Draft English Research Chapter 1-3

7/31/2019 Draft English Research Chapter 1-3

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CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

One company in the United States adopted a policy embracing the use of

Facebook inside the work place. The chief executive officer urged his 800 employees to

sign up for Facebook and use it to network with one another and spend time every

Friday getting to know fellow workers. He believes that social networking sites (SNS)

like Facebook can help them know other people, understand their business and

products well and help them better serve their customers. But in the Philippines, where

the Social Networking Capital of the World lies and people are usually unproductive, the

use of SNS in the workplace makes them unfocused on their work because their

attention is diverted with the availability of social media at their fingertips. In the

Philippines, one governor of South Cotobato has banned the use of Social Networking

Sites in his capitol in order to ensure that government employees will work well. A

proper evaluation of this new trend in the workplace is a necessity to educate Filipino

employees, whether in the private or public sector, on the consequences of using

technological innovations such as SNS in the workplace.

As defined by PC Magazine, Social Networking Sites (SNS), is a web site that

provides a virtual community for people to share their daily activities with family and

friends, or to share their interest in a particular topic, or to increase their circle of

acquaintances. There are dating sites, friendship sites, and sites with a business


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purpose and hybrids that offer a combination of these. Facebook is the leading personal

site, and LinkedIn is the leading business site. Globally, hundreds of millions of people

have joined one or more social sites. These online networks allow individuals to meet

strangers and build new relationship and provide a means to maintain relationships by

serving as venues for users to keep contact with friends and relatives.

The Internet, being one of the most exceptional innovations in the 20th and 21st

centuries, has great significance in the different aspects of human life. Most

organizations in the Philippines have embraced the benefits of utilizing the Internet in

their day-to-day work, making it an essential tool in conducting business. It is utilized

according to the unique needs of an individual, a community, an industry or a company.

According to the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (2008),

instead of doing work-related matters during working hours, Filipinos engage in

downloading music or video, playing Internet games, checking personal emails,

blogging and accessing Social Networking Sites. This has led to an average one hour

time lost by the company.

A total ban of social networking tools during work hours may be a good idea on

the part of the organization management to prevent further loss in the productivity of

employees, as well as to conserve the resources of the company. But it should also be

considered that this social media serves temporary relief from pressures of work that

will enable them to work fluidly with a clear and refreshed heads. Thus, the purpose of

this study is to provide proper assessment of this current situation to give knowledge to

both employees and employers on the advantages and disadvantages of social

networking in the work place.


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Assumptions

This study which aims to provide information on the advantages and

disadvantages of having access to social networking sites in the workplace and

measures that employers may impose to ensure employee-productivity, enumerates the

following suppositions:

That access to internet during working hours, especially without polices,

leads to downtime at work;

That data or identity theft happens which poses great threat on the

organization or office;

That the attitudes of a group of respondents are stable, and;

That the subjects of the study are all employees of a particular department in

an organization.

Statement of the Problem and Objectives

In order to identify the effect of using Social Networking Sites of employees in

workplace and at the same time to assess the current office policy that would create

safety nets and limitations in utilizing these sites for purpose of work or not.

General Problem: How does the use of Social Networking Sites at the government

offices affects the role of the employees and how it was regulated by the office rules?


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The said problem would address the following objectives of the study:

To find the reason why employees use Social Networking sites at workplace

during work hours.

To know the effects of using Social Networking Sites to employees behavior and

productivity.

To know the regulatory and safety measures of the office in allowing employees

to use Social Networking Sites with companys internet and computer.

To know the advantages and disadvantages of using Social Networking Sites in

the office to employee himself and to the office/company as a whole.

To distinguish the difference of employees productivity before and after the

existence of Social Networking Sites.

To know if the usage of Social Networking Sites at workplace is inherent and

related to their job specifications.

