...privacy it’s important to consider personal privacy in relation to the company’s privacy and more paramount, company protection. As the video illustrated, the managers reasoning for monitoring his sales floor employee conversations was to protect the reputation of the car dealership as well as protect the business against any potential legal ramifications from dishonest sales employees. This is a very reasonable purpose for monitoring electronically to protect company interest. However, it would be in the interest of the company to communicate to its employees that they are being monitored so there is not sense of privacy invasion of its employees. As in the example with this case, it’s reasonable that the case can be made that electronic surveillance anywhere on the company property is reasonable to protect customer and company interest. Since the restroom is a very necessary and private need, this would be the only reasonable place within a work environment that an employee could expect to have privacy. In the office workplace there are typically two types of workspaces,...
Words: 1421 - Pages: 6
...technology revolutionizes information gathering.” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 70) How can employees reasonably expect to have privacy when most companies are carrying some type of monitoring system that will allow employers to monitor the employee’s performance to see if their time is being utilized effectively? “According to a 2005 American Management Association survey, it states both the intensity and range of workplace surveillance is surging, from videotaping to monitoring of IM chat and blogging to GPS satellite tracking of cars and cell phones” (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010, p. 73). Technology has made it easy to track employees and their behavior on a daily basis. Most employers are becoming more knowledgeable on various types of electronic surveillance. For example, some employers monitor their employees email usage. Although, some employees may assume their emails are private; however, they are not. Deleted messages are stored into archive and are accessible to employers and others. (Halbert & Ingulli, 2010) In addition, technology has increased ways of surveillance and is constantly growing, leaving very little privacy in the workplace. For instance, there are programs that can take surreptitious “screen shots” of employees computer, Porn sweeper, a software program; examines pictures, attachments, and anything that looks like flesh on the computer, some software programs can monitor keystrokes, retrieve saved and...
Words: 1222 - Pages: 5
...Since the invention of radio, intelligence-gathering organizations have been developing and using eavesdropping techniques to intercept and review wireless communications. Initially, these capabilities were solely used to spy on hostile nations, and particularly for military purposes. Human operators had to manually review each transmission, and cryptanalysts pored over military ciphers in an attempt to decode important messages. As wireless communication has become an integral part of commercial and individual existence, and potential threats to security are increasingly found in peacetime and on home ground, the scope of this intelligence gathering has likewise broadened. One of the most controversial eavesdropping systems in existence is a classified project known as ‘Echelon.’ Its use of computer hardware and software to filter communications from all over the world brings up many ethical issues related to the impact of computers on privacy. Overview of Echelon Most of the evidence for Echelon is circumstantial, though a few facts have been established. The participating organizations (notably the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency) have neither confirmed nor denied its existence. In lieu of a discussion of the ethical issues, a brief summary of the current knowledge follows. How it Works Echelon is the product of Cold War efforts to monitor wireless communications in the USSR. It traces its roots back to the clandestine UKUSA...
Words: 5284 - Pages: 22
...Electronic Surveillance has always been a debatable topic due to the controversy of privacy vs. security. Although Electronic Surveillance invades personal privacy it still manages to make the world a preferable environment and holds criminals accountable for their actions. Individuals should not be hiding information, so they should be fine with the government searching through their personal information. This search does not cause any physical harm or crosses any boundaries, it only keeps the citizens safe and protected. Government spying programs help in the fight against terrorist and ensure Americans to stay safe which prevents many tragedies. Electronic Surveillance can help detect threats such as; terrorism, crime, child pornography, tax evasion, and fraud. Electronic surveillance continues to highly impact the American government because it can help fight back foreign hackers that want to obtain private information...
Words: 442 - Pages: 2
...and new electronic devices being invented daily. The right to privacy should not even be a question everyone should have the right to privacy to a certain extent. The right to privacy is a recent creation of little consequence other than cultural custom. The right to privacy is a big part if not the biggest part of everyone’s freedom because if anyone can come into anyone’s house at any given time or listen to all their calls and read all their text people will feel unsafe and without any freedom; It will feel like a prions where everything is being monitor. Everyone likes their privacy even if they do not have anything to hide just knowing that whatever they do or where ever they go will be only known to them and those they chose to share it with making them feel in control of their life, as opposed to when they think they are being watched and that their privacy is being disclosed they feel that the person monitoring them is in control of their life and cannot be trusted “… trust cannot exist where there is monitoring or surveillance, because trust is the expectation that others will behave in a certain way without the need to check up on them” (Boatright pg 120). The right to...
