Do you think the perceived risks in media are apparent/transparent?
The majority of the general public believes that the perceived risks in media are apparent, as they can understand them with no problems and are always able to identify. Of course, some of them are really clearly seen, such as the presence of undesirable content. However, this kind of risk entails more serious problems that are rarely discussed by the users of media. For example, some images that depict violence can affect people’s psyche and make them act in a wrong way. Thus, I strongly believe that the risks perceived in media are not only apparent, and those that are transparent have even more crucial influence.
Various forms of media exist today, and they affect individuals and businesses in different ways. For example, everyone knows that video games can make people addicted so that they spend all their free time playing. However, only a few can analyze the situation and realize that one’s mental state alters, affecting behavior. Once, an adolescent killed a man because he could not differentiate between reality and game. People and organizations can also be adversely affected by the misleading information found on the media. For example, inaccurate statistics apparently can cause issues when dealing with the targeted market. It can impact the characteristics of the chosen population, their needs, number of goods, and revenue. Still, many do not realize entailed influences on the relations among the employees, their satisfaction, and the way the firm is perceived by clients and competitors. In the framework of security, many people believe that they may be hacked. However, they do not really pay attention to the fact that their accounts or organizational web pages can be used to conduct some illegal actions and affect others adversely. Finally, the extreme necessity to be up-to-date and unique often leads to the superstition that affects productivity adversely and makes one more nervous and irritating, which influences relations with colleagues and family. Except for that, media is powerful enough to make people produce or sell illegal things.
Find an article where risk(s) has been misconstrued/communicated – what were the consequences? What could they have done differently?
The article prepared by Belbey (2015) focuses on the risks organizations can face because of the usage of social media. The work is also claimed to provide the ways in which these risks can be avoided. The author states that all firms that adopt social media are likely to face twelve general risks. They seem to be decently communicated, as are well structured and organized. The most vulnerable components are named and then discussed with the emphasis on possible issues. For example, human error risks deal with mistakes and hacks while legal risks refer to the breach of the law. Still, this article does not explain the way these risks occur, which may lead to misunderstanding.
For instance, Belbey (2015) claims that operational risk is that “although social media can be a competitive advantage, it can be disruptive and reduce the employee productivity” (par. 9). Still, this information is not enough to understand how social media can affect a company’s operations. Professionals who refer to it may fail to see how they can prevent such outcomes. It is not clear whether the employees are expected to waste time on social media instead of working or they can be not efficient enough to enhance competitiveness with the help of social media. The same situation can be found in the explanation of other risks. In order to make the article look more authoritative and be more useful for the professionals, Belbey should include more details and examples. Currently, their lack is likely to make the workers fail to avoid risks. They would rather ignore the article and/or search for additional material.
Reference
Belbey, J. (2015). Protect your firm from the 12 risks of social media. Web.