Significance of the Study

As we all know, government offices or agencies funds came from public funds of

our government which was gathered from the taxes paid by Filipino citizens, If every

government employee will reduce their productivity just because of using Social

Networking Sites without direct relation to their job, it can still be considered as

corruption or wasting of public funds.

We live in a world where technology has changed the way people communicate,

the way they are informed and how they do business. We live in a world where people


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would rather communicate by sending a text message from their mobile phone, post

comments on their favorite online network or send a short Tweet to inform all their

friends that they have just got out of bed or they are out to dinner. The growth of social

networking sites, e.g. Facebook, Tweeter, My Space, etc., has been phenomenal.

While having access to social networking sites in the work place may give the

organization an opportunity to widen their circle of contacts, it may in one hand, cause

non-productive work day if the employee spends the whole day improving his/her

profile.

The findings of this study may be a valuable resource for the organization

management and administrators, which may lead to government agencies adopting

policies that will utilize the use of social networking sites during work hours. This study

will provide information on how employees utilize their Social Networking Sites; how

they present themselves online; what their reasons and motivations are for accessing

Social Networking Sites at the workplace; and how all of these affect interaction in the

company.

This study offers more positive look on the use of social networking sites and to

change the negative view of people that SNS during work hours is a liability for the

organization. This study also focuses on the effects in the interpersonal relationship and

work performance of employees and aims to provide measures and policies to shift the

negative consequences into positive ones. This might be a benchmark study for

organizations to further improve their policies and regulations or; for the legislative or

administrative agencies in the Philippines, to regulate.


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Scope and Delimitation

The scope of this study will cover the employees of different offices in

Metro Manila particularly Manila City Hall and/or Department of Tourism and other

related government agencies who are familiar in using social Networking sites at

workplace.

This paper will be limited only to offices that has internet access and to

employees who are working to that particular office for at least one year.

In line with these standards, the research will focus more on the concrete

relation of using Social Networking sites at workplace to the current regulatory

measures of each offices in allowing employees to use internet access.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Review of Related Literature

According to Villafania, 2011, in an effort to increase productivity among staff of

his office, South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy, Jr. has officially banned the use of

any social networking services during work hours among employees at the provincial

capitol office. The ban will cover social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter,


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as well as online video services such as YouTube. Pingoy is also banning playing online

games. Apart from increasing efficiency among government employees, Pingoy

explained that the capital offices network server is also affected by the number of

employees using social networking sites, watching online videos or playing games.

The impact of the internet in today's generation as a whole is really hard to be

identify specifically but there is no doubt that the world-spanning communication system

has already had its impact. There were studies done in knowing how the internet affects

human habits as today, technology cannot be left behind by the people in their daily

living. Our generation has now greatly relied on electronics and technology certainly in

socializing using internet services. In the recent survey, computer use for activities such

as social networking had raised nearly threefold since 2000, to more than 1 hour and 22

minutes a day on average. Social networking is debatable as one of the most influential

and vital aspects of today's society. It was reported that Social networking one of the

most active web-based activities in the Philippines with Filipinos being declared as the

most active users on a number of web-based social network sites such as Facebook,

Twitter, Friendster, Multiply, etc. It is estimated that from 2 million subscribers during

2000 it had an increase up to 29.7 million. Though some says that networking could be

bad for some it is good and beneficial for others specially those having business for

convenience. However, although it is for convenience it also creates a threat to a

company especially when it comes to misuse or mismanagement thereof.

This chapter of the study presents and evaluates previous rules governing the

use of such social networking in the workplace leading to mismanagement and misuse


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of it. Furthermore it discusses on how could social networking affects the productivity of

an employee and with that to extend a set of rules to limit the use of it.

A. Misuse of Internet and Company Limiting Actions

According to Young & Case, 2004, It is said that inappropriate and abusive

usage among company employees led to productivity losses, negative publicity and

legal damages. Each year, companies spend millions of dollars to cover "additional

network upgrades, lost productivity and slow network response" as a result of

employees' widespread Internet abuse.