Words: 1256 - Pages: 6
...Assignment #1- Electronic Surveillance of Employees Tiffany Robinson Dr. Barr Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance January 24, 2010 1. Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. Employees can reasonable expect to have privacy in the workplace when it comes to telephone calls, voicemail, e-mail, text messaging on employer provided cell phone, and their company assigned computer. For example, employers may monitor calls with clients or customers for reasons of quality control purposes; however, under federal case law, when an employer realizes the call is personal, he or she must immediately stop monitoring the call. (Watkins v. L.M. Berry & Co., 704 F.2d 577, 583 (11th Cir. 1983). Employees are given some protection from computer and other forms of electronic monitoring under certain circumstances. Union contracts, for example, may limit the employer's right to monitor. Also, public sector employees may have some minimal rights under the United States Constitution, in particular the Fourth Amendment which safeguards against unreasonable search and seizure (www.privacyrights.org). In cases where there is no specific statute or code that creates a right to privacy, privacy is determined by the “reasonable expectation of privacy”. This is a concept which basically asks if, in the particular circumstances, it was reasonable to expect that certain conduct or communications would be considered private. Determining whether there...
Words: 1336 - Pages: 6
...Assignment #1 Electronic Surveillance of Employees Strayer University Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance –LEG-5000 July 31 2011 1. Explain where an employees can reasonably expect o have privacy in the workplace? Every employee has the right to privacy in the workplace. Privacy in the workplace has become quite big issue. With the rise of continuing of technology and innovations many employers are seeking how far can they go to monitor their employee’s personal cell phone usage, personal telephone calls and text messaging according to, Lawinfo.com,(December 2009 ) . The usage of emails and other types of electronic communication is becoming more essential of many people lives. However, but when employees use property owed by their employers that are permitted to be used for business purpose, personal privacy laws are largely inapplicable according to Lawinfo.com, (December 2009) .When a person uses his or her cell phone or the company’s business phone or receives phone calls there’s an expectation of privacy in terms of content of any personal conversation. Under the Electronic Communication Act (ECPA), the employee may be liable for monitoring an employee’s private conversation and any other voicemail messages. In other words, the employee’s expectation of privacy in regards to telephone communications this varies from other types of electronic communications, Lawinfo.com article,(December,2009 ) . Some employees find that most business has video cameras, phone...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
...No Place to Hide, that the government believes that they should have surveillance on the entire state because of safety factors and that it would unite it more effectively. This coincides with the statement “Mass surveillance is a universal temptation for an unscrupulous power. And in every instance, the motive is the same: suppressing dissent and mandating power” (Greenwald, 4). If the government can pacify the people of the state by going under the illusion of safety, they can use “mass surveillance” and control the entire state without much, if any, dissent from the people. Greenwald’s stance is solid but his glazing over of how we can change things (other than using encryption like him)...
Words: 1363 - Pages: 6
...PREPARATION: 60 MINUTES EXAMINATION: 30 MINUTES The UK/Culture Text: Warning over “Surveillance State” From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7872425.stm, 6 February 2009 Assignment: 1. Make a brief introduction to the text. Surveillance is an ever-increasing technology, which threatens our personal privacy. In the rapid evolution of surveillance technology, we risk that the government receives and stores more information about us, than we want to share. Surveillance have made it easier to tackle crimes before, they are being executed, but we need to make sure that this power, in the form of knowledge, is not misused. 2. Sum up the main points * A warning against overuse of surveillance. * A threat to society, in a case of a misuse of power * A threat to personal freedom, and thereby democracy 3. With starting point in the following quotation, discuss the importance of the above mentioned issues: "The key is to strike the right balance between privacy, protection and sharing of personal data," a Home Office spokesman said.” (page 3) Maintaining the right balance between privacy, protection and sharing of personal data is very important. We need to make sure that every person in our country, or world, feels safe, and liberated to do and think what they please, as long as that person sticks to the laws of this country. Do we need to make sure that everyone obeys the laws of their country? Yes. But I don’t think it should be in a degree...
