Implications Social Networking Sites Have For Government Employees

The use of social networking sites by government employees usually result in a myriad of concerns such as security, privacy, records management and acceptable use.One of the major implications of the use of social network sites on government employees and in extent employees working for any organization is the legal consequences and propositions.Many employees have lost their jobs, or have failed to secure employment on the basis of their interaction in the social media.

One implication of social network use is employment relationship problems. These problemsoften occur as a result of using social networks. Posting inappropriate comments touching on the place of work and, or management could form a basis for dismissal under the categorization of serious misconduct(Stewart, 2013, p. 33). Such comments under the law can be said to be bringing an organization into disrepute and this is a basis for legal action against the employee.

Social networking sites can also affect an individual’s employability. According to Mergel (2012, pp. 86-89), many prospective employers use social media sites to screen candidates and base their decision to hire them on the information viewed on their Facebook, Twitter or Myspace pages. Employers are increasingly concerned about job ethics and job disrespect.

Various measures can be adopted to provide solutions for addressing the possibility of employees revealingincorrect, sensitive or unauthorizedinformation about their work. Some basic steps that can be taken include; managing or restricting employee access to social media sites while at the work place. This can involve complete restriction or partial restriction. However, this approach will not be effective enough to address the problem.Perhaps a better approach would be for the employer to put in place policies for employee conduct that address particular behaviors that are specific to the use of social media(Mergel, 2012, pp. 86-89). This will assist the employer and employees in setting up well-defined and distinct boundaries on what the employee can post on social networks, and which cannot be deemed as touching on his work.  This policy can also specify the specific actions that would be taken in the occasion that there is bleach in these policies. This will be the best way to address this concern as both parties involved will be aware of the boundaries and consequences of their actions.

Application of Concepts in “The USA Army”on The Children’s Bureau

The US army makes use of various management information systems such as the After Action Review (AAR)System, The Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), Empowering Soldiers to Contribute Wiki-Style and Advancing Knowledge on How to Lead a Company (Starling, 2011, pp. 569-572)in their day to day operations.

One key aspect of the Children Bureau is their need to continuously monitor child welfare and families. This is for the reason that it helps States achieve positive results for children as well as families. They achieve this through the use of various review systems such as the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility reviews, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) assessment reviews, and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) assessment reviews(U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

To better facilitate monitoring through the use of these reviews, the Children Bureau can employ the use of the AARmanagement information system. This is for the reason that, First, The Children Bureau being a government run institution, the use of AAR can benefit from it, as it focuses on the goals and activities and on discovering why things happened, as opposed to simply judging the success or failure. AAR can also be regarded as an improvement tool, it encourages the people involved to share and learn so as to have continuous improvement. These are aspects which most government ran bureaus lack.

Secondly, the AAR system also provides forthright insights into definite strengths and weaknesses from various angles. It can help an organization analyze what happened in a particular activity and to readily predict a problem and take the required steps to mitigate it. It also helps organizations to better undertake a particular project as it begins with a distinct comparison of intended results versus the actual results achieved. All these are distinctive features of AAR and which the children bureau can benefit from.

Thirdly, the AAR system has also been credited with cultivating a culture of accountability in an organization. Children Bureaus lacks the principles of responsibility and commitment, and the bureau would benefit to great deal by making use of the AAR system.Fourthly, AAR facilitates learning at the place of work. Every organization has a structure of management and leadership. As a leader, one is responsible for training his workforce. AAR as a tool helps in developing the employee’s capacity to handle certain situations and projects. It facilitates this by providing direct and immediate feedback to the participants. Whenever an erroneous or flawed performance is detected it should be corrected on spot to avoid its interference with future tasks. The use of AAR facilitates this.

Finally, AAR allows for more control over activities and projects and this would be imperative in the context of the Children’s Bureau. The army despite being the most hierarchical and bureaucratic organization, through the use of AAR management information system, it has been able to level itself and turned into a horizontal organization, which in turn allows for direction and monitoring.These same benefits can benefit the children bureau.

References

Mergel, I. (2012). Social Media in the Public Sector: A Guide to Participation, Collaboration and Transparency in The Networked World (Illustrated ed.). California: John Wiley & Sons.

Starling, G. (2011). Managing the Public Sector (9 ed.). Houston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Stewart, D. R. (2013). Social Media and the Law: A Guidebook for Communication Students and Professionals. New York: Routledge.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Monitoring | Children’s Bureau | Administration for Children and Familie. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Administration for Children & Families: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/monitoring

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