Monitoring_of_Employees___Ethical_or_Unethical_

Monitoring Employees on Networks : Unethical or Good Business' - Excessive use of internet (speed of light) ( use of email and the Web for personal business at the workplace. - Management problems due to this :- 1.Creates a series of nonstop interruptions tht divert employee attention from the job tasks they are supposed to be performing. Can take up to 28% of average U.S. worker’s day ( $650 billion in lost productivity each year. 2. Interruptions are not necessarily work-related. Atleast 25% of employee online time is spent on non-work related Web surfing, and perhaps as many as 90% employees receive or send personal email at work. Manager’s worry :- -loss of time -loss of productivity As employees are focusing on personal rather than company business -lost revenue or overbilled clients -some employees may be charging time they spend trading their personal stocks online or pursuing other personal business to clients, thus overcharging the clients. -If personal traffic on company networks is too high, it can clog the company’s network so that legitimate business work cannot be performed. Eg : an architecture firm in Omaha, Nebraska, and Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, Virginia, found their computing resources were limited by a lack of bandwidth caused by employees using corporate Internet connections to watch and download video files. -Anything illegal that the employees do (using web, email at employer facilities or with employer equipment), it carries the companies name ( employer can be traced and held liable. Management in many firms fear that racist, sexually explicit, or other potentially offensive material accessed or traded by their employees ( result in adverse publicity or even lawsuits for the firm. Even if firm is not found guilty, responding to lawsuits could cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. - Companies also fear leakage of confidential information and trade secrets through email or blogs. Eg – Ajax Boiler in Santa Ana, California, learned that one of its senior managers was able to access the network of a former employer and read the email of the companies human resources manager. The ajax employee was trying to gather information for a lawsuit against the former employee Many companies have begun monitoring their employee use of emails, blogs, and the Internet, sometimes without their knowledge. American Management Association (AMA) survey of 304 U.S. companies of all sizes shows that 66% of these companies monitor employee email messages and Web connections. Although U.S. companies have legal right to monitor employee activities on Internet, The question is : Is such monitoring unethical, Or Is it simply good business' Companies that allow employees to use personal email accounts at work face legal and regulatory trouble if they do not retain those messages. Email ( important source of evidence for lawsuits. Companies are required to retain all their email messages for longer periods that in the past. Courts DO NOT discriminate about whether emails involved in lawsuits are sent via personal or business email accounts. Not producing emails could result in a 5-6 figure fine. U.S. companies have legal right to monitor (employees using company equipment during business hours.) IS ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE AN APPROPRIATE TOOL FOR MAINTAINING AN EFFICIENT AND POSITIVE WORKPLACE' -Some companies try to ban all personal activities on corporate networks – zero tolerance. - Others block employee access to specific websites. - some limit personal time on the web using software that enables IT departments to track the websites employees visit, the amount of time employees spend at these sites, and the files they download. Eg – Ajax uses software from SpectorSoft Corporation that records all the websites employees visit, time spent at each site, and all emails sent. Schemmer Associates uses OpenDNS to categorize and filter web content and block unwanted video. -Some firms have fired employees who have stepped out of bounds. 1/3rd of companies (surveyed in the AMA studies) had fired workers for misusing internet on job. Among that, 64% managers did so because employees mail contained inappropriate or offensive language, and more than 25% fired workers for excessive personal use of email. -no solution is problem free. - many consultants believe companies should write corporate policies on employee email and internet use : policies should include explicit ground rules that state, by position or level, under what circumstances employees can use company facilities for email, blogging, or web surfing; policies should also inform employees whether these activities are monitored and explain why. -rules should be tailored to specific business needs and organizational cultures. Eg- although some companies may exclude all employees from visiting sites that have explicit sexual material, law firm or hospital employees may require access to these sites; investment firms will need to allow many of their employees access to other investment sites. -a company dependant on widespread information could very well find that monitoring creates more problems than it solves. INTRODUCTION PROS CONS RESULTS CONSEQUENCES OPTIONS/SOLUTIONS CONCLUSION. QUESTIONS 1. should managers monitor employee email and internet usage' Why or why not' 2. describe effective email and web usage policy for a company. http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=_-P73Wsl7rk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=rCWdu-N9InU http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=c0CukryuHRw http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/'id=1962112n In addition, companies are now facing challenges from Internet misuse that include: ♣ Time and productivity losses by employees using company time to visit non-business sites ♣ Bandwidth limitations when personal Internet use clogs up network access ♣ Security threats when hackers or harmful applets enter the corporate network from unsecured websites ♣ Legal repercussions when objectionable or dangerous material is introduced into the business environment. In addition, companies are now facing challenges from Internet misuse that include: ♣ Time and productivity losses by employees using company time to visit non-business sites ♣ Bandwidth limitations when personal Internet use clogs up network access ♣ Security threats when hackers or harmful applets enter the corporate network from unsecured websites ♣ Legal repercussions when objectionable or dangerous material is introduced into the business environment. Pros and Cons Before a business makes the decision to monitor their employees’ Internet habits and how they spend their time online, there are some definitive advantages and disadvantages to consider. For a business the principal advantages are the obvious need to protect the enterprise’s assets, including equipment, networks and data. These items are all pivotal to business operations and if any are damaged or lost, the company could incur some serious damage and/or legal consequences. Other key advantages to employee Internet monitoring include: Confirm that Internet use is not Internet abuse While most employees are likely to not abuse their Internet privileges at work to the extent of abuse, unfortunately the reality