Importance of Management and Employee Privacy - Term Paper Example

 Employee Privacy Report Introduction The use of Internet and e-mail within the workplace domains has attained a great deal of significance. This is because employees are now being monitored within the workplace realms, so as to check for their work manifestations and to gauge what kind of work they are carrying on, on the Internet. This is important because it tells quite a lot about their thinking mechanisms. This paper discusses a few pertinent aspects related with the technological usage within my workplace.

What are the e-mail use, Internet use, and privacy policies at your job? Technological issues at my workplace are handled in a very fair and balanced way. This is the reason why the network architecture has gained quite a lot of importance within my workplace realms. It is a fact that the use of technology is within the prescribed rules and standards. The use of e-mail and Internet is restricted but not so much so that employees are forbidden. They can use it with moderation and hence do their jobs at the same time.

The privacy issues are such that the work remains supreme and then only comes anything else. The e-mails are exchanged between the company employees on an Intranet e-mail system. Similarly blogs and internal websites are made use of which discuss the different aspects of the work on a regular basis. The workplace limits the use of bandwidth because if more of this is used, there could be serious issues for the entire network (Zollers 2003). The use of Internet is carried out in such a manner that nearly all the network users are shared in a proper manner and there are no downtime issues.

A lot of emphasis is paid on the fact that there are limits to downloading because these aspects have a major say in the balancing of the network bandwidth. The use of e-mail is such that the employees depend on it quite a lot as all the processes and tasks are handled through it. For browsing purposes, Internet is employed because it is the best resource to find new information and extract details regarding different subjects and areas of interest for the sake of doing work. Privacy is maintained by highlighting the use of different software which gives the employee the perfect platform to hide his data.

Usernames and passwords are provided to everyone so that their e-mails and browsing sessions could be saved and hid from one another. What are the current laws regulating employee e-mail and Internet privacy? The current laws regarding the employee e-mail and Internet privacy entail of a number of steps that have already been taken at my workplace. These include the user allotment of bandwidth, the timings under which the employees are allowed to chat and use Facebook and other aspects – all of which are related with the usage of the Internet at the workplace.

The network administrator has time and again informed everyone of their responsibility to visit websites which do not have broken links, avoid using pornographic websites and viewing ethically wrong content as well as forbade employees from indulging in stuff that is related with hate speech and similar literature. The laws have been enacted by the network administrator but the same have been approved by the people who are sitting in the top management positions. The latter are indeed the ones who have taken the decisions so that sanity could prevail within the ranks of the workplace (Muhl 2003).

The current laws are such that the employees feel motivated whilst being on their jobs and thus commit to work that is ethically sound and acceptable from all angles. They work to good effect because they are provided a chance to go on the Internet and explore for their own selves what is happening out there in the world, as well as to interact with the people around them or away from them, etc. If an employee wishes to download something off the Internet, he has to seek prior approval from the network administrator so that he could open the port for the said employee’s computer.

One should believe that the laws are very adequately drafted as they look after the rights of the employees and give them a fair share of the bandwidth at all times. Privacy regimes are something that demands a lot of attention on the part of the network administrator and in essence these are being taken care of in a steady manner. Why do companies implement e-mail and Internet use policies? The reason why companies adopt e-mail and Internet policies is because these companies feel the need to do so.

If the policies are not implemented, the employees would be let unchecked and thus could carry out activities which are unbecoming of them. Such discussions center on the basis of understanding that companies must enact laws and policies which look after the rights of the employees as well as its own self. The role of the network administrator is significant because he is the one who decides for the sake of the organization what kind of route the company will take as per as its policy of e-mail usage and Internet privacy.

These matters take up a lot of importance because in the changing times of today, the employees have to be checked upon and any transgressions that come about must be tackled in a proper and sound way. The role of the companies bringing on new policies suggests that the companies are very serious about their undertakings. It would eventually bring about a solid change within the workplace dynamics and offer the employees to feel privileged yet restricted, all at the same time (Ugrin 2008). Companies also implement e-mail and Internet usage policies because there is a feeling that proper boundaries should be constructed before someone tries to break them.

A proper code of conduct as far as the working basis of e-mail and technological usage is important as it highlights quite a few areas if seen properly, and within the related contexts. Companies need to remain very clean as per their actions and behaviors – and this is remarked as one of the most important reasons behind having such measures. There is a good amount of research that has already been done within the similar quarters, and much more attention should be paid by the companies to get their houses in order.

What assumptions might employees make about their privacy at work? How do these policies affect employee privacy at work? Some employees feel that they are being stuffed at work continuously. They believe that any such restrictions which are being imposed by the companies should be done away with, and that they should be allowed to work to their best if they are offered a chance to use the Internet at their will. These discussions center on the fact that the e-mail usage regimes and the Internet privacy debates have something to fall back upon.

Also the fact that the employees feel that these conditions should be relaxed down a bit is something that must be thought about in due course of time by the organizational heads. A lot of understanding should be reached between the people who matter the most, more than anything else, so that success could be achieved as far as implementing e-mail and Internet usage regimes are concerned (Motwani 2003). They also assume that their top heads do not want them to browse on the Internet all the time, which is partially true.

For any organization, it is important that its employees remain glued to the work as long as they are at the workplace, however this cannot always be something that shall be based on reality. Employee privacy at work thus becomes diluted because they start to feel alienated all of a sudden. This is because employees feel that they are being hard done by, which is not a very understandable situation on either the part of the organization or the employees themselves. All such issues should be tackled in a very resolute and firm way.

Conclusion In the end, I would infer that the use of technology within my workplace is reasonably sound yet new improvements can be made every now and then. What is required now is a concerted effort by the top management and the network administrator to set things right. Hopefully, this will solve quite a few issues that have been lingering for some time. However the manner in which technology has been employed is adequately feasible for one and all, within the domains of the workplace. References Motwani, J. (2003). Reducing Internet Abuse in the Workplace.

SAM Advanced Management Journal 68 Muhl, C. (2003). Workplace E-Mail and Internet Use: Employees and Employers Beware: An Employee's Personal Use of an Employer's E-Mail System and of Internet Access Is Not Protected under the Law, and Employers Can Face Legal Liability for Employees' Inappropriate Use Thereof. Monthly Labor Review: 126 Ugrin, J. (2008). Exploring Internet Abuse in the Workplace: How Can We Maximize Deterrence Efforts? Review of Business: 28 Zollers, F. (2003). Workplace Violence and Security: Are There Lessons for Peacemaking?

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