THE SOCIETY WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION – THE ETHICS OF

MONITORIZING THE „VIRTUAL LIFE” OF EMPLOYEES

Student: Carvaţchi Oana

Coordinating Professor: Conf.univ.dr. Olteanu Cosmin

University of Bucharest Faculty of Business Administration

Business Consulting Master’s Program

technology

organisational culture

society

people

social networking

employee

employer

virtual life

change

1.The Existence of a Community within the Organisation

maximise long-term owner value by selling goods and services

the way people interact at work influences their attitude towards the general purpose of the firm

people respond to other types of incentives as well

organisational culture

the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization

the values of an organisation change the natural way people act so as to control the behaviour of organizational members towards one another

healthy organisational culture

organizations are to strive for what is considered a “healthy” organizational culture in order to increase productivity, growth, efficiency and reduce employee turnover and other counterproductive behaviour

•acceptance and appreciation for diversity; •regard for each employee; •equal opportunities for each employee to realise their full potential within the organisation; •strong communication with all employees regarding policies and company issues; •respect for each employee’s contribution to the company.

benefits of an employee-oriented company

•better aligning the company towards achieving its vision, mission, and goals; •high employee motivation and loyalty; •increased team cohesiveness among the company’s various departments and divisions;

•promoting consistency and encouraging coordination and control within the company; •shaping employee behavior at work, enabling the organization to be more efficient.

• Continuous improvement (long-term philosophy, the right process will produce the right results);

• Respect for people (add value to the organization by developing your people and partners, continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning).

Kaisha

Hansei

people-oriented priciples

the influence the employee holds in the organisation

Toyota’s philosophy is based on the workers’ culture, their traditions, for them to relate to the company’s goal more easily

the power is held by people and that the most important resource are not the machines, but the creativity of its subordinates, it also encouraged the development of a “family” within their company

2.Social Networking in the Working Environment

people are able to connect with everyone within Internet reach

some companies use social networking sites to monitor their employees

once the employee allows a superior to have access to his/her profile everything that is said or posted in the profile can be used against the employee

What is Social Media?

• Social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

• Your electronic second life

And the most important thing…

All the content is user generated!

17% of companies with 1000 or more employees report to have had issues with their workers’ use of social media

8% of companies report having actually dismissed someone for their behaviour on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn

15% of companies have disciplined an employee for violating multimedia sharing/posting policies

A Swiss woman was fired after calling in sick and then logging into Facebook on her “sick day.” Apparently the woman had a migraine and called out of work because she thought the light from a computer would bother her and she needed to lie in a dark room. When her employer caught her surfing Facebook, it was presumed that she was indeed well enough to sit in front of a computer, and she was let go.

the manager is left to decide which transgression should be punished by dismissing and which is to be barely disciplined

as stated in the organisational culture principles, the subordinate must show “employee pride” and enthusiasm for the organization and the work performed

allowing members of the same firm to connect with each other and their superiors online improves relations within the firm

people seeking for a job must accept their share of responsibility and avoid making references of their working place outside the firm and those who seek to employ must understand that the private lives of those who represent the firm through their work must not be used against them

Be careful …

• Don’t overshare

– Social media quickly breaks down personal barriers

– We can reach certain subjects more easily

• Don’t get distracted

– When you are checking your smartphone you are there, but you aren’t paying attention completely

– Put down your social media connections and focus on what is happening around you

Source: http://www.evolvedmommy.com/36-rules-of-social-media-simple-but-

not-easy/

References Books:

• Hill, Charles W. L. and Jones, Gareth R. - Strategic Management (Houghton Mifflin Press, 2001);

• Sternberg, Elaine – Just Business: Business Ethics in Action (Oxford University Press, London, 2000);

• Taiichi Ohno - Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production (Cambridge Publishing, London, 1988);

• Toma, Sorin-George – Economy of Enterprises course (2010-2011);

• Toma, Sorin-George – Economy of Enterprises textbook (ASE Publishing, București, 2007);

• *** The Toyota Way 2001 – Toyota internal document.

Online publications:

• *** BNet online magazine – Suzanne Lucas - Yes, You Should Be Fired For That Facebook Post (http://www.bnet.com/blog/evil-hr-lady/yes-you-should-be-fired-for-that-facebook-post-no-matter-what-the-feds-say-next-week/1595 accessed March 27, 2014);

• *** Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.facebook.com/#!/terms.php accessed March 27, 2014);

• *** Proofpoint Report on Outbound Email Security and Data Loss Prevention (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Proofpoint-Survey-Says-State-Economy-Leads-Increased-Data-Loss-Risk-Large-Companies-1027877.htm accessed March 26, 2014);

• Chopra, Karan – The Effects of Social Media on How we Speak and Write (http://socialmediatoday.com/karenn1617/1745751/effects-social-media-how-we-speak-and-write , Accessed March 3, 2014);

• Humphries, Mattew – Social Media Explained with Donuts (http://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/social-media-explained-with-donuts-1466613/ , accessed March 3, 2014);

• Lambert, Jaclyn – How the Digital Age has Shaped Communication Management (http://socialmediatoday.com/1693896/how-digital-age-has-shaped-communication-management-infographic, accessed March 3, 2014).

• The Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=social+media, accessed March 3, 2014)