Social networking and employee identities Essay

Social networking and employee identities - Essay Example For example, when used for recruitment purposes social networking sites may fail to meet all the necessary security requirements. In the workplace, where social networking is often used for promoting the communication between employees, similar security problems have appeared. The risks of social networking in regard to a particular security issue, the identity of its users, are explored in this paper. Reference is made, especially, to the identities of employees, as users of the social networking sites. The literature review related to this issue verifies the extensive use of social networking sites, as a tool of communication, in the workplace and the involvement of these sites in the hiring process. Also, the studies published in this field indicate the failures of social networking sites to offer to their users full protection of their identities. 2. Social Networking and Employee Identities Social networking sites are extensively used in the workplace. In the past, employees acc essed these sites just for entertainment reasons (Timm 2010). Today, social networking sites are officially used in the workplace for a variety of purposes: a) for improving the communication between employees in various organizational departments, b) for helping to the sharing of documents and other material between employees; the performance of e-mail in regard to such service can be low as problems in the central servers of the e-mail providers are common; c) for developing critical organizational activities; reference should be made, as examples, to the marketing and recruitment processes (Timm 2010). On the other hand, the benefits of social networking for organizations cannot be doubted. Indeed, social media can help businesses to improve their market image, to increase their customer base and to improve their communication with their customers (Society for Human Resource Management 2012). In addition, through social media employees are able to share their ideas and their conc erns in regard to the tasks assigned to them (Society for Human Resource Management 2012). However, in firms where employees use social media, the exposure of IT systems to various threats is quite high (Society for Human Resource Management 2012). The disadvantages of the use of social media, as related to the workplace could be described as follows: a) increased risk for ‘virus attacks and online scams’ (Society for Human Resource Management 2012), b) potential damages on organization’s reputation, a problem that usually results from the negative comments of employees in social networking sites (Society for Human Resource Management 2012) and c) decrease of employee performance; such problem exists in case that employees spend a lot of time ‘in updating their online profile’ (Society for Human Resource Management 2012). According to a survey published in 2011, currently a high percentage of employers, about 48.3% allow to their employees the use of social networking sites in work, even for non-business use (Fisher 2011, Figure 1, Appendices). It should be noted that a percentage of 25% of employers, a rather high percentage, prohibits any access to social media in work if the use is not made for covering business needs. On the other hand, a high percentage of employers, about 70.7% prefer to adjust the IT systems in the workplace so that the access to social networking

Problems - questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Problems - questions - Assignment Example Being focused at advertising a product or a service, marketing is imperative in creating customer loyalty. Additionally, it ensures long term positive relationship between a product and a consumer. Two key companies that have succeeded based on their effective marketing strategies are Coca-Cola and Nokia. Through their extensive advertising strategies Coca-Cola and Nokia have emerged as world leaders in the soft drink and telecommunication industries respectively. Section B Question 1 Market segmentation entails dividing the wide target market into group of consumers who have similar requirements. After dividing the large target market into subsets, a company then provides products and services that meet the needs of their consumers. Consumers market can be segmented according to geographic aspects, psychographic factors, consumer’s behaviors, occasion as well as benefits derived from the products (Kotler, et al 56). Targeting involves focusing at a particular group of custome rs and adopting appropriate marketing strategies to sell products on the targeted group. Being part of the market mix, target market is vital in ensuring the success of any product. According to Kurtz there are seven major steps that marketers can adopt in segmenting their market as depicted by the flow chart below. Selecting target audience Identification of customer needs Adopting valuation approach that includes barriers to entry and accessing market Testing the segment Modifying market mix Positioning entails creating a strong image in the minds of targeted audience regarding the products of an organization. Earlier on positioning emulated the consumers marketing however with the growth in technology; companies have adopted Google and yahoo among other internet sites to enhance competitive positioning (Ries and Trout 39). Major aspects that companies should utilize to ensure effective positioning of their brands includes products quality, effective distribution, extensive promot ion, attractive and secured packaging as well as affordable prices. Just like segmentation, companies that are focused at effective positioning of their brands can adopt six steps as depicted by the flow chart below. Identifying key competitors Understanding positioning strategies adopted by competitors Documenting the current positioning strategy adopted by the company Comparing the company positioning strategies with those of the competitors Establishing positioning that is value based Establishing an appropriate positioning statement supported by proper communication Question 2 Strategic planning entails defining the direction that an organisation will follow and making of essential decision regarding allocation of resources to attain the objectives of a company. By understanding the current position of a company, it is possible to emulate an effective course of action that will ensure the success of a company. In most cases a strategic planning covers a period of 5 years. One of the major components of a strategic plan is vision. Vision depicts what the organization wants to be. Secondly, a strategic plan should indicate the mission of a company. Mission indicates the basic purpose of a firm and the strategies it emulates in order to achieve its vision. For example, the mission of Coca-Cola Company is to provide quality brands that refresh the whole world. Value is