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Running head: GIANT MANUFACTURING—INTERNET USAGE POLICY MEMO 1

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Giant Manufacturing—Internet Usage Policy Memo

Jane Doe

MGT320 – The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business

Colorado State University – Global Campus

Dr. Kenneth Hogan

DATE

Memo Regarding Internet Usage

TO: Clara Smith, CEO of Giant Manufacturing

FROM: Shalia Sturgis, Consultant

DATE: August 30, 2015

SUBJECT: Internet Usage in the Workplace Comment by Kenneth Hogan: Ensure you have the appropriate memo title.

In this day and age, the Internet plays an important role in society. For many, the internet is how people keep in touch and access information at a very rapid pace. The need for internet usage is present in the workplace for it its ability to increase productivity and immediate access to knowledge. In the workplace, many employees may find themselves intrigued by the speed of knowledge they have access to and can find themselves accessing websites that aren’t conducive to company productivity. While in the workplace, it is important for employees to maintain professionalism, on and off of the internet. Irresponsible use of the internet in the workplace could result in crimes against employees and the company. Comment by Kenneth Hogan: Introduce the intention of the memo.

Proper Internet Usage

Employees at Giant Manufacturing need to have access to the internet for productivity. However, when it comes to internet usage, not all websites visited are conducive to productivity. Usage of inappropriate websites leads to lower bottom lines resulting in the need for more time spent in the workplace to ensure all deadlines are met for reporting. The usage of the internet has been monitored and the following five websites have been reported as most used when it comes to unproductivity (Conner, 2012):

· Facebook

· LinkedIn

· Amazon

· Yahoo

· Google+ (para. 2).

Visiting these sites at work can result in crimes against employees or the company. Not all links associated with media websites are safe which could result in identity theft of an employee. This could also lead to the server security system being breached by hackers resulting in the loss of private employee information such as social security numbers, birthdates, and home addresses. The safety and security of Giant Manufacturing’s employees is of the utmost importance.

Online Crimes Comment by Kenneth Hogan: Headers allow the memo to flow and transition to relevant topics.

There is also a possibility of employees committing crime under the hat of the company, including torts and crimes via the internet. Any violation of sort will not be tolerated. Possible cyber torts include, but are not limited to: intentionally damaging computers, intellectual property release, cyber defamation, and cyber harassment (Pennsylvania State, n.d.). Examples of cyber crimes include theft and assault, which are regarded as blue-collar crimes. White-collar cyber crimes include insider trading and accounting fraud (Henning, 2014), resulting in liability of the employee. Committing these unlawful acts via computers in the workplace can place the liability on the company resulting in negligence, meaning Giant Manufacturing neglected to monitor internet traffic from it’s own computers with monitoring software, for example. Comment by Kenneth Hogan: Always spell out the full name of the organization and do not use the URL/ web address, (i.e. .com. edu .net).

Corporate Duty of Care Comment by Kenneth Hogan: A level 2 header should be bold, left-justified and all major words capitalized.

The possibility of violation of duty of care also exists in the event of unauthorized social media use at work. Duty of care requires the director to act as a prudent person would and to act in good faith (Colorado State University, 2015). Nonfeasance, which is defined as a leader simply not doing what he or she is supposed to do in a director role (Colorado State University, 2015), can happen when an employee, for example, makes threats via social media and it goes unnoticed by leadership.

