...Introduction In this era of technology and information explosion, social media has become a part of our lives, almost everyone have their own Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogs account. Nowadays social media is becoming increasingly popular; a survey (SilkRoad Technologies, 2012) shows 75% of employees logged social media while at work at least once a day, with 60% accessing multiple times. The report also pointed out that most of companies have not develop clear guidelines and policy for using social media in workplace, only less than 10 % offering social media training to their staffs. The workplace should not prohibit the use of social media sites? Some people said it should be but some ones said should not. Each has their own justifications, it is benevolent see benevolence and the wise see wisdom. Whether employers permit or not, to develop a set of the company’s social media policy is a must. Although, Singapore Airlines (SIA) have guidelines stating that all employees must not posted confidential business information or tweeted about a colleague, but the rule is usually not strongly enforced. Social media is not easy to manage in the workplace, based on historical experience cyber bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimization are constantly recurring in between colleagues, similar incidents have also occurred in the Singapore Airlines (SIA). Therefore, in order to design an effective social media policy of the organization, first must consider and resolve a...
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...I. Monitoring of company-owned systems 1. Employee personal use of company-provided communications systems is subject to monitoring at all times. Employees will have no expectation of privacy when using company-owned systems. The following paragraphs offer additional guidance, freedoms of use, and restrictions. a. Computers. The primary use of company-owned computers is to accomplish company-related business. All information sent from, received to, or stored on company computers is subject to monitoring at all times. 1. Blocked websites. There are many websites that will be blocked without exception. These sites include pornographic, gambling, auction, social media, shopping, and hate-related sites, as well as sites that anonymize the true site being accessed, also known as “in-private browsing.” 2. Personal use. The company understands there will be times when an employee must accomplish personally-related matters. This is allowed to the extent that the matter must be handled immediately. Personal matters that involve coordination for a future event are not considered urgent when those matters can logically be handled in an employees’ private time. b. Laptops and other mobile devices. Company-issued laptops and other mobile devices are provided for employees who are authorized to telework from home or while on company-related business trips. All information sent from, received to, or stored on company laptops and other mobile devices is subject to monitoring...
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...treasure and your home your safest citadel from the unwanted influences of the world. That's why monitoring software to track and log internet and computer use is a necessity. It lets you block and filter a host of influential content that could prove harmful to your children's development and the overall peace of your home. Just knowing that monitoring software is installed on your computer can keep users honest. Everything from pornography to explicit gore, violent games, gambling and more can be found with a few keystrokes. Online predators, cyber bullying, hateful websites and other negative influences can potentially plague your children. You can safeguard your family from unseemly and damaging connections by using computer monitoring software. Most monitoring applications offer a multiplicity of protections and a variety of tools. Our researchers tested and ranked monitoring tools to bring you an objective comparison of the best computer tracking software. Our top three products are SpyAgent, WebWatcher and PC Pandora. Read our articles on monitoring software to learn more about computer monitoring tools. Monitoring Good monitoring software includes tools to record all website visits and online searches. The software should have the ability to detect when a computer user accesses social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter or views online pornography. Some monitoring applications can capture blog posts, usernames and even passwords. Recording the transcripts of...
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... | Executive Summary According to a 2009 survey conducted by American Management Association (AMA), the top two reasons employers provided for monitoring their employees were performance evaluation and quality control. Workplace monitoring may sound wrong, but it provides many benefits to an organization and its staff members, such as lower operating costs and high production rates. However, in the process of monitoring employees, employees’ privacy rights are violated mainly through computer monitoring, telephone monitoring and background checks. Productivity is one of the main reasons cited by employers for introducing electronic surveillance and employee testing to the workplace. Employers believe that corporate survival demands continuous improvements in employee productivity. Errors, poor products, and slow service hurt business. Therefore, monitoring and testing to identify and correct these problems are considered to be sound management practices (Wright). However, the following will analyze privacy in the workplace from an ethical point of view using three workable theories: Kantianism, Act Utilitarianism, and Social Contract Theory. Privacy...
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...Their Employees' Social Media? In recent years people have had their lives turned upside down over social media comments, videos, or pictures. Imagine this: A group of friends on vacation and have a good time. They laugh, drink, and take pictures with their cell phones. One of these pictures shows a woman holding a cocktail in each hand and smiling. One of her friends posts this picture on Facebook; her friends share the image. Unfortunately, the woman holding the cocktails in the photo is a schoolteacher. Though her Facebook page is private, she had befriended some of the teachers at her school. When the teacher’s principal finds out about the photos, she is told to resign or face suspension. According to Jeffrey Mello, “Employers face an ethical question relative to whether, as part of due diligence in the hiring process, they should scour online networks and sources to discover information about prospective hires” (168). Reviewing a job applicants’ social media presence may soon become a standard hiring procedure. In the article “Employer Access to Employee Social Media: Applicant Screening, ‘Friend’ Requests and Workplace Investigations”, it mentions a survey of managers and human resource professionals in which over 43 percent of employers used social media sites to research job applicants (Crespo and Lyon 8). It also states that employers’ interest in employees’ social media accounts extended beyond hiring. Many companies seek to leverage their employees’ social media...
