Pros and Cons of Monitoring Internet Usage
The fact that something is expedient does not mean that it is right. Expediency has been defined as the convenient means to achieve an end, without paying too much reference to ethics and morality. Most of the advantages of monitoring internet usage at work are based on expediency while the disadvantages are mostly based on ethics and morality (Miller & Cross, 2015) . It must, however, be noted that the right of every employee in the organization must be balanced against the collective rights of everyone in the organization. The inadvertence of one employee can cause enough damage to bring down the organization, thus costing everyone their jobs. This inadvertence has come to be referred to as unintentional insider threat (UIT) (Slusky & Goodrich, 2016) .
Among the advantages of business protection is avoid of internal sabotage of the company. Among the greatest assets to any company apart from human talent is secrets. This includes the patented or non-patented information that gives a commercial entity an edge over its competitors. A disgruntled or ill-informed employee can reveal such information with devastating consequences to the organization. Further, having an understanding of whether or not employees are committed is exceptionally advantageous, so is evaluating the level of employee engagement and satisfaction. This information can be used not necessarily to discipline employee but to augment ways and means of motivating them.
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Among the major disadvantages lies in the fact that employees have a private life over and above being employed. They have families, religious beliefs and even political affiliations. In a free country, everyone is allowed to retain secrets about these, but this fundamental right is taken away by monitoring of internet usage at work. Private emails, for example, can easily reflect the sexual orientation of an individual which is something no one should be compelled to reveal. The second major disadvantage of monitoring internet usage lies in the fact that monitoring systems record data and as long as the data is secured in one place, it becomes susceptible to hacking and exposure. This amounts to privacy risks for the employees.
Reflection on Whether or Not to Work for an Employer who Monitors Internet
Employment may be based on contract but is in the real sense a relationship based on modern human management theories. In any relationship, being too close or too far is poisonous to the relationship. An employer who comes close enough to learn what I write in my private emails, what I post on Facebook, and what I text on Messenger will be too familiar. Familiarity breeds both contempt and conflict. I would, therefore, prefer a boss with boundaries, who does not seek to encroach on my privacy to a certain extent. This is the employer who only monitors my work emails, not my private ones. However, I do understand that cybersecurity is among the most important areas of security for the modern company (Slusky & Goodrich, 2016) . I would both accept and encourage monitoring if being done, not to peruse the content of the messages, but rather for security reasons. For example, plugging in a mobile device into the company's secured systems can compromise the entire system. Only careful monitoring can prevent this from happening.
Key Points Regarding Internet Usage and Monitoring
Expediency demands some level of computer monitoring in the workplace, but t he same must be carefully regulated and balanced. The Township High School District 113. (2016) article is an excellent example of this balance. This article reflects the dangers that internet usage poses to all stakeholders and the need for privacy by employees. On the one hand, it carefully outlines why the monitoring of internet usage benefits all stakeholders including those who are being monitored. Further, it ventures into the area of cybersecurity and morality which are among the leading grounds for internet monitoring for employees. The report also champions the right to privacy for the individual employee and argues that this right cannot be taken away unless it is necessary.
It is such a balance that a good internet usage and monitoring policy ought to be based. For a start, employees ought to be enlightened on proper internet usage and avoidance of anything that can adversely affect the employer or colleagues. This enlightenment should be based on a carefully developed policy regarding internet usage in the office. For example, the law on internet usage is well set out on a federal and state level. Its provisions in subjects such as sexual harassment should be taught. Further, the extent to which monitoring is being carried out and what amounts to a violation should be elaborated for all employees (The Township High School District 113, 2016).
The second key point is the subject of monitoring. The internet is too wide and too important an avenue to be left without some form of superintendence. There must, however, be careful limits on what is to be monitored and what is not to be monitored based on probable cause rules (Clarkson et al., 2014) . For example, an email will not be opened and read unless there is probable cause. The employees must be informed about the probable cause rules so they can understand on which subjects they can express themselves freely without any fear of snooping around by the employer.
Reflection on Policy about Friending Colleagues
Human beings are by their very nature social beings who aspire to interact in and outside their places of work. Social networks have provided an effective avenue for this interaction with "friending" one another on social media being integral to this interaction. However, friending only amounts to an indication of acquaintance and cannot be perceived as a high level of fraternization. Preventing ‘friending’ would be tantamount to preventing physical salutation or the holding of conversations in the office. Only an ill-motive can cause this.
The concept of divide and rule, a possible ill-motive above, is very effective as a tool for control in a working environment. This is one of the reasons why some employers limit union activities and employee associations in the workplace. The divide and rule tool is also an instrument of oppression and should be discouraged at all cost. An employer who seeks to actively dissuade employees from interacting must have some ill-motive and is not an ideal employer. A good example of the same would be employee oppression which would be revealed if employees spoke freely with one another.
Termination based on social media post
Termination of employment is a complex issue that includes legal and ethical connotations. Any decision to terminate must be based on solid grounds and must also include the right for the employee to be informed of these grounds and present a defense against them. Social media posts vary exponentially. An employee who posts secrets about an office issue on social media thus tarnishing the image of the company, or uses racial epithets in a manner that can be associated with the employer, must be terminated as this is indiscipline. This is, however, the exception and not the norm. The image of an employer is mostly reflected in what the employees post because most social networks display employment information on social media sites. This means that termination on the basis of social media posts must be done on a case by case basis (Clarkson et al., 2014) .
References
Clarkson, K., Miller, R., & Cross, F. (2014). Business Law: Texts and Cases . Independence, KY: Nelson Education
Miller, R. &Cross, F. (2015). Managerial Strategy. Many Companies Have to Revise Their Social Media Policies. Boston: Cengage Learning
Slusky, L., & Goodrich, J. A. (2016, June). Human Factors of Cybersecurity Awareness. In EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (pp. 436-444). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)
The Township High School District 113 . (2016). Electronic Communications/Social Media Use . PP. 1-5
