...To: All Employees From: President of ABC Companies Date: August 16, 2014 Subject: Workplace Surveillance As we start on the last quarter of the year here at ABC Companies, I want to thank each employee for their contributions and hard work, as well as their dedication to making this company the safe environment we strive for it to be. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, I would like to update everyone on surveillance measures that have been implemented and why we feel these rules have had to be placed. Our goal here at ABC Companies is to provide you the safest and most productive work environment that we can, in order for you to leave here each day feeling fulfilled and excited to begin a new workday. In order for us to continue to make these claims, a new surveillance measure has had to be put into place, which I have outlined below. • Internet Filters: When you first began your employment with ABC, you signed an agreement that company time would be used at a minimum to tend to personal matters. We understand that each of you have a family and other concerns outside of your employment, however after monitoring online activity during business hours, we have found that a large number of employees are spending more than 30 minutes a day using websites that do not pertain to our business and employee responsibilities. After researching and weighing the pros and cons, we have decided to enable filters on the internet, so that websites for personal use are blocked...
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...To: All Staff From: Max Claude, CEO Date: June 26, 2015 Subject: Implementation of workplace surveillance In an effort to keep everyone on the same page at XYZ Corporation, I am writing this memo to inform you on the workplace surveillance that will take effect very soon here at XYZ. Electronic surveillance of workers has long been a source of dispute between employers, workers and unions. In the case of surveillance "on workplace ", the employer, or the owner may decide to install video cameras or other surveillance means to ensure, in particular, the personnel safety and protection of property in the company. Unions or employees, may in turn, appropriately, challenge the presence of these types of monitoring alleging that they constitute an unreasonable work condition or undermine the dignity or privacy of workers (ILO 2007). That whole debate is usually confined inside the company which implies that the only opposing parties are the employer and employee representatives, whose case usually get decided by an arbitrator. You may wonder if indeed there are controversies on this issue then why senior management or the CEO, pondering such idea. Well, it is because in the last quarter of 2014, XYZ Corporation has decided and entered into a contract for the installation of surveillance throughout our facilities in the North Eastern region of the United States. Just as we have promised you from the moment you joined XYZ Corporation you are an important stakeholder and as...
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...Electronic Surveillance of Employees Angela Hockaday Strayer University Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance LEG 500 Professor Anne Dewey-Balzhiser October 23, 2011 Abstract This paper will explore Electronic Surveillance of Employees. First, we will discuss and explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. Secondly, we will review information regarding in the office workplace there are typically two types of workspaces, an open area, in which there are several desks and where conversations can be overheard, or an enclosed office, in which-when the door is closed-conversations cannot be heard and where one would expect virtually total privacy. Explain whether it makes a difference if an employee is in an open area or in an enclosed office. Thirdly, we review the video and analyze Herman’s need to know whether his salespersons are honest is a sufficient ground for utilizing electronic surveillance. Next take a look into and try to explain to what extent an employer can engage in electronic surveillance of employees. Finally, we explain to what extent the inclusion of innocent, unaware third-parties in such surveillance determine whether it is legal. Electronic Surveillance of Employees Electronic surveillance of employees, whether employers have an interest in being able to monitor their employees while at work, or knowing how their employees are in their personal lives, Frederick Taylor invented such an approach in the 1880s...
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...company. Also many employers now will go and put monitoring software on their networks and computers so that they are able to see any information transmitted through their networks, such as e-mails, browsing history and chat sessions. Also an employer will take the time to monitor phone calls made from company phones as well as placing their employees on video surveillance. In order to sustain abiding by the law and working ethically, employers have to take many precautions when monitoring employees so that they do so legally. One method that most people are aware of are the terms and conditions that you usually either sign off on in an employee handbook to send into corporate or are part of the application process in some cases. These terms and conditions essentially say that you are aware that your employer may monitor you without warning and are okay with this because you are given written consent at the time of applying or your orientation. Another method few employers incorporate that many more should take note of is actually verbally telling the employees that they are being monitored whether in a company memo, or verbally in a meeting, and explain the necessary reasons for this. These reasons could be...
