Computer Monitoring Methods in Multinational Companies - Statistics Project Example

The report provides an insight into why various computer monitoring methods are being adopted by multinational companies all over. Findings have been put forth for the CEO of One Vision, Mr. Howard, which will allow him to understand, why these measures are being adopted by companies worldwide. The methods applied, increase productivity of employees, cut down losses faced by the company and also leave little space for violating company policies. The report will deal into issues arising as a result of implementation of such procedures, like invasion of privacy, and believed lack of trust by the employees. If the employees are pre-informed about such measures they do not take offence to the measures, rather are more understanding, as compared to when they are not informed about them. Implementation of such measures will reduce significant losses at One Vision, occurring due to misuse of internet at work. Suggestions have been provided as to what methods can be adopted for implementation. Also implementation of an e-policy has been suggested. Introduction Mr. Howard has taken notice of how multinational companies all over are adopting techniques to monitor computer usage of employees at work. He has set me the task to evaluate the pros and cons of doing so and what effect it may have on the employees of One Vision enterprises. I have conducted research and based on my findings, reached the conclusion that installing monitoring system for employees at work can be beneficial for our company, as it can lead to loss cut and employee efficiency. Findings A rise in installation of electronic monitoring has been observed. All around the globe multinational companies prefer to device some kind of e-policy to monitor computer and internet usage. According to the 1999 American Management Association survey Workplace Monitoring & Surveillance: In America electronic monitoring has risen to 67.3%. According to a 1999 survey, 21.4% of employers in the United States store and review the computer files of their employees. The survey also showed that 14.2% employers stored and reviewed files of all their employees. In 1997, 14.9% employers in America stored and reviewed e-mails of their employees, whereas in 1999, this percentage had risen to 27%. According to Ehrlich: "The increasing reliance on new technologies in the American workplace has led to a real need for employers to monitor their employee's use of these technologies." According to the American Management Association: 52 %companies scan e-mails of their employees. 2/3 companies monitor their employees web surfing. Reason for the increased surveillance trends: The increase in surveillance trends can be attributed to the loss that companies suffer at the hands of time wasted by the employees, surfing the internet. Employees can be seen playing games, shopping online and sending personal e-mails from their office computers. A rising trend in downloading stuff from the internet at work has also been observed. Also, since every other day cases of fraud and online theft can be seen everywhere, so employers are making every possible effort to avoid such a situation. In UK, using office internet and e-mail, cost businesses up to £10 Billion per annum. Also, 60% people shop for personal things from work. According to a survey conducted by the American Management Association, in 2007, 28% of employers, who fire employees for inappropriate use of internet do so for following reasons, see table 1.1. VIOLATION OF COMPANY POLICY 64% OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE 62% EXCESSIVE PERSONAL USE 48% BREACHING CONFIDENTIALITY 22% Table 1.1: internet abuse reasons resulting in termination of employees from work. According t the same survey out of the 66% companies which use internet monitoring, 65% block internet connection to websites that are inappropriate. A 21% increase since 2001. American Management Association sites that employers that block usage of internet for their employers do so for these sites. see table1.2: PORNOGRAPHY, ROMANTIC 96% GAMING 61% SOCIAL NETWORKING 50% ENTERTAINMENT 40% SHOPPING/AUCTION 27% SPORTS 21% Table 1.2: Websites blocked by employers to restrict excessive personal usage at work Survey conducted at One Vision Enterprises Observing the trends that are arising nationally and internationally, I conducted a survey at One Vision enterprises to evaluate what effects excessive internet use has on the company. I also evaluated what effects the surveillance will have on the employees. GENDER NUMBER SURVEILANCE NO SURVEILANCE MALE 2100 520 1580 FEMALE 1220 210 1010 Table 1.3: Survey was conducted to evaluate the number of people in favor of, and against computer surveillance. The survey results indicated that a large number of employees are not in favour of having their computers monitored at work. They consider it an invasion of their privacy and lack of trust by the employer to have their computers monitored. 