CASE STUDY [30 Marks] Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow. Using Social Media in governance and Crisis Communication Research findings suggest that about a third of our youths who are active online communicators are using platforms such as blogs, social networking sites, online videos, text messaging, and various communication tablets (Smith, 2010). These social media platforms are low cost or free fora for expressing ideas, opinions, and thoughts concerning crucial organizational issues. They do not just offer more prospects to connect and exchange new paths for international outreach, but also local outreach, to crises in organizational communication (Wright & Hinson, 2009). Diffusion of innovation theory proposed by Everett M. Rogers in 1962. It supports the sharing of information in crisis. Therefore, during crisis each employee should think out of the box and come out with something innovative to overcome tough times. One must be prepared with alternative plans of action. Once an employee comes up with an innovative idea, he/she must not keep things to himself/herself. Instead, he/she should spread the idea amongst all employees and departments. Effective communication is essential to pass on information and ideas in their desired system to all stakeholders. First, crisis communication refers to an unforeseen incident that may cause harm to a company, government, or other entities byway of turbulences and major unrest amongst pretentious stakeholders Crisis communication gives rise to a feeling of fear and risk in individuals who ultimately lose interest and trust in the ent. Crises also have a reputational element. A crisis does inflict harm on the corporation's standing because of the negative information it generates about the corporation (Barton, 2001). Today, it is appropriate to create the categories of operational crises and reputational crises (Sohn & Lariscy, 2014). In addition, crisis communication is valuable for it enhances preparedness and response as it helps to raise the level of awareness of citizens and their ability to take the necessary measures. Coombs (2014) defines crisis as a significant menace to operations or reputations that can have negative consequences if not handled properly. In crisis management, the menace is the possible harm a crisis can impose on a corporation, its stakeholders, and an industry. A crisis may lead to three related dangers, namely public safety financial and reputational loss, which are all highly related Second, governance consists of the logic of action and the causal relations between structures, interests and interactions (Kooiman, 2007). This concept transferred from the societal to the organizational level. Corporate governance connotes the overall framework for the guidance and control of a company in a link with many stakeholders Tricker 2009 Hopt, 1998) Van Kersbergen and van Waarden (2004) highlight the significance of corporate governance by stating that the relations between actors pose specific risks and uncertainties and that there is a need for different mechanisms to reduce these in order to make cooperation possible or easier" (p. 152). In addition govemance encompasses all institutional structures and processes used to handle interdependencies amongst diverse mostly collective actors Kooiman 2007 Van Kersbergen and van Waarden, 2004). Linke, andZerfass (2013) propose the concept of social media govemance that is corresponding formalar informal and van Waarden, 2004). Linke, andZerfass (2013) propose the concept of social media governance that is corresponding to the notion of an overall framework as implied by corporate governance. Social media denotes formal or informal frameworks, which regulate the actions of corporate members within the social network. Therefore, when considering the practice of social media governance, two different understandings are relevant a concept of governance focusing solely on social media policies and a wider understanding of governance based on broad regulatory frameworks. Third, social media consist of Facebook, Twitter YouTube, LinkedIn, the Internet and all of its various applications, which speed up communication and awareness over and beyond that of the traditional crisis communication strategy va traditional media because they allow real time communication. It can help avoid many arrivals to the tragedy site, can foster the recall of products, which are dangerous for an entire population, etc. Besides, crisis communication is likely to improve transparency of decision. Politicians are not transparent enough. Moreover, crisis communication increases the potential acceptance of outcomes due to placing citizens in an active role of information sharing at the same time they are suffering the impact of a disaster Since social media are becoming more pervasive by the day, we are beginning to witness governments worldwide use social media as communication tools to engage citizens (Golbeck et al., 2010) Research has shown that governments making use of many social media platforms for myriad governmental needs 1. recruiting government staffers 2. reaching out to the public, 3. sharing information throughout numerous and interdependent governmental agencies 4. creating an environment where community participation is possible and 5. governing in a transparent manner While some scholars observe that political discourse is a surging field for social media research but Graham &Avery (2013) placed its focus on local governments A national research by Graham a Avery (2018) has shown that local governments in general, are underutilizing social media Nonetheless, at least half of local governments surveyed said that they make use of social media to a certain extent. Since governments need to convey vital information to the public during a crisis they must make good use of social media and engage their citizens in a more