Ethical Issue in Business: Employee's Perception of Digital Reconnaissance at the Workplace

This study explores the perception of employees towards digital reconnaissance in the workplace. It examines the awareness of employees about different types of digital reconnaissance, how it affects their work rate, and their views on monitoring their actions through digital reconnaissance.

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ETHICAL ISSUE IN BUSINESS, CASE STUDY OF EMPLOYEE’S PERCEPTION OF
DIGITAL RECONNAISSANCE AT THE WORK PLACE
By (Name)
Student’s Course
Name of the Instructor
Institutional Affiliation
The City and State
The Date

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ETHICAL ISSUE IN BUSINESS, CASE STUDY OF EMPLOYEE’S PERCEPTION OF
DIGITAL RECONNAISSANCE AT THE WORK PLACE
Abstract
In the recent few years, the ever-increasing technology has brought about digital reconnaissance
and its improvement on a daily basis. Ball (2010) states digital reconnaissance studies scholars like David
Lyon (1994) or Clive Norris and Gary Armstrong (1999) have it that the state in which we live insecure
and uncertain environment and thus it makes digital reconnaissance a necessary tool for monitoring of
the various phenomenon that occur at work places, homes and anywhere. Rapid growth in technology is
taking digital reconnaissance to another level.
Digital reconnaissance techniques are most used in workplaces and organizations according to
past researches carried out on topics such as the uses of digital surveillance in the workplace, its impacts
on employees. However, past researches have contradicting views towards what employees say about the
existence of digital reconnaissance in their workplaces; this research will therefore concentrate in this
area.
Keywords
Digital reconnaissance, monitoring, workplace, employers and employees
Background
With the view of influencing, managing, directing, protecting people, governments and
organizations have adopted digital reconnaissance as the way forward to. The great communications
technology increase and its ever-growing impacts shows that workplaces regard digital reconnaissance as
one of their concerns that require crucial attention for the secure development of the organization. This
has been a concern in recent years and area of interest for many scholars. However, it has not been

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understood what the employees in workplaces have to say about digital reconnaissance significance as far
as work is monitoring and tracking is concerned.
Globally, the invisible revolution of digital investigation McNall and Roch (2009) and
renaissance of risk (beck, 1992) has been an input that is attaining a high degree of concern as the
involvement of humans in organizations have been transformed by the developments of new workplaces
and new practices of work (Kallinikos, 2003), which included the conditions of control mechanisms. The
work transformations affects the way discernibility along with the presence of workers (employees) is
structured and this causes an effect in the way work practices are structured.
Digital reconnaissance also known as e-Digital reconnaissance Alder et al. (2008) and electronic
monitoring (Ball & Margulis, 2011) has been adopted to use by many organizations in recent years
(Ledema & Rhodes, 2010). Many reasons and mainly for security of the workplace environment for both
the organization and employees, monitoring the activities of employees in workplaces have encouraged
the adoption of digital reconnaissance in organizations. In making decisions concerning employees, HR
departments use data gathered by surveillance methods to evaluate them. Employers make these
monitoring techniques of importance with reasons like improving the productivity and quality of work,
avoiding the misuse of resources that belong to the organization, and protecting the confidentiality of the
organizations among others. This however, has left the trust between the workers and their employers
being questioned because employees also have views towards the use digital reconnaissance in
workplaces (Subašić et al. 2011, p.170). The research will therefore seek to investigate the how digital
reconnaissance / e-digital reconnaissance or electronic monitoring affect the employees of an organization
in their work places.
Research Questions

