To: Dr. Stice
From: Sefu Ballam
Date: September 10, 2015
Subject: Best Buy Social Media Policy
I choose to review the Social Media Policy of Best Buy, https://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Welcome-News/Best-Buy-Social-Media-Policy/td-p/20492. The entire policy is well written in nonprofessionals’ terms, almost as if it was a conversation more than a policy. It has examples when the policy might be ambiguous and consequences when the policy is not followed. The layout is easy to follow with “What you should do’ and “What you should never disclose’ sections that is easy to follow. The policies heading is “Be Smart. Be respectful. Be Human.’ That is a reasonable suggestion whether for a work policy or posts for everyday life. I found the language to be nonthreatening and overall very reasonable.
The majority of the policy involves written statements that involve the company, some obvious such as do not share customer information, or upcoming promotions. Others not so obvious such as do not misrepresent your position in the company, “If you are not a vice president, don’t say you are.’ The policy also covered illegal music sharing and other copyrighted publications which I thought was interesting, and probably necessary to a company like Best Buy. The policy also covered legal issues, monetary figures, and confidential information. All of this was straightforward and to be expected. There are some policies put in place that would include personal posts by their employees that do not directly include Best Buy. The policy states no discrimination against “age, sex, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, disability, or marital status or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local laws, regulations or ordinances’ will be tolerated. The policy also encourages their employees to be careful what personal information they posted anywhere.
In the end Best Buy’s policy states if you question whether something you wish to post is in violation of the Social Media Policy, you should not post it. The policy then lists the consequences for violating the policies; there are personal consequences such as loss of employment, to company consequences such as legal trouble, or loss of customer loyalty. I would not have a problem following this Social Media Policy if Best Buy employed me.