Though, one may argue that he was merely venting his frustration via social media platforms, which in turn may be classified as exercising his right of FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
Therefore the question at hand is SHOULD ORGANISATIONS HOLD THEIR EMPLOYEES RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIVITY OR ACTIVITIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
IMAGE, IMAGE, IMAGE!!! Image is immensely significant to an organisation. The term image is defined as the perception of an organisation to its publics. These publics include, naming a few, government, other competing organisations, stakeholders, investors and current and potential employees. Therefore, if an organisation’s image or reputation (both terms interchangable) is tarnished, the organisation will be perceived in a negative manner. An example that illustrates the significance of an organisation’s image is the Oscar Pistorius shooting saga on Valentine’s Day.
News broke of famous paralympian, dubbed the Blade runner, Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Headline after headline, Oscar’s sponsors quickly took action in pulling the plug. Nike removed their advert off the webpage that featured Oscar, as MNet ceased their contract with him regarding their campaign. Similarly, this scenario can also be linked to Tiger Woods’ adultery scandal.
Though emphasis on image has been placed as a reason of why organisations should implement social media policies, social media law is also an element in implementing such policies. Emma Sadlier elaborates on the matter. Emma Sadlier, an associate at Webber Wentzel, states that social media law is a law that regulates any conversation that takes place over the web called user generated content.
Though back to the matter at hand. Do you agree to disagree that action, taken on social media platforms by employees, should be held accountable by the organisation? Well I most definitely agree that organisations should hold their employees accountable for actions taken on social media platforms. My most obvious reason would be link to the to the organisation’s image. Therefore, as a future Public Relations practitioner in training, the main goal would be to reinforce the organisation’s creditable image. Another reason is the Freedom of Speech. Though the purpose of the right is to enable people to voice their own opinions, either publicly or privately, the right itself is limited. The limitations stated by the Bill of rights (citied from Fourie, 2008:52-53) elaborates that the right does not extend to the incitement of violence or the advocacy of hatred on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender or religion and propaganda for war.
"If you had a billboard erected alongside the N1, would you display all your thoughts for the entire world to see?" This is a question Emma Sadlier asks when consulting with her clients, hence the need of implementing a social media policy. Therefore with great text thumbs powers to tweet, comes great responsibility.
Sources consulted
Skinner, C; von Essen, L; Mersham, G and Motau, S. 2010. Handbook of Public Relations. 9th ed. Oxford University Press: Cape Town
Twitter [O] Available at
http://www.twitter.com Accessed 2013/02/20
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