Cyber Management Ethics - Essay Example

?MANAGEMENT ETHICS: Introduction Cyber Management ethics The sudden popularity of the Internet or the World Wide Web and E-mailing system in the last10 years have obliged analysts to study the Internet or the World Wide Web, including the concomitant issues that accompany it. The internet or World Wide Web is not only considered a necessity due to its widespread use but an important component in the operations of business organizations of today. The study similarly led analysts to expand their inquiry into the various fields and maladies presented by internet usage such as the e-mailing system addiction, the gaming addiction and other behavioral patterns that posed a problem to the management of business organizations. However, the significance of the internet over the employees in business organizations cannot be classified or lumped into one specific category as some employees would tend to view internet access as a mere tool to expedite work or work related activities which may be used intermittently for social interaction or personal transactions, others would exhibit the heightened comfort with the internet connectivity and feel hopeless without one while some employees have shown resistance or distrust with the utilization of the computer for online transactions, whether for business or personal. Statement of the Problem The internet or the World Wide Web have been advanced as the panacea to all organizational or operational problems however some business organizations have encountered complications when it implemented a business or operation wide internet service as its employees exhibited some behavioral oddities as a result thereof. This prompted in depth analysis into their behavior, including its implications on their work performance and ethical conduct as a consequence of the unbridled internet access. It is the task of this paper to determine the behavioral response of the employees and to assess whether their work ethics and performance was altered or somewhat affected. Discussion Proof of Internet Access Misuse There had been studies and surveys made concerning the uncontrollable abuse of the privileges of the employees towards the Internet. The conclusion in the study conducted by Fox in 2002 showed that eighty percent of business organizations in the industry have accounted that most of their employees have abused their privileges in the company. They have abused it through downloading movies, downloading pornographic materials and/or pirated software. (Fox, M., Phillips, L. & Vaidyanathan, G., 2003) E-mail Accessed for Personal Benefit A statistic data from a pornographic industry consultant have noted that almost seventy percent of all visits to their website occur during the office hours or to be specific between 9 o’clock in the morning to 5 o’clock in the afternoon. According to the results received by Nielson or NetRatings, the online stock trading gets at least a ninety-two percent hits during the office hours and at least forty-six percent of the shopping done online during the holidays usually take place between nine o’clock in the morning to five o’clock in the afternoon. Another study made by Fox in 2002 showed that almost twenty five percent of employees in companies are suffering from addiction with the usage of the Internet. Another study conducted by Fox in 2002 was the activities that were most addictive to individuals today. It revealed that gambling online has sky rocketed to the top five most addictive activities to individuals and translating it to a specific proportion would show that about eight percent of the respondents have become addicted to online gambling. (Fox, M., Phillips, L. & Vaidyanathan, G., 2003) Information Week also presented a study that predicted the amount of e-mail messages business organizations would receive that is based on their sizes. For example, the large business organization that has revenue of more than a billion dollars would roughly receive about two million and four hundred thousand e-mail messages a day and send around one million and six hundred thousand million e-mail messages each day whilst small business organization that has revenue of more or less than a hundred million dollar would receive around eighty two thousand e-mail messages and would send around a hundred thousand e-mail messages each day. (D’Antoni, 2004) Conversely, a research was conducted to probe if the sizeable amount e-mail messages exchanged throughout the business hours are work or business related or purely personal transactions. The results of the survey made by the Osterman Research Group concerning the frequency of employees in checking their e-mail accounts for new mail is very telling. It has demonstrated that almost sixty eight percent of employees, constantly check their e-mail accounts while at work, while seventeen percent of the respondents say that they check their e-mail accounts only a few times in an hour and thirteen percent of the respondent responded that they only check them a couples of times a day. They also tackled the vacation and weekend, only two out of five respondents answered that they would not check their e-mail accounts until they have returned to work. This information has been based from the work of Helen D’ Antoni in 2004. (D’Antoni, 2004) Beneficial Use of Internet Access to Business Organizations The sudden discovery of the World Wide Web or Internet and its usefulness to the business organizations has greatly affected the productivity of the employees within the business organization. It cannot be disputed that the impact of the internet would have both positive and negative influence and it is up to the business organization to determine if its positive effect outweigh its negative effect. And, if the freedom of transactions presented by the internet is abused by the employees, it is the prerogative of the business organization to implement measures to curb or arrest any misfeasance or malfeasance. According to the statement made by Anandarajan, Simmers and Igbaria in 2000, these are some positive effects that business organizations could expect from the Internet to enhance the productivity of the organization