B Ethics Discussion Post Essay

once again brought to light the various concerns and complaints that this contentious area inevitably generates.  The idea of monitoring employees’ conversations has a certain Orwellian darkness that encourages accusations of privacy invasion and corporate spying.  Indeed, some companies have taken this too far – some reportedly even requesting their employee’s Facebook login details.  However, by and large the concept of employee monitoring – when done appropriately – seems to me to be relatively

Did you know that 58% of employers have fired workers for Internet and email misuse? And 48% justify employee video monitoring as an effort to “counter theft and violence?” According to the “2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey” of which 304 U.S. companies participated in, computer-monitoring results have led to the highest cause of employee termination. These companies used several tactics to eavesdrop on employees while claiming to be managing productivity or for security purposes. Some argue that surveillance is absolutely necessary to help protect and grow a business; others argue that employee and customer rights come first. However, companies that use such tactics often violate the privacy of individuals, exploit their private information and even punish those that do not conform to their standards.

* In today’s world of fast-developing technology, in which the click of mouse can dispense a plethora of information, privacy for job seekers and employees is a significant issue. One type of privacy issue in the workplace occurs when a company gathers or circulates private or personal information about employees or candidates for employment.

* --Is it ethical for an employer to require as a condition of employment or use as a consideration for advancement promotion, that an employee participate in organizations apart from the business (ie. community non-profit organizations)?  Does the type or nature of the organization make a difference?

The most common form of an invasion, to employee privacy rights is email. With the massive use of computers, email has become the biggest communication tool of choice in the workplace. The concern of employers has grown tremendously with the use of email in the workplace. Employers' concern is that, employees can waste time by sending and receiving email for personal use, and they may provide easy access for hackers to entry their computer system. Employers can monitor an employee computer activity to ensure productivity in the workplace. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (2006) states, "Unfortunately, if an employee uses a company computer for email use, the employee employer has the right to review the contents of his or her email."

4 Gina overheard staff discussing private information about her which she had shared with her supervisor. Aspect of employment law:

Employers have the right and responsibility to monitor their place of business to protect themselves and their employees from invasion . The irony is that this can only be possible if an employer is able to monitor communications and exchanges . Therefore , for a company to be able to afford the protection that employees need , they must surrender in trust their privacy to the company

On Wednesday March……….during lunch Joanne Svec in passing said that she had seen Mary Herrick when she was delivering the mail and explained that Tim came into the office earlier that morning very agitated and complaining. He told her he was going to “blow”. She indicated to us that she was, “very afraid” and that he has an arsenal of weapons. She also indicated that Jane Hayes, who was eating lunch with us as well, felt the same way although Jane was not in the office when this exchange occurred. Tracey and I were both stunned by this information and really didn’t know what to say. After lunch Tracey and I spoke about what was said and from my perspective I could not understand why Joanne did not bring this matter to Tracey, her immediate supervisor. Based on all of our training on safety protocol if Joanne felt the possibility of imminent danger existed Tracey should have been notified.

E-mail has rapidly become a staple of the modern office. Currently, two-thirds of employees in medium and large companies in the United States now have Internet access, compared with fifteen percent only two years ago. The availability of e-mail allows for messages to be widely and rapidly distributed, improving efficiency and reducing cost. In addition to being one of the components of the new workplace, e-mail is also the center of a hot privacy debate. Part of this is because, unlike regular mail, which is difficult to monitor, e-mail can be scanned with ease, allowing employers to engage in monitoring at an unprecedented rate, and raising the specter of a workplace free of privacy. As this relatively new technology gains ever increasing prevalence, certain questions

"Privacy. There seems to be no legal issue today that cuts so wide a swath through conflicts confronting American society: from AIDS tests to wiretaps, polygraph test to computerized data bases, the common denominator has been whether the right to privacy outweighs other concerns of society…" This quote from Robert Ellis Smith explains, in one sentence, the absolute need to ensure privacy in the workplace. One of the most interesting, yet controversial, areas concerning public personnel is employee privacy. What limits are there to employers’ intrusions into, and control over, employees’ behaviors and personal properties?

The advancement in the technology is believed by the employees’ as actions to limit their privacy by the employers. Henceforth, workplace surveillance creates a legal issue in the work environment. The employees’ believe that their rights get violated when their employer keep a close watch on their activities.

Kellie Stephens provides exemplary training and development programs. She and the company’s goals are to provide in-house training seminars with up-to-date sexual harassment and safety procedures. She also understands the need for management training including people skills which include “communities of practices”, “snack and chat”, and consistent implementation of PAC policies. Communities of practice continue growing in its efforts with different departments coming on board with the program. Snack and chat gives employees the opportunity to discuss and be heard about their ideas with which to continue PAC’s performance. The managers including Dick Remington and Gary Stephens are not accepting of the proper procedures with which PAC’s Code of Ethics consist of. These are a few to the many who are accepting of the proper training procedures. Training can always use improvements with learning how to learn in mind. Each individual person learns differently. Developing action plans for managers and employees who have completed training which provides continued efforts for encouragement and feedback. Individuals who display success with learning techniques and reach desired goals within the action plan will become the coaches and role models for new trainees. With simple in-house developments on training, we as a company can continue to succeed with the goals of

b. What are some of the reasons for the ARC's ethical dilemmas, and how can the organization guarantee that these problems will not recur in the future?

The law supports the claim that employees have a right to access employees’ emails, although most employees are of the opinion that their employers should not access their emails. The courts have not found any reasonable expectation for the employees to have privacy in the same and therefore, they have always granted permission to the employers to keep an eye on the employees’ activities as well as reviewing it. In a case of Smith v. Pillsbury Co., the plaintiff had sued the employer on the ground that he had wrongfully discharged him after the employer intercepted an email message he considered inappropriate (Jennings, 2005). Smith being an at-will kind of employee, his suit centered on whether by being discharged, it went against Pennsylvania’s public policy thereby falling into the exemption under the general rule which indicate that employees who are employed on the at-will basis can have their employment terminated any time. The defendant was given motion from dismissal of the case since it failed to state a claim. The employer was therefore found not guilty of either invading the employees’ privacy or violating public policy when he terminated smith (Wolkinson & Block, 1996). The employer had created email communication system but had told the employees that it was privileged and confidential. The employer also informed the workforce that their emails would not be intercepted

Employers believe employees are taking advantage of the Internet while at work to access inappropriate websites such as shopping, gambling, pornographic material, and illegal downloading. Therefore, employers are searching for ways to reduce Internet exploring and increase work production, and remain within the state and federal guidelines (Young, 2011). To combat these issues, monitoring technologies are put in place to make employees more productive during company’s work hours. Monitoring technologies are classified as the use of computerized system that automatically collect, store, analyze, and report information about how an employee is performing his/her job (Wen, Schwieger & Gershuny, 2007). This helps companies to track their employee’s Internet movements, obtain detailed information (Wen, Schwieger & Gershuny, 2007), and protect the privacy of their company. In return, employers hope this will limit or eliminate employees from extensive use of the Internet.