active manner. Their communication must they must make good use of social media and engage their citizens in a more active manner. Their communication must reflect a clear sense of responsibility and show that they have plans, which make them ready to respond firmly to any potential crisis. Uses and gratification theory explains how people use media for their need and gratification. Ruggiero (2000 & 2009) notes that uses and gratifications theory has always offered a pioneering theoretical approach in the initial stages of each new mass medium: newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, and now social media. By using social media, governments can communicate more effectively with their citizens than with traditional media as used to happen in the past century. Furthermore, mass communication through social media is much cheaper and helps to preserve valuable resources, such as time and money (Kingsley, 2010; Kuzma, 2010). Most national governments got some form of social media usage, this includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, among many others (Bertot, Jaeger, Munson, &Glaisyer, 2010). A research by Bonson, Torres, Royo, and Flores (2012) that looked into the usage of social media platforms for European governments found that more than half of municipal councils have taken the initiative to make use of various social media platforms for day-to-day governance. With a social media presence, many of them have realized great success (Graham, Avery & Park, 2015). With social media, they can effectively disseminate news to its citizens easily and quickly. This, in turn, has helped them increase their outreach level at atrivial cost. The main benefits that social media offer the public sector are added opportunities for engagement with citizens and enhanced transparency (Bonson et al., 2012). Since meeting and/or exceeding the expectations of the public are primary concerns for government entities, government officials and agencies are using social media feedback to understand what their citizens are thinking of and what they expect from their government (Avery & Graham, 2013) Social media have been actually catalysts and possibly the reason why much political change has occurred in the world recently. Of course the 30 million strong in Egypt constitute a very explicit result of change in governance due to social media. However, there are also numerous examples where social media play a decisive role in maintaining a good governing status quo or changing governing regimes altogether (Graham et al., 2015). In general, the aim of crisis communication through social media is to convey the right information in an expedited form and to receive feedback as soon as possible (Avery & Graham, 2013) Research has shown that during a crisis, the public's reliance on social media to get vital information increases (Smith, 2011). Furthermore social media provides truthful facts, as opposed to the mainstream media, which often acts with conflicting interests (Procopio & Procopio, 2007) Using social media for a variety of purposes has proved to be very beneficial to individuals, small groups/committees firms, and ultimately local governmental entities everywhere in developed and many developing countries, except in Lebanon Therefore, based on this research paper the authors recommend that more research surveying many more national government employees and corporations on the issue of using social media platforms mainly during crisis communication and the effect of that use on governance as well as the public at large rust be conducted. This kind of research in and of itself, would add clarity to this very important and timely issue with regard to crisis and governance communication especially in a nation such as Lebanon. It may also shed some light on the particular problems which some employees are facing with that use Finally, the authors like to conclude with what Coomos (2014) stated while crises start as bad risks, Using social media for a variety of purposes has proved to be very beneficial to individuals, small groups committees, firms, and ultimately local governmental entities everywhere in developed and many developing countries, except in Lebanon Therefore, based on this research paper, the authors recommend that more research surveying many more national government employees and corporations on the issue of using social media platforms, mainly during crisis communication, and the effect of that use on governance as well as the public at large must be conducted. This kind of research, in and of itself, would add clarity to this very important and timely issue with regard to crisis and governance communication, especially in a nation such as Lebanon. It may also shed some light on the particular problems, which some employees are facing with that use. Finally, the authors like to conclude with what Coombs (2014) stated: while crises start as bad risks, effective crises supervision can diminish the harm emanating from them and, in some cases, allow corporations to emerge sturdier than before those crises. Source: Hashem, M. (2016). Using Social Media in governance and Crisis Communication. E-Leader Vienna Answer ALL the questions in this section. Question 1 (20 Marks) Experts employ the most recent best practices in crisis communication, as well as the possibility for employing social media platforms to handle any hazards or crises. Governments can engage with their public more successfully through social media than they could in the last century through traditional media Discuss how social media has been used in the 21st century as a crisis communication tool for local government Question 2 (10 Marks) The usage of social media in a crisis communication situation present number of issues Elaborate on the challenges experienced by local government when using social media in a crisis communication situation