SOCIAL NETWORKING IN WORKPLACES AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Social networking is creating changes dramatic or dynamic in the environment but it’s obvious it is creating changes. Social networking an online medium of interaction which let people build relations, share ideas, communicate information and bounding society in sentimental stream. Social networking is making dramatic growth in dynamic environment of now a day. People use social networks for catharsis of their human emotions. Motives of social networking can be different for person to person like; people connect to LinkIn for professional purpose, Facebook and MySpace for personal motive, Twitter for social networking, Personalized Blogs for personal thoughts and view point. Motive of using social networks can be change but the ultimate logic of connecting is building social contacts and sharing (Ehrlich, 2011).

Social networking is not only targeting young generation. It’s tempting and hitting all age groups and generations. The way to use and respond social networks is not a good thing, nor a bad thing; it’s just a different thing. Using and connecting to social networks is part and parcel now a day of everyone’s life. Now people never ask for mail addresses or mobile numbers instead of that people ask each other for their social network IDs for carrying on long term contacts (Avalos, S. 2011).

Every organization is using social network sites for their professional benefits like creating customer relationship. So it becomes the need and it’s the time for organizations to design workforce according to changing environments. Organization’s productivity and profits base on its employee’s performance, and its employees are strongly connecting to social networks. In other aspects Social networks are creating risks, opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths for organizations. Risk in a way that social networks are real time communication mediums, It can communicate and disseminate information of organization instantly in real timing which organization may never want to share with people outside the organization. Opportunity in the context that competitor’s employee shared information about upcoming strategy at social medium which can be used for organization’s benefit. Threat can be faced by organizations when its employees discuss internal information of organization at social networks which can be used by its competitors. Social networking can be weakness of organization when it affects its productivity negatively. Same social networking become strength for organizations when it’s used to build good relationship with employees, to direct them is right way, to collect information about employee behavior and to train them (Flynn, 2011).

Social networking affect banking sector as it affecting employee’s skills, productivity, qualification/knowledge and motivational level. Banks practice social networking for building employer-employee relationship by increasing employee’s skills, productivity, motivational level and knowledge. Banks evaluate their employees and manage their contributions to keep bank’s image high through social networking. Banks direct their employees for ethical behavior in using social networks while they are representation of the organization. For doing all this banks are formulating some sort of policies regarding using of social networking (Flynn, 2011).