Debate: The Benefits Of Social Media Outweigh The Problems It Brings (Coursework Sample)

Debate: The Benefits Of Social Media Outweigh The Problems It Brings
Name
Institution
Debate: The Benefits Of Social Media Outweigh The Problems It Brings
Introduction
Social media refers to computer-based technologies utilized in the creation and sharing of information, ideas, pictures, videos and various other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. Social media has been utilized over the years for both personal and professional use. People join social networks with the intention of connecting with their significant others such as friends and family. Professionals on the other hand hold conferences through social media (Leonardi et al., 2013). The benefits of social media outweigh the problems it brings.
Main Arguments
Through the use of social media, organizations are able to enhance employee engagement (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). According to Sashi (2012), when employees are encouraged to post their individual thoughts and ideas regarding various projects the organization is running, they tend to exhibit more commitment to their outcomes and this serves as a morale booster, thereby, assisting the company in employee retention. Moreover, Sashi (2012) asserts that, when employees encounter problems whose solution is unknown to them, they use social media to seek these answers from friends, colleagues and research data bases. Through this, the efficiency of the organization improves and this makes the employees more confident and engaged. Additionally, public social media can be used by the employees of a company to boost the recognition of the company’s products. Through this, these employees serve as a positive brand ambassador by engaging with the existing as well as new clients. When the workers of a company post the products the company makes in social media, their associates in the same social network start to associate them with the product and with the company as a whole. Certainly, when these employees are treated this way, they bond more with their organization and their engagement to it is boosted. Also, according to Sashi (2012), social media helps to enhance customer engagement when they interact with the products and the employees of firms in these sites. Further, when a firm sets up an internal social media, corporate hierarchy is substantially reduced. As such, employees are facilitated to speak directly to senior managers and this eliminates communication barriers and bureaucracy. Through this, a collaborative exchange of ideas is initiated, thereby, doing away with business silos and increasing employee engagement (Sashi, 2012).
Social media makes workers more productive (Treem and Leonardi, 2013). According to Lovejoy and Saxton (2012), when there is no existing channel of linkage between employees and the organization’s leaders, there may be various barriers to optimum productivity which the workers may be aware of. Since there is lack of a social platform through which these concerns can be shared, corporate hierarchy discourages workers from airing out their views. The existence of an internal social media makes employees more free to share the issues affecting productivity. As such, productivity is tremendously boosted. Moreover, according to Treem and Leonardi (2013), social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, our blog, Facebook and YouTube can be used to centralize activities within a firm, thereby, fostering collaboration between and within departmental groups. Studies show that many junior employees are presently using web-based applications as a basic channel of communication. Additionally, Lovejoy and Saxton (2012) assert that, forums and collaborative tools within the intranet of a firm can be used to encourage stakeholders to participate and air their views on various projects and processes. Through this involvement of stakeholders, all the members of the firm are able to pull in the same direction, thereby, assisting it to easily realize its goals and vision.
Social media has been used by various organizations to enhance research and innovation (Frambach and Schillewaert, 2002). Firstly, according to Weinberg (2009), firms are using these sites to understand customer needs after which they tailor their products to suite these desires. Moreover, through the use of social media, firms are able to gauge the market’s perception of their brands. Once the reactions of consumers to various brands are noted, this knowledge is utilized in guiding future designs. For instance, Apple uses the Apple Support Twitter account to share tips and tricks with the users of its products while at the same time responding to their concerns and questions. Through this, the company is able to understand customer experience, which helps them to improve their future brands. The account managed to register a total of 121, 000 followers within the first 24 hours following its opening. Nike also uses a Twitter account to interact with its customers in order to understand their experiences with its products (Weinberg, 2009). By understanding the issues customers face as they use the company’s products, the company becomes better placed in deciding the exact changes to make to their products to make them more satisfying to clients.
Organizations are also using social media platforms to boost customer satisfaction, thereby, enhancing customer loyalty (Laroche et al., 2013). For instance, according to Parise and Guinan (2008), Walmart had more than 34 million fans in Facebook by 2008. These fans post both positive and negative reviews about the company’s products. The company replies to these comments, and through this, its customers get to know that it is concerned about their experiences. When customers realize that a company cares about their needs and experiences, they tend to become quite loyal to it. Having loyal customers is every company’s dream as it ensures that the company can market its products at premium prices and still get them bought. T-Mobile is also a firm known to engage its customers through social media, as reported by Parise and Guinan (2008). A study carried out in the year 2012 by a social media insights company called Socialbakers showed that, T-Mobile responded to at least 86% of the questions posed to it through social media by its customers. Starbucks uses both Facebook and Twitter to engage with its customers so as to understand their concerns. This coffee giant is known to offer a quite swift response to the questions and complaints raised by customers. This firm understands very well when to engage with its clients professionally and when to introduce a touch of fun (Parise and Guinan, 2008). Through these interactions, these firms are able to bond very strongly with their customers and this ensures increased sales as customer satisfaction also grows.
Although several irrefutable benefits of social media have been highlighted, these platforms have various critiques who adduce some reasons to justify their stance. These platforms have for instance been accused of failing to protect the privacy of their users (Wisniewski, 2013). According to Kotzker (2002), through Referrer strings or cookies, social platforms have been accused of sending private information to third party sites involved in advertising. These advertising sites are able to understand the preferences of various users of the social media sites, after which, they send unsolicited messages to them about certain products which rhyme with their preferences. Moreover, criminals are known to obtain the private information of people, which they then use to execute various criminal acts. For instance, those who see social media as a nuisance assert that people’s phone numbers, areas of residence and addresses have been used to stalk innocent people by criminals. These people may even end up being wooed to places from which they are murdered. Various social sites have however taken a couple of measures aimed at protecting the privacy of users, especially young ones. For instance, according to Luo et al. (2009), MySpace restricts the minimum age of enrolment to 14 years. Those who enroll at this age have their profiles automatically set to “private mode”, so that the general public is not able to view them. Users can only be allowed to move out of this mode when they reach the age of sixteen years. Clearly, young users, who are more targeted by stalkers, are protected through this measure. Moreover, when joining these social sites, a person is at liberty to choose what...