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...The idea of employee monitoring has become increasingly controversial throughout the past few years. With the introduction of social media, the widespread use of global positioning satellite (GPS) technology, and cameras in many public locations, it has become ever more difficult to keep our lives private. It is the need for privacy that has raised tensions between employers and employees. With the rise of employee monitoring many employees feel that employers target them, or even discipline the employee for benign activities such as using social media applications on company computers. While employers would agree that they have the right to scrutinize “personal” activities, such as sending harassing emails or disclosing company secrets. Employers...
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...2 February 2014 Summarize the employment at will doctrine and evaluate each of the 8 scenarios. The employment at will doctrine is a common-law rule that an employment contract of indefinite duration can be terminated by either the employer or the employee at any time for any reason; also known as terminable at will. Traditionally, U.S. employers have possessed the right to discharge their employees at will for any reason, be it good or bad. The "at-will" category encompasses all employees who are not protected by express employment contracts that state that they may be fired only for good cause. "Good cause" requirements are typically a part of collective bargaining agreements negotiated by employee unions; nonunion workers rarely have this form of protection. The at-will doctrine also does not apply to contracts for a specified term, such as an employment contract that contemplates the employee providing service for a expressly designated number of years. In the following scenarios, the company’s human resources team must take action and decide whether to fire several employees for harmful actions. The scenarios are: John posted a rant on his Facebook page in which he criticized the company’s most important customer. In this scenario, John has publicly criticized the company’s most important customer, which might lead the customer to suspend all business with the company. Due to this customer being the most-profitable account for the company, John is greatly putting...
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...FREDRICK A. ASIEDU SB/DMK/14/0010 CASE STUDY MONITORING EMPLOYEES ON NETWORKS: UNETHICAL OR GOOD BUSINESS?. LAUDEN & LAUDEN (2014), PAGE 296-7 Question 1. Should managers monitor employee e-mail and internet usage? Why or Why not? Employee email and Internet usage monitoring in the workplace may put employers and employees in conflict because both sides are trying to protect personal interests. Employees want to maintain their personal privacy while employers want to ensure company resources are not misused. Employers monitor Internet use in the workplace to protect their companies from legal problems that could arise if employees use company computers for inappropriate or illegal online activities, such as racist, sexually explicit or other potentially offensive materials accessed or traded by their employees which could result in adverse publicity. They are also concerned about a decline in productivity as some workers use the Internet to handle personal activities such as checking personal email, responding to instant messages or sneaking in a brief YouTube video which creates series of non-stop interruptions that divert employees’ attention from the job tasks they are supposed to be performing. More over Strict monitoring allows employers to spot potential problems early, get the information offline as quickly as possible and discipline the employees involved. Along with keeping an eye on what happens on internal computer...
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...Social Networking in Business and Human Resources Rebecca Moriarty Troy University Introduction to Information Systems IS 3300 XTIB Dr. Rodger Morrison February 27, 2011 With the growth and explosion of popularity of the internet in the recent past, there has been a significant increase in the use of social networking sites. More than ever people and businesses are now using the internet with the purpose of having access to social networking sites. It is in these sites that they are able to set up networks with their friends, co-workers and family from all over the world and be able to share their thoughts and ideas on virtually everything spanning from personal issues to work and business advertising. Social networking sites have therefore become a subject that is drawing a lot of research from all over the academic world. In the recent past it has become difficult for people working in human resources departments to avoid the distractions that are being introduced with the rampant use of social networking sites. In the world today millions of people are now subscribed to the providers of the social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Friendster among many others. The main activities that go on in these sites are online discussions about the common happenings in life, discussions about various interests, organizing of various events, making friends, talking about politics or mere gossip sharing activities (Jackson, 2003)...
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...is to design a remote access control policy for securing access between remote offices across several different states. When establishing this policy it will protect the company and employees against attacks from other attackers which may cost company tons of money and even the employee’s jobs. The policy will define several different security practices that would protect the employees in order to keep the network safe. These policies will be dictated through an AUP and signed by all employees with access to the company’s network. The employees will also have to go through initial information security training before gaining access to the company’s network. This training will be required annually in order to maintain their access to the network. The AUP (Acceptable User Policy) dictate the requirements for the company’s passwords for the network. The requirements include an eight character alphanumeric password, one uppercase letter, two lowercase letters, two special characters, and three numbers. This will make it more difficult for the password to be breached by hackers. The AUP will stated that the company’s systems will only be used for work related purposes. All social networking sites and many other miscellaneous sites will be blocked for employee’s personal used. The user will be monitoring when signing the AUP. Users will only be given access to files they need through the use of an ACL. This way if a password is breached the hackers will only gain...
