Management
Over the last few years or so, media has been influential in the way companies conduct their businesses. The technological advancement and the emergence of social media have been a revelation in the world of marketing. The presence of the internet and the ever-increasing consumerism has meant that more people are becoming informed about markets and products thereby having an impact in their decisions. Clearly, the most intense impact has been the use of the media in designing marketing strategies by organizations. Outside marketing, the media also influences the way to conduct the management. Decision-making in the management has especially been influenced by the media as more managers take serious considerations of the information within the media in reaching decisions. Media has become an important part of contemporary management and contributes in many ways.
The media has evolved from the traditional informer into an integrated source of information for different functions. The social media as an example for instance serves a great deal in informing managers about the trends and patterns of customers within the immediate environment. Currently, managers use social media as a social intelligence tool which apart from marketing, provides the company with first-hand knowledge of the environment thereby enabling managers to understand the perceptions of the organization by individuals and competitors. In 2013 Google for instance used the information from its social analytics system to re-invent its presence and design new human resource structures (Sullivan, John. 2012). The information used was obtained from the media especially on stock prices. Being less than a decade old, Google has adopted contemporary management approaches which focus on technology and people management. From this point of view, management decisions made by Google are well informed by the media.
As a communication tool, the media has had both positive and negative impacts in contemporary management. In the modern day, individuals are connected seamlessly many different devices for communication and the media. The media has the capability of sharing information about businesses with an unmatched intensity. On the positive side, professionals and managers have the perfect opportunity to interact and share meaningful information across the platform easily. The media especially the social media was a master class in influencing online interaction of managers and professionals across the globe. LinkedIn, for example, accounted for 40% new connections with professionals in 2013 (Varey, R., 2010). Virtual meetings have become more of a norm rather than a trend. In the grand scheme of things, LinkedIn has changed the way recruitment and human resource are managed in organizations. Reaching out to the potential candidates for job positions has become easier and more efficient. Sears Holdings in Hoffman Estates of Illinois in since 2012 has been a good example of a company that has applied the use of linked in to its benefits bringing together professionals, shareholders and management in one platform to share information and ideas online in a virtual meeting.
The media is also an excellent tool for propagating perception and organization image. On the negative side, media can easily portray a bad image of an organization if the information is used inappropriately. Taco Bell was a victim of bad organization image influenced by the media in 2013 when an image of its employee was used in social media with negative side effects that compelled the company to take action (Lancelet, S., 2008). Ethically, the media is the Achilles tendon in promoting organization values and culture. However, the way information is shared in the media can either build or break the organization. In most cases, the potential negative influence of the media especially as far as management is concerned is limitless because the intended effect of the information relayed is often unforeseeable. For instance, manager sharing a tag line on twitter about his company’s new product for may be intended for promotional purposes. However it can also become an ethical malpractice if it reveals too much or becomes a tool for rivals to obtain inside information about the company.
Throughout 2013, various organizations used the media to focus on management with a critical aspect on their rankings in various media forms. Contemporary management takes into account the deep-set impact of the rankings and they use the information to set up objectives and targets. Ranking of organizations becomes an ethical concern as it can be used purely for promotional purposes. This can have adverse effects in the management of organizations as media can give competitors an unfair advantage while reflecting negatively on the organizations indicators of performance (Lancelet, S., 2008). While this trend encourages competition and promotes positive planning, it can easily be used to insinuate and induce a bad rivalry between organizations. This is more disastrous taking into account that, in most cases, the rankings by media are based on just a few factors normally revenue-based. For instance, a significant shift in the rankings of the top ten organizations is observed in one year when quality instead of revenue helps to determine the ranking position.
In conclusion, the media plays a crucial role in contemporary management. Organizations are either positively or negatively influenced by media. Social media provides a potent avenue for managers to first obtain information from the public while also enabling them to share ideas and conduct virtual supervision. Ethically, the media is influencing the way organizations are managed especially about organization image in the public. Barring any unforeseeable changes in the media, organizations will need to be aware of the risks and benefits of the media in the management.
References
Lancelet, S., 2008. Sustainable consumption facts and trend from a business perspective. Geneva. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict.
Sullivan, John. 2012. Tomorrow. How Google is talent competitor to your organization. Retrieved from http://www.tlnt.com/2013/how-google-is-using-people-analytics-to-completely-reinvent-hr
Varey, R., 2010. Customer portability analysis. Marketing intelligence and planning Eighth Edition. Chicago: Irwin.