In Whitty's (2004) survey of 524 Australian employees provided insight on what is

considered appropriate and inappropriate non work related Internet use in the work

setting. Respondents expressed that an access to their personal e-mails at work is one

that should not be limited.

B. Social Networking Sites

In Park, Jin, B. & Jin, S.A., 2009, the utilization of Social Networking Sites

became the mainstream that researchers began to see to it as a fertile of study. College

students are seen to be the most prominent users of SNS and much has been studied

about their social networking experiences online, starting with their motivations and

sought gratifications from accessing such sites.

More and more businesses use social media as one of the key metrics for

expanding their presence in the market. In the Asia Pacific region, social networking


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sites have become an increasingly distinct contributor to boost sales and marketing

efforts.

Although the use is on the rise, many organizations lack acknowledgement of

what potential risks and threats that social media can bring, let alone have

comprehensive governance policies to regulate their employees. As a result, the cost of

security breaches posed by using social networking platforms might be far greater than

their benefits.

According to Nielsen, 74 percent of the worlds Internet population visits a social

networking/blogging site and across Asia Pacific, the most common access location for

engaging with social media is in the workplace.

Social media usage in the workplace has grown enormously with about a half of

workers surveyed claimed to have a social media presence and 18.5 percent to be

personally knowledgeable about or responsible for planning, evaluation or selection of

social media within their organizations, Gartner reports.

Social media are gaining in business popularity. We have seen companies

increasingly leverage virtual networking sites as marketing tools to keep current in their

fields or to stay on top of the game. However, many overlook the security risks present

in such networking sites, said Myla Pilao, Director for Core Technology, TrendLabs.

With more than 500 million of active users, Facebook is regarded as the most

popular social networking site. However, it also presents cybercriminals a new infection

vector to spread malware or instigate attacks. For example, spammers have taken to

Facebook to spread malicious links that often lead to the download of malware which


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puts users in the unenviable position of enticing others to fall for the same ruse. Trend

Micro has included Facebook in its top 10 most dangerous list in light of frequently

reported attacks associated with Facebook.

Like search engines, Twitter has also become a common source of poisoned

links. Cybercriminals have made it a habit to keep tabs on so-called trending topics to

target those on the lookout for information. Twitter users who click bad links are then led

to malware-hosting pages.

The pitfalls of carelessly accesing social networking range from simple

redirections to complicated system infections. In addition to viruses/malware,

likejacking attacks, rogue applications and Twitter spam, businesses could also be at

risk if their employees post wrong or improper messages or information revealing office

location, in-office politics, confidential projects, strategies, or the office climate and other

things, said Myla.

As published from Manila Bulletin dated July 26, 2011, to block threats derived

from employee use of social networking sites, there are a few principles that businesses

should adopt. First, create social media guidelines for employees behavior and advise

employees to be mindful of what they publish online; second, deploy and update

multilayered protection regularly; third, monitor all social media assets and log all

communications; fourth, have a communication and action plan in place in the event of

the intentional or unintentional disclosure of confidential company information and last

but not least, organize user security awareness campaigns to help employees


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understand and appreciate the value of the company's information assets and the

consequences of these assets being compromised.

C. Social Networking Use in the Workplace

It said that Social Networking site can have positive aspects as to help to socially

connect distant employees especially today when more people get to work remotely.

Also it is argued that "within many companies, staying in contact and maintaining

relationships within an organization are crucial activities for a successful career, and a

social networking site can become an integral way in which to do this" (DiMicco &

Millen, 2007, p.4).

Conceptual Framework

The concepts stated below are contextualized to fit the purpose of this study to

assess the effect of Social networking sites to employees at workplace and how it is

being regulated by the office.

Office employees are the main factor of growing number of users which belong to

the professional/working class who are using Social Networking sites. Similarities

among employees will help them find new circle friends or clich where they can talk or

share their interests.

