Future Challenges With Social Media Sites

 

Researchers are in the process of evaluating social networking sites, so they can discover the pros and cons to the sites. Social Media sites allow people to be open and honest about their feelings. It gives the user the opportunity to freely express themselves, but it doesn’t allow the person time to reflect on their thoughts and feelings. Once the user clicks on the send or post button the message is out there, and having that information deleted is almost impossible.

Another problem with social media sites is that they make it easy for some users to create fake profiles. These technological advances are changing at such a fast rate that it makes it difficult for the laws to keep up with the social media sites, and researchers need more time to investigate the social media sites. Employers are at a disadvantage, because they are being bombarded with ethical dilemmas that they need guidance and policies on, but the technology keeps changing. This is leaving employers wondering - what are the best practices when it comes to social media sites?

 

Future Challenges with Social Media Sites

           Online social networking, like Facebook and twitter, are being used by more and more companies as a business tool. Some companies have adopted policies regarding the use of the social media sites during work hours while other companies have not and this is a problem.  According to Robert Sprague in Invasion of the Social Networks: Blurring the Line Between Personal Life and the Employment Relationship, “When objectionable, particularly potentially harassing, content is posted online, prompt, remedial action by the employer is imperative to reduce, if not eliminate, potential liability” (p.34).

           Employer’s actions when enforcing the companies’ policies needs to be consistent when dealing with employees. If an employer, or manager, does not consistently enforce the policies, then it can open the organization up for an illegal discrimination lawsuit. Some companies might allow social media sites to be checked or used during work hours, if the work is getting done. In order to prevent legal issues from arising, it would be best to have a written policy that applies to all employees.

          Susan Manning explains that “working conditions, roles, and responsibilities bring forward ethical issues in businesses,” and she is right (p.40). Our ethical guidelines cannot address every issue that comes up, but they are not meant to address every issue. It is our responsibility to understand the big issues, and what is the best course of action to take.

Statement 3 of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals states, “Human Service Professionals protect the client’s right to privacy…” but how will they protect themselves or their clients from the internet (2012, p.2)?  From Social Media Sites? Google has come up with a program that will provide a 360 degree view of a street address. Lauren Rakower feels that, “Google Street View technology presents particularly complicated questions, for it not only implicates the privacy rights and protections afforded domestically, but triggers the attention of the entire international community” (p.320). An individual was caught going into an adult video store, and his image was used without his consent, but the laws are not up-to-date, and he had no recourse.

Social media sites provide cover so that users can engage in cyber stalking and identity theft; of course, the social media sites will have a policy that states an individual must not provide false information or in facebooks case that the user must be “13” to have an account, but many people don’t know the policies, and some people don’t care about the policy. This is evident when users make a bogus profile by creating an anonymous profile. Then the profile can be used for cyber stalking, identity theft, or to allow a sexual predator to get close to a child.

It is crucial that people remember to use social media sites with caution when they are posting information or accepting a friend’s request. Is it okay for employees to have clients as their friends? Is this ethical? Do employees have the right to use technology to check-up on our clients? Where will organizations draw the line between public and private information?

Many people enjoy using social media sites, and more people are getting acquainted with the sites, so that the sites are “ingrained” into not only their personal but their work lives as well. More research needs to be done on the pros and cons of social media sites; however, since social media sites are not going away the research needs to focus on best practices when using social media sites, and ethical responsibilities of professionals. The laws need to be update, so that users are protected when they are online. Access to personal information needs to be restricted and protected. For example, in England, there is a button that users can click on if they are online and they are being harassed. 

            Management strategies need to include policies and training on the use of social media sites. Businesses will benefit from their corporation being on the social media sites, but the employees will need some form of coaching or management that will focus on the ethical obligations and responsibilities of being on the social media sites. Technology is designed to ensure that people are getting what they want out of life and work. Technology will continue to change at a fast pace, and organization’s need to adapt to the changes in technology if they are going to keep productivity and performance up and liability down

            There is a lot of information that can be found on social media sites, but there is not a lot of information on the ethical implications of social media sites. I feel that there is not enough guidance on what a user should or should not do, and there is definitely a gap between the law and employers responsibilities when it comes to social media sites. It seems to me that some business are taking a wait and see approach, it is as though they want other business to adopt policies and be challenged in court before they want to do anything. There are some companies that are proactive, but they are in the minority.

            I think it is admirable that some employers are allowing the employees the discretion to choose what they will or will not do on social media sites; however, I think that most people need some form of structure or guidance to help them navigate through the internet.

