User:C rossie MGCR331/Control and Ownership of Mobile Devices: Employers vs. Employees 6.1.2

Christopher Rossie (c_rossie_MGCR331) ID:260255177

Control and Ownership of Mobile Devices: Employer Vs Employee. (MGCR 331 Tuesday)

There are many reasons for why an Employer may be inclined to monitor their employee’s use of company owned equipment or mobile devices. The most apparent justification of Employer monitoring is the rising need for security in one’s business. The loss or exchange of vital information from employee to competitor has become too easy through mobile or wireless connections and cyber crime. This new era of mobile employees creates a growing concern for the quality of work and productivity of an employee. With electronic monitoring, possibilities of increased profitability and control are more easily acquired. How much time does your employee spend working during office hours? With today’s mobile technology, sales employees are often on the go, and are hard to track. Some employees are given a certain amount of autonomy like medical practioners or lawyers. Others just offer little productivity. How does an employer decide to monitor their staff? At what point do the ethical boundaries get ignored. Employers often encounter these problems with employees. Loyalty, trust and motivation are major issues that are hard to identify. Setting up to monitor   e-mail usage, URL’s visited and keystroke entries will give an employer a more accurate cost effective depiction of an employee’s quality and speed of work. Limiting and restricting specific functions such as telephone calls, Internet games or URL’s dedicated to personal use like a Facebook or Hotmail application is a safe ethical way to insure your employee is working and not attending to personal issues. The measurement of work by computer is a legitimate management tool that should be used wisely. Used appropriately, monitoring and related techniques, such as insentive pay or promotion based on productivity, can increase both an organisation’s effectiveness and the emplooyee’s ability to advance. (Lund, p.54) These tools if used correctly can strengthen a relationship between employer and employee as long as it is used with positive reinforcement. However mere ownership of a device does not justify the infringement of privacy of those using it. Simply owning a device does not revoke the ethical issues in monitoring it. For example if lending out your cell phone does not warrant the right to listen in on a conversation, then that should apply to the employer, employee relationship. There is a major trust/ dignity issue in creating a monitoring system. The more an employee feels watched, typically the less motivated they will become. The office atmosphere may also deteriorate if employees feel an intrusion on their personal space. What is the best way to create harmony in the work place? There are clearly conflicting rights and interests between the employer and employee. With better monitored employees, comes more conscientious and efficient employees who will in turn be more productive and eventually increase profitability. Monitoring and controlling the way employees use Internet technology may also reveal where improvements can be made, but will also generate frustration from stress and a higher degree of demoralization within the organization. The most important concern is; are we creating a better work environment. Are we developing more ethical and trustworthy employees where the need for monitoring mobile devices will no longer be required?

Refrences

• Detienne, K.B.(1993). Big Brother or friendly Coach. Futurist, 27, p. 33-37

• Lund, J.(1992). Electronic performance Monitoring: A Review of the Research Issues. Applied Ergonomics, 23, p.54-58