(Replies are 300 words FOR EACH POST) (2 citations, in-text citations are a must

(Replies are 300 words FOR EACH POST) (2
citations, in-text citations are a must) (APA format)
(MAKE SURE THERE IS BIBLICAL INTEGRATION IN REPLIES)
Each reply must be supported with a minimum of 2 scholarly
sources
other than
the course textbook and provided materials. Each source must be cited in
current APA format. Each reply must include both full
citations in a reference list at the end of each post,
and short-form in-text citations.
A well-developed, complete worldview analysis of the situation
requires more than simply adding a Bible
verse at the end of the post. Each reply must include at least 1 verse from Scripture, quoted and applied as an
integral part of the discussion of the applicable issues in the context of a Biblical worldview.

Question: Review
the material throughout Chapter 24 of our text on hiring, firing, and other
employment decisions, including Biblical worldview perspectives; then, consider
the question in the Point/Counterpoint on p. 616 (E-book p. 288): Should
employers be permitted to use social media in hiring and/or firing decisions?
Include legal, social, and Biblical perspectives in your analysis.
Respond to this Post
Each reply must include at least 1 verse from Scripture, quoted and applied as an
integral part of the discussion of the applicable issues in the context of a Biblical worldview.
1. As
Kubasek, Browne, et. al. state, “use of social media often reveals personal
information such as race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and more, all of
which could lead to discrimination in the hiring and/or firing process” (2023
p. 616). Given that discrimination based on these factors is a direct violation
of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a company could find themselves
in legal trouble for firing and/or declining to hire based on these qualities,
whether or not that discrimination is consciously done. This is just one of
multiple reasons why it is not a good idea for companies to use social media
when making hiring and/or firing decisions. Another reason is that it blurs the
boundaries between employees’ professional and personal lives.
With social media being such a prevalent part of peoples’ lives today,
employers have started using this as an evaluation in their hiring and firing
processes. In fact, in hiring processes, “employers appear particularly
interested in personal information even if users intend to keep this private,
going as far as to force job seekers to let them access their Facebook passwords
during interviews…employers justify [this]…as a form of “risk work,” (Robards
& Graf 2022) with the information collected online used to mitigate risk of
hiring someone who would disrupt the workplace, be a misfit to the company
culture, or compromise the company’s image. With the cost of going through the
hiring process being so high, in both time and money, it is understandable that
companies want to try to mitigate these risk factors. However, it is also
important for these companies to not mitigate these risks at the expense of
crossing the line between employees (and potential employees) professional and
personal lives. Current and potential employees are not oblivious to this
surveillance though, and have found ways to respond to it in ways that allow
them to keep their privacy while still having their employer or potential
employer see a social media profile. Research shows that “this sense of
“imagined surveillance” steers young people’s self-presentation practices on
social media toward tactics including finely tuned privacy settings, deleting
content, and maintaining multiple profiles for different imagined audiences”
(Robards & Graf 2022). Employees awareness of this surveillance and the
actions they are taking to ensure their privacy can, in many cases, make using
social media surveillance a waste of time and resources for the company both in
the hiring process and current employee screenings.
In a study examining the influence of employers’ requesting that job
applicants provide the login details of their personal social media accounts,
it was found that “more than half (58 percent) of participants with work
experience stated they would refuse such a request and thus not complete the
application – a similar drop-out rate has been observed in previous research on
applicant withdrawal” (Jeske and Shultz 2019 p. 74) With so many websites
providing reviews on companies, including their hiring practices, the result of
these requests has the potential to be a reduction in overall applicants moving
forward, and thus prevent the company from achieving the necessary levels of
productivity, which in turn will hurt their profitability. However, by
following 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 which says “and to aspire to live quietly,
and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed
you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one”
(English Standard Bible 2001), companies can stay out of their current and
potential employees’ personal lives, and have a better reputation among those
potential employees, thus increasing their chances of adequate staffing levels,
productivity, and profitability.
Respond to this Post
Each reply must include at least 1 verse from Scripture, quoted and applied as an
integral part of the discussion of the applicable issues in the context of a Biblical worldview.
2. The topic
of this week’s discussion board is whether or not employers should be permitted
to use social media during the hiring/ firing process. I believe that the
complete answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. Employers should
absolutely use social media during the hiring process, but in cases of
termination, I have mixed feelings. The fact of the matter is employers are
already using social media for both ends of the employment spectrum.
In a world
where we have the internet at our fingertips, we also have social media there
too. The days of keeping up with the Joneses are still alive, but virtually.
For example, we post about parties and get togethers, but we normally don’t
post about having a tough day or when someone makes you mad. We tend to post
the version of you that you want people to see. For recruiters it will be
incredibly important to look through the facade and see who the person really
is underneath and confirm if they would be a good fit for the company. Research
tells us that “Forward-thinking companies are beginning to turn to social media
in their searches. Social media activity already reveals a great deal of
information about our deep character traits.” (Anonymous, 2021, p.98)
In fact,
“according to the Society for Human Resource Management, 77% of its members
surveyed in 2013 reported using social media for recruiting purposes”.
(Alexander et al., 2019, p. 79) This overwhelming number shows how important it
is to represent yourself in a positive light. Potential employees need to
remember that when you post something online you wave your right to privacy and
anything you post can and will be used against you.
As for using
social media to fire someone, I find this proposition to be challenging. While
companies do have the right to ensure their employees hold themselves
accountable both at work and outside of working hours, they also shouldn’t be
snooping around in employees’ personal lives. As I mentioned before, anything
on social media is fair game, but just because you can see something doesn’t
mean you should use it against someone. However, let me be clear, employers
should act if they see troubling post. Examples include, posting about a vacation
while taking a sick day, making threats, using illicit drugs, or other acts
that go directly against the company’s morals and ethics.
When it comes
to how scripture plays into this, I find the topic interesting. Its clear that
the authors of the Bible would have no idea that something like the internet or
social media would exist one day, but they do tell us how we should live our
lives regardless of the technology involved. “I appeal to you therefore,
brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.” (NIV, 2023, Romans 12:1-2)
The idea of
this verse is that regardless of what we do in our lives we should be doing it
in the name of our Lord. If we take a vacation, it should be takin
appropriately and we should thank God for the opportunity. We shouldn’t accept
violence in our lives because that s accepting evil into our lives. Scripture
is full of examples of how we should live our lives and we need to make sure we
live up to those expectations.