Electronic Usage Policy - Research Paper Example

? Electronic Usage Policy Table of Contents Introduction 3 Problem ment 3 Literature Review 4 Strategic plan for change 5 Strategic approach for implementation 6 Recommendations and possible outcomes 7 Conclusions 7 Introduction The use of electronic media, such as the internet is one of the most influential developments of the modern world mainly because it affects the lives of almost everybody in the world. Electronic media is fast becoming a major source of information with many people relying on it to get news from all over the world, for research, to do market research and make purchases and to keep in touch with one another over great distances. Electronic media such as the internet provides a powerful tool for online resources and is an information dissemination tool for many people in the world. Recent researches have shown an increase in the number of, individuals, especially in their workplaces, who access the internet everyday all over the world and these individuals have access to many databases, which may sometimes hold explicit, violent, prohibited and at times illegal content. This has created a situation where these individuals use the electronic resources of the organizations for which they work to access information that is not work related and this has been a source of concern for the managements of these organizations. In order to curb these tendencies by those who use their electronic media, especially the internet, many companies and organizations have chosen to adopt electronic usage policies whose purpose is to ensure that there is responsible use of this resource. Furthermore, these policies have been put in place to ensure that electronic resources are not used for purposes, which are not compatible with the objectives of the organizations in which they are used. Problem Statement Many institutions and businesses have embraced the use of electronic media in order to sell a better image of themselves to the public. Businesses, for example, use the internet for their marketing campaigns because it has many users who will be able to easily access the message, which they are trying to pass across. Not only are they using the internet for the purpose of advertising their products but also for transactions between them and their customers. However, despite the fact that many businesses and institutions have made the internet accessible to their employees for the purpose of ensuring that they conduct their activities with ease, it has been realized that its usage has become subject to abuse by those who use it. In this paper therefore, we shall look at some of the reasons why the use of the internet should be regulated through the introduction of electronic usage policies by various institutions. Literature Review Recent surveys that have been conducted by human resource managers on employees have found that approximately sixty five percent of employees spend at least some of their work time on non- work related internet activity. Among the employees who use social networks sites, it has been found that fifty six percent of them check their profiles during their normal workdays and that fifteen percent of this group spends at least one hour a day browsing the internet on non-work related sites. It was further found that over sixty one percent of employees sent personal emails, with nineteen percent sending more than five personal emails per day. The response of many institutions and organizations to non-work related internet activity has been to establish tougher policies regarding internet usage and electronic means to ensure that their employees are monitored (Ambrose & Noel, 2006). It has been found that the most dominant method of controlling the internet behavior of individuals, is through the blocking of sites, the monitoring of internet usage and email, and finally, firing employees for violating the electronic usage policies of their companies. The developments in employee potential misuse of electronic technology, and the reactions of employers to this changing environment, has further come to be evidenced by surveys that have been conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) in 2001 and 2007. These surveys show that there was a dramatic rise in the use of electronic monitoring, and this was mainly used as a tool to avoid potential lawsuits. According to a survey conducted by the AMA in 2001, over sixty percent of the companies that responded monitored their employees' internet activities, with forty six percent monitoring e-mail, and thirty six percent monitoring storage and the retrieval of company files (Miller & Weckert, 2000). By the time another survey was conducted in 2007, the figures had risen to sixty six percent of companies monitoring Internet connections. There is a high possibility that this trend in electronic monitoring will continue as the technological development of both hardware and software continues to improve and becomes less resource intensive to install and use (Martin and Freeman, 2003). Strategic plan for change The use of electronic media has, over the past decade and a half, developed in an unprecedented scale these have come to have an immense influence on the lives of the people who subscribe to their use. The internet has especially become so influential that quite a large number of people in the world, especially the younger generations, use it for their daily activities. While the internet has made interaction between people in different parts of the world easier, because there is no longer any need to have physical contact for communication to take place, it has also created a situation where individuals in organizations are using up their work time to conduct their personal activities (Crowther, 2012). With more and more employees subscribing to social networking sites for example, there has been alarm over this widespread tendency and this has created the need for the strict censoring of these sites, within the workplace to ensure that employees concentrate only on their work. While social networks have effectively ensured that the need for human beings to socialize has been satisfied, as well as enabled those individuals who use them to be able to