Controlling Online Behavior

Halting this corporate malfeasance through unauthorized Internet usage can be achieved through the usage of monitoring software installed by IT. The usage of a firewall may also keep corporate malfeasance, defined as a broad term describing major and minor crimes that might be committed by officers of a corporation (Duff, n.d.), at a minimum by strictly denying the use of certain websites on computers at work, or tracking their usage (Conner, 2012). Ethical issues can arise through the implementation of monitoring software regarding basic employee rights such as the right to privacy. Privacy regarding internet usage is limited, however, given employers have the right to know what is and isn’t being said or written via computers in the workplace (FindLaw, n.d.). Giant Manufacturing has the right to view sent and received emails as well as personal social media accounts to ensure the safety of the company and to keep free of defamation and or libel, which are false statements that impugn or damage someone’s character or credibility, libel being written defamation (Lau & Johnson, 2014). Another method to prevent corporate malfeasance would be to institute internet workshops to train employees on what is and isn’t acceptable internet usage in the workplace. Comment by Kenneth Hogan: This is an example of a parenthetical citation. It includes the authors’ last names and the year. If there was a quotation, a page or paragraph number would be included. Notice the period is at the end of the parentheses.

Refusing to visit these websites during work hours will ultimately result in higher profit margins for the company. Management, however, understands the need for a mental break during the workday, which is why Giant Manufacturing will be designating a break room with computers, authorized for relaxed internet usage as long as the websites visited are within moral and legal reason. Giant Manufacturing also understands that studies have shown regular work breaks can enhance employee’s job satisfaction as well as productivity (Korkki, 2012), which are strongly encouraged. However, under no circumstances shall any employee expect to access unauthorized or illegal websites such as pornography or gambling. Upon contracting with the company, employees must consent to creating login info, private to them, which will be used for free-use computers. This login info, aside from the password, will allow Giant Manufacturing to monitor each employee’s usage of the break-room computers.

Internet Usage Policy for Low-Level Employees

The following is an internet usage policy applying to all lower level employees at Giant Manufacturing using company technology. All employees shall find this addendum for acceptable internet usage in their employment contracts requiring they read and sign a document allowing work computers to be periodically monitored for illegal or unproductive use. All employees shall expect zero privacy when it comes to internet usage. Any unauthorized use will not be permitted and will be submitted for further review. Email usage shall also be monitored and may only contain professional content regarding work issues, to include all incoming and outgoing messages. Employees are encouraged to use the company’s secure mail, which encrypts all messages outbound of Giant Manufacturing. Although not encouraged, private email use is authorized. Employees should expect to have this email traffic monitored as well. Websites that are strictly unauthorized and off limits include but are not limited to: those related to anything that may be sexually explicit, online gambling, shopping. Any attempt made at accessing these websites will be blocked via firewall. Not illegal, but also unauthorized, are websites for personal business such as banking or purchasing merchandise.

While working on behalf of Giant Manufacturing, employees are authorized the use of private mobile devices. However, the transmitting data confidential to Giant Manufacturing on mobile devices, private or corporate owned, is strictly unauthorized.

Giant Manufacturing will not be liable for any unauthorized internet usage committed by its employees. The computers used by employees are solely the property of Giant Manufacturing and should be treated as such. Therefore, storage of any data not related to work is unauthorized due to the limited storage capacity of Giant Manufacturing’s servers.

Authorized internet activity includes tasks related to furthering education or research for project productivity, support of company functions, employee support, and idea sharing between employees.

Consequences of Unauthorized Internet Use

Consenting to ethical and legal internet use in the workplace, employees shall understand the consequences of failing to follow the usage guidelines provided by Giant Manufacturing and will be liable for all usage violations. Any violation of the usage policy will be reviewed by a third party to ensure the security of all persons and property associated with Giant Manufacturing, to include intellectual property, which is defined as intangible property, the product of human ingenuity, protected by law (Lau & Johnson, 2014), and confidential information of employees. If the employee in question is found to have violated the terms of use, the employee will be subject to or legal action (mandatory arbitration, which is defined as a contractual clause that requires the parties to a contract that contains such a clause to submit to mandatory arbitration in the event of a dispute arising under the contract (Lau & Johnson, 2014)) or disciplinary action possibly resulting in termination. Giant Manufacturing will not compromise when it comes to internet usage and failure to agree to the terms of this internet usage policy will result in the termination of the contract between the company and employee. This termination means the employee will have zero access to the internet within the workplace. Inability to access the internet may result in the inability to effectively complete a job, which will also result in termination of the employee’s employment contract.

