Ethical Issues of E-Mail Usage in the Work Place

If those figures argon met, then the claim for logical and rational policies for workplace use of the cyberspace and netmail is growing. This paper will discuss the situation from two points of replication hold of: the employer, and the employee.

First, the personal use of the Internet and email that has been installed and designed for a corporate use is expensive. Assume 40 million Americans in the work place dupe access to a data processor at work. And assume that each of those 40 million Americans apply the Internet for personal activities 5 minutes per sidereal day. That works emerge to 200 million minutes per day or 33,333,333 hours per day of wasted time. However, the millions of dollars that the personal use costs is miniscule compared to the risks that employers take by allowing computers to be used for personal business.

Many companies, fit in to Interactive Week, are turning to sophisticated computer programmes that can blocking certain E-mails from even entering the arrangings. One such program is Surf Control that monitors both incoming and outgoing E-mail messages. As Spangler reports (2001),

The packet scans incoming and outgoing messages

and can grade insignia E-mail that contains key words or phrases that a caller-out selected. At that point, an Internet Administrator or human resources bus with appropriate access rights can review the message, pass it on, or take other action (Spangler, 2001, 18).

3. The employer may conduct occasional monitoring of system activity.

Employers have been sued for copyright infringement when an employee downloaded copyrighted material from the Internet, for racial contrast when employees circulated offensive E-mails, and for sexual harassment when employees posted harassing comments on an electronic bulletin board. Employee misconduct may also lead to claims of retaliation, defamation, embezzlement of trade secrets, hacking, spoilation of evidence, and violation of securities laws (Feldman, 2000, 14).

* Create a policy for E-mail retention and system security, including the "need for employees to protect their passwords and use security measures such as encryption to send exquisite documents" (Feldman, 2000, 21).

The simple fact is that in the current situation, the employee has very poor reason to argue that a control of E-mail and the Internet is a violation of privacy. American laws in the past 20 years have, typically, according to Kopp and other analysts come down on the side of the employer. Part of the condition of fight is the acceptance of the rules of behavior. However, the courts are tending to ask if a clear employment road map for the use of the company E-mail systems and the Internet was part of the employment package. In most cases, because E-mail has become such an constitutive(a) part of doing business, companies have yet to come up with potent policies. popular as gossiping by the watercooler.

Cohen, S. (2001, Feb. 26), Thought cop.(Industry snub or Event), InfoWorld, 20

5. No one may download software or open .exe files from an outside source without the system administrator's permission.

2. The system is to be used only for work-related business. (Not all companies
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