Indeed, office works are exhausting and to find something new enjoyable like

Social Networking Sites can relieve their stress and help them to work again well. When


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a certain employee found a source of gaining interpersonal skills, the tendency is to

have good working relationships.

Unfortunately, using of Social Networking Sites will not be considered as totally

useful. Threats in the internet to the security of companys confidential profile, loosing of

focus during working hours or affecting the productivity of the department of a certain

office are some of the detriments of using Social Networking Sites in the workplace.

In line with this, it is important to know that the management of the office has the

sole responsibility in regulating and balancing the effects of using Social networking

Sites in the workplace.

Regulation of the

management to

balance the effects of

Social Networking

Sites to become morefavorable to the

employees and

company.

EFFECTS:

Good for

relieveing stressand working

relations and bad

for Income,

sec urity and

productivity.

Social

Networking Sites

used by

employees at

workplace


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Hypothesis:

Social Networking Sites had become part of a routine of several Filipinos and

was much given more time than a productive work. This had done a great impact in the

business world especially to the people working that they use the internet services in

their workplace inappropriately that leads to abuse. It affects the productivity of an

individual in workplace. There should be office rules extending the limitations of use of

such internet services, more importantly, when the public interest was rest upon on their

jobs as government employees.

Definition of Terms

Internet - An international computer network providing e-mail and information from

computers in educational institutions, government agencies, and industry, accessible to

the general public via modem links.

Social Networking- is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or

social contacts by making connections through individuals.

Social Networking Sites - used to describe community-based Web sites, online

discussions forums, chatrooms and other social spaces online or used to describe any

Web site that enables users to create public profiles within that Web site and form

relationships with other users of the same Web site who access their profile.


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Technology- the use of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, especially in

industry and commerce.

Workplace- A place, such as an office or factory, where people are employed.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, sources of data, data-gathering

instruments data-gathering procedures, and data analysis procedures. Specifically, it

discusses how the current research was done, what variables and concepts were

considered together with their corresponding measures and indicators, as well as the

strategies employed for data construction and analysis.

Research Design

The present study sought to provide understanding on the proliferation of using

Social Networking Sites at workplace and its possible impact, be it positive or negative,

on ones professional relationships, performing and overall work experience. Although

SNS has become a popular subject of research in recent years, few have focused on

the fact that its utilization is becoming common practice in the workplace. Specifically,

no full-blown study has been done, yet in the Philippines to comprehend this trend and

its implications. With all these in mind, the researchers have decided to adopt an

exploratory approach, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods.


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For the qualitative part of this study, a series of focus interviews (FIs) were

conducted among office employees and HR/Management personnel belonging to both

public and private organizations. The FIs were done in order to provide a picture of the

current state of SNS use among Filipino employees, understand the context and

motivations behind their SNS use and delve into their personal experiences of using

SNS at work. On the part of the HR/Management personnel, the FIs gauged how

Philippine-based companies regard the use of SNS in their offices. The insights of these

managers helped the researchers in situating the use of SNS in the Philippine

Corporate setting and finding out whether it is seen as a counterproductive activity or a

potential new media source. The results of the focus interviews also served as the

foundation for the quantitative aspect of this study.

A quantitative method, in the form of a self-administered survey, will be employed

in order to determine the extent to which SNS is used in the workplace, to find out

employees reasons for using SNS, an to provide generalizations on their perceptio ns of

this phenomenon. A total of at least 100 survey responses should be acquired. Because

the study involved working people who have accounts in Social Networking Sites, it was

assumed that they regularly go online and hence, may be more easily reached through

an Internet-based survey. This specific type of survey was also chosen so that

respondents may answer the questionnaire according to their available time.


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Sources of Data

1. Focus Interview

For this particular research, small number of employees and one

HR/Management personnel from both public and private sectors who have

accounts in Social Networking Sites served as the units of analysis. Because this

study asks how the use of SNS at work affects interpersonal relationships and

work performance, it is imperative that individual perspective on this emerging

trend be delved into.