Board of Directors Internet Usage Policy

All employees, to include the Board of Directors, shall follow the guidelines listed above when it comes to legal internet usage, see sample policy Appendix A. However, in an effort to expand Giant Manufacturing, board members may decide that it’s in the best interest of the company to network as much as possible. Therefore, social media usage by board members is acceptable when kept to a minimum. With these exceptions in place, the Board of Directors can then make an effort to grow the company. That said, the board members should still uphold the highest moral and ethical standards as the ultimate representatives of Giant Manufacturing. Comment by Kenneth Hogan: Ensure you reference all appendices.

Regarding the Board of Directors and internet usage, the business judgment rule applies. As the leadership of Giant Manufacturing, the board has the duty of care to act in the best interests of the company. Any act of nonfeasance by a board member on behalf of the company shall be dealt with accordingly. Misfeasance, however, which is defined as making a bad decision that hurts the corporation, such as investing funds in a venture that loses profit (Colorado State University-Global Campus, 2015) through the use of the internet may result in disciplinary action. The implementation of an acceptable internet use policy for Giant Manufacturing is in the best interest of the company and falls under the business judgment rule and duty of care of the Board of Directors, such that it’s non-implementation could ultimately result in the downfall of the company.

Utilizing the internet for research is paramount when it comes to the leadership deciding in which direction change will lead the company. Understanding, accepting, and forecasting this change allows leaders to make informed decisions for the future of the company. This research and networking may lead leadership to employees of competing companies. With respect to the Board of Directors, sharing of confidential information regarding Giant Manufacturing’s intellectual property is a blatant violation of the terms of use outlined in the internet usage policy. Failure to keep the secrets of Giant Manufacturing will result in mandatory arbitration between the board member in question and Giant Manufacturing for violation of the signed non-compete clause, which is defined as a contract clause that restricts competition for a specified period of time, within a certain geographic region, and for specified activities (Lau & Johnson, 2014), outlined in the board member’s employment contract.

As mentioned above, all employees of Giant Manufacturing should expect zero privacy when it comes to internet usage, to include the Board of Directors. Although the ethics of this practice may be questioned, it must be reiterated the importance of the safety and security of all affiliated with Giant Manufacturing and this will not be compromised in any way.

Conclusion

After reviewing the information listed above, Mrs. Sturgis highly encourages Giant Manufacturing to consider the proposed internet usage policies and understand the consequences the company may face if the policies are not adhered to. Without first informing employees of their limits, Giant Manufacturing then assumes all responsibility and liability when it comes to the misuse of the internet by employees on behalf of the company. With the high value of property Giant Manufacturing possesses, arbitration would be a costly end result. Giant Manufacturing’s profitability is a high priority and ensuring the work and effort behind it stays safe is worth implementing the usage policies. Mrs. Sturgis will be in touch and would be more than happy to discuss her recommendations in the following week.

References

Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2015). Business Organizations; Employment Law [Interactive Lecture]. Retrieved from: https://www.schoology.com/course/300729860/materials/link/view/300730010

Conner, C. (July 17, 2012). Employees Really Do Waste Time at Work. Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2012/07/17/employees-really-do-waste-time-at-work/

Duff, V. (n.d.). Examples of Corporate Malfeasance. Small Business. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-corporate-malfeasance-11689.html

FindLaw. (n.d.). Employee Rights 101. FindLaw. Retrieved from: http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/employees-rights-101.html

Henning, P. (December 29, 2014). The Year in White-Collar Crime. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/the-year-in-white-collar-crime/?_r=0

Lau, T., Johnson, L. (2014). The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business. Washington D.C.: Flat World Knowledge.

Penn State. (n.d.). Cyber Torts. Penn State. Retrieved from: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/IST432TEAM4/Cyber+Torts

Appendix A: Sample Internet Policy Usage

The following outlines acceptable standards for the use of the society computing systems, facilities and related stored information.

