Ethical Use of Computers in the Workplace

This assignment delves into the ethical implications of computer usage in the workplace. It examines issues such as employee privacy, data security, and the responsible use of networks. The document emphasizes the importance of establishing clear guidelines for ethical conduct, including netiquette principles, to ensure a safe and productive work environment.

RUNNING HEAD: Network Management in Organizations
Network Management in Organizations

Network Management in Organizations 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Identification of Issues.....................................................................................................................2
Analysis of Issues............................................................................................................................3
Evaluation and Justification.............................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The concept of ethical use of computers and networks in an organization is relatively new but is
a growing field of study. Nowadays, with the increasing use of computers in the organizations,
official code of ethics has started to be published that specify the use of computers. However, the
advancement in technology sometimes results in the leaving of ethical considerations behind.
Therefore, when various technological dilemmas are faced, general and historical guidelines are
used by the ethical computer workers for the purpose of making informed decisions (Frenz,
2017).
Identification of Issues
The computer resources and network of the organization are often used by the employees just
like at home which can even result in putting their jobs and company at risk. If the computer and
networks are used by the employees in an inappropriate manner in the organization then the
security of the data can be endangered and may result in a situation which could prevent the
normal conduct of business (Dangiagala, 2017). The following issues have been identified in an
organization-
Personal Internet Usage- Many employees in an organization use the network of the company for
their personal usage including shopping, accessing private emails, social media and banking
transactions. This leads to slowing down of the network ultimately hindering its use for business
purposes (Corporate Compliance Insights, 2017).
Email- Improper use of the email system can even result in heavy business losses for an
organization and loss of data. Sensitive data such as trade secrets should be first encrypted before
causing its transmission through an email system and should be sent only to a known and
authorized email address.
Harassment- Inappropriate videos, images and jokes should never be shared or accessed through
the workplace computers, emails and network as it contains sexually suggestive or
discriminatory content and the recipient may find it offensive and can even issue harassment
claims against the employee and the company (Hughes, 2017).

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Privacy- Usernames and passwords are created by the company by keeping in mind the security
needs of every employee in an organization and should not be shared with the colleagues. The
records are secured in order to remain private and therefore its access by an unauthorized person
may result in serious data loss or fraud for an organization (Kraft, 2017).
Analysis of Issues
The analysis of the issues provide that an organization faces a variety of problems with regard to
the use of computers and network provided by the organization to their employees. The use of
computers by a person not authorized for its use can cause heavy losses to the company in a
single minute. Moreover, making use of the network without giving due respect to the interest of
the organization and other employees can even result in filing of litigation by other employees
which in turn harms the reputation of both the employee and the organization. Some issues
related to ethical use of computers have been identified in recent cases. In a case R. v. Cole, it
was suggested that the expectation of the employees regarding the privacy of the personal
information stored on the computer of the organization should be governed by a policy. In this
case during the school board check of the computer files, inappropriate material stored by the
teacher on the work computer was discovered and then led to police search of the computer. The
Supreme Court of Canada provided the policies of the workplace may diminish the expectation
of the employee related to the privacy in the work computer but do not remove them entirely. It
means that an employee may still have reasonable but diminished expectation of privacy.
In another case Jones v. Tsige, a bank employee looked for the information related to her ex-
husband’s partner 174 times which was against the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The
court admitted that the actions were contrary to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and
dubbed intrusion upon seclusion.
Therefore, in both the cases the requirement for the introduction and review of codes, policies
and practices and required with regard to the ethical use of the workplace computers and the
personal use of computers for adoption in case of digital technologies (Lexology, 2012).