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 How much awareness do employees have about the different types of digital
reconnaissance that the employers use in workplaces?
 How do digital reconnaissance techniques used affect employee work rate?
 What are the views that workers (employees) have concerning monitoring their actions
through digital reconnaissance?
Review of Literature
Digital reconnaissance involves electronic digital reconnaissance and electronic monitoring.
Electronic digital reconnaissance means a “keep watch” or monitoring electronically and therefore these
two terms monitoring and digital reconnaissance may be used to mean the same thing (Alge and Hansen
2014, p.209)
According to Chen et al. (2008), electronic digital reconnaissance refers to when an organization
involves the use information technology (IT) like computers, cameras to gather data that concerns to how
its workforce behave or perform at workplace. Digital reconnaissance was introduced in organizations by
employers to provide a safe working environment for its employees. Various types of digital
reconnaissance techniques is being used and implemented by employers to ensure asset protection from
both employees and shoplifters.
Digital reconnaissance is when the management is able to record hand keep track of how they
perform, behave and personalities according to Kidwell and Sprague (2009) digital reconnaissance have
emerged in recent years which has made it to become common in organizations which has made easy for
employers to track and monitor employees in the workplace.
When talking about digital reconnaissance from the workplace context, it is more than the use of
cameras that track employee’s movements within the organizations, because Digital reconnaissance can
also be done to track employees (workers) outside the organizations from different locations. This in the
recent time has been done by the use of drones. Developed organizations have devices that can track

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organization vehicles; this enables them to improve efficiency of their employees as well as the quality of
their performances (Bhave 2014, p.603). According to Sewell et al. (2012) employers and organizations
found out that through the means of monitoring employees that workers are more productive if they have
interaction that is more social.
A research done by Nancy Flynn, ePolicy Institute’ executive director as stated in an article by
(Riva Richmond 2012) found out that two thirds of companies keep track of their employees and half
have fired their employees for emails and web infringements. Nancy said it is a fact in business that risks
like legal risks exist and regulatory risks exists. She said that either intentionally or accidentally,
employees put businesses into risks. This article also gives tips through which electronic monitoring be
approached fairly and effectively i.e.; i) set down policies, this will make responsibilities and rights
known to every worker in that organization (Eivazi 2011, p.520). Organizations should design a policy
that will explain how they will do monitoring in the organization and how they secure and destroy data,
this should also be able to explain the needs for security. ii) Make known to the your workforce and
explain the business risks caused when the digital policies and assets are not used in the right way and
define the privacy of the workers at the workplace. iii) Technology devices like mobile devices and
networks should be used to in alerts of potential problems, blocking and filtering some contents that could
create a hostile work environment (Whitson 2013, p.163)
Digital reconnaissance in workplace and reasons to why it is used
According to Sánchez et al. (2012), the views about digital reconnaissance were aligned with the
technology Assessment report of 1987 of United States. Digital reconnaissance at the workplace has since
the early 1980s’been questioned.
Vuokko (2008) stated that a great number of organizations are now adopting electronic
monitoring and it is on a rise for the recent years, which brought the reasons as to why organizations and
employers use digital reconnaissance in the work environment to be a concern.

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Emerging technologies and as it develops, employees always find different forms of technology
to use in a workplace in ways that should not be used in the workplace environment and has led to the
adoption of digital reconnaissance forms and monitoring on the employees by employers and
organizations. Digital reconnaissance is practiced in workplaces so as to monitor employees who use web
because it is not part of their tasks (Chang et al. 2015, p.100). In addition, employees spend vast amounts
of time being on internet as they seek personal interest at workplace instead of doing business and work
associated activities. These personal interests according to Jensen and Raver (2012) include activities like
being on social media like facebook, whatsapp, twitter and others, include browsing which made the
employers and organizations to limit and monitor the use and access of internet at workplaces
Digital reconnaissance is used for measuring efficiency, data security, and compliance with
security laws. Much as digital reconnaissance methods are applied to protect against shoplifters and other
criminals in organizations, it also keeps an eye on workers (employees). Monitoring techniques help the
employers to discover or understand the strengths and weaknesses of their workforce, this enable them
allocate them to do what they can do best. This may as well help the employers to know how to coach
their employees because it outlays for them which areas to concentrate in while coaching and as well to
evaluate the employees (Thompson et al. 2009, p.2193)
Cyber slacking is another reason as to why employees are being monitored, and this simply
means the use of the internet for personal use during working hours according to Jeske and Santuzzi
(2015). This may also be called cyber loafing, abuse of the internet. The argument is real that the impacts
digital reconnaissance or monitoring employees by organizations or employers is raising concerns.
Types of digital reconnaissance techniques and tools
Organizations and employers today practice different kinds of digital reconnaissance or electronic
monitoring techniques with emerging technology strategies and this includes tools, devices used to

