Impact of Facebook on People - Cyberpsychology Theories - Case Study Example

CYBERPSYCHOLOGY Student’s Name: Course Code: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission Introduction Organizational behavior is the study of how human beings interact within other individuals or groups in an organization (Tavitiyaman, Zhang & Qu 2012). It helps in identifying the attitude of different individuals or groups of people towards different circumstances in an organization. There several aspects of organizational behavior such as people, the structure, technology as well as the environment (Richard, Devinney, Yip & Johnson 2009). Technology on the other hand is a branch of knowledge which focuses in creation and utilization of technical methods and how they interact with human beings and the environment in various disciplines (Grant, Hall, Wailes, & Wright 2006). From the definitions it is clear that Facebook, one of the social media platforms is a technology while organizational structure is an aspect of organizational behavior. Facebook as a technology has different impacts both positive and negative to human beings or individuals in an organization. It is a technology that has affected interactions of people in the organization setting in a number of ways as individuals use it to interact and pass information or facilitate communication. Facebook and organization structure in an organization qualify to be analyzed using cyber psychology theories since communication through the technology is facilitated using cyber space. This essay will analyze the impact of Facebook on people, as an aspect of organizational behavior in an organization with the application of cyber psychology theories. Structure as an aspect of organizational behavior Land and Corbett (2001) say that an organization is a system with a purpose. Individuals and the activities they perform are organized in a way for them to achieve the goals and objectives of the system. Individuals or people in an organization constitute the social subsystem of an organization internally. People create an organization to serve people; they include the managers as well as employees who are supposed to perform certain activities for the realization of the organization goals. Structure as an aspect explains how people relate in an organization (Land and Corbett 2001). Technology In an organization, technologies have the purpose of transforming outputs as well as inputs. Technology also provides economic and physical resources to work with people in the process of attaining organizational goals and objectives (Grant, Hall, Wailes, & Wright 2006). It influences greatly the working relationships among the individuals in an organization. Facebook is a mediating technology where individuals can pass or get information in the organization. It has positive as well as negative consequences to the structure of the organization. Impact of Facebook on the structure Positive impacts Facebook use is of much benefit to organization structure. Through interactions by Facebook users within the organization, employees and managers can get a sense of social connectedness as well belongingness in the online interaction environment (Chen 2007). This will consequently lead to reduced levels of anxiety and depression among the immediate stakeholders in an organization. Employees will interact freely with their managers through the technology and hence their productivity will be increased (Chen 2007). Facebook users in an organization will have a chance to engage in one to many communications. This will make them have an opportunity to share about their lives. Individual’s social activities will be passed across many people in the organization and this will improve their psychological status in the long run for the benefit of the organization. Some concepts in the organization structure will increase their meaning with the use of Facebook. The hierarchy of authority or how the powers are distributed within the organization will make more sense through interactions in the Facebook. Just like the futurist argument technological advancement like the invention of Facebook platform brings fundamental changes and benefits in improved communication, freedom of expression, improved understanding among individuals in the organization structure (Grant, Hall, Wailes, & Wright 2006). Division of labor as a concept of organization structure can be made effective through Facebook interactions. The sharing of social life experiences and skills will make managers aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their employees (Danius 2002). With the knowledge of their workers they will assign them duties depending on where they can perform best. The span of control will be made easy through information got from this technology. Standardization of the regularly repeated producers will made public to the workers for the benefit of the organization and the workers themselves (Danius 2002). Information shared through Facebook either within or outside the organization is a source of innovativeness and creativity. This means that shared information can be manipulated by the concerned workers as well as managers to come up with new methods of doing activities or even managing and this may improve the structure of the organization (Ciliberto 2006). Facebook interaction and communication can lead to job satisfaction. Embracement of the technology with regard to the structure of the organization will extend the users experience with his/her work and the technology itself making the best out of the employees or the workers (Richard, Devinney, Yip & Johnson 2009). Good relationship among the workers as well the workers and their managers can be realized through the technology (Richard, Devinney, Yip & Johnson 2009). This will positively affect the operations of the organization for greater output. As the futurists of the early 20th century believed, embracement of Facebook technology can bring positive change in the social world within the structure of an organization and enhance betterment for all the stakeholders in the organization. The technology will act as a prosthetic extension of agency as well as social capabilities. It will change the way some employees will look at their seniors in the structure for the better rather than acting as an aesthetic intension within the structure (Danius 2002). With the embracement of Facebook technology in the organization culture, physical movement within the organization structure will be minimized. This positively affects the organizational structure in that time will be saved during