An In-Depth Study of Mobile Phone Policy - Essay Example

? Policy for Cell Phone Usage Policy for Cell Phone Usage Introduction of the topic and policy Nowadays cellphones are a permanent fixture in our lives. Many companies have and many more are developing policies for cell phone usage. Companies provide their employees with the benefits for retention purposes keeping in mind their mental well-being and good physical health. The Marist Institute for Public Opinion did a survey in 2009 I which they found that 87 percent of US population owned cell phones. The percentage increased to 92 with people who were in employment. 'I definitely think that employers need to be sensitive to the fact that cell phone use is now the primary way we communicate,' says Nancy Flynn, director of the Columbus, Ohio-based ePolicy Institute 'But you want to have a policy in place to protect your organization's assets and reputation.' (Inc.com 2012). It is very difficult to draw a line between genuine usage and exploitation of this electronic media. Many a times the excessive usage becomes a nuisance making it difficult to do the required jobs properly. It has become quite necessary to have a very clear cell phone policy in order to have good work environment and healthy relationship between the employers and employees. Too much attention to text messages from extraneous sources other than of the job like family, friends and advertisements make employees lose their focus and results in poorly done work. It is very difficult to resist making and listening to private calls on company time. Many companies even provide the apparatus to theiremployees to make it easier for them to connect to their clients. But improper use and abuse of company’sresources has resulted in many companies making specific policies to avoid lawsuits. Very often hospital staff, drivers, construction workers and many other professionals misuses this device at a very high cost (Martin et al 2006; Afrinic 2012). Hospital should definitely have a very elaborate cellphone usage policy which they should be able to enforce quite easily and successfully. This holds true of patients as well as hospital employees. The authorities in charge have to take in to account all the people who will be affected by this even the visitors coming in to see the in patients. The employees would have to be trained in such a manner as to implement this policy effectively. Doctors and nurse on rotation duty would handle these devices differently thanan in house doctor so the policy has to be according to the need of the situation. The professional should be trained in proper cell phone usage to optimize excellent results. The training can include tips for safety, to distinguish between important outside calls and on job call or texts, camera phones, while driving or in important meeting or consultations. Many hospitals ban cell phones completely on premises. This may be more damaging than just restricting its use. Doctors can efficiently and quickly communicate thus minimizing errors and saving time. Except for certain specific machinery these device seldom result in electromagnetic disturbances (Martin et al 2006). HR Policy on cell phone usage It is very important to have the right kind of policy for the specific work environment. To have a good policy it is essential to have the right professionals draft the actual format. The technical staff includes proper IT personnel, legal advisors and smattering of the people involved to understand the issues better. Brainstorming would help in identifying the issues and taking the right decisions. Right questions will help to form the answers to avoid problematic situations that might arise in the hospital. Certain set rules can be made in order to facilitate the employees and help them to produce better results. Personnel should be asked to set their phones on vibrate in any important meeting or consultation so that patient/client and the doctor /nurse is not disturbed by loud rings and message alerts. In important surgeries and trauma situations emergency phones should not be kept on person.At times like this voice mail may be engaged. Patients in surgeries are at a higher risk of secondary infection so doctors and nurses and the rest of the staff handling intensive care unit,cardiac care unit should be well trained in proper use of cell phones. Training to handle professional and private call differently can be given to personnel. This will ensure the two do not overlap causing distress to any party involved (Martin et al 2006; Moynihan 2011). If the hospital decides to give the apparatus to its employees the then the concerned authorities should give clear instructions on the usage. Individual bills should be monitored monthly, privacy issues regarding photos and videos should be made clear. if by chance the set is misplaced it should be reported to the concerned authorizes quickly and to minimize damage by misuse. The personnel should not use cell phones while driving either for taking calls or texting of short messages. While using the phones on jobs the staff must keep these in good working condition, fully charged and having hands free devices. It is unethical to use company time to run any personal business, politics, and transmission of confidential records on cell phone. It is important to lays the rules and their violation clearly. Breaking of these rules will result in disciplinary action taken against the violator.This will be directly proportional to the indiscipline incurred (Martin et al 2006). The employees should be made to clearly understand the said rules. Signing should be mandatory. This way they will know that they can be taken to task or even fired for violation if any. In case of transfer or change of job the employees will make sure they notify the hospital and ministration and human source department beforehand so that the said authorities can clearsany backlogs and legal ramifications. All the staff must report any kind of harassment or any security issues immediately so that the HR department can take the required action promptly. These rule and regulations must be updated every year and the policy must be kept upto the mark at par with the policy of any good hospital (Martin et al 2006). References Moynihan, Timothy J.. "Is there any link between cellphones and cancer?." Mayo Clinic. N.p., 21 July 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . "Policy development process." AFRINIC - Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. . Top of Form Martin, J., Salmond, G. C., & World Health Organization. (2006). Health policy development: A handbook for Pacific Islands practitioners. Manila: World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific. "How to Create a Cell Phone Policy | Inc.com." Small Business Ideas and Resources for Entrepreneurs. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. . Bottom of Form Read More