Contents

1. Executive Summary.............................................................................................4
2. Introduction..........................................................................................................4
3. Literature review..................................................................................................4
4. Background..........................................................................................................4
4.1 Company Purpose..........................................................................................4
4.2 General implementations of internet policies................................................5
4.3 Current implementations of internet policies.................................................5
4.3.1 Comparison of other organization use.....................................................5
5. Benefits................................................................................................................5
5.1 Benefits for Employees..................................................................................5
5.2 Benefits for Employers...................................................................................5
5.3 Benefits for the Company..............................................................................6
6. Problems..............................................................................................................6
6.1 Psychological impact of implementation........................................................6
6.1.1 Employee attitudes towards employers...................................................6
6.1.2 Employee attitudes towards work...........................................................6
6.1.3 Employer attitudes towards employees...................................................6
6.2 Legal implications..........................................................................................7
6.2.1 Beneficial implications.............................................................................7
6.2.2 Negative implications..............................................................................7
6.2.3 Ethical implications..................................................................................8
6.3 Costs..............................................................................................................8
6.3.1 Costs of implementation..........................................................................8
6.3.2 Costs of on-going support........................................................................8
7. Possible solutions.................................................................................................9
7.1 Involving employees in construction of policy...............................................9
7.2 Benefits and rewards for non-violations.........................................................9
7.3 Promoting awareness of internet misuse in the workplace............................9
7.4 Possible alternatives......................................................................................9
7.4.1 Blacklisting websites...............................................................................9
7.4.2 Blacklisting internet-software packages..................................................9

1
 7.4.3 Blacklisting words and phrases...............................................................9
7.4.4 Restrictions on internet usage...............................................................10
8. Conclusions........................................................................................................10
9. Recommendations.............................................................................................10
10. Bibliography....................................................................................................11
Bibliography

Table of contents for figures

2
1. Figure
1.0…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………….13
2. Figure
2.0…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………….14

1
1.Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to analyse the introduction of internet usage
policies and monitoring software in an organisation. Research has been
sourced from numerous faucets of information ranging from professional
publications to individual views and personal blog articles to present a report
outlining benefits, problems and potential solutions in the implementation of
the aforementioned. Internet usage policies have proven to be beneficial for
both employees and teachers in this employers age; and due to the low cost
of implementation, maintenance and security are also a very large factor in
considering implementation. This report recommends implementation of this
policy which not only in the short term, but also in long term will aid the
success, security and growth of this organisation.

2. Introduction
This report is based on research carried out between March and May 2010
using qualitative methods. Over the past decade, employee internet abuse
has been a growing concern for numerous organizations. Thus, more and
more companies are implementing are switching to monitoring software
rather than just enforcing policies to try to limit the amount of abuse
occurring. This report will identify the costs, efficiency, impact on morale and
the legal issues with imposing such things.

3. Literature review
There are many texts on this matter giving a range of ideas, views and
opinions. Because this topic covers a wide range of aspects, ranging from
psychological effects through to legal issues, it was necessary to retrieve
information from numerous forms of media. After heavy consideration, I
came to select specific texts which covered all of the aforementioned
aspects. My citations should appear as a list of references below. In this
report I have used the American Psychological Association referencing style.

4. Background
4.1Company Purpose
(company) is a relatively large organisation which does not currently have
a internet usage policy. They are a well respected and prospectful
organisation who wishes to maintain their good image and due to recent
awareness of possible implications of internet abuse and misuse in the
workplace have seeked consultation in regards to this issue.

1
 4.2General implementations of internet policies
Internet policies generally outline what the users are allowed and not
allowed to do. They include the type of websites that are allowed to be
accessed, when they can be accessed, and for what reasons. They also
depict how users should conduct themselves when using company email
or internet. It sets out limitations on personal (non work-related) use, and
usually outlines the punishments and procedures that will occur if an
employee is found to be breaking these rules.

4.3Current implementations of internet policies

Currently this company has no internet policy implemented besides the
user’s personal ethical attitude towards internet use at the workplace.