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Evaluation and Justification
Netiquette technique can be adopted by the professionals for the purpose of embracing ethical
use of networks since it is a set of unofficial rules for politeness and good behavior in case of
online and digital technologies. As far as an email is concerned, it must be concise and properly
proofread for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. It must include a subject line, a proper
opening and a closing line. Privacy of the recipients must be protected through the use of blind
carbon copy (bcc) and care must be taken while using the Reply to All button. Moreover, efforts
must be made abide by the same standards of behavior in the cyberspace as in real life and
efforts must be made to appear good online in respect of the content. Also, expert knowledge
should be shared over the internet without abusing the power and forgiving the mistakes of other
people. (RGO Library & Learning Commons, 2017).
Training programs for the employees should be developed for making them habitual with the
ethical policies issued by the department. Such training programs remind the employees
regarding their ethical and legal obligations towards the organization with the help of various
classes and web based training modules which must be provided during the entrance of new
employees into the organization or at the time of updating of policies (Work Time, 2017).
Ethical uses of the computers with proper netiquette technique protect the privacy of the
employer as well as the employees and ensure that the secrets of the company are not spread
through the computers. These computer ethics code provides the guidelines which are based on
the responsibilities that is created by the computer work.
Moreover, the expectations must be made clear by the employer regarding the rules of the
company. There must also be a proper monitoring of the computer which will ensure that
personal data and information is not stored in the computer of the organization (Backbone
America, 2017).
Moreover, spyware such as key loggers can be installed in the computers of the employees which
keep a check on what a user is doing on the given computer. Also, it must be ensured that only
an authorized person makes the use of a computer with the view to handle the privacy issues.
Employers must also monitor the internet usage of the employees in order to protect the

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organization from legal problems which could result from the illegal and inappropriate activities
of the employees through the use of organization’s computers.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that the organization should ensure the ethical use of computers
and networks to avoid various issues related to privacy of the employers and employees along
with the loss of sensitive data of the organization. This will help the employers to keep
themselves on sound legal and ethical grounds by proper monitoring of the data stored on the
computers of the employees and monitoring of their network usage. Such monitoring activities
will significantly deal with the security concerns, legal liability and the employee productivity
concerns effectively. Moreover, netiquette technique would provide proper rules that would help
the professionals and the organization to embrace the ethical use of network (Burks, 2017).

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References
Backbone America. (2017). Computer Ethics in the Workplace. Retrieved December 31, 2017
from https://backboneamerica.com/computer-ethics-in-the-workplace
Burks, F. (2017). Ethical Issues & Employer Monitoring Internet Usage. Retrieved December
31, 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-issues-employer-monitoring-
internet-usage-12617.html
Corporate Compliance Insights. (2017). Managing the Workplace Ethics of Social Media.
Retrieved December 31, 2017 from
http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/managing-the-workplace-ethics-of-social-
media/
Dangiagala, N. M. K. (2017). FACTORS INFLUENCING COMPUTER ETHICS AT THE
WORKPLACE: A STUDY OF PROFESSIONALS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA. Retrieved
December 31, 2017 from
http://www.academia.edu/9874037/FACTORS_INFLUENCING_COMPUTER_ETHICS
_AT_THE_WORKPLACE_A_STUDY_OF_PROFESSIONALS_IN_SOUTH-
EAST_ASIA
Frenz, R. (2017). The Ethical Use of Computers in the Workplace for Workers. Retrieved
December 31, 2017 from https://bizfluent.com/info-7742333-ethical-use-computers-
workplace-workers.html
Hughes, A. (2017). Workplace and Computer Ethics Abuse. Retrieved December 31, 2017 from
https://woman.thenest.com/workplace-computer-ethics-abuse-7522.html
Kraft, D. (2017). EMPLOYEES & ETHICS WITH COMPUTERS. Retrieved December 31, 2017
from https://careertrend.com/employees-ethics-computers-9940.html
Lexology. (2012). Personal and ethical use of work computer. Retrieved December 31, 2017
from https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e3862595-c548-49ea-b444-
b73edf9adeb1

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RGO Library & Learning Commons. (2017). Digital Literacy: Computer Skills, Netiquette &
Internet Safety. Retrieved December 31, 2017 from
https://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=10214&p=52001
Work Time. (2017). Is it Legal and Ethical To Use Employee Computer Monitoring Software?.
Retrieved December 31, 2017 from https://www.worktime.com/is-it-legal-and-ethical-to-
use-employee-computer-monitoring-software/