Use of society network

The Society supports a Wide Area Network. E-mail within Society’s network is for work-related correspondence among people who have accounts (“Users”).

1 E-mail correspondence, at all times, will be professional in tone. Abusive, fraudulent, harassing or obscene messages and/or materials shall not be sent from, to, or stored on Society systems. At all times, generally accepted standards of e-mail etiquette are expected. 


2 Making copies of system configuration files for personal use or to provide to a user external to the Society is forbidden, as is downloading or installing security programs that reveal weaknesses in systems security. For example, Society users shall not run password-cracking programs. 


3 Individuals are not to share accounts, passwords or dial-up modem telephone numbers, except when specifically delegated (e.g. an absence). 


4 Individuals shall not purposely engage in activity with the intent to circumvent Society security measures or gain access to Society systems for which proper authorization has not been given. 


5 All e-mail correspondence should treated with the same care and diligence applied to hard- copy memoranda. 


Use of software

It is the policy of The Society to respect the proprietary rights of a computer software developer. As a user, you are required to comply with the license agreements associated with the computer software products. Permitted activities in license agreements vary from product to product. Generally, the following procedures should be followed:

1. Individuals may not make copies or modify copyrighted software, except to the extent permitted in the license agreement. 


2. Individuals may not download and/or use personally acquired software, public domain software, electronic bulletin boards or shareware without prior approval from the Director, Technology Operations. 


3. Software which is not licensed for use on a network can generally be used on a stand alone basis on a computer which is connected to a network as long as it is not used on the network. Where the licensed software is authorized for use on a network, then only the authorized number of users should use the software on the network. 


4. Acquisition of software packages must be approved by the Director, Technology Operations, or designate. Any questions regarding the terms and conditions of copyrighted software should be referred to the Director, Technology Operations, or designate. 


Use of the Internet

The Society recognizes that the Internet is a useful tool to aid employees in discharging their duties. As such, its primary use is for education, research, communication and administration as applicable to Society business. Understanding that all activities on the Internet may be traced back to the Society, work on the Internet shall be conducted in such manner that public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity and professionalism of the Society are conserved and enhanced. In particular:

Provided for reference only.
Always consult current legislation in your jurisdiction to create policies and procedures for your organization.

Rules of conduct regarding computer use

1. No Society information shall be made available for public access without approval of senior management and/or Public Affairs, as the case may be. 


2. Non work-related activity on the Internet, including e-mail, shall be conducted on an individual’s own time, outside of regular hours of work. During this time, these guidelines remain in force. 


3. Under no circumstances is it appropriate, at any time, to peruse inappropriate web sites, post inappropriate messages, or send inappropriate e-mail correspondence. The term “inappropriate” includes, but is not limited to, sites/subjects that advocate principles or beliefs not in keeping with the Society’s Fundamental Principles, sites/subjects that advocate illegal activities and sites/subjects that are sexual/pornographic in nature. 


4. Where, for the legitimate research purposes, a user wishes to access a site or deal with a subject that may be considered prohibited, it must be discussed in advance, and approved, by her/his direct supervisor who, if in doubt, will raise it with the Director, Technology Operations. At any time, the Society reserves the right to monitor computer activities, including Internet usage among its users. 


Breach of security or materials is strictly prohibited at the Society or anywhere else. Security breaches must be reported immediately to the Director, Technology Operations, or delegate. At all times Society guidelines concerning Conflict of Internet and Confidentiality shall apply while utilizing the Society’s computer system, including internet usage.

Failure to comply with the above-mentioned directives may result in disciplinary up to and including termination of employment. Illegal activity may be prosecuted.

I have read and agree to abide by the guidelines as stated above.

Employee Signature __________________________________

Print Name__________________________________________

Date_______________________________________________

Witness Signature ___________________________________

Print Name__________________________________________

Date _______________________________________________