of it is there is a percentage that usually will. As we have already explained, employees that abuse the Internet for purposes other than work lower the business’s productivity level because if they are busy hanging out on social networking sites, such as Facebook, or surfing the web, they are not doing the job they were hired to do. And that not only costs businesses, but is also a form of fraud. Monitoring allows for identifying the culprits and dealing with them, rather than being forced to take a global action, including barring all access or introducing draconian measures that may be necessitated by the actions of a few. Another problem associated with inappropriate Internet use is when employees use their work e-mail address for mailing lists or other personal reasons. Usually when employees use their work e-mail, the end result is spam which is costly for the company. Increased Security and Better Risk Management If a company’s network or workstations are infected by any kind of malware, this could either interfere or halt a business’s daily operations. Any kind of infection that attacks computers on the employer’s network can pose serious consequences for the organization; sales could be lost, orders may not get processed in time, or the supply chain could get interrupted. Additionally, depending on the kind of infection, data could be compromised or stolen which could lead to legal repercussions and risks for people whose personal information was stored in the databases. Monitoring employees’ Internet use also means it is less likely they are going to be involved in activities that can expose the company to litigation ranging from sexual harassment to out and out fraud. The cost of fixing any problems can be high, and monitoring is a far less expensive alternative to dealing with a data breach, extensive periods of down time or lawsuits. Improved Productivity Employees who are aware they are being watched are likely to spend more time working and considerably less time on personal matters. This translates to an increase in productivity and considerable cost savings by increasing a company’s return on investment. Organizational and Personal Accountability Internet monitoring makes it clear to employees that certain behaviors and norms are expected in the workplace as part of the corporate culture. Some companies have written policies about Internet usage in terms of which sites employees should not be visiting during company time (see GFI’s White Paper on Internet Acceptable Use Policies). Without a monitoring system in place, some employees may feel like they can do whatever they want. On the other hand if employees feel like they are being monitored, they may not go to certain sites in the first place. Disadvantages Despite these obvious advantages to Internet monitoring, there are some disadvantages that need to be considered. Employees may resent being monitored. Feeling they are not trusted is a sure way to lower morale. Studies have shown that lower moral inevitably leads to reduced productivity. Another disadvantage is final. Internet monitoring costs money and a company will need to hire, either as employees or contractors, people to review the information. In a large company engaged in proprietary activities or whose operations are politically sensitive, such as a large oil company, this may be feasible. For a small business with only a few employees, the return on investment may be low or non-existent. Another, though not very obvious, disadvantage of workplace Internet monitoring is what to do with the information once it has been collected. People do strange things, some of which may lead your organization into unexpected places. While you can readily determine that pornography has no place in the business environment, what about the rest you may uncover' If a person is frequently visiting a site associated with criminal activity, do you call the authorities' If a married staff member is frequently visiting dating forums, do you tell their spouse' What if someone was on a personal site for three minutes during lunch' What do you do when you find out your top employees are on Facebook for at least three hours every day' There are a hundreds of other scenarios to consider, but too much information may be more of a burden than a benefit, and open the company up to additional risk. Despite these disadvantages, sometimes Internet monitoring is a necessity in the workplace and security, productivity and proper use are three strong reasons to monitor because of the many advantages associated with these reasons. Therefore the best approach is for a company to view Internet monitoring from a business perspective and explain the reasons for Internet monitoring to the employees from that perspective, thus making it less personal and more work-oriented. In those circumstances, employees are more apt to accept the monitoring as a necessary evil, rather than an attempt by management to create a Big Brother environment. Ethical Monitoring If as a business, you decide your company should be monitoring, it needs to be employed in an ethical manner. In other words, Internet monitoring should follow some basic rules that assure its proper application, in the correct manner, for the correct reasons. Acceptable Use Policy The first step in any ethical monitoring system is to develop a Computer and Internet Acceptable Use Policy that all employees are required to read and sign. The policy should make it clear that employees should have no expectation of privacy while using business related computing assets. In conjunction with Human Resources, the document should clearly identify what is expected of employees and what activities will not be tolerated, as well as explaining the consequences of any violations. This places everyone “on the same page” when it comes to computer, email and Internet use at work. It also means that any necessary disciplinary actions can be taken without hindrance since prior notice has been given. Ethical and Unethical Uses of Internet Monitoring Courts have consistently supported Internet monitoring and actions based on it by companies against misbehaving employees as long as the monitoring has been for legitimate business reasons. The key measures of what has been legitimate have been: ♣ Cost reduction ♣ Safeguarding company information ♣ Maintaining a professional and comfortable workplace ♣ Upholding a company’s ethical values ♣ Reduce liability. On the other hand, Internet monitoring, done for the following reasons, is considered unethical and typically rejected as reason for monitoring, and hence any subsequent actions: ♣ Targeting a specific employee solely for the purpose of termination ♣ Viewing personal data of the employee not relevant to work ♣ Application of personal, rather than business, moral and ethical standards ♣ Personal gain. Conclusion Internet monitoring in the workplace is an important consideration for any enterprise. If circumstances warrant it, then a business has an obligation to take the steps necessary to protect itself from the actions of employees who act in a fraudulent manner by misusing and abusing the Internet while at work. If a company decides to employ Internet monitoring in its environment then it must do so by providing prior notice to its employees. Monitoring must be for legitimate business reasons and conducted ethically.