2019/20 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

LUBS5972M Social Media and Knowledge Management in Organisations

15 creditsClass Size: 100

Module manager: Emma Forsgren
Email: E.Forsgren@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2019/20

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

Today, almost every business and organisation uses social media in some way. This could be for a range of activities from engagement with customers and stakeholders to sharing knowledge and information with employees in the organisation. Therefore through social media, new information systems and ways of managing organisations are emerging. This is changing how businesses and organisations create, share and use information and knowledge. This module aims to develop understanding and knowledge of the key theoretical concepts and applications of managing these new collaborative tools and platforms and how they can provide value for organisations. You will evaluate how social media contributes to organisational learning and new ways of working and critically analyse how social media data is collected and used by organisations. You will develop a critical approach to assess the current debates on issues of privacy, surveillance and the ethics of social media use in organisations.

Objectives

Through social media, new information systems and ways of managing organisations are emerging. This is changing how businesses and organisations create, share and use information and knowledge. This module aims to develop student’s understanding by introducing them to the key theoretical concepts and applications of managing these new collaborative tools and platforms. The module is divided into three key areas which include understanding enterprise social media and collaboration; managing social media engagement and risk; and applying critical perspectives on the use of social media in today’s organisations.

Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. To identify and critically analyse the key theoretical concepts of social media, within the context of information and knowledge management.
2. To critically evaluate the contribution of social media for organisational learning and new ways of working
3. To develop specific strategies in order to manage opportunities and potential risks of using social media both internally and externally.
4. To apply critical theory to assess the impact of social media in organisations such as debates on issues of privacy, surveillance and ethics.

Skills outcomes
While many of the skills correlate very closely with the Leeds for life category areas, the module is also intended to enable students to:
1. Develop strategic use of social media in organisations and information systems
2. Deepen understanding of social media for engagement

Syllabus

1. Introduction and theoretical foundations of social media and knowledge management (week 1)
2. Enterprise social media and organisational collaboration – with a focus on managing knowledge, organisational learning, and new ways of organising (weeks 2-4).
3. Managing social media engagement – understanding engagement with an external audience, managing social media data and developing strategies to manage risk (weeks 5-7).
4. Critical perspectives on social media in organisations - this part of the module applies critical theory to the topics of privacy, surveillance and ethics (weeks 8-10)
5. Future directions (week 11)

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	5	2.00	10.00
Independent online learning hours			29.00
Private study hours			100.00
Total Contact hours			21.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			150.00

Private study

Students are expected to spend their private time to undertake activities such as preparation for seminars, and work on the coursework. This will include activities such as completing assigned reading including textbooks, case studies, and other materials provided via the online learning environment.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative assessment will be available through quizzes, feedback on individual tasks and group work, and presentations in class sessions.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2,000 words	70.00
Group Project/Project/Dissertation	?? words	30.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Group project - Students will work on a group project that will be more hands-on and link to a specific case. The purpose is to apply theories to a real-life situation. Resit is by 2,000 word individual essay for 100% of the module mark.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 30/04/2019

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