Managerial Accounting Essay PDF

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information used in the learning of business and development of entrepreneurial skills. It will serve as a learning opportunity for the students and the world....

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HOW AN ORGANIZATION COULD USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CREATE SUCCESSFUL TEAMS By (Name)

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“How could an Organization use Social Media to create successful teams?” The world is turning into a global village. This transformation is attributable to developments in technology, specifically social media platforms (Leidner, 2010). These platforms may be websites or applications such as Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. According to Leonardi, Huysman and Steinfield (2013), they allow users to interact and keep in touch with their family members, friends, workmates, and even customers. Initially, networking on these platforms was recreational. However, with time, organizations have discovered the untapped potential that social media holds over their performance. Firms can gain an edge over their competitors by effectively using social media to improve their performance. One of the ways to execute this is to use it in the creation of successful teams in the workplace. A team is a group comprising of two or more individuals working collectively towards the same goal. This essay discusses the various ways which an organization can utilize social media in the creation of successful workplace teams. The use of social media as a strategy in team building has proven to be sufficient to organizations as it facilitates open communication. A study by Graham and Jones (2019) sought to determine the effect that a social networking application-NearPeer (NP)- had on the cohesiveness of team members and the quality of their team project. Students registered on the application created their profiles, and then chose team members based on those whom they shared similar interests. The study found out that the students who used the social media application more than once a week to communicate during the duration of the project delivered higher quality work. In addition, they had a stronger sense of cohesiveness and improved their learning experience. Hence, social media offers team members a platform on which they can freely interact with their team members when undertaking an assigned project. In an organization set up, team members who communicate regularly have a higher chance of delivering quality work because of their coordinated efforts towards the assigned task. Organizations may create applications to facilitate open communication. Such open communication and transparency are essential in creating successful teams for organizations. Social media platforms are an excellent way for organizations to recognize the efforts and achievements of the employees. Employee recognition involves acknowledging the achievements or the contributions of employees within an organization publicly. The research by Tessema, Ready and Embaye (2013) analyzed the impact that employee recognition, pay and benefits had on job satisfaction. The study was conducted on university employees in the United States and Malaysia. The research determined that both financial (pay) and nonfinancial incentives (employee recognition and benefits) had a positive relationship with job satisfaction. Hence, organizations can use social media platforms to recognize the achievement of teams of employees. For example, a Facebook post acknowledging the achievement of a sales target by the marketing team or a post introducing a new member to the finance team. Such an initiative fosters job satisfaction and a healthy work environment as the employees feel appreciated for their contributions to the organization. Eventually, job satisfaction contributes positively to creating a successful team. Another way that organizations could use social media is creating a support system for the employees. A support system is a channel through which team members in an organization may offer each other moral and emotional support. Grant, Dutton and Rosso (2008) investigated whether employee support had a positive effect in fostering organizational commitment. They studied the employees of Fortune 500 companies. Their findings indicate that employee support programs within an organization strengthen their commitment to the organization. Such programs enable an employee to receive financial, mental or moral

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support from the organization and fellow team members. Hence, the employee interprets these actions of support as care. Similarly, organizations can use social media to offer support to team members who may be undergoing a difficult phase in their lives or maybe unwell. For instance, a platform such as a WhatsApp group would enable fellow team members of the affected employee to send quick recovery or encouragement messages. Such a support system could improve the mental and emotional well-being of the team member, which would eventually contribute to the creation of a successful team. Organizations can use social media platforms to schedule team-building events that they may have. Schoenstedt and Reau (2010) conducted a study to determine the effect that social media would have on the participation of Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. They used tools such as Twitter handles, Facebook posts and pages, blogs and YouTube videos to create awareness of the marathon. They found that these social media tools were more effective in delivering the message about the marathon as compared to traditional means of communication such as emails. That is, they enabled the organization to efficiently send a message across the organization and even to the public. Hence, social media platforms offer an excellent way for organizations to create awareness about an upcoming event. The information on the event would be available for all employees of the organization to view and even post their comments about it. Consequently, it would spark their interest and encourage them to participate. Also, it enables team members to agree on the best time to hold team meetings or to submit comments concerning their work schedule and availability. From the discussion, it is evident that an organization can use social media to create successful teams in various ways. Social media facilitates the creation of successful teams through facilitating open communication, recognizing the achievements and contributions of employees, creating a support system and scheduling team-building events. Open communication enables employees to coordinate their efforts. Employee recognition makes an employee feel their contributions are appreciated within the organization. A support system makes an employee feel cared for by the organization and fellow work place team members. Scheduling team-building events invoke interest and increase participation of employees. All these initiatives are capable of improving job satisfaction of employees. A satisfied employee is more likely to increase their performance in teams in the organization.

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References Grant, A.M., Dutton, J.E. and Rosso, B.D., 2008. Giving commitment: Employee support programs and the prosocial sensemaking process. Academy of Management Journal, 51(5), pp.898-918. Leidner, D.E., 2010. Globalization, culture, and information: Towards global knowledge transparency. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 19(2), pp.69-77. Leonardi, P.M., Huysman, M. and Steinfield, C., 2013. Enterprise social media: Definition, history, and prospects for the study of social technologies in organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(1), pp.1-19. Matt Graham, C. and Jones, N., 2019. Impact of a Social Network Messaging App on Team Cohesiveness and Quality of Completed Team Projects in an Undergraduate Team Project. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 47(4), pp.539-553. Schoenstedt, L.J. and Reau, J., 2010. Running a social-media newsroom: A case study of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3(3), pp.377-386. Tessema, M.T., Ready, K.J. and Embaye, A.B., 2013. The effects of employee recognition, pay, and benefits on job satisfaction: cross country evidence. Journal of Business and Economics, 4(1), pp.1-12....