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monitor employees, this devices used are both tangible or intangible (softwares). The devices used by
employers and organizations are drones, cctv cameras and others being the forms of electronic monitoring
techniques used by these employers to monitor employees at workplace include wireless communications
(Lupton (2014), Computer keystroke capturing and Video cameras (Ciocchetti 2011, p.300). Internet
digital reconnaissance which involves service and network digital reconnaissance (Rosenberg 2010,
p.143), and phone digital reconnaissance is another form of digital reconnaissance that are commonly
carried out in workplaces and this involves the tracking of employees conversations on phone. The most
recent technology is also enables the organizations and employers to use digital reconnaissance tools
systems like Smartcards and identity cards that contain all the employee’s details to track employees and
control their accessibility of various departments and buildings, including recognitions and finger print
scanners (Snyder and Cornetto, 2009, p.480)
Organizations like hospitals that are based in different locations, employers can monitor their
employees’ health and safety practices with digital reconnaissance technologies such as video digital
reconnaissance and such practices are attracting attentions from a number of employees in the workplace
environment
Methodology
When attempting a research study, there are a number of research approaches that can be
employed in order to collect the relevant information in regard to the research question. The approaches
may be either quantitative, qualitative or both depending on the study questions and the type of the data
be collected (Seo et al. 2015, p.250) among which may include; survey, questionnaires, and interviews
among many others. When choosing a methodology, it is important to evaluate the possible strengths and
weaknesses in relation to the research study as b
Qualitative research is done to promote greater understanding of the way things are and why they
are the way they are and for this case it will seek to understand the employees view digital reconnaissance

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and how it affects them in their workplaces and this done through intensive and extensive observation,
interviews and discussions. This promote a greater understanding how employees view digital
reconnaissance in their workplaces and it is usually descriptive in nature. Quantitative research is one that
is based on the methodological principles, it involves collection of numerical data in order to explain how
employees view digital reconnaissance practices in workplaces (Seo et al. 2015, p.250).
Interviews
An interview is a one on one discussion between the interviewer and the interviewee respondents.
According to Oates Seo et al. (2015) an interview involves a conversation between two or more people.
When doing an interview, additional information can be gathered. This allows the interviewer to ask a
detailed question and is also able to get a detailed answer as compared to other methodologies like
questionnaires that provide brief answers. (Seo et al. 2015, p.250).
Interview methodology is the most common method used in collecting data because it can collect
data from all groups of respondents like the educated, non educated among others. This is of a benefit
because it provides an insight that is deep and detailed information on the research topic being studied, its
also flexible and adjustable as it allows the interviewer to ask an additional question. However, interview
method consumes a lot of time in collecting data, analyzing it and drawing conclusions mostly in data that
is not structured.
Questionnaires methodology
This refers to when a researcher designs questions that can help to collect data about a the
research topic that is being studied. If the questionnaires designs correct questions, then the data collected
will be meaningful and if the questions are not correct, the study will be invalid. Questionnaires are
always designed in line with the objectives of the study and should be specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic, and time bond. Questionnaires may not need the help of the researcher; data can be collected
even with the researchers’ absence. Questionnaires does not require much time in collecting and