where it has utilized the internet or the world wide web as their primary tool in completing and performing tasks. Examples of these tasks would be the analyzing, researching of data, the business organization would also have the shorter cycle times, products that would be marketed the costs that are related to the business organization would be reduced. (Anandarajan, M., Simmers, C., and Igbaria, M., 2000). The positive outcome of the internet use cannot be denied as it is use either to expedite or streamline the business process which ultimately advances the interest of the business organization. While the negative effects have taken effect when employers or business organization allow their employees or subordinates to use the business organization’s resources for their own personal gains. For example, an employee accessing and transacting through ebay.com or other online store, e-mailing friends, going online to social networking sites and plan vacations. In this instance, the business organization loses valuable resources not only through non-productive activities of its employees but more importantly, the utter lack of compunction of the employees to use the business organizations’ resources to promote self-interest. This kind of behavior has been branded by Vivien Lim as cyberloafing. The term is used to define the activities of an employee who uses the resources of the business organization, particularly the internet privileges for personal gain or interest. Thus, an employee who surfs web sites that are not job related or utilizes the internet for personal use commits cyberloafing. Nonetheless, cyberloafing is not limited to using it for personal gain but includes other related activities such as checking personal to social networking sites and downloading software and other activities of similar nature. Negative Impact of Internet Access CYBERLOAFING Cyberloafing is considered as one of the production deviances which are under the wide rubric workplace deviance. The workplace deviance is defined by Robinson and Bennett as an act that would go against the norms of the business organization and would affect the members within the organization and the business organization as a whole negatively. (Robinson, S.L. and Bennett, R.J., 1995) Vivien Lim gives credit to the internet in introducing a way for employees of a business organization the privilege to remain hidden and be able to hang about around the office but appear to be efficient and extremely busy. Under this circumstance, it was suggested that cyberloafers pose a larger threat than non-cyber loafers. Though both kinds of loafers cost the business organization resources, cyberloafers pose a possibility to put the business organization at greater risk even without intending to do so. Cyberloafers, by their web surfing, might accidentally pick up viruses that risk the computers of the business organization and/or make the business organization face legal problems. (Lim, 2002). Cyberloafers may likewise invite unwanted intrusion into a business organizations’ system which would put at risk not only its data privacy and integrity but also the exposes the entire organization to security threat. The management of data privacy and workplace surveillance is important since it would manage the security of the business organization’s confidential data and the surveillance of the employees within the business organization. (Weckert, J., 2005) The managers of business organizations face the problem of needing to cut back on the cyberloafing and not put a limit on the freedom of the employees. The questions that managers usually consider are that: should the managers of the business organization adjust to the needs of the employees but let the productivity of their department suffer? Would the tracking of the activities of the employees on the World Wide Web affect the office relationships? Accordingly, Urbaczewski and Jessup (2002) were able to answer this question by studying the satisfaction ratings of employees through electronic monitoring. (Urbaczewski, Andrew and Jessup, Leonard M., ( 2002) Remedial Measures to Balance the Ill-effects of Cyber Offenses in Business Environment ELECTRONIC MONITORING They used electronic monitoring for the simple feedback purposes against the monitoring for control, which would report the compliance with the policies of acceptable use of the Internet. Urbaczewski and Jessup were able to find that electronic monitoring was frowned upon by the employees due to the infringement of the privacy and trust of the employees while the electronic monitoring for feedback received a higher satisfaction that rendered more positive feedbacks and criticisms that are constructive by nature. The monitoring of blocking could also prove to be counterproductive to the productivity by causing distress within the monitored workforces. According to the report made by the American Management Association in 2001, seventy eight percent of business organizations in the United States monitor their employees electronically. It is also reported that sixty-two percent of these business organizations track the internet use of their employees and fifty four percent of these business organizations track their employees e-mail accounts. (American Management Association, 2001) According to Van Slambrouck in 2000, technology has enabled the management of business organization to keep track of the work related activities of employees and as well as the violations that the employees also make. (Van Slambrouck, 2000) The research regarding the electronic monitoring focuses mainly on the reactions of the employees and not mainly on the decisions made by the management on the monitoring. However in the study made by Alge, Ballinger and Green, they have concurred that managers who highly depend on their subordinates would increase the monitoring activity than normal. This action is also the same with the employees who have problems in performance. (Alge, Bradley J., Ballinger, Gary A., Green, Stephen G., 2004) In some studies shown, the monitoring of employees has caused problems in the past performances and the future performances. As they interviewed managers, ninety five