Ensure that software is used by the right people
C. Decrease Theft from Employer, Other Employees
D. Protect Against Workplace Violence
Raytheon employees posting defamatory data on Net
Disgruntled employees defaming company on Net
III. Reasons Against Employee Monitoring
When George Orwell wrote about a giant screen in each person's home that could monitor their every movement and activity, he equated Big Brother with the government. Increasingly, however, it is not the government but rather our employers that are spying on individuals, and they are doing it often with the employees' permission and knowledge. This research considers employee monitoring, particularly electronic monitoring, and its ramifications in the workplace.
One of the key reasons given for monitoring employees electronically is to improve employee productivity (Rice 83). Employers who use this rationale argue that electronic monitoring is merely the next step from monitoring employees' at their desks visually (determining whether they are reading the newspaper, doing crossword puzzles, or otherwise engaging in behaviors which are not productive). In addition, by monitoring keystrokes on a personal computer or workstation, companies are able to spot training issues and can provide assistance to employees in order to help them improve the ways in which they perform their tasks (Rice 83).
When companies seek to justify employee monitoring, they sometimes cite the fact that by monitoring employees, they can determine whether assets are being allocated appropriately. One of the primary areas of concern is that software is being used effectively, but also that software is used by the right people within the organization. For example, a company may find that although it has purchased software licenses for Microsoft Access, only a few of the people who have the licenses actually use the software, and of those, perhaps another program ...