The advent of new forms of communication technology and associated social media have benefited organizations and their employees in many ways, but they have also led to an assortment of problems and conflicts. Several themes are apparent in the scenarios presented in this exercise. For one thing, contemporary communication media have blurred the distinction between the work and non-work domains. Second, the scenarios suggest communication contradictions—Facebook postings could be grounds for firing, but the medium can also facilitate work related communication. Third, much contemporary communication occurs in a context in which one is not sure just who the receiver might be. The exercise can be conducted in several ways: Students can independently prepare their reflections on the scenarios for class discussion. Alternatively, learning teams can discuss one or more scenarios and report their reflections to the class. Finally, the instructor might organize a debate around each scenario. In any case, use your imagination when reflecting on the scenarios. How would you feel if you were an employee in the scenario? How would you feel if you were a manager?

Two employees were fired by British Columbia’s West Coast Mazda for making postings on their personal Facebook pages that were critical of the company and its management. Although the general public did not have access to the postings, nearly 500 Facebook friends, including former and current West Coast employees, did so. The comments, some lewd and others hinting at workplace violence, were deemed “offensive, insulting, and disrespectful” by an arbitration board, which upheld the dismissals as indicative of insubordination. Was this just natural, private grumbling about the workplace, or was it grounds to be fired?