Can your Company Hijack your Social Media Accounts?

Can your company hijack your social media accounts?

Social media has dramatically altered the face of business and has rapidly been adopted as a way for organizations to build relationships with clients. These relationships are achieved by building brand awareness, as well as by increasing effective and efficient communication (Smith, 2013). Like all relationships, the connections built by using social media channels must include a certain level of trust and ethics, or these outlets are not deemed as genuine and valuable. In fact, this very aspect of social media is a primary reason for the value associated with these accounts. There is a growing need for organizations to adopt policies that govern the use of social media to protect both the employer and employee.

There are many documented issues surrounding ethics and the abuse of social media that concern both the employer as well as the employee. This is a valid concern when dealing with the impact of emergent social technologies as this enables us to perform activities in new ways. Situations may arise for which there are not adequate policies in place to deal with outcomes in an ethical manner (Moor, 2005). Not only do employees need to be cognizant of these situations, but business must take care to remain inside customary ethical boundaries.

Some organizations, in an effort to jump on the social media bandwagon, have crossed ethical lines to take advantage of the popularity of this medium. Organizations can do this by taking advantage of the vast information this outlet offers. Ethical boundaries are crossed when business uses an employees’ personal networks as a means to achieve business objectives. Is this a practice that is ethically acceptable or have the companies cros...

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...best serves the customer base and ensures that the advertising is truthful. Following these ethical approaches builds trust and loyalty in your brand and will ultimately ensure the organization’s success.

CONCLUSION

Social media has transformed the work environment and involves employees at all levels of the organization. To explore the ethical usage of social media by employees, the impact this outlet has on an organization must be understood. An employee’s use social media reflects upon a company which extends to an employee’s personal, non-company use of social media (Lunday, 2010). The usage of social media by employees is a direct reflection upon the organization. The key is to make sure the organization has adequate social media policies in place to be clear as to where to the line is drawn between the employee’s rights versus the goals of the organization.