Impact of Social Media on Workplace Dynamics: Post 3
At workplaces, a ‘silo’
represents a wall or a boundary put up by an organization to keep the employees
focused on their goals and to keep outsiders from breaking this intended focus
(Lowe, 2012). The generation that still follows this concept can be regarded as
‘cowboys’ (Singer, 2015) in contrast to the up-and-coming generation who is now
titled as “collaborators” (Singer, 2015).
Cowboys value
working alone and prefer to focus on their own goals, in contrast to the
collaborators who have grown in the era of social media and all of its
benefits. Collaborators are used to the thoughts and opinions voiced by others,
which is why collaboration at work is like second nature to them (Singer,
2015). In the midst of Facebook and Twitter, their idea of learning and growing
revolves around tweeting or posting about their ideas and knowledge.
By 2030, majority
of the population will have grown to use social media and the internet for
practically anything and everything (Singer, 2015). The collaborators of 2030
will not silo up and would prefer crowdsourcing tips, advice and knowledge to
and from their peers (Singer, 2015). Social media in 2030 will lead to the
downfall of barriers and silos within a workplace (Singer, 2015).
ReplyDeleteSilos have been regarded as the downfall of both large and small organizations (Torren, 2015). You correctly stated that they were implemented to "keep employees focused on their goals" however, they worked to destroy morale in the work place, as well as halt innovation and kill productivity (Torren, 2015). With the help of social media in 2030, these barriers, or "silos", will be broken down as more and more employers will make use of social media to collaborate with others.
Torren, M. (2015). 4 warning signs your team is working in silos, and how to destroy them. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250477