Introduction
Collaboration is an important factor in increasing the organizational productivity. For innovating products, coming up with new ideas, and improving decision-making, it is essential for companies to have the culture of communication and information and knowledge sharing. Social networking has become an important factor in enhancing the collaboration between employees.
The aim of this paper is to discuss the concept of social networking and its roles in organizations and employees. The paper also discusses the way in which companies for motivating their employees use social networks. The sort of information that organizations can get from social networks has been discussed as well. The paper analysis is beneficial for new organizations in understanding the way in which social networking can help them in boosting their employee collaboration and therefore, advantages. However, it is also beneficial for employees in realizing the benefits of social networks.
Impact of social networking on enhancing the collaboration between employees
The concept of social networking
The core concept is that the social networking is a process of building social relations or social networks between the actors who share similar attributes, needs, backgrounds, and activities. Social networking has focused on building a relationship and enhancing collaboration between people (Borgatti, Everett & Johnson 1-5).
Functioning of social networking within organizations
Social networking works in organizations in multiple ways, such as social networking allow companies to gather information about their customers and realize the opportunities for the unmet needs. Social networking allows companies to gain the information regarding competitors to know the current situation of the company as compared to rivals and so on. However, in this report, the major focus is on the functioning of social media for enhancing the collaboration between employees.
In large companies, more specifically in international companies due to the wider network of employees, it is difficult for employees to communicate with each other, but social network utilization allows companies to resolve this issue. Social networks within organizations improve communication and collaboration between workers and enable employees to improve the productivity of the company through enhancing the sharing of ideas, skills, and knowledge. Communication between workers enhances employee engagement and therefore, their focus on enhancing productivity. Social networking technologies enhanced the interaction between workers including professionals and managers by 20 percent to 25 percent (Sebastiano). Social networking allows organizations to reduce the time they spend on data gathering and data management; it gives a boost to open dialogue. Microsoft is an excellent example social networking operation; the company uses social networks to enhance the collaboration between workers. The business through the use o0f social networks engage employees in their meeting, so all employees have an opportunity to ask questions that improves the decision making process (Sebastiano).
Strategic and competitive implications of social networking
Social networking has strategic and competitive implications for companies; companies through giving access to employees to social media have a competitive advantage over rivals. Through providing social media access to employees, companies encourages employees to be the promoter of the company’s products, attract people, and be the advocate of the product when required. By giving the access to social networks, companies encourages employees to spend their time on social networking sites such as twitters, Facebook, Instagram, etc., for improving customers relations and communication. Social networking through building relation with customers offers business a collaborative environment in which they can use the ideas in their benefits gathers and heard from customers. Through this way, the company improves the problem solving capabilities and customer satisfaction that gives the competitive advantage to the company over rivals (Holtz).
Exchange of information among employees is an important feature of social networking. Social networking allows companies to gather information regarding customers such as about their lifestyles, tastes, desires and priorities that help companies in making a decision on the target market. Numbers of likes on Facebook and number of tweets on Twitter allow companies to realize the liking of their particular brands. Companies through having such information can share this knowledge with other departments and can collaboratively make a decision on product and service offerings that comes in result of innovative products or services that best suit the needs of customers (Gaál et al. 185-186).
The role of knowledge employees in implementing social networking
Knowledge is a core feature of knowledge workers; knowledge workers are the creators of innovative strategies that help the organizations in remaining competitive. Knowledge workers are with the high level of education, experience, and expertise and the major role of their jobs is to create, distribute, or apply the knowledge (Fischer, 216).
Knowledge employees include product developers, data analysts, programmers, and planner. Knowledge workers have an immense role in implementing and managing social networks; they have the knowledge of each aspect of the technology they can teach employees that way in which social networking is used and techniques to use its efficiently. They are the programmers, resolving any technical issue is not possible for any other employees except these knowledge employees. These workers are liable to manage train employees for the utilization of new technologies and manage the social networking sites.
Knowledge workers such as managers are liable to ensure that each employee understands the application of social networking so they can better able to use the technology and deliver the advantage to the organization in term of productivity. Knowledge workers make sure that social tools deployed are gaining their objective of enhancing knowledge sharing, communication, and collaboration across the organization (Chui et al.).
Possible negative impact of social networking and ethical consideration
Everything has some pros and cons, and social networking has no exception. Several studies have discussed the positive impact of social networking on employees and enterprise, but it has some side effects as well. For example, social networking encouraged social activity and associated with increasing addictive and of such behaviors is not managed properly then results in decline productivity of employees. Social networking can affect organizations pessimistically as it poses a security risk and privacy issues that encourage frauds.
Social networking often leads to networking spam, which means a proliferation of unwelcome messages. It may lead the organization to spy, which means companies can expose their property or intellectual property information to people within the organization and outside the world with pessimistic results. It may hurt the image of the business (Ferreira & Du Plessis 5).
A good example of the use of social networking is Microsoft organization that used the technology for enhancing collaboration between employees, for improving information and increasing knowledge sharing. The bad example is the organizations that have to face negative comments from employees on social networking sites; it hurts the image of the organization such as Wal-Mart (Zupek).
Relationship between social networking and collaboration
Social networks and collaboration have a strong association; companies embrace social networks through setting up LinkedIn pages and Facebook pages. Twitter and other social media networks are not marketing channels anymore; they have become the medium of communication with customers through employees. Social networking has emerged as a new channel of collaboration and innovation among employees. Collective working is an important factor in constant innovation and creativity and organizations are successfully deploying social networks in encouraging collective working. Social networks are rapidly tapping into the collaborative mindset in such ways that tend to evolve constantly. Through the opening of information to the wider social networks, companies are benefiting from the collaboration of external and internal banks of knowledge. Social networks have become collaboration networks, and there benefits are limitless to companies such as shared values, collaborative culture, co-creation of ideas, and adaption of fully collaborated mindsets (Moore). Therefore, it can be said that the relationship between social networking and collaboration is very strong and cannot be separated.
Conclusion
The paper discusses the concept of social networking and the way social networking operates in companies. It has been determined that companies gain several advantages through utilizing social networks, even it has become the major medium for employee collaboration. Companies get different information through the utilization of social networks such as they can find the gaps that have not been filled by competitors; they can assess their position as compared to the rivals and can take advantage of that opportunity. For taking full advantage from social networking its proper implementation and management is essential. Knowledge workers with their knowledge play an immense role in implementing and managing social networks properly. It has been realized that social networking with several advantages brings some drawbacks for employees and organizations as well. It brings data security and information privacy issues that lead organizations to the threats of fraud. It has been realized that social networks and collaboration cannot be separated as social networks have become collaboration networks in multiple organizations, which means they have become major communication tools for employees within and across organizations. In this modern arena, the concept of collaboration cannot be complete without social networks. Therefore, it is concluded that social networks are the major players in enhancing the collaboration between employees in enterprises.
Works Cited
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