The marketing and communication benefits of social media come with some new corporate ethical dilemmas

In recent years the attention of the business world has been drawn to the potential and pitfalls of social media. The benefits of social media for corporate communications are well known; less familiar is how to deal with the ethical challenges it can create for organisations.

Recent headlines demonstrate the risks involved, including: “Cyber bullying more harmful”; “Online monitoring of job candidates raises disturbing questions”; and “Third of firms forced to discipline workers over social media tweets and updates”.

Two ethical challenges that this (relatively) new technology creates arise firstly from its use as a marketing tool and secondly from employees’ personal use of social media.

The speed and potential global reach of social media make it an effective medium through which companies market themselves and their products and services, but it can also heighten ethical risks. Whichever form marketing takes, companies and their employees have a duty to market responsibly. Employees using social media this way should be wary of misleading consumers with positive product reviews or endorsements. This can be avoided if employees declare that they are representing or have an interest in the company.

Values are values

Organisations can mitigate the ethical risks by encouraging employees to recognise that, just as with any other form of communication, they should apply the company’s ethical values when using social media. Failure to do so can have serious consequences.

One example is the case of Nestlé in 2011when an employee who was managing content on the company’s Facebook fan page posted offensive comments in response to negative remarks by the public. The employee’s behaviour violated the company’s business principle of integrity and their commitment to “avoid any conduct that could damage or risk Nestlé or its reputation” and provoked a consumer backlash.

By acting irresponsibly when using social media on behalf of the company, the employee undermined Nestlé’s commitment to ethical practice and exposed it to an integrity risk.

Employees’ personal use of social media can also create ethical challenges for business. It can be more problematic to identify and deal with dilemmas in this context than if an employee is acting irresponsibly whilst representing the company, as in the Nestlé case.

Cyber-bullying crisis?

Cyber-bulling of colleagues through a personal social media account provides an increasingly common example. Recent surveys cite one in ten UK workers believe that workplace cyber-bullying is a problem and a fifth of employers have had to discipline staff for posting nasty comments about a colleague online.

Such bullying behaviour poses a serious concern for employers, but it is questionable whether companies have any right to interfere with employees’ personal activities. Just as it is difficult for companies to manage employees’ behaviour outside the workplace, it is difficult to manage employees’ personal use of social media.

Some companies reserve the right to monitor employees’ social media profiles as a way of addressing this. Arguably, if employees’ personal activities are having an impact on their colleagues and by extension, an impact on their employer, it is justifiable for the company to intervene. Yet monitoring employees’ personal use of social media raises questions around individuals’ right to privacy and freedom of expression.

Personal opinions

These ethical challenges arise because social media blurs the boundaries between personal and work life. When personal opinions expressed through social media refer to a company or its employees, it is unclear what control, if any, the company then has over comments communicated in this way and what action it can or should take. The situation is further complicated when not taking action conflicts with the company’s values or business principles. For example, by not tackling workplace cyber-bullying an employer is failing in its duty of care to employees.

This suggests a need for companies to develop guidance for employees on appropriate use of social media. A social media policy needs to be consistent with the company’s code of ethics and will overlap with other policies around communication, use of company assets and confidentiality of information.

The policy should also set out the company’s position on employees’ personal use of social media, for example stating that employees are not judged for personal activities or opinions as long as they are within the law, not offensive to others or the company, and do not refer to the company or work life.

At the time of writing there is an ongoing case of constructive dismissal against BG Group. John Flexman, a former HR manager at the company, was called to an internal disciplinary hearing for inappropriate social media use after posting his CV on LinkedIn and registering his interest in “career opportunities”. BG Group contends Flexman’s actions violated company policy on conflicts of interest. He is also alleged to have made negative remarks and disclosed confidential information about the company in his CV.

Policy clarity

This case demonstrates that guidance in itself is not sufficient for an organisation to address the ethical challenges of social media. Guidance needs to be regularly reviewed and effectively communicated, more so than with other policy areas because of the rapid development of social media. Engaging in dialogue with employees can also help ensure the policy’s content is fair and understood and acceptable to both parties.

Social media has created new opportunities and new challenges for companies. As this technology continues to develop, it is likely business will face additional concerns. If an organisation has clear ethical values, which are communicated well at all levels of the organisation, it can be confident that it is future-proofing against further technological developments.

By being aware of the ethical challenges and knowing how to deal with these effectively, companies can continue to live up to their ethical values whilst using social media to its full advantage.

For further information see the IBE’s briefing: The Ethical Challenges of Social Media

 
 


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