Business Security System for Employee Theft Prevention - Research Proposal Example

BUSINESS SECURITY SYSTEM FOR EMPLOYEE THEFT PREVENTION Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Introduction Business organization are faced with different challenges in the activities in order tom achieve their goals and objectives. This is because the business organization has to deal with different ethical issues that arise from the management of employees of a business organization. According to Nichoff and Paul (200), among the issues facing business organization is employees dishonest that results into theft and fraud of the employees in the business organization. Theft of employees in a business organization is among the factors that make a company not to achieve its objectives and records poor performance in the market. Employees who engage in theft are driven by a number of factors including dissatisfaction with their salaries or other factors that affect the performance of the business organizations (Ginter, 2013, p. 32). Business organization have developed and implemented several ways and security systems that are used by the business organization to reduce theft and sometimes prevent theft in the business organizations. Caputo (2010) argues that business organizations have developed and implemented ethical policies that are able to reduce the theft that is caused by the employees of the business organization. Theft in a business organization results to huge amount of losses and sometimes collapse of the business organization (Dempsey, 2012, p. 239). This means that understanding the causes of theft will help in establishing the appropriate security systems that will ensure reduced employee theft and even elimination of theft in the business organization (Meiners, 2005, p. 53). The purpose of this research paper is to establish the preparedness of different business organization of the issues of employee theft. The focus is on the security systems that are used by the business organizations to prevent employee theft in the business organization. Rationale of the Research Employee’s theft in a business organization is defined as deviant behaviors of the employees that result in to misuse of the resources of the business organization (Berta, 2006, p. 26). This includes the habit of employees to use the time scheduled for work to do their own activities. In addition, employee theft includes physical theft where an employee of the business organization takes a property of the business organization including money and other resources for personal gains (Ciampa, 2009, p. 13). The theft in the business organizations results to huge amount of losses for the business organization. In the American economy alone, business losses that results from employee theft are estimates at 200 billion USD annually. Although business and economic experts have proposed a variety of reasons that motivate employees to theft, there is little information regarding the ways of preventing theft by employees in an organization (Burges, 2012, p. 178). This is because, despite the knowledge on the causes of employee’s theft in a business organization, employee theft is still rampant in most business organizations. This may be due to lack of preparedness of the business organizations or poor implementation of security systems that detect and prevent theft by employees of the business organization (Mohsin, 2006, p. 271). The findings of this research paper will help in understanding the different security systems that can be adopted and implemented inn a business organization in order to prevent theft by employees of the company. Research Questions 1. What are the causes of employee theft in business organizations? 2. What are the security systems that can be used to prevent employee theft in a business organization? 3. How successful have companies managed to control employee theft through their security systems? Literature Review According to Krippel et al. employee theft remains one of the major challenges that face business organization in different parts of the world (p. 229). Employee theft entails misuse of the resources of the business organization including time and money. Employees that engage in theft steal the property of the business organization and use the working time to do their own activities. In fact, employee theft includes the deviant behaviors of the employees that result in losses and decreased performance in the business organization. Employee theft is considered as dishonest acts of the internal employees of the business organization. The degree of theft varies in different business organizations depending on the line of products that the business organization is dealing with. A business organization that deals in services will categorize theft as misuse of time while a business organization that deals with tangible good will describe theft as the physical stealing of money and resources such as tools and spare parts in the business organization. Theft in a business organization result into losses (Krippel et al., 2008, p. 229). Theories Explaining Causes of Theft by Employees Theory of Equity According to this theory, employees of a business organization involve themselves in theft activities because they want to maintain a balance between their efforts and the amount of reward they get from the company for work done. This implies that the employees justify their theft by arguing that they steal in order to restore a balance for the inequality of their employers. In a business organization where employees are given a lot of duties and responsibilities which do not correspond to their pay, they are likely to get involved in theft (Appellbaum et al., 2006, p. 176). Work Climate The work environment may dictate as to whether employees of the business organization engage in theft or not. According to Krippel et al (2008), majority of employers regard theft by employees as not preventable since they lack the appropriate systems that can detect theft. In some cases, managers have the perception that employees hate them hence they may not keep vigilant of the activities of the employees. This means that there exists a deviant behavior between the management of the business organization and the employees which may encourage theft by employees. Levels in Cognitive Moral Development Nichoff & Paul (2000) argues that the cognitive moral development of the employees of the business organization determines the level of employee theft in the company. The existence and nonexistence of a corporate code of ethic in a business organization may motivate or discourage employees from engaging in theft. Employees of an organization who have a lower level of moral development are likely to engage in theft as compared to employees who have a higher level of moral development. According to Appellbaum et al (2006), the existence and nonexistence of security systems, policies and measures that address employee dishonest in a business organization can be a motivating factor in employee theft. Employees in a business organization are faced with different societal challenges that may lure them into theft. However, if they are aware that the business organization has the required working security