 

Reference

Pedersen, M. (2011). 'A career is nothing without a personal life': On the social machine in the call for authentic employees. Ephemera: Theory & Politics In Organization, 11(1), 63-77.

Sprague, R. (2011). Invasion of the Social Networks: Blurring the Line Between Personal Life and the Employment Relationship. University Of Louisville Law Review, 50(1), 1-34.

Is Professional Objectivity Important?

 

            The Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals were developed to assist the Human Service Professionals through challenging ethical dilemmas. In order for the Ethical Standards to be beneficial, it requires an understanding of an individual’s objectivity or judgment, and this…requires more than reading. It requires action. The professional must work on their characteristic strengths and weaknesses. So, what is professional objectivity and why is it important?

Susan Manning explains that “the level of moral judgment of a leader reflects one’s ability to identify with the experience, feelings, opinions, values, and meanings of those involved in an ethical dilemma…” thus the individual’s moral judgment takes time to develop (p.104). The individual’s judgment is influenced by several factors: their family, their friends, the environment in which they were raised, and so on so forth. If an individual learns to use their moral judgment in a sound way, then in time their moral judgment will transform into ethical “reasoning” (Manning, p.106). When the individual is old enough to work, then their moral judgment will develop into their professional objectivity. The individual’s morals will play a role in determining what actions/behaviors are right or wrong. Nevertheless, the society that they live in, and work in, will have a set of standards that the individual will be expected to follow. In the end, each individual’s choice will show if they are or are not upholding the ethical standards of their profession. Regardless of others, Human Service Leaders have a moral obligation (a duty) to uphold the Ethical Standards for the Human Service professional.

Pierre Kletz defines morals as, “What lies beyond that is a logic of procedures as opposed to a submission to duties: the idea is not to do what morality dictates without thinking of the consequences of one's actions for oneself; rather, through morality, one may find the "best" action (not in ethical but in qualitative terms) to achieve one's goal” (p.12). As an ethical leader, it is important to reflect on ourselves, because we need to know what we are doing, and why we are doing it. This awareness helps an individual to be emotionally stable and to serve as an example to their employee’s. On the flip side, leader’s have the ability to hinder their employees. When a leader fails to recognize that their actions impact more than themselves, then they fail not only the organization that they work for but the community as well.

Any organization and community will benefit from ethical reasoning and leadership, because it is not a selfish act. According to Carolyn Wiley (2000), “Five key professional ethics codes in HRM are analyzed according to six obligations. The resulting characterizations revealed that these codes advocate five principles related to: integrity, legality, proficiency, loyalty, and confidentiality” (pg.1). The ethical standards for human service professionals are an important set of standards that guide human service professionals in their ethical decisions, but they don’t cover all conflicts that might arise.

For example, Statement 1 from the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals maintains that “Human Service professionals negotiate with clients the purpose, goals, and nature of the helping relationship…” and statement 2 goes on to say “Human Service Professionals respect the integrity and welfare of the client at all times. Each client is treated with respect, acceptance, and dignity” (p.2).  So, how should the Human Service Professional deal with the power that they have over their client? What if they find pleasure in ‘Exaltation of power’ as explained by Longlin.

Longlin reasoned that  “the masses may continue to support political leaders even if they act foolishly and against their interest, because along with those in power they share with the illusion of being protected against anxiety.” Some of the clients that come for help might be court ordered to attend, so would the Human Service Professional hold this power over the clients head or will they search for creative solutions, to encourage the client to develop their thinking and to help them change. Longlin described power as an “end to itself because of the prevalence of narcissistic and destructive parts of the self.” He believed that this abuse of power could be found in ‘political institutions’ and ‘public and private social institutions.’ The question that each individual needs to ask is – How will I use the power of authority that is given to me? How will I lead?

