Please read this case and answer the questions below.

WhatsApp CASE APPLICATION Archived #AthletesusingTwitter MOB Topic: Social media, communicating ethically Tweets. Twittering. Prior to 2006, the only definition we One place where Twitter has caught on is the sports world, Environ would have known for these words would have involved especially in college sports. For instance, when Mike Riley birds and the sounds they make. Now. practically ev- was the head football coach at the University of Nebraska, he eryone knows that Twitter is also an online platform-with used Twitter to keep fans informed. Now at Oregon State, he 336 million monthly active users, 500 million tweets daily. continues to appreciate the power of instant communication. and 1.6 billion daily search queries-used to trade short mes- Hugh Freeze, former head football coach at the University abo sages of 280 characters or of Mississippi, was an early less via the Web, cell phones, adopter of social media to and other mobile devices. ? The Good and the Bad of communicate recruitment According to its founders news. He recognized that (Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, TWITTER tweeting was an easy and and Evan Williams), Twitter fun way to communicate is many things: a messaging quick tidbits of information service, a customer-service tool to reach customers, a real-time to fans, alumni boosters, and other interested people who search tool, and microblogging. And as the numbers show, it's subscribe to Twitter. And it's a convenient way for the football become quite popular! staff and football recruiting prospects to communicate with 38.C Sunny a Oo ENG 13:54 UK 19/05/2022 3WhatsApp CHAPTER 13 . Managing Organizational and Interpersonal Communication 481 each other. There are pretty strict rules the NCAA has about Amendment rights (part of which includes freedom of speech). contact allowed between potential recruits and coaches, but Rather than banning the use of social media, many universities NCAA rules do allow unlimited direct messaging. However, are hiring companies to monitor athletes' posts. This, how- Archived coaches still are cautious about committing recruiting viola- ever, requires athletes to give access to their accounts, which tions. So, using Twitter to announce their destinations on the some call an invasion of privacy. But as time goes on, social MOB. recruiting trail, coaches can indirectly share their recruitment media conversations are becoming more common and more news without naming names. expected. Yet, caution is still needed. Harassment, sexism, and However, many universities and college coaches are mon- abuse continue to be common occurrences, despite Twitter's Environmental itoring and, in some cases, banning athletes' use of social efforts to better police it. media."7 A potentially precarious issue can arise if an ath- lete tweets some comment that could put the university in a Discussion Questions negative light, offend boosters, or possibly violate an NCAA regulation. Here are a couple of tweeting slip-ups: A Western 13-13 What are the advantages and drawbacks of universities using MGT abo Kentucky running back was suspended after he tweeted criti- social media to communicate with various stakeholders- cal comments about the team's fans, the NCAA pulled 15 students, potential students, alumni, donors, etc.? football scholarships after an investigation based on a player's 13-14 Do you think there are more or fewer communication barriers tweet, and a Lehigh University wide receiver was suspended when using social media? Discuss for retweeting a racial slur. We even saw how tweeting back- 13-15 What should managers do to be sure thay communicate ef- fired at the London Olympics. The first "casualty"-a Greek fectively when using social media? triple jumper-was banned from the Games over some ra- 13-16 What have been your experiences-both positive and cially charged tweets. That seems to be good reason for the negative-with social media? From your experiences, what guidelines could you suggest for managers and organizations? Essa managers (i.e., coaches and administrators) of these programs to attempt to control the information flow. But is banning the 13-17 How do you balance an individual's "right" to use social answer? Some analysts say no. They argue that those setting media as he or she pleases, with the ethical challenges of be- ing on social media? How does ethical communication come up rules and regulations don't understand what social media is into play here? Think about your personal response to these all about and the value it provides as a marketing and recruit- questions and then discuss each person's answers in your as- ing tool, and they argue that it's necessary to understand First signed group. 38.C Sunny O a 13:54 Oo ENG UK 19/05/2022 3