MGT502: Assessment 1B - Forming an Argument on Facebook's Impact

This assignment analyzes the impact of Facebook and other social media platforms on workplace productivity and communication, focusing on the arguments that social media usage can create interruptions due to employees checking their accounts for media updates. The solution examines how Facebook is used by organizations for communication, while also highlighting the issues like delays in information and unreliable sources. The assignment argues that while Facebook can bridge the gap between companies and customers, its use by employees for media updates can be problematic. The analysis considers the impact of Facebook's features, like instant messaging, and how they can be interruptive. It also references research on the relationship between communication type, Facebook use, and employee well-being, as well as the role of Facebook in business communication and political campaigns. The assignment concludes by acknowledging the potential benefits of Facebook while emphasizing the importance of addressing interruptions and unreliable information sources.

Forming a argument

Facebook and other social media websites create interruptions at workplace because
employees check their accounts for knowing about what is running in the media (Chang, 2017).
Facebook is used as a communication tool by many organizations and it does bridge the gap
between company and customers/potential customers but when it is used by employees at
workplace for media updates then it create problem in organization. Advancement in technology
is creating issues like delay in information, because of enormous amount of content, or getting
information from unreliable sources. Social media is used by organization for communication
but features in Facebook like instant messaging is interruptive in nature. It is true that if
relationship between type of communication and use of Facebook is fine then interruptions can
reduce (Burke and Kraut, 2016). But, this depends on the policy of an organization which
normally concentrate on providing more freedom to employees so they can get in better touch
with the clients.
In order to communicate technical features and build bonding with customers companies
use Facebook (Su and Chan, 2017). This act provide more help to Facebook in increasing their
communicative features compared to the benefits it provide to using organization. For political
campaign, Facebook is an effective mode of communication. It allow leaders to reach public and
present their ideology in front of them (Stier and et.al., 2018). But from the perspective of profit
making companies these types of campaign are not in their favor. They reduce company’s
visibility on Facebook and also divert focus of employees towards some unproductive
conversation. Some cases can be found where Facebook helped in business communication for
whole industry (Escobar-Rodríguez and Bonsón-Fernández, 2017). This does not mean that the
issues associated with interruptions and unreliable sources can be ignored by companies.

REFERENCES
Journals
A longitudinal analysis. In Digital transformation in journalism and news media (pp. 319-337).
Springer, Cham.
Burke, M. & Kraut, R.E., (2016). The relationship between Facebook use and well-being
depends on communication type and tie strength. Journal of computer-mediated
communication. 21(4). pp.265-281.
Chang, H.J., (2017). Facebook interruptions in the workplace from a media uses perspective:
Escobar-Rodríguez, T. & Bonsón-Fernández, R., (2017). Facebook practices for business
communication among fashion retailers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management:
An International Journal.
Stier, S., & et.al., (2018). Election campaigning on social media: Politicians, audiences, and the
mediation of political communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political communication.
35(1). pp.50-74.
Su, C.C. & Chan, N.K., (2017). Predicting social capital on Facebook: The implications of use
intensity, perceived content desirability, and Facebook-enabled communication practices.
Computers in Human Behavior. 72. pp.259-268.