systems that are able to detect and prevent theft, such employees will regulate their behaviors and avoid stealing from the business organization. Business Security Systems for Detecting and Preventing Employee Theft In order to prevent the issues that results from employee theft, human resource managers of business organizations should adopt and implement business security systems that will prevent employee theft in the company. Security Alarms These are alarms that are programmed to switch on when an unauthorized individual breaks in or enters into a building. Employees theft include where an employees of the business organization access areas that are restricted for management. The use of security alarms will help the business organization to detect employee theft before the theft can occur. According to Morris (2014), the security alarms can be installed in stores of the business organization, at entrance of door to key information systems and access to offices. When an employee of the business organization tries to enter a building or office of the company after office hours, the alarm rings and is able to notify the security systems. In addition, the alarms can also be connected to an alarm response team that responds to any alarms from the business organization (Morris, 2014). Use of Security Cameras (CCTV Cameras) Security cameras are the mostly used form of security checks that are installed in every room and office of the business organization (Boss & Zajic, 2010, p. 60). According to Zeljkovic (2013), the cameras are able to monitor and record all the activities of the employees of the organization with the help of a controller who constantly views the images of the cameras in the building. In some cases, the cameras are connected to the alarms such that they are able to detect any movements in a restricted area resulting to the ringing of the alarms (Mohsin, 2006, p. 271). Access codes and Password Access to restricted areas of the business organization can be prevented by the use of access codes such that only individual with the codes can access such areas (Rainer & Turban, 2008, p. 375). This means that in case of theft, it is easier to track the thief since the individuals with the codes will be held accountable. Access to computers with sensitive information can also be protected using passwords and encryption of the information (Garber & Walkup, 2004, p. 92). Hidden Microphones According to Wilkie (2011), the business organization can also install hidden microphones which are not known by the employees of the business organization. These microphones are able to pick and record information of the employees while in the business premises. Any conversation relating to theft can easily be counteracted by the management. The microphones are only used to detect any information that may result top theft by the employees (Mohsin, 2006, p. 274). Any information that is not related to security threats is not analyzed. This means that the use of hidden microphones should not be used against any employee since it is only meant for security reasons. Although the privacy of the employees is not guaranteed, managers of business organization should ensure confidentiality of information recorded from employee’s conversations using hidden microphones (Krippel et al., 2008, p. 226). Research Methodology The methodology that will be used in the research is a questionnaire that is supposed to be filled by the managers of business organizations. The questionnaires will be developed in extensive consideration of the literature review. In the questionnaire, there will be demographic questions on the company size and number of employees, hiring practices, accounting controls, management procedures. In addition, the questionnaire will include a section in which the managers of the participating business organization will state the security systems that are used in the business organization, any history of employee theft, ways used by the business organization to deal with cases of employee theft. A section of the questionnaire will include information on characteristics of employees involved in theft (Krippel et al., 2008, p. 228). Sample Population The population used in the survey will include managers of business organization from at least 50 firms belonging in different industry such as tourism, information technology, manufacturing, small business enterprises and multinational corporations. The survey will be carried out by use of mailing, where the survey questionnaire will be sent to the managers through their official corporate email addresses. The completed questionnaires will be returned for analysis (Krippel et al., 2008, p. 228). Ethical Issues The ethical issues that are likely to emerge during the study are the use of confidential information by the managers of the business organizations that are participating in the survey. This is because some of the questions in the questionnaire require personal information of the employees that may have been involved in theft. This information includes their social and economic wellbeing that could have motivated them to steal from the business organization. In order access such information, the managers should require a consent from the individuals involved in deviant behaviors or related authority for approval (Ahmed, 2007, p. 16). When it comes to monitoring of employees of a business organization using hidden microphones and security cameras, the issue of privacy comes in. this means that the privacy of the employees in a business organization are not considered when the security systems are used in order to monitor the employees of the business organization (Meiners, 2005, p. 52). Conclusion Employee theft has been reported in different business organization and has resulted in decreased performance and losses for the business organizations. Employee theft is caused by number of factors including deviant behaviors by the employees of the business organizations. There are several ways that can be used to prevent and detect theft by employees in a business organization. These include the use of security alarms, access codes and password, use of security cameras and hidden microphones. This research proposal aims at establishing the preparedness of business organization on employee theft using the different security systems discussed in the literature review. The research uses a questionnaire to find out the security systems in business organizations and their readiness to detect and prevent theft by employees in the business organizations. References Ahmed, S 2007.Analysis of workplace surveillance in a quest for an ethical stance. Journal of business systems. Governance and Ethics, vol.2, no. 4, pp. 15-26 Appellbaum, S., Cottin, J., Pare, R., Shapiro, B., & Molson, J 2006. Employee Theft: From Behavioural Causation and Prevention to Managerial Detection and Remedies. The Journal of American Academy of Business, vol.9, no.2, pp.175-181. Berta, D 2006. Toomey: Ward off employee theft with internal checks and balances. Nation’s Restaurant News, 12th December, p. 26 Boss, D., & Zajic, A 2010. Casino Security and Gaming Surveillance. Florida: CRC Press Burges, D 2012. 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