Visual Literacy in Business - Essay Example

VISUAL LITERACY IN BUSINESS The development in technologies and appearance of social media has completely changed the way people interacted and communicated with each other, impacting at the same time modern businesses. Thus, it enabled organizations to make meetings, phone calls and emails using new technology and conversations to reach a wider audience. Social media websites enhanced the channels of communication and effectiveness for the business (Edosomwan, et al, 2011). In terms of positive impact on companies’ performance, social media has improved collaboration between the members of teams, leading to better results.

Among the other pros of social media for business is the ability of the company to strengthen the brand awareness and ability of the organization to be more attractive to the customers, as well as to the potential and current employees and assist in building good reputation, open and worth trust. In promoting effective communication, social media enables organization to be have more open between the employees and management, encourages members of organizational teams to become a part of recognized community (Edosomwan, et al, 2011).

One of the numerous companies that experienced a considerable benefit from social media is Martel Home Builders, a company which created a direct to customer model for bring them into business, attracting by this model more people to its services (Porterfield, 2011). There are, however, many shortcomings of social media that affect modern businesses. As stated (Barbara, 2012), such factors of social media as absence of users’ guilt, the mob effect, relative anonymity and no accountability create many negative predispositions for business.

Thus, the negative pattern of social media was observed in McDStories, where customers shared negative stories about the McDonalds on such social network as Twitter. Merrill, et al, (2011) reports about the risks associated with the social media. These are the reputational, legal and operational risks, connected with the dissatisfied employees, security threats and issues with the intellectual property. As reported by Barbara (2012) with the appropriate planning and listening to what customers’ needs, it is possible to prevent negative effects of social media and create better image of a company.

ReferencesBarbara, J., (2012). Is social media bad for business, Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/julietbarbara/2012/11/11/is-social-media-bad-for-business/Edosomwan, S. et al, (2011). The history of social media and its impact on business, The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, Vol.16, No.3, Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.458.6848&rep=rep1&type=pdfMerrill, T., et al, (2011). Social Media: The Business Benefits May Be Enormous, But Can the Risks -- Reputational, Legal, Operational -- Be Mitigated?

ACE Group report, Retrieved from http://www.acegroup.com/us-en/assets/ace-progress-report-social-media.pdfPorterfield, A., (2011). 9 companies doing social media right and why, Social media examiner, Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-companies-doing-social-media-right-and-why/