Responses
Buck1985
responses.docxJavon Discussion:
If I were in this position, I would call my CEO and ask them to remove the tweet. I would then express that social media can be a place where businesses take jabs but it needs to not reflect poorly on the company of the CEO. A prime example would be McDonalds and Wendys. Wendys took so many jabs and gained popularity for having Mcdonalds jokes on twiiter and McDonalds eventually blocked the company on social media. Wendys however, enjoyed the time because its goal was to attract younger consumers with its business jokes and jabs. This isn't a problem, but yet you want to be aware that the brand can be seen less serious and the company distasteful if done poorly. After that explanation, I would set up a meeting to discuss what future use of social media looks like and how it does or doesn't align with the company. If the tweet became too popular and received negative kick-back, we would then issue an apology and become transparent with our plans to better control social media release. I would then look for ways to spin the conversations, questions and comments into positive points about the company and what we offer. If done properly redirecting negative kickbacks to positives will give us the chance to highlight so many goods compared to one bad. "Even though our business has a high ethical value for business practices, and partnerships, we do agree that the tweet does not reflect the change we wish to see morally in corporate America....". I would also focus on how our CEO prioritizes and has a passion for ethics in business and sometimes we may move too fast within those subjects that we care so much about.
Addressing an issue of an unprofessional and damaging tweet can be a major challenge. It needs to be done timely and with appropriate context in the response. The organization should have an acceptable-use policy that explicitly indicates the guidelines around the type of information and how an employee represents themselves online (Schiff, 2013). When an employee posts negative and inappropriate comments, an organizations reputation can be damaged, compliance protocols could be compromised, and the company could experience lost business and revenue (Cardon, 2021, p. 235). It is essential that social media is used ethically to help mitigate these negative effects. An organization can also offer training on acceptable use of social media to make sure that employees not only understand the guidelines but also know how to apply them in the business environment (Marans, 2020).
To help deal with potential issues due to inappropriate use of social media, an organization should have a plan in place on how to deal with several different circumstances if they arise. Specific to the tweet incident, the Director of Communications should remove the tweet and then release a statement acknowledging and apologizing for the inappropriateness of the tweet. In that response, the director should provide information on the company’s social media policy and affirm that the organization is taking all necessary actions to rectify. I also believe that the CEO should directly apologize for the offense. The company acceptable-use policy as it relates to social media will need to be reviewed with all employees moving forward.
References
Cardon, P. W. (2021). Business communication: developing leaders for a networked world.
McGraw-Hill Education.
Marans, J. (2020, November 4). 4 Ways To Avoid A Twitter PR Disaster. TheSocialWhat.com. http://www.thesocialwhat.com/4-ways-to-avoid-a-twitter-pr-disaster/.
Schiff, J. L. (2013, October 23). 15 Big Social Media Mistakes Companies Make and How to Avoid Them. https://www.cio.com/article/2381554/15-big-social-media-mistakes-companies-make-and-how-to-avoid-them.html.
