Finance homework

Employee Privacy

Security Measures

Michael Gonzalez

Professor Gayle Tremble

ENG 315

23 May 2017

Dear Employer,

I am honored to present to you my justification report authorized on May 18, 2017, about the feasibility of monitoring employees at the place of work.

From my analysis and findings, the second alternative which only allows the employers to monitor the employees’ browsing history, business call and emails is the best option. The use of CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) and GPS to track employees is not a good idea as it creates mistrust. Additionally, private calls and emails must also not be monitored.

Thank you for giving me this precious opportunity to carry out research that I hope one day it will be beneficial to the already existing body of knowledge.

Sincerely,

Michael Gonzalez

Justification Report

Table of Contents

Executive summary…………………………………………………………… .4

Problem statement………………………………………………………………5

Terminologies…………………………………………………………………..5

Report overview………………………………………………………………...5

Overview of alternatives………………………………………………………..6

Criterion………………………………………………………………………...6

Research Methods………………………………………………………………7

Evaluation of alternatives……………………………………………………….7

Findings…………………………………………………………………………7

Recommendations………………………………………………………………8

Executive Summary

The report seeks to address the point of contention on deciding to what extent, should the privacy of employees be guaranteed. The research investigates the most efficient option, and there are two possible alternatives to this problem. The first option: employers should monitor all activities at the place of work. This implies there should be absolutely no privacy at the place of work. The second option: employers are to only monitor browsing history and business calls of their employees. Monitoring of employees by use of CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) and GPS should not be allowed. Additionally, there should be no tracking of private calls as well as emails of the employees. From the findings, the second alternative is the best for any company. It is important for employees to have their privacy at the place of work. Employers can monitor their employee’ browsing history, business calls and emails but this should not extend to their private emails and calls. The use of GPS and CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) should also not be encouraged.

Problem Statement

There has been raging debate on whether employers must monitor their employees at the workplace. Most people agree there should be some monitoring in the company in that it is risky for employers not to monitor employees. However, the point contention comes on deciding to what extent the privacy of employees should be guaranteed. The research is going to investigate the most effective option.

Terminologies

GPS- Global Positioning System

CCTV- Closed Circuit Television

Report Overview

The research investigates the most effective option, and there are two possible alternatives to this problem. The first alternative is employers should monitor all activities at the place of work. This implies there should be absolutely no privacy at the place of work. The second one is employers only to monitor browsing history of their employees. Monitoring of employees by use of CCTV and GPS should not be allowed. Additionally, there should be no tracking of private calls as well as emails of the employees.

The report aims at addressing the critical issues regarding the employees’ privacy. This research seeks to find out the most viable option using the criterion that identified below.

Overview of alternative

There are two possible alternatives to this problem.

The alternative A: Employers should monitor all activities at the place of work. This implies there should be absolutely no privacy at the place of work.

The alternative B: Employers to only monitor browsing history, business emails and calls of their employees. Monitoring of employees by use of CCTV and GPS should not be allowed. Additionally, there should be no tracking of private calls as well as emails of the employees.

Criteria

The first criterion is the cost of the alternative. The second criterion is the impact of the alternative on the morale of the workers. The third criterion is the productivity of the alternative.

Creativity and innovation on the part of employees will also be considered. Lastly, the effect of the team work spirit will also be checked

Research Methods

The methods used to collect data were, questionnaires and surveys to get firsthand information. The data collected is unique from one organization to the next. This is because of the different challenges that an organization may face. Statistics indicate that the most successful performance enhancement programs are usually designed to address a specific problem, and it often assumes an empirical approach as opposed to the theoretical approach. The methodology must be particular and address weaknesses that have been exhaustively identified. This involved carrying out research at the workplace through interviews with the employers.

Evaluation of Alternatives

Cost

Alternative A: Absolute monitoring

Companies that monitor all activities of the employees spend a lot of resources in hiring security professional and IT assistant to help in this process. This increases the expenditure of the organization. More importantly, installation CCT and GPS in every corner of the company increases the cost (Jin & Austin, 2014).

Alternative B: Partial Monitoring

Companies that only monitor browsing history of the employees spend little as they do not need high numbers of security specialists (Jin & Austin, 2014).

Morale

Alternative A: absolute monitoring

Research indicates that employees who are completely monitored by; their private calls, private emails and by use of CCTV tend to have low morale at the place of work. They also feel that they are not part of the organization, amongst themselves or with the management.

Alternative B; partial monitoring;

Companies that do not completely monitor their employees but only browsing history tend to have employees with high moral at the place of work. Employees normally feel they are part of the organization, and this motivates and encourages to be passionate about what they are doing.

