The Use of Social Media to Communicate at Workplace - Cotton On Case Study

This report explores the role of social media in workplace communication through the Cotton On case study. It covers the concept of social media, its advantages and disadvantages, and how it helps the workplace communicate with different departments and stakeholders. The report also provides recommendations to efficiently use social media sites and avoid problems such as misuse of social media by employees.

RUNNING HEAD: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 0
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
2A

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................3
Recommendations............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 2
Introduction
Social media plays an important role in the workplace to communicate with different
departments as well as stakeholders. The purpose of this report outline is to give brief
explanation of the report so that reader can understand it better. The topic chosen for the report is
“the use of social media to communicate at workplace”. The topic will cover the concept of
social media as well as role of social media in the Cotton On to communicate with its employees
(Merella, 2015). While continuing with the role of social media, it has various disadvantages at
workplace which are being highlighted in the report. The company faces various issues regarding
using media in the workplace has been focused. Through social media, workplace can
communicate easily with different departments as well as it can also help its shareholders
especially. It will help them to know the market value of its company in which they want to
invest (Wakefield & Wakefield, 2016).
The main purpose of report is to analysis the role of social media in the workplace. The intended
audience for the report will be employees and board members of the company. Communication
strategies are mostly implemented for employees of the organization as it helps them in better
understanding of company’s policies, rules and regulations (Ngai, Tao & Moon, 2015).
This report is based on Cotton On Company of the Australia. It was founded in 1991. It is
retail chain of Australia. It deals in clothing of men, women, teenagers and children. It has nearly
1500 stores in 12 countries and employee 17000 staff in Australia as well as other countries. It
was founded in the fashion report that Cotton On Group is the best performing fashion retailer of
2017 (Fibre2Fashion, 2018). In communicating with the intended audience, social media strategy
is the best strategy which will implement in the organization to communicate effectively.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 3
Main Body
The main body of the report is divided into 2 parts. The first heading of the report is all
about concept of social media which will help the reader in draw out the meaning of the report.
The second heading of the report is about how social media helps the workplace in
communication with various staff member, departments as well as board members.
The first resource which is used in the report is Journal that is titled as “Social media
affordances and governance in the workplace: an examination of organizational policies”. This
journal will help in knowing the concept of social media which will be important in doing
assessment 2B. By knowing the use of social media at workplace, it aids in knowing the
opportunities of social media that will benefit the company in various ways. The source is
according to the reliability test because it has provided all the information up to date as well as it
has fulfil the purpose of writing by providing the importance of social media in workplace for
communicating.
The second resource of Journal is “Social Media in the Workplace: A study of dual
effects”. This journal will help in understanding the importance of various social media sites in
the workplace. It will provide a deep understanding of the concept of different social media sites
which are useful for the organizations to use a communication tool. The source has fulfilled the
reliability test as it is peer reviewed journal which is checked by experts. The information which
are provided in this journal have exact data.
The third resource which is used in the report is website that is entitled as “5 Benefits of
Social Networks at Work”. This helps in knowing the advantages of using social media at
workplace. This also provides assistance in knowing how employees can communicate
effectively by using social media at workplace. The source has fulfilled the reliability of
audience test as it talks in general about the needs and requirements of the customers. The source
also fulfils the objective of the organizational s their main objective is to fulfill the requirements
of employees as it tells about the benefits.
The fourth resource that will be used in completing the assessment 2B report is named as
“Five problems social media can cause in the workplace and how to avoid them. It will be

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 4
relevant in knowing how social media can affect the productivity of the employees as well as
organization. The objectivity test will contradict itself here by saying that the only aim of the
organization is not to fulfill the requirements of the employees. But the organization runs its
business to earn profits therefore it will focus on fulfilling the needs of customers.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 5
Recommendations
Social media sites are helpful in communicating effectively at workplace but it has to
face various problems in using social media sites. Company’s reputation can affect if employees
leak the person information on social networking sites. In order to remove these problems,
efficient uses of these sites are recommended.
The problem which companies mostly face is the misuse of social media sites by the employees,
in order to remove this problem recommendation is provided to use such policy which can
remove this problem in the company.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 6
Conclusion
In this part of the report, complete understanding of social media has been explained by
giving the importance of social media as a communication tool. From the complete analysis of
the report, conclusion is provided on how digital communication is important in workplace to
communicate with employees of the organization. Further it will cover why social media is
mandatory in communicating at workplace. Despite the benefits of social media, it also
showcases the problems which social media cause in the workplace.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 7
References
Fibre2Fashion. (2017). Cotton On top performing fashion retailer of 2017: Report. Retrieved
from: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/fashion-news/cotton-on-top-performing-
fashion-retailer-of-2017-report-205981-newsdetails.htm
Merrell, J.M. (2015). 5 benefits of social networking at work. Retrieved from:
https://workology.com/5-benefits-of-social-networks-at-work/
Ngai, E. W., Tao, S. S., & Moon, K. K. (2015). Social media research: Theories, constructs, and
conceptual frameworks. International Journal of Information Management, 35(1), 33-44.
Wakefield, R., & Wakefield, K. (2016). Social media network behavior: A study of user passion
and affect. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 25(2), 140-156.