Social, Political And Legal Environment Associated With...

Executive Summary: Social media such as Facebook and Twitter allow society to publicize their social lives to all. While managers in organizations are forbidden to ask personal questions of their employees regarding religious or voting preferences, if they have access to their employees Facebook or Twitter pages, they automatically have full access to all information that employees post regarding their personal lives. Will an employer’s access to an employee’s social media pages sway or create bias regarding hiring or promotion activities that didn’t previously exist? How does the organization manage ethical and legal situations where managers and employees are posting their issues with each other on their social media pages instead of†¦show more content†¦The consequences of posting comments on a social website have opened the door to legal and ethical issues and concerns. What is social media? Social media consists of web-based internet social networks where users across the world can share information and communicate with other users in an interactive manner. Users can communicate, socialize, share emails, documents, pictures, video, audio files, events, activities, and ideas. Users can also share concerns, issues, and problems. Social media has become an important part of people’s lives, thus, allowing them to communicate with a broader social network every day regardless of where they are at. Reports indicate that the number of people using social media sites several times a day has more than doubled from 2009 to 2010 from 18 to 40 million. Today, more than 66 million Americans use social media sites. There are many types of social media that are accessed while in the workplace. Some examples include: LinkedIn which is a social and professional networking site created in 2003 to provide professional people with access to networking, marketing, advertising and job search opportunities. This website has more than 70 million users globally and from more than 200 countries. They have approximately 100 million members and they add new members at a rate of roughly one million per week. Facebook is a social networking site that was created in 2004 to enable regular