other as they keep updated on the organizations current events.  The kind of interaction facilitated by the social media within an organization plays a big role in improving the morale of all the staff members. When the employers are in touch with their  employees through the social media, communication becomes easy and therefore many are motivated to do more to increase the productivity of a company (Munar, & Jacobsen 2014).

 Platforms such as Facebook and Linkedlin enable employers develop a two-way dialogue through chat rooms which allow instant messages. They help in creating a good perception for the workers to coordinate and work together with the employers. Further, using social networks for communication makes the employees to appreciate the connection hence focus much on improving their performance.  Employers use Twitter and linkedln networks to achieve organizations and business connections with their employees. Social networks allow employers to understand the weaknesses and strengths of the employees. Communication through networking sites gives room for business continuity and quick effective reaction in case of an emergency. This is because of their ability to simultaneously connect a number of people.  Employers in many organizations are embracing the use of networking site to communicate with their staffs when need be especially during emergencies. This makes it easier for the employees to adequately and effectively deal with any tragedy in an organization (Malthouse, et al 2013).

 Frequent and good communication between the employees and employers allow all parties to participate in initiating and facilitating a better performance in an organization. The simple reason for such a move is that communication through social networking site allows all members including the subordinate staff in an organization to develop together as a team. It is important to always note  that majority of the staff  members in many organizations are  the young people  who are much attracted by the social networks and are determined to use them in their work places. Employers should therefore consider using social networks when communicating with young people in order to get a good percentage of them engaged in what the organization intends to do and achieve in the near future( Sigala,  & Chalkiti, 2015).. Having  majority of the staff members in  many organizations as youth  has made the use of social media a prerequisite of getting most of the things done in the right manner. Many organizations are slowly adopting social media sites as the convenient means of communication. A number of these sites have advanced from just being socializing platforms to working platforms. A significant number of organizations around the globe   have come up with policies to assist them effectively and efficiently use social media sites such as Linkendln, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Plaxo to communicate with their employees. These networks allow the employees to have some sense of belonging to the organization hence inspiring them to work hard to better their service delivery (Criado, & Villodre,2018) 

Employee recognition

While it is important to embrace the use of social media, organizations must provide their employees with well stipulated guidelines on what kind of information to share in social networks platforms. Both the employers and employees should be careful not to violate the ethical provisions of the organization (Wickramasinghe & Nisaf 2013).. Employers  should ensure  that whatever is posted in their social  media accounts  is professional and affects the operations of the organization in one way or the other. This   should aim at avoiding personal expressions of social, political or viewpoint which may lead to argumentative behaviors. Often, social media platforms are used to express complaints and reviews about an organization therefore subject to both negative and positive comments.  Like in any other business, employers in various organizations must be ready to manage the complaints and suggestions from the employees. Continuous employee complaints about the organization about matters which are not addressed may jeopardize the relationship between the employers and employees (Ivana, G. I. 2018). This may be detrimental to the organization due to the in appropriate attributes created to the employees and eventually these attributes become the reflection of institution 

Conclusion

 Employers and employees communication within an organization is something that should not be ignored. The impact of social media to the society and how the networking platforms have transformed management and communication in the business world should also be given close attention. Proper use of social media in an organization can have very important implications in improving productivity. On the hand, using social media inappropriately can complicate the efforts made by the organization to develop a good relationship and communication between the employers and the employees. Organizational policies on usage of social media must continue evolving to keep in line with the fast growing internet and technological advancement.  For any success and improvement, managers must navigate the ups and downs that come with social network platforms. Employees have to feel happy and comfortable communicating with their seniors has they enjoy   professional and personal benefits of   social media.

References

Brake, D. R. (2014). How and Why Social Media Interaction Is Different. In Sharing Our Lives Online (pp. 42-74). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Carim, L. A. R. A., & Warwick, C. (2013). Use of social media for corporate communications by research-funding organisations in the UK. Public relations review, 39(5), 521-525.

Criado, J. I., & Villodre, J. (2018). Public employees in social media communities: Exploring factors for internal collaboration using social network analysis. First Monday, 23(4).

Golbeck, J. (2013). Analyzing the social web. Newnes.

Goyal, S. (2012). Facebook, twitter, google+: Social networking. International Journal of Social Networking and Virtual Communities, 1(1).

Gulyas, A. (2013). THE INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONAL VARIABLES ON JOURNALISTS’USES AND VIEWS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: A comparative study of Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Digital Journalism, 1(2), 270-285.

Guo, H., Pathak, P., & Cheng, H. K. (2015). Estimating social influences from social networking sites—articulated friendships versus communication interactions. Decision Sciences, 46(1), 135-163.

Ivana, G. I. (2018). Social Networking and Emotions. In Social Ties in Online Networking (pp. 141-171). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Lehtimäki, H. (2016). The Strategically Networked Organization: Leveraging Social Networks to Improve Organizational Performance. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Malthouse, E. C., Haenlein, M., Skiera, B., Wege, E., & Zhang, M. (2013). Managing customer relationships in the social media era: Introducing the social CRM house. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 270-280.

Munar, A. M., & Jacobsen, J. K. S. (2014). Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. Tourism management, 43, 46-54.

Perrin, A. (2015). Social media usage. Pew research center, 52-68.

Sigala, M., & Chalkiti, K. (2015). Knowledge management, social media and employee creativity. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 45, 44-58.

Wickramasinghe, V., & Nisaf, M. S. M. (2013). Organizational policy as a moderator between online social networking and job performance. VINE, 43(2), 161-184.