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...SETA survey of representatives in Tribunal cases 2008 t Research Paper Workplaces and Social Networking The Implications for Employment Relations ns Ref: 11/11 2000 1 0 Andrea Broughton, Tom Higgins, Ben Hicks and Annette Cox (The Institute for Employment Studies) For any further information on this study, or other aspects of the Acas Research and Evaluation programme, please telephone 020 7210 3673 or email research@acas.org.uk Acas research publications can be found at www.acas.org.uk/researchpapers ISBN 978-1-908370-07-5 Workplaces and Social Networking The Implications for Employment Relations Andrea Broughton Tom Higgins Ben Hicks Annette Cox Prepared for Acas by: Institute for Employment Studies Sovereign House Church Street Brighton BN1 1UJ UK T: 01273 763400 F: 01273 763401 www.employment-studies.co.uk Copyright © 2009 Acas The Institute for Employment Studies The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent, apolitical, international centre of research and consultancy in public employment policy and organisational human resource issues. It works closely with employers in the manufacturing, service and public sectors, government departments, agencies, and professional and employee bodies. For 40 years the Institute has been a focus of knowledge and practical experience in employment and training policy, the operation of labour markets, and human resource planning and development. IES is a not-for-profit organisation which has over...
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...will also be discussing why companies implement e-mail and internet use policies. Lastly, I will be covering what assumptions employees might make about their privacy at work and how the policies that are in place can affect an employee’s privacy at work. At Abacus Technology electronic communication such as e-mail and internet use is encouraged, however, electronic communications are considered company property and their purpose is only to be used for company business. The policy on electronic communication relates to all electronic media and services, which are accessed using company computer equipment, while on company premises, or by company-paid access methods, and used in a manner which identifies the individual with the company. Employees are not supposed to use electronic communications for excessive personal use, soliciting non-company business, and conducting activities that are illegal or contrary to the firm’s best interest. Individuals are also asked not to access criminal websites or transmit any harassing or offensive material. Any violations of the company’s electronic communication policy will result in disciplinary actions up to and including termination (Abacus Technology Corp, 2001). Abacus Technology does not have a current policy in place that forbids the use of company email for personal use. However, they ask that employees do not open attachments from unknown senders...
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...XYZ Corporation’s business environment has changed dramatically over the years, especially the manner in which your company can be held liable, or accountable for the actions of your employees. Many small and big businesses like your company have numerous methods to protect themselves from lawsuits in the area of criminal activity and workplace torts. With proper training programs and a comprehensive set of electronic communications policies in place, companies such as yours can reduce many of the criminal and workplace torts that could occur within your workplace or business location and reduce the risk and occurrence of lawsuits and liabilities associated with the improper and illegal usage of the company resources such as Internet usage, email, and use of the company Network and computing systems. Many of the torts that typically occur outside of the workplace can easily occur within the workplace environment because of improper employee use, misuse, or illegal use of the Internet, social media, and email provided by companies such as XYZ Corp. A brief summary of the workplace torts that can create corporate liability and from which corporations and business owners must protect themselves from include but are not limited to: 1. Intentional torts (torts against a person): Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, and Intentional infliction of emotional distress. 2. Property Torts such as Conversion and Copyright Infringement. 3. Dignitary torts activity that causes injury...
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...the work place at least in their own work space but today that may not be all possible due to electronic Surveillance . Employees are becoming increasingly concerned about their privacy as their employers are monitoring them electronically more closely than ever before. Still employees expect to have privacy at the lunch area, bathrooms and lockers. Besides those places the employee has little or almost no privacy within the company. Electronic monitoring allows an employer to observe what employees do on the job and review employee communications, including e-mail and Internet activity, often capturing and reviewing communications that employees consider private. Video monitoring is common in many work environments to maintains security, by monitoring employees and to deter theft. There are laws set in place to also protect the privacy tof employee’s personnel records, including personal data, medical information and health status, social security numbers, background screenings information, financial and everything else that could invade a persons privacy. Is Herman's need to know whether his salespersons are honest a sufficient ground for utilizing electronic surveillance? The answer probably depends on whether there are alternative methods of ascertaining the honesty of salespersons that are less invasive of the employees' privacy. For example, Herman could use surveys of customers to find out this information. In fact, many businesses use customer...
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...information and you would like to keep it to yourself. Later in the day, you are walking in the office and someone says “how is your cousin?” How did they know my cousin had something wrong? You have just been a victim of employee surveillance. As long as the software and video equipment has been around, employers have monitored their employees. Employee surveillance is not illegal, but there is a thin line between wrong and right that deserves more analysis: An analysis of employee surveillance in the workplace reveals an ethical issue of spying on employees or protecting employees and the company. When most people think of the word privacy, they are thinking about their personal space and having some time to themselves without someone or something looking in on them. A further definition is required. “A right to privacy can be understood as a right to maintain a certain level of control over the inner spheres of personal information and access to one’s body, capacities, and powers” (Moore, 2008, p.420). Privacy in the workplace might be a restroom break or even sitting alone in a lunchroom. When it comes to doing work, privacy cannot be assumed by employees. Someone could be watching you at any time. Webster’s dictionary defines privacy as, “the quality or state of being apart from company or observation; freedom from unauthorized intrusion” (D. Nord, McCubbins, & J. Nord, 2006, p. 73). Who is under surveillance? According to the American Management Association,...
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