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?

Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg was fired for helping his girlfriend obtain a job with the force while not revealing his romantic interest. During the investigation, it was determined that he had sent her 14 000 texts over the course of a year on his official government-issued phone. This works out to about 38 messages a day, every day of the year. He defended this practice as normal. What do you say?