Effects of social networking on employee performance:A survey of banks in Murang' a town
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Date
2013-08-27
Authors
Karanja, Bernard Gichimu
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Abstract
In recent years, the Internet and specially the Web has brought major changes in the
way people communicate. The ability to interact has been raised a notch higher with
the new trend of online social networking (OSN). Social networking includes web
based and mobile based technologies which are used to turn communication into
interactive dialogue between organization, communities, and individuals. Social
media refers to a group of internet based applications that are build on the ideological
and technological foundation of web 2.0 and that allow exchange of user generated
content. Social networking is based on this theory that there is a determinable
construction to how people know each other, whether directly or indirectly (Rob
Cross and Andrew Parker 2004). This study sought to establish the effect of social
networking on employee's performance of banks in Murang'a. The literature review
covers a wide range of information on social networking, including its effects on job
relationships as well its legal and ethical implication. The study adopted a descriptive
survey to find the effects of social networking on bank employee's performance in
Murang'a town. The location for the study was restricted to Murang'a town in
Murang'a County. The target population was 130 employees of eight major branches
of commercial banks in Murang'a town. The total sample size comprised of 60
respondents, selected by stratified random sampling from the selected bank branches.
The content validity of research instruments was ensured through expert guidance
provided by the supervisor, while reliability of instruments was tested during piloting.
Questionnaires were used to gather information which was analyzed. Quantitative
data from the field was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and
percentages with the aid of SPSS software. Qualitative data was analyzed by putting
the responses under themes consistence with research objectives. Data was presented
using frequency distribution tables, measures of tendency and measures of dispersion.
The study drew conclusions on the effects of OSN on employee's performance based
on the four variables of the study. These includes OSN technology was applied more
for social purposes than to conduct daily business transactions during the working
time. Employees did not use the sites to respond to work related issues such as
responding to customers' questions, and that professional oriented social sites were
not popular amongst employees as compared to sites that were meant for social
purposes. The study suggested that organizations consider developing and
implementing clear and comprehensive acceptable policies when attempting to deal
with OSN and that issues Organisations should establish strategies to address OSN
issues such as personal usage, business relevance, site restrictions and information
confidentiality without restricting employees to benefit personally as well as
professionally from this social Web technology.