Introduction:
The concept of "Appropriate Use" of computing resources is something
that
is quite foreign to a number of business owners, managers and policy
makers.
This is, though, no surprise, as it is one of those things that
"people
don't know that they don't know (about)" until they get 'burned'?
Having allowed employees to 'run rampant' with the business-owned
resources
on their desk - the business principals soon learn that perhaps they
have
been "missing something" - and that "something" is the concept of
appropriate
use...
So - lets begin, as usual, with some definitions - let's build a
vocabulary
of terms so that we are all talking about the same ideas and concepts in
the same way:
Business-owned computing resources: the assets or
expense-items
that the business pays for to allows it's employees (whether
full-time,
part-time, volunteer or contract) to access both business-owned-data
and/or resources
(web-site-information, customer, vendor web-sites, data, etc.) on the
InterNet
(typically web-based but can be otherwise) and/or by using both
internal
and/or external e-mail resources.
Appropriate Use (of business
owned computing resources) We'll make
the 'assumption' here (with all the risks involved in assumptions) that
a
business hires an employee to 'do work' for and on behalf of the
business.
We'll also "assume" that the work-description and/or the
'job-responsibilities'
do NOT include such things as using the
company-supplied computer,
on
company time to access sites such as:
- erotic sites such as: Playboy., Lusty Teens, etc.
- sports, news sites such as: ESPN, CNN, New York Times
- job-search-web-sites / salary survey web-sites
- stock-broker accounts, personal finance accounts
- personal e-mail / chat-rooms / interactive messaging areas
The 'general' message here is that business computers are a Business
Resource,
and should be used to do Business Work - that is, they should be used -
and
the time the employee is employed should be used to benefit the
employer,
not the employee...
However, some business owners, not having set-forth a documented,
written
policy on the subject, have,
unfortunately, now, worked themselves into a
corner - because they have allowed employees free-reign of the
business-owned
computing resources, and consequently have to face:
- deteriorating productivity (while an employee is 'surfing
the
web' for their own ends, they are not engaging in the productive,
profit-making
work that the business hired them for, or that the business's
customers expect of the employee.
- potential risk of 'exposure' and loss of confidence by
customers
if employees do something on the web (read this "In Public") that
the business
might be embarased by ("In Public" (in the press))
- reduction of 'up-time' of computer systems because of
errant
viruses / trojans, phising-scames, getting onto the computers
because of lack of employee
'discipline' in e-mail & web-practices
So - how does the business owner reverse this trend, clean-up their
employee's
attitudes & behaviours and get the business back into a productive
employee
model.
It's not easy, it's not quick and it is certainly fraught with a number
of
Employee Relations and legal hurdles, as the business has now, by
'default'
given employees a 'benefit' and it is going to be very difficult to take
it away from them. There is savior in all this, though, hire a
competent
consultant to help you resolve the issue from three viewpoints:
Policy needs
to be written, agreed upon, implemented and
monitored
Technology probably needs to be upgraded, configured,
and monitored over time
Attitudes and
behaviours need to be changed, - this is
by far the longest, hardest part of the endeavour.
More to come here, later...
last update: 17:40 p.m. on Wednesday,
13 May 2015
revID: 2f (Mac OS "X" 10.10.3)