Fixing short report

Internet Usage Policy at Pyramid:

A Short Report

September 20, 2013

Prepared for: Pyramid Design Team

Prepared by: Student Name

BUS105

Background Pyramid Design Team began seven years ago as a small design firm with three

employees. The original employees were the owner and two designers. With this core

of three employees, each knew what was expected of the other, and official policies cut

against the grain of the creative atmosphere that was being fostered. Therefore, aside

from the founding document containing the mission of the company, there were no

policies put in place. This worked fine, until recently.

Within the last four years, Pyramid has hired 11 additional staff, including designers and

programmers. The company has been implementing new policies regarding vacation

time, holidays, and sexual harassment, for example, but there still exists no policy

governing the use of the Internet at work. Now that the company consists of 14

employees, I propose the creation and adoption of an Internet policy that will provide

employees with clear guidelines about its appropriate and sanctioned use at work.

Problem The inappropriate use of the Internet is threefold. First, the designers and developers

are downloading beta versions of software from the Internet. Since this software is

often in beta, there can be, and have been, numerous problems with these types of free

downloads.

Our IT manager has seen a huge increase in Trojan viruses penetrating our system and

causing damage to our servers and other employees’ computers. He has spent

countless hours trying to find and remove these viruses and has expended thousands of

dollars in resources to call in technical specialists to eradicate the viruses.

The intent of the designers and developers was simply to get the latest software that

will allow them to create the best product. Unfortunately, that has not always been the

case, and some of these downloads are causing serious IT threats to our systems.

The new Internet policy needs to ban this practice and clearly state that nothing can be

downloaded from the Internet without the express consent of the IT manager and a

supervisor.

Second is the use of social media at work. The use of company computers by employees

to view Facebook, other social media, and streaming services has increased 200% in the

past 18 months! Some employees, for example, are logging-into Facebook when they

arrive at work and leaving the page running as a tab in their web browser, checking it

frequently throughout the day.

This has decreased productivity. A study conducted by Nucleus Research and published

by Computerworld found that “Companies that allow users to access Facebook in the

workplace lose an average of 1.5% in total employee productivity, according to a new

report from Nucleus Research, an IT research company. The survey of 237 employees

also showed that 77% of workers who have a Facebook account use it during work

hours.” Facebook is, of course, the biggest offender, but the policy needs to ban all

social media, such as Twitter, while at work.

The third area of concern involves streaming video services, such as Netflix, Amazon

Prime, and Hulu. Employees who eat lunch at their desk are using their computers to

watch videos from a streaming video provider. The problem arises when the employee

watching a video finds the content completely suitable, while a co-worker sitting

nearby, or passing by his or her desk, finds the content inappropriate. As this is a

subjective opinion, we can be opening ourselves up to a lawsuit for sexual harassment,

for instance, if a video contained nudity in it and the passerby saw it and became

threatened.

Although most employees are not falling into this category, it only takes one. Because

of this, we need to ban streaming videos.

Finally, there have been instances where pornography has been viewed on a company

computer. I am sure we all can agree that banning the use of viewing or downloading

any pornographic image using a company computer should be banned.

Solution There needs to be a policy implemented where violations like these above can be dealt

with immediately. Depending on the severity of the infraction, we can have a tiered

system of punishment:

1. First Infraction – verbal warning 2. Second Infraction – written warning 3. Third Infraction – dismissal from the company

There are many forms an Internet usage policy can take, but I suggest we keep it simple.

GFI, a company that provides IT solutions, provides a clear-cut policy for Internet usage

that details what company computers should, and should not, be used for:

• Company employees are expected to use the Internet responsibly and productively. Internet access is limited to job-related activities only and personal use is not

permitted

• Job-related activities include research and educational tasks that may be found via the Internet that would help in an employee's role

• All Internet data that is composed, transmitted and/or received by <company's> computer systems is considered to belong to <company> and is recognized as part of

its official data. It is therefore subject to disclosure for legal reasons or to other

appropriate third parties

• The equipment, services and technology used to access the Internet are the property of <company> and the company reserves the right to monitor Internet traffic and

monitor and access data that is composed, sent or received through its online

connections

• Emails sent via the company email system should not contain content that is deemed to be offensive. This includes, though is not restricted to, the use of vulgar or

harassing language/images

• All sites and downloads may be monitored and/or blocked by <company> if they are deemed to be harmful and/or not productive to business

• The installation of software such as instant messaging technology is strictly prohibited

Unacceptable use of the Internet by employees includes, but is not limited to:

• Sending or posting discriminatory, harassing, or threatening messages or images on the Internet or via <company's> email service

• Using computers to perpetrate any form of fraud, and/or software, film or music piracy

• Stealing, using, or disclosing someone else's password without authorization • Downloading, copying or pirating software and electronic files that are copyrighted

or without authorization

• Sharing confidential material, trade secrets, or proprietary information outside of the organization

• Hacking into unauthorized websites • Sending or posting information that is defamatory to the company, its

products/services, colleagues and/or customers

• Introducing malicious software onto the company network and/or jeopardizing the security of the organization's electronic communications systems

• Sending or posting chain letters, solicitations, or advertisements not related to business purposes or activities

• Passing off personal views as representing those of the organization

Obviously, not all points made here are necessary, but this provides the best overview

of a policy that we can utilize to make our operations run more smoothly and

effectively. We can pick what we need and discard what does not apply. I suggest we

begin work on creating this policy within the next week and have it ready to implement

within one month. I am available at your convenience to discuss the creation of this

policy.

Works Cited

"Sample Internet Usage Policy." GFI. GFI Software, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

<http://www.gfi.com/pages/sample-internet-usage-policy>.

"Study: Facebook Use Cuts Productivity at Work." Computerworld. Computerworld, Inc.

22 July 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/

9135795/Study_Facebook_use_cuts_productivity_at_work>