socialmedia

http://mindmaps.wikispaces.com/socialmedia
 * Myth:** Social Media into an organizational learning environment is a waste of employees time, which isn't good for business or the bottom line !

Critics state that there isn't value added, and is disruptive, when/if social media is incorporated into organizational learning programs. The perception is that spending time with social media will cut into the amount of work and/or additional training that that individual could have completed.
 * Support:**

A survey of 1,400 chief information officers conducted last year by Robert Half Technology, a recruitment firm, found that only one-tenth ofthem gave employees full access to such networks during the day, and that many were blocking Facebook and Twitter altogether. The executives' biggest concern was that social networking would lead to social networking, with employees using the sites to chat with friends instead of doing their jobs. Some bosses also fretted that the sites would be used to leak sensitive corporate information [1}. Other arguments against the value of social media in the workplace learning environment are, "our people need training, not socializing","people wil say inappropriate things", and "people will post incorrect information". The overall argument is that social media is non-value added, in fact being disruptive, leading to a cut in the amount of work and/or additional training that an individual could have completed.

Often referred to as e-learning 2.0 or Web 2.0, these media components (wikis, blogs, and discussion boards) are primarily used as collaborative tools and not considered stand-alone instructional media delivery options. However, when integrated into a course or learning module supporting a structured learning environment, these social media tools can support active learning and knowledge construction through peer-to-peer interaction.
 * Debunking the Myth:**

Workers are already overloaded! The typical information worker turns to e-mail 50+ times and stops at 40 Web sites over the course of the day. The issue is "context" and not "content". In today's modern learning organization, it is important to institutionalize Knowledge Sharing in providing effective and efficient access to relevant information, as determined by the individual.

In a recent Bersin Study, they asked, "What Are Your Organization’s Top Talent Challenges?", the top two responses were "Gaps in the Leadership Pipeline", and "Creating a Performance-Driven Culture" [2]. In another Bersin Study, they asked "What’s on the mind of L&D?" with the top questions being, "How do I improve our learning culture", "How do we implement learning on-demand", "How do we reorganize for efficiency and effectiveness", and "How do we implement collaborative learning". Interestingly, "72% of companies believe their most valuable learning approaches are informal, yet only 30% of resources are focused here."[2] Organizations are looking for deep specialization, which they neglect to acknowledge is developed through a "learning environments" and not from "learning programs". The workplace has changed, and people need to learn fast, as part of the ebb and flow of their jobs, not just on the rare occasion they are in a class.

The end result, “A learning culture is an organization-wide belief that the organization’s strategy, mission and operations can continuously be improved through an ongoing process of individual and organizational learning. It includes a set of investments, programs and processes to study areas of weakness, explore causes and exploit opportunities to improve and learn at all times and at all levels.” [2]

Sources: [1] The Economists Social Media [2] Formalize Informal Learning, Bersin and Associates [3] Top Research Priorities: 170 Bersin & Associates Research Members, January 2009