Robert Nash insists that all individuals that work with people need to be able to advocate. There are four attributes that he feels are essential to do this, and the first one is Humility “which means that we work hard to attribute the best motive to others, whenever they take the risk to express their thoughts in public (even, especially, when they honestly acknowledge their ignorance, based on stereotypes).” The second attribute is Faith, and he defines it as “trusting that what we hear from another is worthwhile in some way, if only, and especially, to the social justice speaker” he implores individuals to go further by having “confidence that what others have to offer about their understanding of social justice, no matter how different from ours, might even be valuable to us in some way.” The next characteristic is Self-denial “the inclination to acknowledge that we are willing, and able, to search for the truth in what we oppose, and the error in what we espouse, at least initially. It means avoiding the opposites of self-denial: arrogance, unwavering certainty, and self-righteousness.” Finally, the last attribute that Nash feels is needed is Charity. Charity is “looking for the good in others… This, of course, does not mean ignoring, or excusing, errors in judgment, faulty reasoning, or one-sided zealotry”. According to Nash, there are many conflicts that can be avoided if people “learn how to talk with one another about the hottest of hot topics” (2010). This information follows along with several of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals that deals with accepting clients, knowing ourselves, and cultural differences.

            Professional objectivity is important, because it helps to play a responsible role in the world. The concept of objectivity shows that there is the potential for individuals to demonstrate that there is no distinction to be drawn between duties to others. Transformational leadership encourages empowerment; and that, it is possible to make ethically sound decisions that will benefit not only the individual, but also those around the individual. In this case, sound decisions will benefit the client, the organization, and in the end the community.

Reference

Council for Standards in Human Service Education adopted 1996. Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals .

Lewin, C., & Colley, H. (2011). Professional capacity for 14-19 career guidance in England: some baseline data. British Journal Of Guidance & Counselling, 39(1), 1-24. doi:10.1080/03069885.2010.531381

Longhin, L. (2011). Thirteen: Psychoanalysis and social and political conflicts. Contemporary Psychoanalytic Studies, 13307-329.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Nash, R. J. (2010). “What is the best way to be a social justice advocate?”: Communication strategies for effective social justice advocacy. About Campus, 15(2), 11-19. doi:10.1002/abc.20017

Van Hooft, S. (2011). Caring, objectivity and justice: An integrative view. Nursing Ethics, 18(2), 149-60. doi: 10.1177/0969733010388927

Social Responsibility

 

According to Manning (1998) in Ethical Leadership in Human Services, it discusses the ethical obligation that Human Service leaders have in “increasing the social goods;” thereby, they are strengthening individuals, families, organizations, and communities (p.1-2). The role of the Human Service Leader is to advance “Action and reform” in order to improve the social sector of society .This is contradictory to the roles of the United States Government and most organizations which promote “Conformity and compliance.” These unrelated roles can blur the boundaries between helping and harming members of society (p.5). 

The Human Service Leader is responsible to the community and society. The Ethical Standards for the Human Service professional lists eleven statements that describe their role (Statements 10-21 found in the appendix of our textbook). For a long time, the economic sector has focused on goods and profits. However, the business market has changed its course of action to promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Responsible consumers and stakeholder marketing: building a virtuous circle of social responsibility is an article that describes the changes within business to include the CSR. According to Spitzer (2010), “Socially responsible organizations that make the investment in creating a healthy work environment have a much better chance for 'survival when business conditions are tough, simply because the culture is healthier and therefore better able to adapt to challenges; and these organizations are also more apt to thrive when times are good”(p.5).

I liked the point made in the reading where it stated that “The ethical starting point is the leader,” because if we, as leaders, have our own ethical morals and values than our actions/behaviors will speak to our standards (Manning, 2003, p.16). Ethical guidelines need to be determined in advanced, and this takes knowledge of our self and meditation into the matter.

References

Council for Standards in Human Service Education adopted 1996. Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Spitzer, R. (2010). Is Social Responsibility Good?. Journal For Quality & Participation, 33(3), 13-17.

Moral Obligations

 

According to Carolyn Wiley (2000), “Five key professional ethics codes in HRM are analyzed according to six obligations. The resulting characterizations revealed that these codes advocate five principles related to integrity, legality, proficiency, loyalty, and confidentiality” (pg.1). The ethical standards for human service professionals are a set of standards to guide human service professionals in their ethical decisions. These guidelines are necessary, because they help to guide individuals in making a choice that will be effective and productive; rather than, making a decision that will be ineffective and counterproductive.

The individual’s morals will play a role in determining what actions/behaviors are right or wrong. Nevertheless, the society that they live in, and work in, will have a set of standards that the individual will be expected to follow. In the end, each individual’s choice will show if they are or are not upholding the ethical standards of their profession. Human Service Leaders have a  moral obligation (a duty) to uphold the Ethical Standards for the Human Service professional.