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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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...capable of detecting certain chemicals, for example. Because of the variety of functions of drones, there is a great deal of interest in both public and private sectors in expanding drone usage. As drone use evolves in the United States, there are many legal ramifications to consider. This paper discusses current drone use, the future of drones, and the legal issues involved. Government Drone Use Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have shifted the defense landscape not only in the US but also across various other nations. It is an additional layer of defense strategy that deviates from the traditional methods employed thus far. Although they may be used in strategically planned strikes, their primary purpose is in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The US amongst other countries has been spearheading the advancement and use of this growing technology for the last decade. The Department of Defense operates approximately 8000 of these vehicles in their fleet. The use of drones by the US department of Defense is only one arm of the several other that is operated by the government. Customs and Border Protection Agency, Homeland Security, State fire departments and police departments are other significant users of this controversial technology. Another important aspect to note is the interdepartmental use that is attracted much scrutiny in the recent times. There are very real legal and ethical concerns regarding drones and the Obama administration is working...
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...Memo Consulting The Ongoing Campaigns K. Alana Wallace HRMN 362 Professor Elizabeth Ross June 22, 2015 XYZ Company TO: Senior Management FROM: Human Resource Manager DATE: 6/23/2015 RE: Campaign As Human Resource Manager for XYZ Company I would like to enlighten senior management about company operations and managements professional conduct under the two significantly differing environments unionized and union free. As XYZ faces the union organizing campaign thoroughly understanding the basic differences, actions as well as statements allowed and prohibited is vital for management during the campaign because both the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Taft-Hartley Act prohibit employers from discriminating against employees for participating in union activities (NLRB.Gov n.d.). It must be understood viewpoints on operating in a unionized and a union free environment differ between employers and the success of XYZ during the union organizing campaign will greatly depend on management’s thorough understanding of the differing advantages. My overall mission is to make sure the XYZ makes the right decision for our company’s strategic goals both in electing for a union free environment and managements conduct when facing the union campaigning. Thank you, HR Director ...
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...Short Informal Report (Collaborative) Justification/Recommendation Report (qtd. and modified from Guffey & Loewy, 2013, pp. 272) Developing an Organizational Media Policy As a manager in a midsized insurance firm, you are aware that members of your department frequently use email, social networking sites, instant messaging, and web browsing for private messages, shopping, and games. In addition to the strain on computer facilities, you worry about declining productivity, security problems, and liability issues. Although workplace privacy is a controversial issue for unions and employee rights groups, employers have legitimate reasons for wanting to know what is happening on their computers or during the time they are paying their employees to work. A high percentage of lawsuits involve the use and abuse of email or other social media. You have voiced your concerns informally with another manager, who agreed with your concerns. You both think that the executive council should establish some kind of email, web use, and social media policy. The council is generally receptive to sound suggestions, especially if they are inexpensive. At present, no explicit media use policy exists, and you both fear that the executive council is not fully aware of the dangers. Together, you decide to write a justification/recommendation report discussing social media policies for similar companies so that the executive council understands the issue more fully. Your Task With your partner...
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..."Employee Surveillance and Testing" Please respond to the following: Argue for or against the practice of electronic employee surveillance at work. Provide specific examples to support your argument. What laws, if any, may be violated by such practices? Employers want to be sure their employees are doing a good job, but employees don't want their every sneeze or trip to the water cooler logged. That's the essential conflict of workplace monitoring. New technologies make it possible for employers to monitor many aspects of their employees' jobs, especially on telephones, computer terminals, through electronic and voice mail, and when employees are using the Internet. Such monitoring is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states otherwise (and even this is not assured), your employer may listen, watch and read most of your workplace communications. One company offers technology that claims to provide insight into individual employee behavior based on the trail of "digital footprints" created each day in the workplace. This behavioral modeling technology can piece together all of these electronic records to provide behavior patterns that employers may utilize to evaluate employee performance and conduct. For example, it might look for word patterns, changes in language or style, and communication patterns between individuals. Recent surveys have found that a majority of employers monitor their employees. They are motivated by concern over litigation...
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...Your family is your greatest 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...
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...Barry University Administrative Theory and Practice, Spring “A” 2013 Mark E. Thompson February 18, 2013 Research Paper, Assignment #4 Professor: Sam Stanton Abstract Your abstract should be one paragraph and should not exceed 120 words. It is a summary of the most important elements of your paper. All numbers in the abstract, except those beginning a sentence, should be typed as digits rather than words. To count the number of words in this paragraph, select the paragraph, and on the Tools menu click Word Count. Managing People with Technology Technological advances in the workplace have brought about a drastic change in the business environment, and the way people are managed. The workplace is being shaped today by an advanced web, powerful technologies, and social media that is accessible on any electronic device of any size. The merging of these technologies and workforce trends are creating a generation of workers who are hyper connected, and managers who are learning to communicate with them. Losing the Face to Face I know that in the medium sized government where I work, most critical collaboration and crisis resolution is still done face-to-face with the support of technology. However, the use of technology can severely limit the amount of interaction among employees. Most of the resources that an employee could need can be accessed right from their desk. A lot of the planned and impromptu meetings around the coffee machine in the employee lounge...
