James Kitling thought about his conversation with Ira Romero earlier that day. H

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James Kitling thought about his conversation with Ira Romero earlier that day. He was not really surprised that the human resources (HR) department was concerned about the time employees were spending on personal issues during the workday. Several departments were known for their rather loose management approach. Internet access for personal tasks, like shopping, using Instant Messaging services, and answering non-work e-mails, had been a concern for several months. Recent news reports had indicated that more than 50 percent of large companies now filter or monitor e-mail. Companies are also monitoring Web browsing, file downloads, chat room use, and group postings. A survey published in the media reported that workers spend an average of eight hours a week looking at non-work Internet sites.

As the director of information technology, James was very dedicated to the effective use of technology to enhance business productivity. Although he was knowledgeable about technology, James was equally attuned to the ways in which technology can be abused in a work setting. He knew that some employees were probably using too much Internet time on personal tasks.

On the other hand, his company mainly employed professionals, administrative staff, and customer service personnel. All 310 employees were expected to use the computer a great deal throughout the day. At present, the company had a skeleton code of ethics and policy on the use of company resources, including the Internet.

A couple of managers and now HR had spoken with James about the prospects of monitoring employee computer and Internet use. Ira's inquiry about the software, however, was a bit more serious. An employee had recently been formally reprimanded for downloading and printing nonwork documents from the Internet. These documents were designed to help the employee's spouse in a new business venture. Although the employee did most of the searching and downloading during lunch, the supervisor felt this was an improper use of company resources. Other employees had informally spoken with about their use of Internet for personal matters. Ira believed this was a growing problem that definitely affected productivity. He had read the news reports and believed that monitoring software was becoming a necessary tool in today's workplace.

So far, James had been hesitant to purchase and implement one of these systems. The employee Internet management software was somewhat expensive, running approximately $25 per computer. He felt that the software could cause employee trust to sharply decline resulting in even greater problems than currently existed. After all, employees engage in some personal tasks during work hours, including making telephone calls home, getting coffee, chatting with coworkers, going to the doctor, and so forth. James wondered if the Internet was that much different from these other personal activities. He recalled a discussion in a management class in his MBA program, where they learned that employees in the early 1900s were only allowed to use the telephone to call the police. Thus, the telephone was once thought of as a great distracter, much like the Internet today.

Ira and a few other managers were pretty firm in their beliefs about the Internet monitoring system. James was still not convinced that it was the best route to curbing the problem. In his role, however, he was expected to provide leadership in developing a solution.  

What would you do?  

Explanation / Answer

As the director of information technology, James Kitling has genuine concern regarding effective use of technology to enhance business productivity. This is not case with only his company. This is very common issue across industry and organizations that employees spend 20-30 % of their working hours in making personal calls, chatting with colleagues at coffee corner, visiting personal websites for non-official work.

Solution to this problem is not only monitoring employees for accessing websites and keeping track of their personal email accounts. In Europe there is strict rule made by Worker's Council that you cannot touch dignity of employee. You cannot access, demand or monitor their personal affairs. What i see as a longterm solution to this problem would be to create awareness among employees by conducting training sessions to understand the situation what loss company is making by productive hours spending on personal work. They can also show statistics. They can demonstrate consequences to employees by making IT Policies and HR Policies. They can sign Non- Disclosure Agreements with employees to take disciplinary actions if they don't follow the policy.

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