Companies Monitoring Employees Computer Usage - Essay Example

Companies Monitoring Employees Computer Usage According to Anandarajan and Simmers, "Most large organizations that are providing internet access to their employees are also providing some means to monitor and control that usage" (142). It is not uncommon to find employees surfing the internet particularly using the social media during company time. It is important to note that the main objective of technology in the workplace is to increase productivity through enhancing efficiency (Anandarajan and Simmers 143).

However, if technology is misused, productivity can negatively be affected. To prevent incidences of employees misusing company time surfing the internet, action plans have been introduced in many organizations to help identify employees involved in such activities. For instance, some sniffers on computer usage can show all the key strokes a person has made on a company computer. This can act as the basis for firing employees found to have a habit of misusing company time surfing the internet.

Other than reasons pertaining to productivity, there are also other reasons why organizations monitor and control internet usage. A good example includes legal liabilities that may arise due to misuse of technology (Anandarajan and Simmers 144). For instance, an employee may use the company internet to download and distribute pornographic materials. If such materials falls into the wrong hands, the company could be sued for casualness. Sending pornographic materials to colleagues in the workplace could also be considered sexual molestation and the company could also be liable if necessary steps are not taken to address the problem (Anandarajan and Simmers 144).

In a nutshell, monitoring and controlling internet usage in the workplace increase productivity and minimizes the likelihood of paying for legal damages. Work citedAnandarajan, Murugan, and Simmers Claire. Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management. London: Information Science Publishing, 2004. Print.