Internet policy frameworks and governance

Internet Policy

Diane Silversmith

Internet Use Policy

This memo provides justification for providing Internet access primarily as a business tool, but permitting incidental personal use at America West Finance. Extensive research uncovered significant issues related to Internet misuse that require immediate action. Further, the application of electronic surveillance was found to be an industry best practice that in necessary to protect a company's best interest. An evaluation of all Internet use options is included in this memorandum to facilitate a thorough understanding of the pros and cons for any given course of action and an implementation recommendation offers guidance for creating formal written policies that will help America West Finance achieve its objectives for Internet use.

Issues of Misuse

Internet use should not be viewed as a trivial matter. Research reveals serious issues related to lost worker productivity, the destruction and/or theft of corporate assets, and legal liability. Given these risk factors, America West Finance must act immediately to regulate Internet use.

Although America West Finance may not currently be aware of lost productivity due to Internet misuse, sometimes referred to as "cyberslacking" in its own operations, a survey from Vault.com, shows that ninety percent of the nation's workers admit to surfing recreational sites during office hours (Naughton, 1999). And, eighty-four percent of workers say they send personal email from work. Estimates show that that nearly one third of American workers' time on the Internet is spent on recreational surfing rather than company business, with the problem increasing all the time. Given this national data, it's highly likely that America West Finance, like most companies, is experiencing a drain on its employee productivity.

In addition to the lost time, the employees' Internet activities can present significant liability for America West Finance if we cannot show that we have taken reasonable steps to prevent the activities (Wulffson, 1999). E-mails and exposure to sexually explicit or otherwise offensive material on a computer screen are now at the center of many sexual harassment and discrimination claims. Further, certain material such as downloaded child pornography, may lead to criminal liability not only for the user, but also the company because both are "in possession" of illegal material.

Material downloaded from, or viewed on, the Internet, raises several additional areas of concern (Wulffson, 1999). Contact with an insecure web site may result in destructive viruses being downloaded onto the company's computers or network, or can allow access to the company's computers. This can allow outsiders to obtain sensitive company information and may lead to liability if the company is blamed for allowing the confidential information to be released. Information downloaded and then distributed through the company's computers may also lead to claims of trademark or copyright infringement.

Yet another area of liability concerns use of the internet which identifies the company (Wullfson, 1999). If employees log into Internet chat rooms, or leave email messages with their company ID, statements made by the employee may be attributed to the company, leading to claims of defamation, discrimination and unfair competition. Suprisingly, employees who shop via the Internet or subscribe to online services may create liability for the employer when they do not pay their bills.

Industry Best Practice

More than two thirds of companies in the United States engage in electronic surveillance of their employees, according to a survey from the American Management Association (Naughton, 1999). It's not a question of individual privacy, but rather it's about the abuse of company assets. Obviously, there is real concern regarding violating an employee's right to privacy. However, monitoring is considered to be legal provided that employees are aware of the nature, extent and reasons for monitoring ("Introduce and Internet and Email Policy"). Further, guidelines will help to resolve some of the ambiguities that currently exist and have the potential to prevent disputes between our company and an employee.

Evaluation of Options at America West Finance

Regarding Internet use, there are several options that America West Finance can consider (Morese and Magyera).

Option #1: Don't provide the Internet resource to employees, and prohibit Internet access at work and during work hours.

Option #2: Provide the Internet resource, but don't regulate its use.

Option #3: Provide the Internet resource, but limit its use to solely business-related purposes.

Option #4: Provide the Internet resource primarily as a business tool, but permit incidental personal use.

Option #1, discontinuing Internet access, represents a bad choice for America West Finance for a variety of reasons. First, the Internet is an important channel for researching and marketing our financial services. Even though "cyberslacking" is a problem, it's still important to remember that Internet-induced gains in productivity in the U.S. are projected to be more than $400 billion this year ("E-Commerce Industry Trends"). Our company has the potential to create many profit enhancing efficiencies by using the Internet and cannot survive in an increasing competitive environment without the Internet. The Internet is likely to become even more important to America West Finance if company earnings continue to decline and/or we downsize our workforce and need to make workers as efficient as possible.

Option #2, providing unregulated Internet access, is as equally poor as an alternative as Option #1 because of the numerous productivity, asset destruction and liability issues previously discussed in this memo. Our company should not assume these great risks because they can damage our reputation and result in huge financial loss.

The only two real viable options are either Option 3, limiting Internet use to business-related purposes, or Option 4, providing the resources as primarily a business tool, but allowing incidental personal use. Option 3 is technically feasible, but the resources required to monitor and effectively enforce policy for our 500 employees would make it a financially burdensome activity for American West Finance (Morse and Magyera). Given declining company earnings, our company could make better use of its financial resources in other areas of the business. Option 4 offers the benefits of using the Internet to primarily serve our clients with incidental personal use that would maintain employee morale and cement employee loyalty (Morse and Magyera).