The qualitative part of data-gathering employed criterion sampling for both

the employees and the HR personnel. In this kind of sampling strategy, the

nature of the sampling unit is well-defined by the researcher before data-

collection or data-generation.

For the employees and HR personnel to become eligible respondents,

they must meet the following criteria: they have Social Networking Site accounts;

they have access to such sites during work hours at the workplace; they are

either employed by private companies or by the government.

2. Direct Survey

The quantitative part of data-gathering made use of the questionnaires. The

Researchers posted and shared the link of their online survey form to contacts

who met the criteria of being able to access Social Networking Sites at the

workplace. The researchers then asked their own SNS contacts to share their


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link with their own networks and to provide referrals for possible respondents.

There were at least total of 100 respondents.

Data Gathering Instruments

Two kinds of research instruments were used in this study: an interview schedule

and an direct survey questionnaire. The interview schedule enabled the proponents of

this study to gain insights on the said trend and behaviour and subsequently served as

the basis for the construction of the survey questionnaire. On the other hand, the survey

questionnaire supplied generalizations on this trend.

1. Interview Schedule

Two versions of the interview schedule were produced: one for the office

employees and another for HR/Management personnel. The reason for this is the

need to juxtapose competing views on SNS use at the workplace, whether it is

seen as a wasteful activity leading to unproductive hours or a healthy diversion

from stress.

a. Employees Interview Schedule

In the first part of the employees interview schedule, informants were

asked to give a brief personal and professional background, as well as a

description of the Internet connection set-up in their respective offices. This

introductory portion of the interview aimed to elicit responses that would help

establish the employees social and professional environments, identify their

lifestyle patterns which may be contributors to their usage of SNS in the


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workplace and provide insights on how the nature of their jobs create or hinder

opportunities for them to explore Social Networking Sites at work.

The succeeding series of question on the employees actual experiences

on accessing SNS during their work hours constituted the longest section of the

interview/ starting from the frequency of logging onto Social Networking Sites and

the kinds of activities they do there, the questions progressed to uncover their

personal observations on how SNS use has affected their work life. Specifically,

probing was done in order to uncover the perceived effects of SNS use on the

following main concepts: perception of work colleagues, face-to-face interaction

with work colleagues, personal relationships and work productivity.

Lastly, employees were asked to describe their organizations existing

Internet use policies. This was done to provide richer context of their SNS use at

work, as well as to compare and contrast their opinions on personal Internet use

with the existing policies of the companies or organizations they work for.

b. HR/ Management Personnel or Head of Managements Interview

Schedule

The HR and Management personnel were also asked the same set of

questions on their personal and professional background, their working

environment and their personal use of Social Networking Sites. A supplementary

section on Internet use policies and how they are implemented was also included

as well as how they have responded to the rise of SNS use in the workplace. The

questions in this instrument were drafted in order to reveal how managers

reconcile issues of productivity and employee satisfaction.


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2. Survey Questionnaire

The survey questionnaire was constructed to describe the current trend in

the use of SNS at work. The researchers decided on using direct survey to

accommodate more respondents, since the study specifically asks for the

insights of working people with SNS accounts.

Concepts and Indicators

The following concepts were used in the qualitative part of this study:

a. Gratifications Sought and Gratifications Obtained

The indicators used for Gratifications Sought were the findings of Solis

(2005) when she studied the reasons why employees use the Internet at work.

Linking it to the framework, the indicators were classified to be either Ritualistic

or Instrumental. Pushing for professional advancement, gaining

network/contacts, and building/maintaining personal relations were under the

category of Instrumental Gratifications Sought. On the other hand, Ritualistic

Gratifications Sought by employees were seeking diversion, passing time and

entertaining oneself. These were also the indicators for the concept Gratifications

Obtained after the office employees utilized Social Networking Sites.


