Essay on Monitoring Computer Use

Submitted By Lena-Rayls
Words: 487
Pages: 2

Running Head: Monitoring your employees

Monitoring your employees
Phase 2 DB 2
Lena M. Rayls
Colorado Technical University
HRMT645-1101A-01: Operational Human Resource Management
Professor Ted Okendu
January 30, 2011 If you have a desk job, chances are your work computer is connected to the internet. A number of jobs require the employees to use the internet for business applications to perform their work duties. The internet is a tempting wealth of information. We have all from time to time used the internet at work for personal items. We can bank, monitor our childcare providers, read the newspaper, as well as play games and many other things all at the workplace on the internet. The question is should we be able to govern ourselves, or should or employers be able to look virtually over our shoulder at virtual footprints. If you're seriously concerned about employee surfing, these logging programs can display a warning at boot up that they are present. That way, the employees are on notice and are probably less likely to stray (Komando, 2010). However, is that the way you want to conduct your business, having your employees think it is you against them. I personally feel as if that if it is necessary to closely monitor employees, then you need to examine your hiring practices and your evaluation policy. You should first be assured that you are hiring competent enough employee that you will not have to monitor them that closely, and second your employees work will reflect what they do on the job. If your employee is slated to do a number of things with in a certain predetermined time and it is not done after a verbal, and then written warning without improvement then it is time for a new employee. With that being said, it is in my opinion unethical to monitor every key stroke that your employee makes. An employee checking the stock market may seem harmless, but what if that employee expands their activities to continual tracking of stock quotes, in-depth research and online day trading? Company IT resources could potentially be slowed