Words: 1532 - Pages: 7
...Electronic Surveillance of Employees: Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. In the workplace, it is important that employees remain fully aware of the limitations employers place on privacy. According to the text, Halbert and Ingulli (pg. 73) suggests that 92% of employers were using electronic surveillances by 2003 in order to monitor their employees. These types of surveillances include the monitoring of phones, computers, electronic mail and voicemail, and video. Phone monitoring can be appropriate for work environments such as call centers. This type of surveillance can be used for quality control or to assist with appropriate performance coaching of employees in order to meet or exceed the goals of their position. If the employee’s job is not closely related to answering phone calls on a daily basis, this form of monitoring may be viewed as inappropriate and invasive to the privacy of the individual. Computer monitoring is also a popular form of electronic surveillance which allows employers to view the ways in which a computer is being used during working hours. Monitoring an employee’s computer use can aid in gathering pertinent information such as their internet usage, number of key stokes or their amount of idle time on any given day. This would be suitable for positions that require an immense amount of typing or a position that heavily relies upon efficiency. If the use of monitoring is not meant to assist the...
Words: 1010 - Pages: 5
...can never seem to find the exact feeling of privacy that they desire. In the United States of America, the problem of surveillance dates back to the times of World War I, yet during these times it was a benefit for the people of the United States. As time progresses, the government continues to form new organizations to keep a “helpful” eye on the people that are housed within our nation. Many American people have begun to realize the problem with the government’s “helpful” eye, and this has lead them to see the abuse of surveillance by the United States government as it infringes on the First Amendment of the United States of America. The government and big...
Words: 1167 - Pages: 5
...Technology is becoming more advanced everyday. We have created a plentiful of inventions making internet available almost anywhere. No one can live without checking their phones every 5-10 minutes. Soon we will have hybrid humans around the globe. It has come to the point where technology is used to track us down. We could be in the middle of nowhere lost, and somehow, someone will find your location and send help. The NSA can now find us easily by hacking into any device with a camera, checking your last swipe of your credit or debit card,and/or use our fingerprints. Surveillance technology is pretty terrifying and fascinating at the same time. With Surveillance Technology advancing, we could come close to what Orwell imagined in 1984. Every...
Words: 1038 - Pages: 5
...ASSIGNMENT 1: ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE OF EMPLOYEES DATE: APRIL 18, 2011 Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. In accordance with the U.S. Constitution, the right to privacy for employees was granted under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Specifically, the Fourth Amendment guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, hours, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures of a person or his or her belongings, without first showing probable cause, strong suspicions that a crime was committed, and obtaining an explicit warrant granting permission to conduct a search or seizure. (www.EmployeeIssues.com). It also provides protection for the “reasonable expectations of privacy” of both individual and corporate citizens against unwarranted and unreasonable government searches or seizures. Specific labor laws, regulations and certain rules are automatically granted to employees. Employers have the responsibility to protects privacy interest by avoiding the disclosure of personal matters. The laws that provide/create the right to privacy in employee personnel records, the use and maintenance of employee social security number, employee medical information, and background screenings. Government employees’ rights to privacy are limited and will be evaluated in accordance with a balancing test in which a Judge must decide which counts ore weightily, and employee’s...
Words: 1774 - Pages: 8
...Workplace Surveillance Explain where an employee can reasonably expect to have privacy in the workplace. Employees can be monitored through telephones, computers, the internet, voicemail, telephone conversations, instant message and surveillance. The employee will want to pay close attention to the company policy on privacy and electronic usage as much of these items are unregulated as stated on the privacyrights.org website. Your employer can listen, read and monitor most of your workplace communications. Even if the policy is paid attention to the employee will need to ensure they understand the implications of the privacy policy as it can be hard to say how a judge might decipher the policy which became clear to me during our reading of privacy in chapter four of our text (Halbert 2009). It is important for the employee to know when the communication crossed the line from being private to being property of the company. A big issue these days is how email and internet usage can be monitored and an employee can potentially lose their employment over misuse. It is said that some 28% of employers have fired their employees over misuse of internet as stated on the privacyrights.org website. Phone calls are also monitored when employees have conversations with customers. It stands to reason if an employee has communications with customers the business would have a right to monitor these calls. If an employee has a personal conversation the employer is required to stop...
Words: 1549 - Pages: 7
...Considerable advances in technology has dramatically increased the powers of a state to carry out surveillance upon its citizens (Taylor 2002). This therefore, without doubt brings with it the vision of an Owellian society, where in citizens are constantly under the vigilant gaze and attentive ear of “Big Brother” (Taylor 2002). Though the allusion to “Big Brother” is a popular metaphor for the role of the state in social control, it does ignore the numerous benefits that increased surveillance has brought about (Taylor 2002). In looking at surveillance in the modern period,...
Words: 1847 - Pages: 8
