| 1. |
Comply, willingly.
Gwen should do what she is told. NorthLink
employees are using company equipment to make personal email transmittals and
doing so on company time, despite having been informed that doing so is against
company policy. They have no reason to complain, nor should Gwen complain or
feel uncomfortable about following her supervisor’s orders |
|
2. |
Comply,
reluctantly.
Gwen should stifle her conscience and abide by Lawrence’s request. She does not
have the responsibility for strategic vision, running the company, or any other
business decision, and should not insert herself into that process. Lawrence is
in charge of this section and responsible for implementing company policy as it
pertains to IT activities. Times are tough and she needs the job. After all,
Gwen is not the one spending company time on private business |
|
3. |
Refuse, flatly.
Gwen should refuse to access the email files for Lawrence in the manner he has
requested on the basis that his action is unethical. Further, she should inform
Lawrence that she is prepared to resign if he forces the issue. |
|
4. |
Refuse,
conditionally.
Gwen should refuse to access the email files for Lawrence in the manner he has
requested on the basis that his action may not be legal. Further, she should
inform Lawrence that she will not access the files without express written
approval from the human resources department, the employee union, and the firm's
legal department |
|
5. |
Analyze, carefully.
Since she has access to the employee email files, Gwen should offer to do a
confidential analysis for Lawrence of the email files to determine the apparent
volume of personal messages, as well as which employees seem to be using the
system the most for personal emails, but she will not review the nature or
content of any of the messages. |
|
6. |
Document, clearly.
Gwen should help Lawrence put together a brief agreement form for each employee
to read and sign that reiterates the company’s policy regarding the use of its
equipment and time for personal email communications, and which clearly states
that the employee agrees that the company has the right to review employee email
communications on a random, unannounced basis, for compliance with the policy |
|
7. |
Monitor, quietly.
Gwen should propose an option to Lawrence that instead of trying to read the
emails, she can install a clandestine tracking system that keeps a daily log of
internal and external email volume (sent and received) by individuals. This
system will provide weekly reports of email activity to Lawrence, which he can
use to manage IT resources and activities |
|
8. |
Monitor, openly.
Gwen, as administrator, should suggest that she monitor the email of those
employees who are putting the most strain on the email system and, if the email
is not related to company business, counsel them privately to cut it out or risk
the loss of their job. Prior to setting her on this course of action, Lawrence
should announce to the staff that, in accordance with the Company Policy, email
will be read and individuals engaging in email correspondence unrelated to
Company business will be subject to the written corrective action policy
(counseling, warning, formal reprimand, suspension, termination). All
discipline above counseling would be performed by Lawrence and/or his partners. |
|
9. |
Inform, quickly.
Gwen should quietly inform all employees of Lawrence's abrupt decision,
immediately, and suggest that individuals clean out their email files so as to
not face Lawrence's ire. She should note the date and time of Lawrence's
remarks to her, and, for her own file only, reasons for her opposition |
|
10. |
Download, surreptitiously.
Gwen should realize that this is the perfect opportunity to see how the firm’s
partners, including Lawrence, spend their email times. After making sure that
her own email box is clean as a whistle, she should make a copy of each
manager’s inbox for perusal later, since you never know when this type of
information might come in handy.
|
11.
. |
Alternate Approach - please describe:
|
If you are an engineer faculty member or
practitioner who uses this program to help teach engineering ethics, we ask that
you please identify your university or company:
We are always seeking good help ! If you have interest in serving on our Board of
Review, or in contributing an ethics case, please send us an email so we may
contact you to discuss.
Bill.Lawson@coe.ttu.edu
Thank you for your participation.