4.3.1 Comparison of other organization use

Many organisations, large and small, have implemented internet
policies with positive outcomes. Organisations such as Blue Bell
Creameries in Texas, USA, asks it’s employees to try to limit the
amount of time that they spend at online shopping sites (such as
Amazon and eBay) and blocks access to some specific Web sites.
"It's understood that work time is work time," says Bill Weiss, a
spokesman with Blue Bell, which has 2,800 employees. He says the
policy helps limit employees from accessing sites that can contain
spyware. The city of Pittsburgh in the US is producing (we can
assume due to the age of the source that this has now been
implemented) that will limit public works employee’s to 30 minutes
of internet use per day, which is managed via a Web-filtering
program that monitors the amount of time employees spend online.
"It's a best practice for the taxpayers of Pittsburgh," says Dick
Skrinjar, of the mayor's office. "We want the highest level of
service. It makes us more effective and productive." (AMOUR, 2006)

5. Benefits
5.1Benefits for Employees
Employees benefit in the sense that they are allowed to work to their full
capacity, void of distractions that could come from internet misuse which
opens the door for promotion and advances in their workplace (RAJAN). It
also provides a clear written set of what is and what is not acceptable, so
the employee can identify what the employer’s thoughts are on this
matter. It also outlines a strict set of punishments and procedures to
prevent any unfair sanctions against employees found to break the policy
(YOUNG).

1
 5.2Benefits for Employers
Employers are able to spend less time physically monitoring employees
(KOMANDO) and be able to make sure that employees who abuse this are
able to be correctly punished (YOUNG).

5.3Benefits for the Company

Chris Borcher stated that it is useful to prevent a business from computer
viruses, legal exposures and time wasting (RUQUET, 2010). Monitoring can help
increase security, improve productivity, reduce employee misbehavior,
competitive information leaks and liability risks (Enbysk). Figure 1.0 shows that
the large amount of internet use at the workplace is for personal reasons rather
than business motives.

6. Problems
6.1Psychological impact of implementation
6.1.1 Employee attitudes towards employers
Employees could feel that their Employer is infringing their privacy
rights (ENBYSK). Employees could also feel that their Employer
does not respect them, which can cause numerous implications
(Schulman, 2008)

6.1.2 Employee attitudes towards work

Employees have their morale seriously damaged or even quit
(ENBYSK). Employees are unable to do normal personal activities
due to their work hours (such as banking), and cutting off internet
banking could place great stress on the employee and the way he
views the work (YOUNG). It has been found that 16% of employees
view the internet fair use policy as a major influence in their job
choice (Kidman, 2008)

6.1.3 Employer attitudes towards employees

The employer could discover information about the employee which
may lead to later bias in attitudes or reviews (ie the employee’s
ethic origin, religious views, sexuality etc). On the other hand, the
employer may find that the employee’s are not misusing the
internet policy and could lead to greater trust between them.

1
6.2Legal implications
6.2.1 Beneficial implications

6.2.1.1Monitoring software
Monitoring employees could prevent an organisation being
responsible for the employee’s actions on the company
computers (Ruquet, 2010).

According to Reh (2010):

• It gives both the employee and employer legal protection.
• It can be considered part of the organisations “due
diligence” in keeping sufficient records and files
• Protects the employer from situations where an
unwittingly exposed to offensive graphic material on
colleagues' computer screens, and charges a hostile
workplace environment

2.1.1.1Internet usage policies

Policies can outline many issues and make the employees
completely aware of what type of monitoring to expect, what
they will be monitored for, and what the punishments are that
will arise from breaking these rules (An example of an internet
usage policy can be seen in Figure 2.0).

