Ethical Issues In Gen Y Employees:

A Social Media Perspective

By Divya.S.N Doel Mukherjee

Overview

Introduction Literature Survey Objectives What is social media ? Importance of social media to the business Key issues faced from Gen Y Employees approach towards the social media usage. Case study Legal Risks Associated with Employees Social Media Use Social Media Policy key factors of Social Media Policy Social Media Policy best practices Promotion of ethical culture conclusion bibliography

Introduction
Social media applications such as blogs, social networking, and video sharing have soared in popularity and are now present in almost every workplace By providing a highly interactive communication platform, blogs, forums and websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Digg and many more have created a fundamental shift in the way businesses relate to their audiences.

social media has inspired both excitement and intimidation in marketers as businesses try to embrace this influential tool despite various threats that they come across.

Literature Survey
With the entry of Generation Y to the working world, the workforce for the first time contains four generations:- Traditionalists (also called Veterans, Silent, or Greatest
generation; 75 million born before 1945; 10% of the workforce)

- Baby Boomers (80 million born 1945-1964, 45% of the workforce) - Generation X (46 million born 1965-1980, 30% of the workforce), - Generation Y (also called Echo Boomers, Millennial, Internet
generation, or Nexters;76 million born after 1980; 15% of the workforce)

(Paul, 2004; Francis-Smith, 2004; Johns, 2003; Martin and Tulgan, 2004; Raines, 2002)

 Nearly 60% of HR professionals in large companies report conflict between younger and older workers (Work Ethic Primary Conflict, 2004) Though it is the most affluent generation (Allen, 2004), some 16% of Gen Y grew up or is growing up in poverty (Raines, 2002). Gen Y is inclined to be positive, polite, curious, energetic, and respectful of its parents and grandparents (Francis-Smith, 2004). Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff argued social media has empowered individuals and has forced the idea of news media to morph whether or not the industry has desired this change(Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies ).

Objectives
To study the importance of social media in todays business. To study the ethical issues faced due to social media by Gen Y employees in the business. To highlight the importance of implementation of Social media policy in order to overcome the ethical issues.

Social Media ?
Social Media: Social media are media for social interaction, as a superset beyond social communication. Social media applications such as blogs, social networking, and video sharing have soared in popularity and are now present in almost every workplace.

Importance Of Social Media To The Business ?

Key Issues Faced :

Employers are looking at the Facebook, MySpace, and blogs of prospective employees, even internship applicants, in order to make hiring decisions. Is this legal? Ethical? Privacy Should you read the private e-mail of your network users just because you can? Is it okay to monitor the Web sites visited by your network users? What about using social networking sites after you are hired? It is important to remember that when you go to work, you often have to sign an agreement that governs the use of company computer equipment that waives your right to privacy. Such agreements usually state that use will be monitored. The message is clear: on the job using company equipment, simply do not post things that are potentially embarrassing or damaging to your career.

Use of social media in the organization will continue to cause problems for businesses. The initial problem is trying to control it. Then the next problem is not understanding how to leverage it. The three elements of this structure are: 1. The problem state 2. The solved state, and 3. The solution path

CASE :
Dominos Pizza A group of employees of a Conover, North Carolina Dominos Pizza outlet created what they thought would be a funny grossout video for their friends. Posted to YouTube, The resulting footage of the Firms brand along with the act of food preparation was seen by over 1 million viewers before it was removed. Over 4.3 million references to the incident can be found on Google Many of the leading print and broadcast outlets covered the story. The perpetrators were arrested, the Domino's storefront where the incident occurred was closed, and the firms president made a painful apology (on YouTube, of course).

Legal Risks Associated with Employees Social Media Use

Hostile Work Environment and Discrimination Claims Defamation Claims Improper Disclosure of Confidential or Other Protected Information. Reporting Requirements for Child Pornography Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guides.
Beyond legal risks, employees can harm a companys reputation by disseminating controversial or inappropriate comments regarding the employer.

Social Media Policy

The employees who dont understand the impact of improper use of social media on the firm can do serious damage to their employers and their careers.

Key factors : Social Media Policy

Representation
Responsibility Respect

Social media policy best practices

A customized approach A spokespersons guidelines Protect confidential and proprietary information Foster open communication

An emergency plan
Consequences

Promoting an ethical culture

An internal blog on the companys Intranet .
Solicit immediate feedback and answer questions Developing an Ethics and Compliance Facebook page Twitter offers an interactive forum for the exchange of ideas Well-thought out social media policy, employees are armed with the guidelines and tools necessary to handle social media situation

Conclusion
The best practice for managing social media use among the work force is to embrace it as a part of the current business model. When linked with a proactive approach to the opportunities presented by social media sites one will have a new platform to support the goal for an ethical-driven work force A strategic social media policycombined with the right tools and means of awareness to communicate its content and value to employees will lead the efforts for an ethically-driven work force in the right direction.

Bibliography
http://www.corpmagazine.com/management/humanresources/itemid/1368/building-a-strategic-social-media-policy-thatsupports-an-ethicsdriven-culture Ethical and Strategic Issues in Organizational Social Network Analysis(Stephen P. Borgatti,Boston College & Jos Luis Molina Universitat Autnoma de Barcelona) How to Recruit, Hire, and Retain the Best of Generation Y: 10 Workplace Issues Most Important to Gen Y. http://www.kellyservices.ca/res/content/ca/services/en/docs/kgwicanada_social_media_eng-5.4.11.pdf http://tnwinc.com/index.php/news/comments/engage_generation_y_workfor ce Future Insights(Society for human resource management)

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