| |
 |
|
Oracle Tips by Burleson |
Surfing
the Web
Another major offense regarding the electronic
resources of a company is surfing the web. IT
professionals do have legitimate reasons to access the internet via
company facilities. However, too often personal and inappropriate
internet access also gets intermingled into these truly
business-related activities.
Company policies must be explicit about the types of internet
activities and websites that are strictly prohibited. Some of the most
common include:
-
Excessive non-business related access to the
internet for purchase transactions, financial information and
stocks, entertainment (e.g. sports, games, listening to and
downloading music, viewing videos), newsgroups, job searches, paying
bills, and so on.
-
Accessing pornographic sites or chat rooms and
all related activities.
-
Downloading or distributing inappropriate
material.
-
Committing or assisting any unlawful acts via
the internet such as fraud, illegal purchases or transfers, money
laundering, harassment, theft, hacking and other securitybreaches, and infiltration of worms and
viruses.
Surfing the internet for non-business reasons
while on the job has highly detrimental effects, both tangible and
intangible. The cost to companies is very high and includes lower
employee productivity, legal implications regarding unlawful acts and
liability from sexually explicit material and harassment that creates
a hostile working environment, and reduced availability of bandwidth
on the corporate network for business operations. Video streaming off
of the internet is particularly degrading of network capacity and many
companies have blocked known streaming sites from access through the
use of filters.
These are all serious issues for which firing
computer professionals is fully justified and simple to prosecute with
easily available evidence. Monitoring and filtering software can track
internet access right down to individual user account identification,
times and dates, and the duration of active accesses.
Email Use – Case 3
In the case of
Blakely v. Continental Airlines, the employer was held
responsible for failing to monitor inappropriate use of emails and the
internet by employees when the employer had notice of such actions.
The employer was liable for a hostile work environment that was
created when employees posted harassing and defamatory messages to a
company electronic bulletin board. Legal liability is just more reason
for employers to track the inappropriate activities of employees, and
fire the culpable individuals.
The above book excerpt is from:
You're Fired!
Firing Computer Professionals
The IT
manager Guide for Terminating "With Cause"
ISBN 0-9744486-4-8
Robert Papaj
http://www.rampant-books.com/book_2005_1_firing.htm |
