Essay Example: Standards of Conduct in Social Media

During this age and era of information technology, institutions have developed different policy frameworks aimed at guiding the employees on how to use various IT resources. These rules are intended to set a standard of conduct that must be observed by all workers regardless of their role or positon within the workplace. One such standard is the GSA guideline termed as the Official Use of Social Media. The objective of this provision is to guide stakeholders in government on how they should use various social media platforms, especially when making public posts. The aim of the guideline is to enhance collaboration, communication and information exchange in a manner that influences right action towards supporting the mission. Nonetheless, the guide only touches on social media services, which are hosted on the Federal Government servers as well as those, organized out of the said servers (GSA, 2016). All employees are expected to familiarize themselves with and adhere to the mentioned responsibilities as they try operating various social media tools when acting in official capacity. The most notable aspect of the policy statement is that it clarifies on the issue of application since employees are only bound to follow the provisions when acting in an official capacity.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Workers within different departments of the Federal Government need to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the policy since it is closely tied to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch as well as the Hatch Act. Each is required to follow the ethical obligations even when engaging in their personal capacities. The provisions also mention the decision-making process or line of thought, which implies that each requirement is clarified for all users (Flynn, 2012). For example, workers are required to seek permission to use social media products that they perceive would enhance a customers experience. The Service or Staff Office that allows the use of social media grants such rights. Most importantly, one must request permission to use products from online platforms from the Office of Communications and Marketing. Upon approval, one will be assisted with planning, implementation as well as monitoring the use of social media. All along, one must coordinate with the Office of Communications and Marketing to measure the progress. Therefore, the policy framework provides insight into the processes that an individual should engage in when handling social media platforms.

In the class discussions, the role of stakeholders in policy implementation was highlighted significantly. All stakeholders are liable to the consequences of punishment for failing to adhere to the requirements. Apparently, an employee cannot initiate communication on social media with a client where permission has not been granted. The clarity of roles and objectives is quite remarkable since all stakeholders work within their access levels in meeting the business objectives. Most importantly, the same behavior is expected of employees when dealing with both at an official level as well as a personal level (Breakenridge, 2012). Therefore, at all times, the worker is required to maintain an appropriate public image to the clients. Finally, all stakeholders need to regularly review these requirements to point out whenever an employee violates or goes overboard on the provisions. As such, different parties who work towards ensuring that everyone works or operates within his or her scope conduct the implementation of this policy.

References

Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press.

Flynn, N. (2012). The Social Media Handbook. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

GSA, G. (2016). Chapter 5. Your Responsibilities. Gsa.gov. Retrieved 17 October 2016, from http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/250001