Ethics Fired Over Social Media

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.

People from almost all age groups, especially the teenagers and adults prefer to socialize through various social media websites for networking and this trend has been increased since the last decade with a wider internet utility. Though the social media websites are not less than any golden opportunity for online marketing in business, however, many cases have been reported for the job dismissals due to the controversial personal posts to the social media by the employees. The posts that have been done to the social media websites can be in the form of personal messages, photos, video clips, audio recordings, and comments on other’s posts. Hollifield, the Winter Part Employment Attorney

Sonya Rosenberg says it best and applies three golden rules to social media at the work place and states human resources should have a policy and procedure manual available for all employees to have access to. In addition state laws differ depending on obtaining personal passwords and sign ons to individual accounts. Interesting the language also states the company should include the needs and culture of the individual in the work environment. (Rosenberg)

Social media can also make or break an employee. If an employee writes a bad comment on social media about the company they work for, the employer can terminate an employee for poor conduct and bad mouthing the company, even if the employee is off the property and not at work posting these comments. When someone gets in trouble for saying something unprofessional they go directly to defending themselves with using freedom of expression as an excuse. Social media allows anyone to say whatever is on their mind but at the same time, some things that go through a persons mind shouldn’t always get out onto social media for everyone to see. Social media has allowed users to become as ugly and have a negative attitude that can just spill all out. Companies will continue to look more in depth through social media even after they have hired a new employee and if something an employee says is seen by the wrong eyes it can be in serious trouble. The trouble could even be as serious as termination. Whenever a person posts on social media, there is a chance it will offend someone. Even if one person gets offended by a single

Social media is defined as web-based technologies, in which it allows people to engage and interact with online activity such as Snap Chat, My Space, Twitter, etc. With sharing photos, videos, and the exchange of information in which it allows online audiences such as family, friends, and the public to see if the correct privacy setting are not correctly put in place, (Cassie, 2009). Online technologies have become common amongst its users like the public, students, and professionals in all lines of work, (Westrick, 2016). With the way, it has transformed communication between participants through mechanisms and platforms, with its ever-growing transformation. Of where it can carry messages that can either be appropriate or inappropriate to

Social media policies are becoming more and more prevalent and are a commanding tool that companies can used to protect their image and reputations. These policies often have "strict rules regarding what employees can post about the company online, including whether or not they are even employed by the company." (Admin, 2013) When an employee breaks these policies and posts something that is inappropriate, too personal or unprofessional, the lines between personal and professional lives are blurred and careers can be

Finally, companies need to restrict employees access to social media to ensure that the employer’s image, objectives and reputation are not damaged by the employee. “Employers are put in a particularly difficult position of having to balance the positive and negative impacts that social media might have on their companies. For example, many employers utilize social networking sites to locate and recruit new employees. Social media has also promoted innovative marketing strategies that allow employers to directly reach prospective consumers, unlike traditional print advertising. With this innovation, however, comes increased exposure to liability for employers, whose frustrated employees may now use social media to voice work complaints” (Long, 2015, p. 1219). Besides employees voicing complaints about their employers, many companies are dealing with employees’ posting inappropriate posts or brand damaging photos online that give the business a negative image and embarrassed the business owners. Businesses are finding once this happens they did not have a clear social media policy and the business owners are unsure if they are violating labor practices if they were to fire the employee. In 2013, a Burger King employee posted a photo of himself lying on a pile of burger buns to Instagram. The photo went viral, but was significantly tame, compared to the photos and video of Domino’s Pizza employees engaging in disgusting acts with food which caused the company’s

Human Resource managers always attempt to trend lightly when it comes to employee privacy rights because there is always a potential for litigation when employees have been disciplined or any terminated because of remarks posted on social media websites. According to a report by the American Management Association, more than a quarter of employees have fired workers for misusing email, and about a third has fired workers for misusing the internet. This happened because employers were allowed to monitor any and all email communications that employees sent from work computers. However, recent court rulings have limited employer’s rights somewhat to the employers own emailing or electronic communication system not email send via outside email systems such as your private email accounts with yahoo, Gmail or even AOL.

There are a number of governmental policies and regulations in place for employers to consider when developing, implementing and enforcing a social media policy. In contrast, the lack of a social media policy leaves an employer at a loss in regards to their avenues of disciplinary action towards employees who take to social media. The governmental policies revolve around the Constitutional right of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech. While this provides some protection for employees there are limitations and exclusions that resulted in the National Labor Relations Board stepping in and providing opinions for the legality of employer disciplinary actions regarding social media content and participation.

Understanding the impact social media has had on the business world is particularly important for the younger generation, those teenagers and twenty-somethings who are most likely to post something that may come back to haunt them in years to come. As college students, we must realize that our future can be made or broken by something we consider trivial. For all those concerned with their professional reputation, responsible use of all social media is imperative. In the opinions

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

The workplace is known to have ethical issues, some that many people may not even notice to be an issue. Ethical issues are those that may be faced when the question of “What is right and what is wrong?” comes about. In most cases, people tend to use their grown knowledge, meaning the knowledge that have grown to have from experiences and from the way they were raised, when in actuality a person should like logically and be subjective when it comes to making ethical decisions. When it comes to social media, this can be tricky, because everyone feels entitled to their own opinions, free of speech, and this they are. However, there are boundaries, as with most things in life. These boundaries are set in place to protect the workplaces risk of liability, harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies.

Social media is a big part of our future as it is constantly evolving, it will be no surprise to find our patients on a group variety of internet-based applications. Social media allows users to interact online by creating and sharing information, ideas and opinions. Nurses deal with ethical dilemma throughout their profession, it’s when a situation involves the need to chose from among two or more morally acceptable or unacceptable options. The ethical dilemma arises when nurses on social media consider it part of their personal lifestyle but end up having restrictions due to their professional image. The question is then asked to which extent should nurses be held accountable for their actions during networking? Limits must be set for nurses on social networking because even though it may be for personal use they still have a reputation to maintain as a healthcare provider. It can easily be inappropriate usage of social media that can damage not only personal reliability, but also affects our relationships with patients and coworkers, and current and future employment chances that we may wish to create or keep. As an individual in the millennial generation, social media is seen in our daily lives but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to uphold the image of nurses. We must represent the profession through our actions and that is way boundaries must be set when nurses use social media.

Social media is the immense way in which millennials communicate with their peers in all aspects of life, including their occupations. Being a part of the millennial generation, I am continually being “tagged”, “snapped”, or “followed.” All aspects of my life are somehow shared on one source of social media or another. Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are among the various types of social media available, but happen to be the three types that I spend the majority of my time. Working on the burn unit as a care partner and now, being a student nurse at Bon Secours puts me in a position where it would be extremely easy to post, tag, or share something that contains confidential patient information. All of the people