PRESENTATION ON

monitoring employees on network : unethical or

good business ?
 summary of the case
• The Internet is a powerful tool for business, but if its use is not managed
correctly, inappropriate, offensive and illegal content can be just one click
away.
• It is bias to use internet for personal work.
• Low efficiency on productivity of company.
• If employees are fired then it results to high Attrition rate.
• Various policies should be adopted so that companies can stop
employees from doing unethical business.
• Use of softwares.
The following examples indicate the scope of the liability problem faced today
by organizations of all sizes:

• •27% of Fortune 500 companies have battled sexual harassment claims

stemming from employee misuse and abuse of corporate e-mail and Internet
systems.
• •More than 60% of companies have disciplined employees – and more than
30% have terminated employees – for inappropriate use of the Internet.
• •Dow Chemical Co. fired 50 employees and disciplined 200 others after an e-
mail investigation turned up hard-core pornography and violent subject matter.
•• 70% of employees admit to viewing or sending adult-oriented personal
e-mail at work.
Q1. Should managers monitor employee e-mail and Internet usage ? Why
or Why not?

Ans. Email is a powerful, low-cost communications tool that businesses are using
to market their goods, provide better customer service and work more
efficiently. Although an email is less formal than a letter, it should still be
professional in tone and content. A defamatory statement in an email can lead
to litigation. Even a brief acknowledgment email needs to be grammatically
correct and spell-checked before it is sent.
The internet and email enable businesses to improve communications, access
information and cut costs. Used effectively, they can also help you to
improve efficiency, find new business opportunities and work more closely
with customers and suppliers.
•Expands job-related knowledge
•Increases productivity
•Improves communications with clients
•Relieves job stress

Using the Internet at the workplace is highly integral to conducting business in

today's information age. Wherever permitted per company-defined policies and
practices, employees use free time to chat, surf, socialize, check bank websites,
play games or catch up on TV episodes on the Web. However, although they
maintain personal privacy and confidentiality clauses, many companies have
started monitoring employee Internet use.
 A number of studies have concluded that at least 25% of employee online time
is spent on a non-work related web surfing and perhaps as many as 90% of
employees receive or sent personal e-mail at work.
 Too, much time on personal business, on the internet or not can mean, loss of
time, loss of revenue, and decrease in productivity of employees.
 Companies also fear leakage of confidential information and trade secret
through e-mail or blogs.
 Any offensive material accessed or traded by their employees could result in
adverse publicity and even lawsuits for the firm. Even if the company is found
not to be liable, responding to lawsuits could cost the company tens of
thousand of dollar.
 Another potential problem for Internet Users.
 Offensive materials on the Web should not bring to
workplace.
 An employee who receives an email that contains
religiously, or sexually, or racially offensive jokes,
should not forwards this email to the co-workers.
Q2. Describe an effective e-mail and Web use policy for a company?
Ans.
 Some companies try to ban all personal activities on corporate networks – zero
tolerance .
 Other block employee access to specific websites or 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 this sites and the files
they download.
 Ajax uses software from SpectorSoft Corporation.
 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. One-third
of the companies surveyed in the AMA study had fired workers for misusing
the Internet on the job.
 Conclusion
Once an Acceptable Use Policy has been formulated, it’s important for the
organization to educate and train employees to ensure that the fundamental
principles of the policy are instilled throughout the organization. Simply
presenting the policy as another set of regulations will tend to make most
employees ignore the message completely. Successful organizations not only
tailor their policies to reflect their culture; they encourage discussion and
feedback in order to promote buy-in and ownership. Keep in mind, it costs the
same to dismiss an employee who didn’t read or completely understand a
policy as it does to fire an employee who willingly broke the rules. It’s much
more cost-effective to educate the entire organization before a problem occurs.