According to Erik (2006) internet policies provide the following

benefits:
• Clarify what constitutes acceptable use of Internet
services
• Ensure employees understand who to contact with
questions regarding acceptable use
• Ensure employees understand the penalties that arise
from Internet misuse
• Help lessen an organization's spyware and virus
infestation rates
• Provide human resources with signed documentation from
each employee stating a pledge not to improperly use
Internet services
• Help mitigate productivity losses
• Decrease dependence upon technology solutions used to
enforce employee behavior

2
 • Reduce the organization's liability resulting from
harassment claims, copyright violations originating onsite
and other illegal acts
•

2.1.1 Negative implications

Legal issues could arise if employers are not consistent with their
punishments. Another aspect is that if an employer finds sensitive
or personal information (such as sexually explicit e-mails), the
employer could be facing court cases of Invasion of Privacy and
Unlawful Searches (CCH, 2010).

2.1.2 Ethical implications

An employer should ethically not monitor an employee when it is
unnecessary. There needs to be a good balance between total trust
of employees and total lack of trust. Questions such as “Are you
solving a problem or concern, or are you just paranoid” and “is it a
cultural fit?” need to be addressed. “An organization that thrives on
independence, such as a research-and-development company, may
create more problems than it is solving with significant monitoring”
(Enbysk, 2010). The ethics of monitoring employee's Internet use in
the workplace will only be as good as the company's overall ethics
(Young, 2010).

2.2Costs
2.2.1 Costs of implementation

2.2.1.1General Policy
The costs of implementing a general policy can be as little as a
few dollars. It involves preparing a policy, or simply downloading
a pre-made one from the internet. It is then photocopied, and
individual copies are signed and dated by individual employees
affected. You may consider affixing it to walls, or making it a
screen-saver or background on the actual computers used
(assuming you have the right to do so). The total cost should not
exceed $100. Note that the costs will increase if you plan on
having a legal attorney prepare the policy for you.

2.2.1.2Monitoring software
A complete monitoring software suite will cost $200. To
implement it will cost $50 per computer.

1
 2.2.2 Costs of on-going support

2.2.2.1General Policy
It is recommended that every 6 months the internet policy
revised and resigned to assure that the employee is aware and
has not forgotten. It will cost the same as the implementation
cost

2.2.2.2Monitoring software
Depending on what software package you have, licenses may
expire after a year. This means that you will need to renew the
software license which could cost as much as the initial
purchase price.

3. Possible solutions
3.1Involving employees in construction of policy
Surveying employees could allow them to see why a policy would be
useful. It will also give you a good idea as to how they personally feel
about such a policy, and how you should implement it. This concept of
employee involvement would also make it easier for the employees to
accept, as the more involved they feel they are the more likely they are to
comply with it.

3.2Benefits and rewards for non-violations

Rewards could be given to those who do not, or have the least violations.
These rewards could be in the form of social praises, cash prizes (ie
offering $100 to the person who manages not to break the policy for 3
months) or promotions.

3.3Promoting awareness of internet misuse in the

workplace
Promoting awareness is as simple as producing posters and copies of the
acceptable use policy. This policy can also be incorporated into the
screensaver or background of the computer. A boot message could be
implemented whereby a user must agree to a set of rules and select (for
example) the “Y” key (as opposed to the “N” key).

1
 3.4Possible alternatives
3.4.1 Blacklisting websites
Many companies are starting to blacklist social networking and
other websites they feel are not productive at work (Polakowski,
2008) and it is usually a cheap and easy to implement feature.

3.4.2 Blacklisting internet-software packages

It is possible to block content such as Adobe Flash which will mean
that employees will not be able to view many online videos from
websites such as the popular Youtube.

3.4.3 Blacklisting words and phrases

It to blacklist complete words and phrases that the employer feels
are not productive (these are usually sexual phrases and references
to pornography)

3.4.4 Restrictions on internet usage

It is possible to simply restrict the amount of time employees spend
using the internet per day. This has been implemented by the City
of Pitsburg, USA and they have stated that it would lead to an
increase in service quality, effectiveness and productivity (AMOUR,
2006).

