Monitoring Employees

Chapter 3
http://www.resourcenation.com/article/internet-abuse-theft

http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/a/recognition_tip.htm

At one point, chapter 3 talks about how IS allow managers to be able to monitor their employees productivity in the workplace. This can be used to both improve an employees productivity and reward employees that show good results.

I found one article that talks about how employees can sometimes spend a lot of time on the web while at work and how this is considered time theft. The author, Greg Forrer, states "because it’s unlikely an employer can look over the shoulders of their employees all day, employee monitoring software is the answer." IT makes it possible for management to make sure that employees do not get distracted by web browsing and do not 'steal' from their employer. Although some may consider this to be somewhat intrusive or an invasion of privacy, it does avoid the idea of 'theft' among employees and maximizes employee productivity in the workplace.

The other article I found, "Five Tips for Effective Employee Recognition", discusses how important it is to reward employees when they do a good job. The types of employee monitoring discussed in the chapter allows for this type of thing to happen. Managers can use IS to analyze workers productivity and either work with them to improve or reward them for a job well done. Rewarding employees is necessary if management wants them to continue being productive.

IT provides management with the ability to monitor employee activity, both good and bad. This is beneficial for companies because they can avoid time theft, improve productivity, and reward employees for good work creating an even better work place.