75.23% male employees were not in favour of being monitored, whereas, 24.76% had no problem with it. On the other hand, 82.78% women did not feel comfortable at having their computer and internet connection monitored, and 17.21% women were alright with it. GENDER Hrs. at WORK/DAY Avg. SURFING TIME MONITORY LOSSES MALE 8 1.5 hrs 500 $/day FEMALE 8 2 hrs 725 $/day Table 1.4: survey showing the effects of non-official surfing on companies’ finances The survey conducted at One Vision, clearly indicates that the time spent by employees surfing the web, for purposes other than official, results in financial losses for the company. The results indicate that out of the 8 hours that men work at One Vision enterprises, they spend approximately 1.5 hrs daily surfing the internet for personal uses, thus costing the company approximately $500 per day/ person. The female staff, at One Vision enterprises, spend 2 hours daily surfing the web, for personal uses, which cost the company approximately $725 per day per person. Accumulating all this leads to a $4, 47,125 in losses each year. The surveys conducted revealed that employees do not favour any uniformed monitoring method, not only do they consider it as an invasion of privacy but more so a lack of trust by the employer. See table 1.5. Employees PRIVACY LACK OF TRUST 3320 1240 2080 Table 1.5: number of employees considering it invasion of privacy or lack of trust at being monitored As a proposed solution, an opinion poll was conducted. The employees at One Vision Enterprises were informed of the implementation of an e-policy at the company and they were asked to sign it. As a result the percentage of the employees that felt uncomfortable at being monitored was greatly reduced. See table 1.6. GENDER NUMBER NO SURVEILANCE E-POLICY MALE 2100 502 1598 FEMALE 1220 340 880 Table 1.6: Number of employees in favour of an e-policy after being informed The study also revealed that by implementing an e-policy or a monitoring system, the losses resulting due to excessive personal usage can be reduced by $2, 32,145/ year. Conclusion The study conducted for evaluating, the rising trends in electronic monitoring of employees by companies, revealed: that the trends have resulted due to the employees using the office internet connection excessively for personal purposes. A survey was also conducted at One Vision enterprises for evaluating the effects of such misuse on One Vision. The survey revealed that such misuse of internet is leading to significant losses each year, reduced efficiency of employees and in some cases endangering the company reputation. Survey revealed that employees will not be pleased with monitoring of their internet systems while they did not know about it, whereas a significant number of people approved of the surveillance if they knew that it was being conducted. I suggest the implementation of an e-policy at One Vision Enterprises, to reduce the misuse of internet here. It is a facility that has been provided for official work and not for personal use. DeTienne and Abbot (1993) argue that "Employees tolerate, and even desire, some degree of management oversight. However, the level of management oversight employees desire differs greatly. For example, a CEO of a major corporation may desire only general guidelines from the board of directors, while a line worker may desire step by step instructions on how to complete every task." Monitoring Software One Vision can use monitoring softwares, which are easily available ad far more efficient than manual monitoring systems. Key words can be fed to the software, to limit violation by the employees. This will also reduce chances of any privacy rights violation by the company. E-Policy Institute The e-policy institute can also be contacted for implementation of an appropriate policy to limit excessive personal internet usage. The E-Policy institute, works with companies to help them tackle electronic risks, helps in the development and implementation of policies, keeping in mind the rights of both the employee and the employer. E-policy institute can be contacted at www.epolicyinstitute.com. These methods cost only one time, and have only minimal maintenance cost. Works Cited “2007 Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance Survey”. Press.amanet.org. 28 Feb, 2008. Web. 4 Dec, 2012. Davidson, A. “Business benefits from monitoring and reporting on Internet, email and network log files”. Webspy. 15 July 2009. Web. 4 Dec, 2012. “Electronic Monitoring: A Poor Solution to Management Problems”. Worksright.us. 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