Productivity

Alternative A: absolute monitoring

Even though most companies micromanage their employees to increase their productivity, this is not always the case. The employees will work hard, but they would not give their all. Employees must be made to feel that the change process is not about just about improving business but also their personal lives.

Employees who emotionally connect with the change perform better than those who are not connected. This has been evidenced in empirical studies that have been carried recently.

Alternative B: partial monitoring

Employees who have some privacy at their places of work with just a little bit of monitoring will always record higher results than that of their counterparts who are under constant surveillance. They can work with their strategies and tricks making them more productive than those monitored (Zhou, 2014).

Creativity and Innovation

Alternative A: absolute monitoring

Employees who are completely monitored do not exercise a high level of creativity and innovation. They act like robots, and they may not feel free to do things in their way. Most of them feel like they are tied to a certain way of doing things.

Alternative B: partial monitoring

Empirical evidence shows that companies like Apple and Google have some of the best creative and innovative minds because employees are given some degree of freedom. This is inclusive of their privacy so that they can conduct their tasks in their own way as long as they achieve the set targets (Zhou, 2014).

Teamwork Spirit

Alternative A: absolute monitoring

Monitoring of employees kills the teamwork spirit as employees may feel targeted, and this may make them not to trust anyone. It also creates unnecessary competition amongst employees, and some may even go a notch higher by not sharing the information. Eventually, this may kill teamwork spirit in the organization (Steingold, 2015).

Alternative B: partial monitoring

Employees who have their privacy at work normally develop mutual trust as they feel the management believes in them. This fosters teamwork spirit in the organization. Examples of such organization are Facebook and Ford Motor companies (Zhou, 2014).

Findings and Analysis

It is important for employees to have their privacy at the place of work. However, that does not mean that their employers cannot monitor them. Most successful companies around the globe monitor their employees. In fact, statistics indicate that three out of four companies monitor their employees. There is a thin line between monitoring of employees and infringing into their personal privacy. Although the employees have the right to privacy, employers should be allowed to monitor their internet, email, and calls. Exceptions should be given to private emails and personal calls (Zhou, 2014). However, the use of CCTV and global positioning technology should not be allowed.

Most employers monitor the internet use and emails of their employees. The web use of employees is always under scrutiny. Employers have a right to monitor the browsing history of their employees. Employees should not have a right to be granted privacy on their browsing history. This is because employers need to understand their employee's browsing habits (Zhou, 2014). Emails should also be monitored by employees. This is because the 21st century has been characterized by advancement in technology thus making it easy for the corporate organization to become vulnerable to theft of technological and innovative ideas. Intellectual property for the organization must be protected at all cost. This justifies the employers to monitor emails of their employees. In the recent past, some lawsuits have been filed touching on patent and trade secret issue. The only way to avoid this court tussles is taking preventive measures of observing the emails, calls and internet usage of the employees. Some employees might visit non-approved sites, and this requires limitation.

Employers must be keen when monitoring the emails of the employees since any slight mistake might lead to a violation of an individual's right to privacy. The companies must communicate to their employees on the policy of the organization about the monitoring. This must be done in a way that makes the employee feel they are not a target of something. Boundaries must be drawn so that there is no conflict between the employees and the employers. However, personal calls and private emails must not be scrutinized by the employers. This is because it amounts to violations of an individual right to privacy. Courts have also set the boundaries in matters to do with monitoring where employees are only allowed to monitor to a certain extent (Zhou, 2014).

Whereas the employees' calls and emails can be monitored, the use of CCTV and global positioning system (GPS) should not be allowed. This is because it is easy for them to infringe on an individual's right to privacy. More importantly, statistics also indicate that use of CCTV with the main aim of monitoring the employees undermines creativity and innovation at the place of work. It also reduces staff morale at the place of work (Zhou, 2014).

For a graphic depiction of the finding and analysis, see Figure 1 below:

Recommendation

According to the findings and criteria used in evaluation, the second alternative is the best for any company. It is important for employees to have their privacy at the place of work. However, that does not mean that their employers cannot monitor them. Most successful companies around the globe monitor their employees. In fact, statistics indicate that three out of four companies monitor their employees. There is a thin line between monitoring of employees and infringing into their personal privacy. Even though the employees have the right to privacy, employers should be allowed to monitor their internet, business email and calls. Exceptions should be given to private emails and personal calls (Zhou, 2014). The use of CCTV and global positioning technology should not be allowed.

References

Jin Y., Liu B. F. & Austin L.L (2014).Examining the role of Social Media in Effective Crisis Management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics' crisis response.Communication Research

Zhou J. et al. (2014). Research on workplace creativity: A review and redirection. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and organizational Behavior.Vol. 1:333-359

Steingold, F. S. (2015). The employer's legal handbook: Manage your employees & workplace effectively. Nolo.