MN 4050 Management of Technology & Applications

Assignment 1 (Individual)

Name: P.R.A.I Gunarathna Index No:070147T Department of Computer Science & Engineering

Akila Gunarathna 070147T

Answer One
The use of online social media is increasing rapidly day by day. This is mainly due to the social networking site facebook. The lives are becoming complex day by day. People are busy with their jobs and family work. Many people do not have sufficient time to visit their friends and relatives often. So, they had been finding a mechanism where they could keep in touch with their loved ones without visiting them frequently. Having telephone conversation is also costly. The solution was facebook. The ability to have online chatting is the most attractive feature of the facebook. Other than chatting, it provides the ability to share photos, videos, ideas etc. Other than above features it provides games, questionnaires, groups, marketing support, educational activities etc. Due to the growing number of featured, the usage of facebook is being increased in large numbers day by day. The usage of facebook is extremely popular among the age groups 18-24 and 25-34 in Sri Lanka[1]. It is illustrated in the following graph.

Facebook usage Genderwise(SL)

It is not just the facebook, there are other online social media sites such as twitter, hi5,LinkedIn etc. Facebook has become the leading social networking site. So when it comes to social media, generally we refer facebook. One thing that I noted regarding this social media is that people with different literacy rates use facebook. Liked In is a professional social networking site, but only professionals use Linked In. Specially people with business and technical background used Linked In. But there is not limitation in using facebook. Anybody who has the ability to operate a
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computer has a facebook account. People from different backgrounds use facebook, So diversity is there. Many people use facebook just to have fun with their friends, Another intention of them is getting to know different people around the world. As per the following graph also, the usage of social media within the age group 23 35 has the highest percentage. (This is not only about facebook)[2].

Age distribution social networking users

There is a decrease in usage of social media within the age groups 18-22 and 23-35. This is quite deviated from facebook usage graph, as many elder people use professional social media like linked in for their professional relationships. When you analyse the gender wise, the usage of facebook by males is higher than that of females[1].

Akila Gunarathna 070147T

Facebook usage Genderwise

This might be due to the privacy reasons. Females are generally worry too much on their privacy which is the typical situation in Eastern countries like Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka holds the rank 20th in Asia [3]and 76th in the world [1]. The facebook usage of Sri Lankans during last three months is as follows.

Facebook usage(SL) last 3 months

There are numerous opportunities and threats of using social media. They can be summarized as follows.

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Opportunities.
1. Enhanced communication Social media enhances communication between people from around the world. We can contact our relatives and friends who live far away easily. 2. Professional relationships- Professional networking sites such as Linked In, allowas us to establish professional relationships. We can clarify our doubts regarding subject matter by asking questions. Many knowledgeable people would reply them soon. Specially highly educated people such as professors, whom we cannot contact easily also would reply them. So it is a huge opportunity to share our knowledge and enhance our knowledge. Other than questions, Linked In has groups where job opportunities around the world are advertised. So it is a huge opportunity. 3. E- Commerce Social media can be used for commercial purposes. Specially social media marketing is effective. Marketing is a critical activity under the umbrella of ECommerce. Specially multinational organizations use social media effectively to position their brands in customers minds. In facebook advertisements are displayed at the left corner. So making use of this opportunity has resulted in enhancing their customer base[2]. Conducting on line market research through these networks also has becoming popular due to the less cost. Customers likes and dislikes can be identified by analysing their behaviuor in social networks. This has helped businesses to modify their marketing mix. (4Ps). The Products can be shown as images, animations etc. The Place they exhibit them is the cyber space (web sites). The Price they charge is less due to low cost, discounts can be given for on line purchasers and transactions can be done through on line gate ways. Promotions can be done effectively through these sites. So social networking has impacted a lot towards improving the marketing mix. 4. Starting business As computer engineering students, we have the potential of starting new business through online social media. 5. E- Learning- Learning through social media is also an emerging trend. There are separate pages for different subjects. Valuable articles, discussions are posted there. So e- learning is also an opportunity.

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Threats.
1. Time wasting Time is a critical factor for many people. So proper usage of time is vital for the success. Addiction to social media such as facebook has the potential of wasting time. A person should have a control of using social networking, otherwise it would be a waste. This can result in reducing the productivity of the people[4]. 2. Privacy threat When we create a facebook account, we expose a degree of our privacy to the society. Exposing too much information can result in unfavourable circumstances. There are instances where ladies got murdered as a result of over exposing their personal information such as address, photographs, statuses(what they are doing and where they are going etc). This can be mitigated by using the tools provided by facebook. [4]. 3. Identity threat Another person can create a profile using your information (Photos, address etc). That person can engage in activities which would damage your image. This is a major threat. 4. Fake relationships It is common to see fake profiles in these sites, theses people bully others and play with their emotions. So it is our duty to keep our contacts with trustworthy people.

Conclusion.
Due to the globalization, it is not prudent to refrain from social media. So it is vital to use them in order to ripe the benefits while minimizing the threats. It is the decision of the user to think whether he or she has already become a victim of social media or has already gaining some valuable things to the life.