4. Conclusions
This report has identified the numerous benefits, problems and opinions
based on internet policy implementation. Some are primarily used for larger
organisations such as the higher-end internet usage monitoring software;
others are used in smaller and more common situations such as a basic
internet usage agreement between the employee and employer. The
psychological aspects of a policy implementation have also been discussed.
The performance of these policies is dependent upon their quality, strength,
aspects covered and most importantly the way they are written and
communicated to the users. Internet policy has improved productivity
significantly in recent years when we are becoming more and more
dependant on the internet. The impact of these improvements is expected to
increase the efficiancy of employees its suitability for a wider range of
purposes (such as legal aspects). In relation to this, the future of internet

2
 monitoring software seems to point to that more employers are switching to
monitoring their employees’ internet usage.

5. Recommendations
An internet usage policy should be drafted with the aid of a lawyer and
should be signed and agreed to by all users who will be affected by it. It is
recommended that surveys to the affected users are produced to allow self-
reflection, which will inturn make it easier to implement future policies and
monitoring technologies. It is recommended that low-level internet
monitoring is implemented, whereby the websites and e-mails sent on
company e-mail is monitored for any issues. The benefits outweigh the
negatives, and in situations such as legal situations they could prove
incredibly useful.

6. Bibliography
Ruquet, M.E (2010). To Avoid Many Perils Control Internet Access, Agencies Warned,
National Underwriter P&C. Retrieved from
http://www.propertycasualty.com/News/2010/3/Pages/Agencies-Warned-Control-
Internet-Access-To-Avoid-Many-Perils.aspx

Should employers monitor employees' Internet use? (2010) (Online forum

discussion). Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/debates/88214-should-
employers-monitor-employees-internet-use
Rajan, C.V. (2010). The ethics of monitoring employee Internet use in the workplace.
Web log message Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/1598381-the-ethics-
of-monitoring- employee-internet-use-in-the-workplace

Young, E.M. (2010). The ethics of monitoring employee Internet use in the workplace.
Web log message http://www.helium.com/items/1593083-the-ethics-of-monitoring-
employee-internet-use-in-the-workplace

2
 Enbysk, M . (2010). Should you monitor your employees' Web use? Microsoft
company publication Retrieved from
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/ArticleReader/website/default.as
px?
ArticleId=ShouldyoumonitoryouremployeesWebuse#Shouldyoumonitoryouremploye
esWebuse

Komando, K. (2010). Why you need a company policy on Internet use.

Microsoft company
publication Retrieved from
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/management/employee-
relations/why-you-
need-a-company-policy-on-internet-use.aspx

Schulman, M (2008). LittleBrother is watching you. Santa Clara University

publication Retrieved from
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v9n2/brother.html

Industry Canada (2009) Small Business Information Needs Assessment Survey

retrieved from http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/sbrp-rppe.nsf/eng/rd00086.html

207 Tech (undated). Acceptable use policy retrieved from

http://www.207tech.net/~kstokdijk/Site/Acceptable_Use_Policy.html

Amour, S. (2006, June 2). Companies keep an eye on workers' internet use.
USA Today, Retrieved from
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2006-02-20-internet-
abuse_x.htm

Reh, F.J. (n.d.). Your boss is watching you. About.com Management, Retrieved
from http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MonitorEE062501.htm

CCH. (n.d.). Internet use poses litigation risk for employers, provides litigation
tool for attorneys. Hrtools Build a better business, Retrieved from
https://www.hrtools.com/legal_compliance/internet_use_poses_litigation_risk
_for_employers_provides_litigation_tool_for_attorneys.aspx

Erik, Initials. (2006, August 24). The Importance of internet usage policies.
Tech republic, Retrieved from http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-
10878_11-6071808.html

Polakowski, M. (2008, May 12). To Block or not to block? social networking sites
at work. Cetification Magazine, Retrieved from
http://www.certmag.com/read.php?in=3456

1
Figure 10Use of internet for business purposes

2
 (Industry Canada, 2009)

Figure 20Example of internet fair use policy

1
(207 Tech, undated)