Big business is changing, and medium and smaller-sized businesses everywhere, particularly in Britain and the United States, are seeking to emulate that change; sometimes with unpredictable results. Social media has made its mark in the business world, with many of us using content-sharing, microblogging, professional and personal social media sites and services in our everyday lives. From photos and videos to articles and songs, we’re sharing everything, all the time, making it easier than ever to send and receive web content, commentary and conversation online. Some of these sites have monetised upfront by charging users for their content or placing high-profile brand advertisements, while others are not-for-profit but can be upgraded with expensive extensions to increase their efficiency. The world, in short, is changing.

How Business is embracing Social Media

What does this have to do with business? As ever, the corporate sphere falls a little behind the personal and social spheres; while early adopters took to social media a decade ago, it is only now, in 2012, that businesses here in Britain have begun to understand the effectiveness of social media as a way of communicating, sharing, garnering public affection, or capturing their audience’s attention for their product or service. The changes which have come about, with companies creating brand pages, sharing content and competitions online, and chasing “followers” and “friends” to increase awareness, look like they are here to stay.

What is the relevance to PRINCE2?

What does all of this, then, have to do with PRINCE2 and other accreditation-based project-management training courses? Well, insofar as PRINCE2 is a professional qualification, everything; the social media zeitgeist is changing business. It’s easy, free, and user-friendly edge has proven a winner, and we’re looking to emulate its success in every industry, creating a friendlier, more informal corporate culture. Many are calling it, somewhat ambiguously, “social working”, and some have gone so far as to suggest that social working will mean the end of formalised, structured training schemes such as PRINCE2. A company which embraces social working, as well as abandoning old ideas about the need for a formal global business etiquette, would be looking to scrap a tier-based hierarchy in favour of a ‘flatter’ corporate structure… and formal training schemes in fields like project management would, it appears, go out of the window.

Or would they? Our analysts strongly disagree. ‘Social’ is a personal revolution, while PRINCE2 is a corporate invention, responding to the necessity for agile, priority-driven training for project managers – a product, in short, for which there is both a genuine need and a significant worldwide demand. So business as usual, then.

Peter is a content writer and occasional sports blogger who originally trained and practiced in the dark arts of journalism, before focusing on business development and assisting in the creation and publicity of resource training programs for small to medium organizations.

Website: http://www.prince2training.co.uk