Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Second Advisor

Dr. Alexander Kuskis

Abstract

Social media have become important tools in the workplace, allowing employees to share ideas and participate in running the business. Most large corporations currently use a corporate social network for internal communication, with over 80% of Fortune 500 companies using the Yammer platform alone (Yammer, 2012). Deetz (1992, 2003) theorizes that this return to the ancient Greek concept of participation has the potential to improve corporate productivity—and ultimately, profitability.

This pilot study set out to better understand employees’ perceptions of social networks, and how they influence productivity and engagement. Twenty-one participants responded to an online survey on these topics. The results suggest that by a small margin, employees feel these networks increase productivity. Two-thirds of respondents also feel that the networks increase engagement. Women tend to feel that the network decreases productivity, while men feel it increases productivity.

Future studies with larger participant samples will allow for more prominent trends to be identified. Additional research might also include validated surveys to quantitatively measure productivity and engagement before and after implementing a corporate social network.

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