#8 Facebook's new workplace aap.

 

This article discusses the effectiveness of Facebook introducing a work place app.

 

The following link was analysed, with a critical discussion given below:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30819036 

 

The Facebook app will particularly be useful for group projects where all members are able to communicate and share ideas, files, pictures, link, videos and other forms of media easily and conveniently. All posts can be tracked and users can acknowledge which members have viewed the posts and which members haven’t. This will help project managers understand contribution (time and effort) levels. Therefore this app can be a useful communication tool whilst completing projects.

 

However the app may be a difficult tool to replace emails which are an important and significant tool within internal and external communication which is embedded within all corporate cultures. Employees may find it difficult to change habits or find it difficult to manage and communicate using two sources. Additionally external companies may also not be using this tool making it hard to understand and acknowledge which tool to use when communicating. This may cause confusion and become a difficult change to implement as not all users/departments/companies may be using this tool which increases the risk of miscommunication and possibility of essential tasks no being carried out.

 

The article discusses how Facebook is a familiar tool to use resulting in less training costs however all users of Facebook need to have an active email in order to create an account therefore this argument may not be valid.

 

Additionally Facebook is perceived as a unprofessional social networking site within culture therefore transforming this positioning to a professional site may lead to confusion and furthermore misunderstanding the use of Facebook as a professional communicating tool.

 

Various workplaces block Facebook as colleagues have misused and used it for non-work related tasks. This may still be the case and further encourage colleagues if this was introduced as colleagues could still log into/use their personal Facebook.

 

Therefore in conclusion although this app would be good for group projects, companies need to consider an effective implementation strategy to ensure the change is not confusing or misused and the aim of communication (internal/external) is maximised.

 

Article written by Jasper and Kiran.