communicate with large numbers of people at the same time, they have also created an unacceptable situation in the workplace. Employees have put the electronic usage policies of many companies in place to deal with these issues among other usage violations and there are often very stiff penalties for those who are caught making any violations (Wen, Schwieger and Gershuny, 2007). Strategic approach for implementation There should also be internet regulations in the workplace because even though the freedom of expression is a fundamental right to all, some employees tend to use this resource for their personal use instead of putting it into the use that it was originally intended. An example of this is when individual employees choose to spend most of their working hours everyday in social networking instead of doing work which is of benefit for his employers. It an employee does this, then the possibility of this employee being able to work effectively for the company is greatly reduced and as a result, it is the latter entity which ends up losing (Sanders, Ross & Pattison, 2013). To prevent this, it is the responsibility of the company to put very strict regulations especially on websites which encourage such behavior by their employees, and those employees who continue to engage in such practices should be dealt with swiftly, even if it means firing them. This will serve as a lesson to other employees who will realize the seriousness of the situation and amend their ways. Companies should therefore take steps to ensure that content from those sites which are of no use to them is regulated over the internet because they may prove to be counterproductive in the workplace, a situation which would not be of any use to either the companies or their employees (Vaught, Taylor & Vaught, 2000). This is the reason why electronic usage policies should not only be put in place, but also strictly adhered to by the parties involved. Recommendations and possible outcomes Ethics play a great role in influencing the process of regulation of the internet within companies and its success will depend on how strict the company is in implementing its electronic usage policy. The regulations of the content displayed on the internet are done ethically because they mostly deal with material that is of no use, illegal or both and this is done to ensure that employees get to use this resource responsibly (Alder, Schminke, Noel & Kuenzi, 2008). The internet content that has been proven to have been wrongfully censored should be, due to consideration of ethics, deregulated because doing otherwise would be a breach in the ethical values of the company involved. Ethics act as a guide when it comes to making a decision about the internet content which should be regulated and which should not and this ensure that there is fairness in the process. This research suggests that the mechanisms for rating whether certain sites should be censored must be adjusted to ensure the usefulness of the agendas and policies that are put in place are meticulously assessed. One of the main expected outcomes from the implementation of electronic usage policy in companies is that there will be an increase in the work output of the employees. This is because of the fact that they will have more time to do constructive work instead of spending most of it browsing the internet. Conclusions One would state that it is important for managers to ensure that electronic usage policies are implemented in their companies to increase the output of their employees. It is very important for employees to learn that it is in their best interests that these policies have been implemented because if they do not understand, then there is more likely to be violations of these policies. The implementation of this policy will be able to help them better manage the changes which the company wishes to make over the use of its electronic media. Furthermore, the responsible regulation of the internet will help them learn how to function on a global scale, where they can be able to interact with people of different cultures to achieve the company’s objectives. Lastly, the critical study of the electronic usage policies of their companies is important for those employees who need to make adjustments within their organizations so that they can be able to achieve their objectives. It can therefore be said that the implementation and knowledge of the electronic user policy is a powerful force for both the administration and the employees of a company and because of this; these individuals should take it seriously, and its implementation made mandatory. This will not only create a balance between the individual and company’s needs in the workplace, but it will also ensure that the total output of the company is increased to such an extent that its goals are achieved beyond expectation. References Alder, G. S., Schminke, M., Noel, T. W., & Kuenzi, M. (2008). Employee reactions to internet monitoring: The moderating role of ethical orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 80(3), 481-498. Ambrose, M. L., & Noel, T. W. (2006). The effect of formal advance notice and justification on internet monitoring fairness: Much about nothing? Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13(1), 93-107. Crowther, B. T. (2012). (Un)reasonable expectation of digital privacy. Brigham Young University Law Review, 2012(1), 343-369. Martin, K., & Freeman, R. E. (2003). Some problems with employee monitoring. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(4), 353-361.  Miller, S., & Weckert, J. (2000). Privacy, the workplace and the internet. Journal of Business Ethics, 28(3), 255-265.  Sanders, D. E., Ross, J. K., & Pattison, P. (2013). Electronic snoops, spies, and supervisory surveillance in the workplace. Southern Law Journal, 23, 1-27. Vaught, B. C., Taylor, R. E., & Vaught, S. F. (2000). The attitudes of managers regarding the electronic monitoring of employee behavior: Procedural and ethical considerations. American Business Review, 18(1), 107-114. Wen, H. J., Schwieger, D., & Gershuny, P. (2007). Internet usage monitoring in the workplace: Its legal challenges and implementation strategies. Information Systems Management, 24(2), 185-196. Read More