The Case of the Omniscient Organization

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.

Another major issue that needs to change is the managerial style. Currently, DCCL is operating in a classical managerial style. This has caused problems from poor communication, lack of motivation, low job satisfaction, and increased employee turnover rates. In order for DCCL to change their managerial style, they need to re-evaluate which style would work best. We believe that DCCL will excel with a shift to a human relations managerial style; this will allow for more autonomy and individual responsibility from employees, while still allowing managers to retain a level of control. Currently, managers are having to make every decisions and also supervise employees, such as the TSS’s, to an extreme degree.

* 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.

1. Use of on premise security cameras to spy on the activities of fellow employees

This section of the employee handbook is provided as a guideline for employees to understand the company policy and procedures regarding privacy in the workplace. While this section cannot address every possible scenario that may occur, the general policy will serve as a basis of understanding the key workplace issues and employee privacy. This section addresses privacy issues related to personal background information, off-work activities, and the corporate policy on the use of electronic monitoring. These privacy policies are designed to both provide a clear guideline for employees on the difference between job related and personal privacy. The policies are designed to create a standard set of

According to the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986, "an employer can monitor their employee to ensure adequate job performance and supervise customer contacts."

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse went over computer and workstation monitoring, email monitoring, telephone monitoring, mobile device monitoring, audio and video monitoring, GPS tracking, postal mail and social media monitoring. Employers are able to see what is on your screen, how much time you spend away from your computer and how many keystrokes per hour each employer does. Employers are able to discretely monitor employees with certain computer equipment. Employees may not know they are being monitored. Employers can review email content. Even though the message may have an option for marking an email as private, the company may still have access to the email. You should assume that your work emails are not private. Even though you may delete your emails, the company still has access to them also.

As much as a company should not invade the rights of its employees , it has the equal responsibility of ensuring that its privacy and that of its employees are not divulged or used in any personal intent by other employees . According to Nyman (2005 , more companies are being held accountable by employees whose privacy was compromised in the workplace because of what is seen as a lack in its measures to ensure their privacy . Therefore , if employers are being held accountable for such situations , Nyman believes that they should be given enough power to protect themselves from such liabilities

“The employees were complaining for months and somehow the situation escalated to become hostile” Said the assistant Joe Haley. An organization as an entity, a whole, resembles a precise piece of machinery, because there are so many components need to function at the same time in order to make the machine work. As long as one part begins to malfunction, it will eventually influence other parts and create a vicious Domino effect, which damages the entire system quickly if not repaired

Businesses putting in cameras and monitoring computers are not uncommon now a days. Observing the work area and its employees allows employers to find out who works and who doesn 't. Well-placed cameras and software helps companies detect and identify any employees who may be stealing company property or slacking off on work computers. A 2005 survey by the American Management Association showed that more than half of the employers use video surveillance at work to counter theft, violence, or sabotage (AMA 2010). And 16% of the employers surveyed used video surveillance to monitor employee performance (AMA 2010). When talking about property damage, having the surveillance cameras monitored by security personnel greatly increases the chance of catching anyone misusing or stealing company

The main argument made by The Week Staff in their text “The Rise of Workplace Spying”, is that modern technology has greatly expanded employee analysis in companies. More specifically, The Week Staff argues that companies are utilizing software programs to scan employee’s accounts, computer fields and the employee’s efficiency in their job. The Week Staff address, “Henry Ford famously paced the factory floor with a stopwatch, timing his worker’s motion in a bid for greater efficiency. He also hired private investigators to spy on employees’ home lives to make sure personal problems didn’t interfere with their work performance” In this passage, The Week Staff is suggesting that companies are trying

Workplace surveillance has become a controversial issue in the workplace environment. The technological surveillance has developed as a necessity, it doesn’t only help in monitoring what the workers’ do, but it also helps to know how they do it. The modern technological development may have helped the employers’ to have an aerial view of the workplace environment, but it has created a controversy between the employees’ and the employer about the employees’ right to privacy being violated. The employees’ believe the act of workplace surveillance to be hateful that violates their right to privacy and liberties. The surveillance at the workplace often effects workers mental health, productivity, future success in their work and their relationship with the employer, despite being a necessity for the employers’ to protect themselves against the liability, many employers’ in the process of achieving efficiency through surveillance mistakenly ruin their relationship with their employees. The workplace surveillance is helpful in improving the performance of workers or it is contributing towards degrading the performance of workers and their work relationships.

It has been proved that computers help a business ease its activities such as record keeping, monitoring employees and word processing among others. However, the use of computers in the workplace breeds concerns such as security threats and privacy issues. Computer systems are not only prone to hackers but also other security issues that may compromise the company’s activities and social integrity. The research will probe into some of the advantages and disadvantages of computer surveillance.

In The Los Angeles Times (2013) an article titled, “Tracking workers’ every move can boost productivity,” stated how employers are using surveillance software to monitor employees every movement. Employees are criticizing the monitoring software since it has caused harsher work environment. Employees feel with the monitoring system, employers see them as human machines a way to drive costs down and increase production (Semuels, 2013). Employees are finding that monitoring technology have cost jobs