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...TalentTalk A SilkRoad TalentTalk Report SOCIAL MEDIA & WORKPLACE COLLABORATION 2012 Latest Practices, Key Findings, Hottest Topics TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 Executive Summary Methodology and Respondent Profile Corporate Approaches to Social Media Access Why Do Employees Use Social Media at Work? “Socializing” with Customers Twitter and Facebook Prevail: Corporate Social Networks Lag Mobile Devices: Personal Use of Social Media at Work Social Media Policy in the Workplace Do Employers Ask Workers for Personal Social Passwords? Email: The Most Popular Way to Share Information The Expanding Job Description and Capturing Employee Expertise In Conclusion 3 // SOCIAL MEDIA AND WORKPLACE COLLABORATION “Companies can no longer ignore social tools, nor the ways that their employees use them to share and access information. These new technologies can be used to create business value, share information, engage employees—and even create dialogue with customers and prospects.” - W. Edward Vesely, Chief Marketing Officer, SilkRoad EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Organizations are engaged in a complex balancing act concerning social media, as they weigh the competitive advantages while juggling issues of law, policy, and employee access. The impact of social media on business agility, the proliferation of innovative social applications for industry, and the bright spotlight on worker productivity and social technology are just a few of the vital considerations for...
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...CODE OF ETHICS Company X was founded by me, GR in 2012. I have decided to spend some time focusing on the ethical practices in today’s business world. It is known by many that situations arise in which employees face ethical dilemmas and are not aware of what actions to take. By creating this code of ethics I hope to illustrate what is expected out of Company X’s employees and also want to direct decision making to a more ethical side. Our Character The most important thing to our company is the merit for which we place into practice as we handle our everyday business. We here at Company X have a strong belief that ethics is the heart of any company. We would like to be just and cause no physical or emotional harm to our employees, coworkers, customers and business partners. While monetary gains are important to this company, the integration of ethics in our decision making is just as important. We would like to our company to be ethical so that we Standards and Procedure Discrimination Company X does not in any way shape or form discriminate against employees or perspective employees regardless of race, color of skin, choice of religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, nationality, age, enlisted status, marital status or disability. Uplifting Environment Company X does not condone harassment of any kind whether it is physical or psychological. If you have been harassed at Company X you should let your manager or the human resources manager knows about the harassment...
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...Employment At-Will Doctrine The legal doctrine called at-will clearly states that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. It also means that an employer can change the terms of the employment relationship with no notice and no consequences. “For example, an employer can alter wages, terminate benefits, or reduce paid time off. In its unadulterated form, the U.S. at-will rule leaves employees vulnerable to arbitrary and sudden dismissal, a limited or on-call work schedule depending on the employer’s needs, and unannounced cuts in pay and benefits (Boone, 2012).” Listed below are a few scenarios that was requires an examination of the at-will doctrine, as to whether or not an individual can be fired for the following reasons and if so, what action should be taken by the Chief Operating Officer of the company: I. Anna’s boss refused to sign her leave request for jury duty and now wants to fire her for being absent without permission. “In the state of Georgia, 34-1-3, (a) It shall be unlawful for any employer or the agent of such employer to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee because the employee is absent from his or her employment for the purpose of attending a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, summons for jury duty, or other court order or process which requires the attendance of the employee at the judicial proceeding. It shall be unlawful...
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...• John posted a rant on his Facebook page in which he criticized the company’s most important customer. • Jim sent an email to other salespeople protesting a change in commission schedules and bonuses and suggesting everyone boycott the next sales meeting. • Ellen started a blog to protest the CEO’s bonus, noting that no one below director has gotten a raise in two (2) years and portraying her bosses as “know-nothings” and “out-of-touch” • Bill has been using his company-issued BlackBerry to run his own business on the side. • The secretaries in the accounting department decided to dress in black-and-white stripes to protest a memo announcing that the company has installed keylogger software on all company computers. • After being disciplined for criticizing a customer in an email (sent from his personal email account on a company computer), Joe threatens to sue the company for invasion of privacy. • One of the department supervisors requests your approval to fire his secretary for insubordination. Since the secretary has always received glowing reviews, you call her into your office and determine that she has refused to prepare false expense reports for her boss. • Anna’s boss refused to sign her leave request for jury duty and now wants to fire her for being absent without permission. As an astute manager, you will need to analyze the employment-at-will doctrine and determine what, if any, exceptions and...
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