The impacts of social media on leadership and organizational change in the U.S. Coast Guard : a first look

The U.S. Coast Guard faces a period of radical organizational change (known as "Modernization") in a time of asymmetrical threats to the U.S. and uncertain budget climates. In this time of uncertainty, a wave of New Media or Social Media (NSM) like blogs, social networking sites, file sharing and virtual worlds is sweeping the globe, connecting and networking people as never before. This thesis explores the impacts of New or Social Media on the U.S Coast Guard through two lenses: leadership and organizational change. There are three main themes to the thesis. First, I will present the reader with an introduction to New or Social Media along with a snapshot of the Coast Guard and its state of organizational change. Then, I will describe potential opportunities and challenges of NSM for the Coast Guard and strategies for leaders to engage in the medium. Lastly, I provide recommendations for NSM policies and actions for the Coast Guard going forward.

Department dc:contributor.department

Sloan School of Management.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Passarelli, James A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John Van Maanen.

• Sloan School of Management.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/49768

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/49768