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analyzing data collected but it limits the responses of the respondents and does not give out the honesty in
the responses and this makes data that is not reliable in a research.
Surveys
This refers to a study done by involving a big group of people to find out how things are done the
way they are done. Survey may make use of already available data or data collected for other purposes.
Normally under survey, a researcher asks a question to a big number of respondents or informants’ which
then can be analyzed to find any pattern in the data. In some circumstances, already existing data may be
used when using surveys method(data collected earlier) or longitudinal (collected over a period) because
of the large number of cases. Surveys can even be done or distributed through the internet and emails and
this makes it be widely used for research purposes. Using survey method can be of an advantage since it
covers a large and a wide range of audience and this enables a comprehensive conclusion. This because
an ample population is represented but however it may also be a disadvantage because it does not provide
much details on the topic being investigated since it may focus on getting large amount of data than the
depth of the research
Experiment
An experiment may imply the deliberate manipulation of different variables available for
investigation with the aim of understanding the possible outcome. This intervention may include
individuals, pupils, teachers, schools. An experiment may be used in the comparison of different variables
while making use of different treatments strategies/ methods. This is called true experiment and if
allocation is any other basis for example using naturally arising or self-selected groups, it is usually called
quasi experiment
Case studies
This is concerned with the collection of empirical data from a firsthand source usually focusing in
a small group in which the information can easily be analyzed after the collection. Casestudies provide

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reliable and dependable information as it is regarded as one of the most reliable methods for data
collection in research studies and is much used when applying qualitative research method. It usually
provides rich detail about those cases of predominantly qualitative approaches. This normally uses
different approaches including questionnaires, observations, and interviews. Analysis is always needed in
order to make a conclusion from the vast quantities of data collected by case study method. Case studies
is in three type’s namely explanatory research, descriptive research, and exploratory research. Case study
helps in executing difficult researches and detailed researches however, its time consuming and it requires
ethical considerations so as to access the requirements that is needed to do the research
Chosen methodologies
Interview
This research will employ interview (qualitative research) to answer the research topic. It
involves asking questions to the participants (employees) and allowing them give answers, which are
open-ended of which employees may not state when survey method is used. This also gives the
employees a chance to expand on their answers to questions being asked or a detailed answer, interview
method also gives a platform where questions related to the topic is asked so as to achieve in-depth
answers from the employees. Interview entails a face-to-face conversation between the interviewer and
the respondents (employees) and so this will enable the employees speak their minds as far as digital
reconnaissance is concerned at their workplaces. This method will also provide a platform for the
employees to ask questions when they seek an understanding of anything related to what is expected of
them in the research. For this case, 25 participants from three different organizations will be asked to be
involved or take part in these interviews
Survey
The researcher will also use survey method to answer the research question of how the digital
reconnaissance techniques affect the employees at their workplaces since it is a fast and easy way of

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gathering data in a setting that has a big population in a short period of time. Since interviews will be
done to get an information that is detailed, survey will be done to enable us get information that can be
expressed or interpreted in mathematical procedures and create generalized conclusions. Survey method
will take into consideration that the employees do not have a lot of time since some digital reconnaissance
techniques are already tracking them and so it will reduce time wastage and therefore 200 participants
from different organizations will be involved in doing this study.
Conclusion
The ever-rising digital reconnaissance tools in workplaces comes with impacts to the surrounding
or work environment under the digital reconnaissance. Researches from different researchers have proved
that digital reconnaissance techniques exist in organizations but it has not been understood how
employees feel about this digital reconnaissance practices. Therefore, the researcher will investigate how
digital reconnaissance or e-digital reconnaissance or electronic monitoring affect employees of an
organization in their workplaces. Different methodologies will be employed to answer this research
question
Project plan
tasks start date end date duration
writing and submission of proposal 5/1/2018 13-May-18 13
conducting of the research study 5/15/2018 3-Jun-18 18
progress report submission 6/6/2018 17-Jun-18 11
handing in of the final report 6/21/2018 8/4/2018 14

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writing and sbmision of proposal
conducting of the research study
progress report submission
handing in of the fina report
43221 43231 43241 43251 43261 43271 43281 43291
Chart Title

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