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Answer Two.
Personally I do not consider this as a practical solution, because the only means of accessing social media sites is not through the computers in the office. The employees can access these sites with their phones as well. So, if anybody is addicted to social media, he or she would continue to do it irrespective of the restrictions of the organization. So this is not a practical solution. If the company is having too many restrictions on social media, then the employee will try to find another company with fewer restrictions. If a company blocks social media during working hours, it is due to following reasons. 1. Not having enough resources (bandwidth) and the cost. 2. Security issues Hackers might get a security loop hole through these sites to access companys system. 3. Temptation to use these sites for non-work activities 4. Loss of productivity of employees. If a company thinks that it is worth to give access to social media sites during working hours, that is due to following reasons. 1. Employees need it for professional networking- Specially marketing team will need access to facebook for promotions and marketing research. Sales team might need access to Linked In. 2. Morale issues Blocking access might de motivate employees which affects their contribution to the organization. 3. Spread knowledge throughout a network in a fast and easy manner 4. Bottom-up news aggregation to quickly and efficiently spread company/industry news Vital in conducting competitor analysis, SWOT, PEST analysis.. 5. Monitoring of relevant discussions outside of company walls- This is vital in gaining knowledge required to do a PEST analysis[5].

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Recommendation.
My recommendation is that the company should form a social media policy. One example is the policy followed in Bharathi Air Tel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. They allow 2 hours per day for each employee to access social networking sites. This will make employees to understand the value of utilizing work time as well as this will motivate them. Motivation would drive them to be more committed to work which would ultimately enhance their productivity.

Akila Gunarathna 070147T

Answer three.
Recommendations for a construction company to improve performance without blocking access to social media.
First of all they should establish a social media policy. The policy should cover followings facts. 1: A clear company philosophy - Companys overall attitude toward social networking 2: The definition of social networking- Define what are the social networking sites, it is not only about facebook and twitter. Otherwise they will not understand it. 3: Identifying oneself as an employee of the company As an example if the employee makes a comment which would affect the company, he should have a disclaimer mentioning that it represent his opinion ,not companys opinion/ 4: Recommending others In Linked in, people can recommend others. In providing such recommendations, it is better if the employee disclaim that the recommendation is not from the company. 5: Referring to clients, customers, or partners Your social networking policy should make it clear that employees are not to reference any clients, customers, or partners without obtaining their express permission to do so. 6: Proprietary or confidential information 7: Terms of Service The company policy should not require users to use pseudonyms when signing up for social networking sites. 8: Copyright and other legal issues 9: Productivity impact
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Your policies should make it clear that social networking activities are not to interfere with the employees primary job responsibilities. 10: Disciplinary action The policy should spell out that violation of the policy can result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination, and reference other company policies that lay out the appeals process and other relevant information[6]. Other than a policy, the company can allow specific job roles to access specific sites when required. As an example the marketing team can be given access for facebook in order to conduct their market research, have a fan page, do promotions etc. The fan page should include client testimonials of previous constructions the company did. Then it could have photo albums of the construction work the company did. (Buildings, Roads, Bridges etc). This would attract new customers as well.

Following are few other suggestions. Clients, planners and designers can engage more with local residents and stakeholders by using web-based tools such as discussion forums. This will help to share views and the managing stakeholders would be effective. Employees can be encouraged to gather competitor and industry information through social networking sites. And please note that this should be done in an ethical manner. (Should adhere to code of ethics). Social media can be monitored to see what people are saying about a particular development. Social media can be used to respond to any raised concerns. This would help to take companys view to the public as soon as possible. Blogs,wikis(media wiki, tiki wiki) and forums can be used for knowledge management and capturing best practice and lessons learnt from a scheme. Environmental sensors that provide real-time data on building performance can be integrated.

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 Energy use associated with construction operations can be monitored, through the use of online carbon calculation tools such as AMEE[6]. Then there should be a method to measure the cost of using social media versus the benefits. Generally the cost can be measure by the time they spent on social networking sites, the benefits can be measured by increased number of customers, revenue increase etc. The construction company can keep their employees motivated as well as ripe the benefits of social media by following above recommendations.

Akila Gunarathna 070147T

References.
[1]Sri Lanka Facebook Statistics, Penetration, Demography - Socialbakers, [Online]. Available: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/sri-lanka. [Accessed: 28-Aug2011]. [2] Are Sri Lankan exporters taking advantage of social networking sites? | DailyFT - Be Empowered, [Online]. Available: http://www.ft.lk/2011/07/29/are-sri-lankan-exporterstaking-advantage-of-social-networking-sites/.. [Accessed: 25-Aug-2011]. [3]Top 40 Facebook Countries in Asia [INFOGRAPHIC] | Penn-Olson, [Online]. Available: http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/07/04/top-40-facebook-countries-in-asia/..

[Accessed: 25-Aug-2011]. [4]Top 40 Facebook Countries in Asia [INFOGRAPHIC] | Penn-Olson, [Online]. Available: http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/07/04/top-40-facebook-countries-in-asia/..

[Accessed: 28-Aug-2011]. [5]CIOs say IT should not block social media sites | TechRepublic, [Online]. Available: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/cios-say-it-should-not-block-social-mediasites/4076. . [Accessed: 24-Aug-2011]. [6]Building Your Construction Business through Social Media and Internet Marketing | ConstructionMarketing,[Online].Available: http://www.constructionbusinessowner.com/topics/sales-/-marketing/building-yourconstruction-business-through-social-media-and-internet-marketing.html.[Accessed: 26Aug-2011]. [6]Sustainable Supply Chains - Carbon Calculator from LOG-NET Global Logistics, [Online]. Available: http://www.log-net.com/sustainability/?gclid=CID-

nbbw8aoCFUcb6wodAS-uPw. [Accessed: 26-Aug-2011].

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Akila Gunarathna 070147T