percent of them said that the decline of the productivity of the employees, the management or employees abuse of the system and the mistrust of the employees and the management is cause by the monitoring. The monitoring system takes into consideration the past performance of the employee. The past performance is considered as the standard of the future performance. A mistake made by the employee could create a huge change in information or could add to the information that has already been gathered. The result could be different from the expected result of some. In the study made by Alge, Ballinger and Green, they have seen that the monitoring is based on how significant an employee is in the project or important task. If an employee is greatly significant to the project or important task then the higher possibility of the management monitoring. (Alge, Bradley J., Ballinger, Gary A., Green, Stephen G., 2004) PRIVACY ISSUES ON ELECTRONIC MONITORING The privacy of one person is possibly one of the most important and most talked about issue in the Information Technology, Computing and Information Systems industry. And thus, this brings up a well-studied research of the area. (Weckert, J., 2005). The study would have the goal of showing the management of privacy is a theoretical problem not an experimental one. The goal of the argument is to make management see that it is improbable for the management to follow the mindset of a heroic management. It is impossible to take charge of the morals, the ethical and legal aspects of the introduction and use of the employee surveillance system. A sample of this system is the monitoring of the employees in using the internet. This system would keep track the web sites that the employee/s visit when using the business organization’s internet or resource. (D’Antoni, 2004) The resources that would be spent in monitoring, analyzing and taking action on data, the data on multiple departments could also be a disadvantage of the electronic monitoring. The management also expressed their concern on the secret monitoring of the employees. Alge, Ballinger and Green were able to concur that electronic monitoring presents a higher risk of negative reaction of mistrust, invasion of the privacy and injustice of the employees rather than informing the employees of the monitoring activity. (Alge, Bradley J., Ballinger, Gary A., Green, Stephen G., 2004) To be able to address the concerns presented, Alge, Ballinger and Green suggested of a combined approach that would allow managers to somewhat manipulate the behavior of the employees within the business organization in an acceptable way that high performers would tolerate and that low performers would dislike the results that management would be given. “Fortunately it appears positive forms of monitoring can be more instructive and acceptable to employees than negative forms of monitoring. Alternatively, managers might employ different EM techniques for different employees using EM for feedback for high performers and EM for controlling for problematic employees” (Urbaczewski, Andrew and Jessup, Leonard M., ( 2002) While Introna (2001) advocated that policies associated with workplace monitoring should be embodied in a contract or agreement. It is believed that if an employee signs a contract, the employee is subjected to abide to the policies of the company and the monitoring policy would be taken place. The employee should not expect to have privacy in the work place. But due to circumstances “the issue of workplace privacy is not merely a matter of ‘bad’ employees wanting to hide their unscrupulous behaviour behind a call for privacy… it is rather a legitimate concern for justice in a context in which the employees, for the most part, are in a relationship of severe power asymmetry” (Introna, 2001).  Moreover, Introna (2001) recommended the development of the policy through the Rawls Theory of Justice. The development would ensure the employer of the right to monitor and use the information gathered for the benefit of the business organization. The employees have the right to have a secure rule of control that would justify all the monitoring and assurances that the data that would be collected would be used fairly. The internet is supposed to be used as a productive tool and not as a liability. The keeping of the focus of the employees on work related tasks and the enhancement of the productivity are the responsibilities of the management. The employees of the business organization need to be felt valued for the work they have done. They need to be treated fairly in the process of exchange between employee and the management. The strong cultures that exhibit explicit norms of behavior in an environment and the Information Communication Technology ethical codes of practice are favorable to the stop the cyberloafing of the employees in a business organization. CASE STUDY: “Interestingly, all these changes are not followed by Omni International Hospital which ultimately in 2009 led to the crisis. The crisis is beginning from the customer—Prita Mulyasari, who felt disappointed with the hospital services—writes an email to his friend. Suddenly, in a short time the email disseminated widely on the Internet and produces a lot of support to Prita Mulyasari and public humiliation to the Omni International Hospital.” (Estaswara, 2011) “The study was conducted; firstly to elaborate a social network in Internet that would be potential to create the crisis if the corporate is still implementing the traditional approach of stakeholder relationship or the understanding that corporate is the center of all stakeholders, based on the case of Omni International Hospital in Indonesia. Secondly, it also analyzed the steps should be taken into account in order to change toward the new approach of stakeholder relationship to fit in the era of digital society. Furthermore, method of literature review was applied as a basis of theoretical construction on stakeholder relationship approach that should be engaged in avoiding of the crisis.” (Estaswara, 2011) Bibliography Alge, Bradley J., Ballinger, Gary A., Green, Stephen G. (2004). 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