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b. Work Behavior

The effect of Social Networking Sites on Work Behavior was measured in

terms of whether it positively or negatively affected the completion of tasks by the

employees. Assessment of this was looked at both from their own perspective

and that of the HR personnel informants.

c. Wok Relationships

The indicators used for the concept Work Relationships were the effects of

using Social Networking Sites on the information they have gained about their

work colleagues; their face-to-face communication; and their general personal

relationship with each other. Focus was also given to employees interaction and

relational development.

Variables and Measures

The variables used for the quantitative part of the study were Gratifications

Sought, Gratifications Obtained, Work Behavior, Work Relationships, Communication

behaviour, Selective Self Presentation and Relational Development, Productivity during

work hours, and Management policies. The measures for these variables were divided

into the last three main parts of the online survey instrument.

1. Utilization of Social Networking Sites

Respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their interaction with

their work peers in Social Networking Sites; what kind of information, status messages


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or updates, photos and blogs they post in their individual accounts; and how often they

access their Social Networking Sites while at the workplace. These were the measures

for the variable Communicative Behavior.

The different information that the respondents posted on their respective

accounts served as the measures for Selective Self-Presentation.

2. Use of Social Networking Sites during Work Hours

Respondents were asked to give their reasons for using Social Networking Sites

at the workplace. They were given various statements patterned after the findings of

informant interviews which they rated in a 5-point scale of strong agree, agree, neither

agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. These were the measures for

Gratification Sought.

3. Effects of Using Social Networking Sites during Work Hours.

Respondents were made to rate the effects of using Social Networking Sites at

the workplace in a 5-point scale of strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree,

disagree and strongly disagree. Statements were also patterned after the findings of the

informant interviews. These were the measures for the variables Gratifications South,

Work behaviour and Work relationships.

In the case of Relational Development, three statements from this section were

specifically look at by the researchers. The statements were as follows: I have come to

learn new things about my work colleagues by browsing through their profile pages and

posts; I became more comfortable with my work colleagues during face-to-face


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communication; my relationships with my work colleagues became more personal.

These three statements were related to the premise of Social Information Processing

Theory that good impressions formed about each other through SNS, as in the case of

this study, would lead to relational development.

Data Gathering/ Procedure

For the data gathering/generation phase of this study, the researchers

conducted a series of focus interviews. These FIs were done in private and quiet

venues such as coffee shops and offices. The answers of the interviewees were

documented through the use of digital audio recorders. Due to the exploratory

nature of this research, both government and private employees were targeted

as informants.

The second part of the data gathering procedure commenced after all the

focus interviews have been transcribed and read by the researchers. A

preliminary analysis of the themes which emerged from the FIs served as the

basis for the construction of the online survey. To ensure that the survey answers

would be coming only from eligible respondents, several filter questions were

asked. The survey-hosting website has a feature that automatically filters

completed surveys from partially-answered, terminated or abandoned surveys.

Although, all responses were saved, only those which were complete and had

valid answers were compiled for analysis.


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Data Analysis Procedure

A two-phase analysis was done for the present study. The qualitative analysis

began after all focus interviews have been transcribed. Following the study framework,

the interview answers for every question were grouped together. Major concepts used

to categorize the FI results were Gratifications Sought, Gratification Obtained,

Perceived Effects on Work Behavior and Perceived Effects on Work Relationships.

The results of the direct survey were organized, analyzed and interpreted by the

researcher. For the Likert Scale used to measure the variable Gratifications Sought for

Using Social Networking Sites and Effects obtained from it, each degree was given the

following value in SPSS: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither Agree Nor

Disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree. For the negative statements, the values were

reversed such as 1 was assigned to Strongly Agree.

Descriptive statistics was run for all variables. Mean, Median, mode and

percentages were obtained to help in the analysis, interpretation and presentation of

data.

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Draft English Research Chapter 1-3

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