management and execution of managerial duties (Bergeron, Raymond & Rivard 2004). Workers are able to communicate among themselves and with their seniors in a simpler and more convenient way. Their attitude towards their seniors improves significantly. Facebook technology is usually accompanied by with visual, written as well as audio aids to communication. According to Danius (2002) this aspect of the technology improves the clarity of the communicated information hence making organizational structure more flexible as it discharges its duties in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. This shows that embracement of technology plays a vital role in the making of the organizational structure together with discharge of responsibility by the concerned parties in the structure. Negative impacts On the other hand Facebook can affect organization structure negatively both on the managerial side as well as the employees’ side. Just like romanticism believers who believe in the importance of human emotion together with nature. Jordan, Monin, Dweck, Lovett, John, & Gross (2010) argue that they take technology as manmade not natural and hence they are described as technophobic. Facebook users in an organization setting undermine some human abilities and values. By looking at maximum efficiency from Facebook, users become passive participants in that they use what has been provided by the technology. Some of the information passed and received through the technology will bring about collisions among workers and their managers due to lack of originality (Grant, Hall, Wailes & Wright 2006). Facebook usage can affect the organization structure negatively due to possible depression cases among the users. The fact that users publicize their social life through the platform makes the users experience mood fluctuations due to information received. Some of the employees or managers will tend to compare their lives with the lives of their colleagues in the organization structure and sometimes there can be low self-esteem among the users (Clayton, Nagurney & Smith 2013). It has been noted that Facebook sites usually make those individuals with a low social status in the organization structure to become sadder and lonelier as they interact with others with higher profiles in the same level of the structure. Comparisons with other users will tend to make others view themselves as losers and in the long run operations of the organization will be negatively affected due to attitude changes (Clayton, Nagurney & Smith 2013). Social isolations are very common to frequent Facebook users in an organization. Interactions with strangers using the platform can be transfer to the organization and affect its operations. It is clear that friendship in Facebook does not mean fruitful and positive relationship exists (Ciliberto 2006). Life motivation may be reduced through interaction and absorption of negative ideas regarding colleagues or managers or from them reducing cohesiveness in the organization structure. Social media platforms such as the Facebook have been found to break social relationships such as the family and this can negatively impact the organization structure (Clayton, Nagurney & Smith 2013). Information gathered from these sites can influence spouses as well as family members negatively to an extent of causing family breakups. Workers in the structure having such backgrounds and issues can transfer their stress to the worker place making the organization structure not to work harmoniously. Facebook has been closely associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This can lead impairment on the affected individuals and this can affect the organization structure in a negative way as workers and their managers interact. Sleep deprivation as workers get involved in Facebook also affects workers and their relationships in the work place (Clayton, Nagurney & Smith 2013). The fact that Facebook usage is addictive can make workers in the structure not to concentrate with their duties as they engage in Facebook. Emotional control together with impulse control becomes hard to the users making them fail to maintain their responsibilities in the organization structure. There is also a framework of beliefs as well as values regarding organizations which take on behavior oriented to efficiency together with economy. In the managerialism approach, senior executives in an organization control the behavior of employees. This approach stresses the role of the management to employ technology such as Facebook to achieve the preset goals and objectives of the organization (Trower 2001). In this perspective, the technology such as Facebook does not have consequences on performance or people in the organization independent of the importance of the ones who makes use of it and the response of the ones who have the responsibility of operating it (Trower 2001). Managerialists acknowledge as an enabling factor to structure changes in the organizational improvements as well as changes. Conclusion In conclusion an organization is a system with purpose of existence. Individuals are organized in a structure that depicts the flow of authority for the realization of the organization’s goals and objectives. Technology provides the economic as well as physical resources to be used by the people in the structure for the achievement of the organization. Facebook as a technology have positive as well as negative impacts on the organization’s structure. It is used as a forum of interaction and passing information among individuals in the structure of the organization. Workers and managers in the organization structure enjoy the connectedness from Facebook. They also have the forum of socializing hence increasing the feeling of belongingness. Division of labor is easily facilitated through the platform of Facebook technology. Just like the futurists Facebook increases cohesiveness in the organization structure. However the same technology affects the organization structure in several forms and ways. Through the interaction and the addictive nature of the technology; some of the individuals in the structure can suffer from depression as well as other psychological disorders which bring negative impacts on the structure. The technology can also bring about the breakdown of social relationships therefore affecting the structure negatively. References Bergeron, F., Raymond, L., & Rivard, S. 2004, Ideal patterns of strategic alignment and business performance. Information & Management, Vol.41, No. 8, pp.1003- 1020. 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