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Running head: Email and Internet Usage Email and Internet Usage Your Name University Course Instructor Email and Internet Usage In the business world, employee privacy should be one of the many concerns of an organization. Employees are expected to help protect the rights of customers and company information on a daily basis. Companies rely on email to get information to employees, clients and customers on a daily basis. Reliable sources of communication such as email and internet are used by working personnel worldwide. At Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids, email is used by employees on a daily basis to communicate with coworkers, customers, salespeople and third-party personnel. Communication through email allows various departments within Baker Hughes to complete important tasks quickly while multi-tasking with other assignments. This paper is intended to identify the privacy policies of email and internet at Baker Hughes while describing how the company implements the policies. Many individuals may believe email and internet usage is private or loosely monitored. Messages in the workplace can be intercepted and read periodically by organizations to ensure privacy. Email which is also called electronic mail is a form of sending digital messages via the internet. Employees at Baker Hughes use the email software known as Microsoft Outlook to communicate with other departments, salespeople, and third-party personnel and customers. Email allows users to continue to work at their own pace and respond to emails as they become available. Email usage at Baker Hughes is encouraged to be used for business purposes but can also be used for personal purposes if used appropriately. Employees are asked to limit personal email usage as these activities are monitored closely by Baker Hughes’ Quality Assurance Team. This department uses various monitoring software to monitor ingoing and outgoing emails. Employees are allowed to give out their email addresses to personal contacts but are encouraged to keep emails professional. Baker Hughes’ Quality Assurance department closely scans all emails for inappropriate emails and documents which may contain viruses which could be damaging to the company. Monitoring internet use is another duty of the Quality Assurance team. The internet is needed to help personnel communicate over the network’s server. Communication is needed to advise employees, customers and other personnel of the services Baker Hughes has to offer. Internet privacy is important to Baker Hughes. The company blocks all inappropriate websites from being accessed and a log goes to the Quality Assurance Team. If large amounts of inappropriate websites are continually attempted from users, the log will be pulled and organizational action will be taken. Baker Hughes uses an email/internet policy form for new employees. This policy informs personnel of the use of email and internet on a daily basis. Once the employee signs the documents, this acts as a contract between Baker Hughes, and the employee. Baker Hughes reserves the right to obtain any information that may appear to contain any inappropriate material (Steinborn, 2008). Monitoring email and internet for compliance regulations has become mandatory for all businesses today. Baker Hughes allows employees a special break called My-Time. My-Time is a 15 minute break which can be taken between the hours of 9am to 2pm. This specific time can be used to access the internet and use for personal business such as for paying bills or for checking personal email. This special break allows employers to take care of personal business while continuing to remain productive at work (Keller, 2009). Employees are allowed to check and respond to personal emails on these breaks only. Personal internet usage is also allowed at these break times. Some individuals may believe that because they are able to log in or out of their work computers, the company cannot monitor the information. Baker Hughes’ Quality Assurance Team has advanced technology that can track a user’s information even when the computer is turned completely off. Quality Assurance Agents have log in access to all users through an administration level. Once in the administration level, the agent can pull up any email or internet history along with documents and files that the user has possession of. In many ways individuals may feel the monitoring of email and internet usage may be an invasion of privacy. Some may perceive email as casual. Some employees at Baker Hughes and with other organizations have a misunderstanding of email. For example, an employee may forward a 50 page chain letter to several coworkers in the office. The chain letter may discuss beliefs of religion or ethnic groups. To that employee who forwarded the email, the act is not seen as disturbing or offensive to others. This email is clearly not work related, and if continually forwarded, can damage the company’s main server where important documents are kept (Steinborn, 2008). Companies worldwide attempt to maintain a safe and secure virtual environment (Locker & Kienzler, 2008) An organization’s concern to encourage email and internet privacy allows for public records to remain secure, network servers to perform without being overloaded, and customers to get the service they deserve. Baker Hughes Drilling Fluids continues to look for ways to improve the way employees communicate on a daily basis. Having the ability to communicate effectively with clients and customers has allowed Baker Hughes to advance ahead of the competition. Email has allowed employees to submit needed documents, schedule appointments, and effectively communicate with personnel both domestically and globally. Internet allows employees to remain current with changing factors that affect the organization daily. Some individuals believe organizations should not have the right to monitor work email and internet usage. The law however, allows companies to monitor such usage to protect their buildings and office equipment along with company and customer information. Employees at Baker Hughes believe in compliance and effective communication. All employees work together to ensure email and internet privacy policies are followed. Although unavoidable instances may occur, employees at Baker Hughes must be ready to adhere to company policy. With the changes in technology, email and internet usage will continued to be monitored by organizations daily. The decision on how to use the programs will solely be up to the employee. Although company policy states on thing, the employee will be the contributing entity that will determine if a company’s policy is effective. Employees at Baker Hughes realize communication is the main ingredient in a successful organization. Businesses must realize the ability to effectively communicate with managers, clients, stockholders, and a customer about a situation that may need immediate attention is only an email address away. Keller, T (2009). Compliance/Internet & Email. Retrieved July 5, 2009 Web site: http://www.internetlawcompliance.com/ Locker, K., & Kienzler, D. (2008). Business and Administrative Communication (8th edition). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Steinborn, D (2008). Internet and Email Usage. Retrieved July 5, 2009, Web site: www.bakerhughesdirect.com