Pierre Kletz defines morals as, “What lies beyond that is a logic of procedures as opposed to a submission to duties: the idea is not to do what morality dictates without thinking of the consequences of one's actions for oneself; rather, through morality, one may find the "best" action (not in ethical but in qualitative terms) to achieve one's goal” (p.12). I feel that it is important for each one of us to know what we are doing, and why we are doing it, because if we don’t then there is a chance that under stress and/or pressure we might not do what is ethically sound.

References

Kletz ,Pierre. (2009) Research in social responsibility: a challenge for management education. falseManagement Decision47. 10 (2009): 1582-1594.

Wiley, Carolyn. (2000). Ethical standards for human resource management professionals: A comparative analysis of five major codes: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics 25.2 false(May 2000): 93-114.

Issues of Discrimination and Harassment

 

There are many issues of discrimination and harassment in the work place. A person can be discriminated or harassed because of their race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, gender, age, sexual orientation, or physical ability. Most organizations have policies on employee’s refraining from any sort of discrimination and harassment. The NASW code of ethics states, “Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color sex sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability” (Manning, 2003, p.295-6). Statement 17 of the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals is very similar to the NASW code of ethics.

Discrimination and harassment still exist in the workplace. According to Conrad (2012) the findings indicated that, “ 1) women who worked in medical units with a larger percentage of men reported more gender harassment; 2) women who had a male supervisor reported less organizational support; and 3) women who worked in an organization with a male head reported more gender discrimination. ”However, the report goes on to explain that “gender composition was unrelated to any of the outcome measures” for men (p. 1661). Men were not experiencing harassment or discrimination according to this study.

            I feel that it is important for the leaders to promote a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. They can do this by setting an example of what behavior is appropriate, and they can provide training and assistance to stop (put an end to) behaviors that are inappropriate.

References

Council for Standards in Human Service Education adopted 1996. Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Employee Rights

 

         Online social networking, like Facebook and twitter, are being used by more and more companies as a business tool. In time, companies will have to adopt policies regarding the use of the social media sites during work hours. Many people enjoy using social media sites, and more people are getting acquainted with the sites, so that the sites are “ingrained” into their lives.

          According to Robert Sprague in Invasion of the Social Networks: Blurring the Line Between Personal Life and the Employment Relationship, “When objectionable, particularly potentially harassing, content is posted online, prompt, remedial action by the employer is imperative to reduce, if not eliminate, potential liability” (p.34). Employer’s actions when enforcing the companies’ policies needs to be consistent when dealing with employees. If an employer, or manager, does not consistently enforce the policies, then it can open the organization up for an illegal discrimination lawsuit.

          I think I was raised with different work ethics than some of the younger generation; for example, I believe when you are at work you should be working. With that being said, I know that some companies allow social media sites to be checked/used during work hours if the work is getting done. In order to prevent legal issues from arising, it would be best to have one policy not multiple policies.

          Susan Manning explains that “working conditions, roles, and responsibilities bring forward ethical issues in businesses,” and she is right (p.40). Our ethical guidelines cannot address every issue that comes up, but they are not meant to address every issue. It is our responsibility to understand the big issues, and what is the best course of action to take. I think that it is a good idea to pay attention to the way that we handle the smaller issues, because it will give us some insight into how we will handle the bigger issues. 

References

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Sprague, R. (2011). Invasion of the Social Networks: Blurring the Line Between Personal Life and the Employment Relationship. University Of Louisville Law Review, 50(1), 1-34.

Moral Judgment

 

Susan Manning explains that “the level of moral judgment of a leader reflects one’s ability to identify with the experience, feelings, opinions, values, and meanings of those involved in an ethical dilemma…” and an individual’s moral judgment takes time to develop (p.104). Their judgment is also influenced by the environment in which they were raised. If an individual learns to use their moral judgment, then in time their moral judgment will transform into ethical “reasoning” (Manning, p.106).

As an ethical leader, it is important to reflect on ourselves. We need to know what we are doing, and why we are doing it. This awareness will help us to continue to grow and change, because without the awareness we will be stagnate. The article Ethical Leader Behavior and Big Five Factors of Personality found that “conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability in ethical leadership is highly relevant” (p.15). In order to be emotionally stable, individuals need to know about themselves. That insight is a reflection into the individual.

A leader has the ability to help or hinder its employees, but an ethical leader has the ability to empower its employees. The company and the community benefit from ethical reasoning and leadership, because it is not a selfish act.

References

Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D, De Hoogh, A. Ethical Leader Behavior and Big Five Factors of Personality.  Journal of Business Ethics 100. 2 (May 2011): 349-366.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.