Personal Web Usage in the WorkPlace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management PDF
Preview Personal Web Usage in the WorkPlace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management
Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management Murugan Anandarajan Drexel University, USA Claire A. Simmers Saint Joseph’s University, USA Information Science Publishing Hershey • London • Melbourne • Singapore Acquisition Editor: Mehdi Khosrow-Pour Senior Managing Editor: Jan Travers Managing Editor: Amanda Appicello Development Editor: Michele Rossi Copy Editor: Maria Boyer Typesetter: Jennifer Wetzel Cover Design: Michelle Waters Printed at: Integrated Book Technology Published in the United States of America by Information Science Publishing (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200 Hershey PA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: NEW Titles from Information Science Publishing • Instructional Design in the Real World: A View from the Trenches Anne-Marie Armstrong ISBN: 1-59140-150-X: eISBN 1-59140-151-8, © 2004 • Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management Murugan Anandarajan & Claire Simmers ISBN: 1-59140-148-8; eISBN 1-59140-149-6, © 2004 • Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology Linda L. Brennan & Victoria Johnson ISBN: 1-59140-168-2; eISBN 1-59140-169-0, © 2004 • Readings in Virtual Research Ethics: Issues and Controversies Elizabeth A. Buchanan ISBN: 1-59140-152-6; eISBN 1-59140-153-4, © 2004 • E-ffective Writing for e-Learning Environments Katy Campbell ISBN: 1-59140-124-0; eISBN 1-59140-125-9, © 2004 • Development and Management of Virtual Schools: Issues and Trends Catherine Cavanaugh ISBN: 1-59140-154-2; eISBN 1-59140-155-0, © 2004 • The Distance Education Evolution: Issues and Case Studies Dominique Monolescu, Catherine Schifter & Linda Greenwood ISBN: 1-59140-120-8; eISBN 1-59140-121-6, © 2004 • Distance Learning and University Effectiveness: Changing Educational Paradigms for Online Learning Caroline Howard, Karen Schenk & Richard Discenza ISBN: 1-59140-178-X; eISBN 1-59140-179-8, © 2004 • Managing Psychological Factors in Information Systems Work: An Orientation to Emotional Intelligence Eugene Kaluzniacky ISBN: 1-59140-198-4; eISBN 1-59140-199-2, © 2004 • Developing an Online Curriculum: Technologies and Techniques Lynnette R. Porter ISBN: 1-59140-136-4; eISBN 1-59140-137-2, © 2004 • Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice Tim S. Roberts ISBN: 1-59140-174-7; eISBN 1-59140-175-5, © 2004 Excellent additions to your institution’s library! Recommend these titles to your librarian! To receive a copy of the Idea Group Inc. catalog, please contact 1/717-533-8845, fax 1/717-533-8661, or visit the IGI Online Bookstore at: http://www.idea-group.com! Note: All IGI books are also available as ebooks on netlibrary.com as well as other ebook sources. Contact Ms. Carrie Skovrinskie at < Dedications To my beloved parents and aunt, your belief in me is truly inspirational - MA To Michael, Jessica, and Christa, always there with love and support - CAS Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: A Guide to Effective Human Resources Management Table of Contents Preface ................................................................................................... viii Murugan Anandarajan, Drexel University, USA Claire A. Simmers, Saint Joseph’s University, USA Section I: Exploring the Paradox of Personal Web Usage Chapter I Constructive and Dysfunctional Personal Web Usage in the Workplace: Mapping Employee Attitudes .................................................................. 1 Murugan Anandarajan, Drexel University, USA Claire A. Simmers, Saint Joseph’s University, USA Chapter II Personal Web Page Usage in Organizations ......................................... 28 Zoonky Lee, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, USA Younghwa Lee, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Yongbeom Kim, Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA Chapter III When Work Morphs into Play: Using Constructive Recreation to Support the Flexible Workplace ............................................................ 46 Jo Ann Oravec, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, USA Chapter IV A Multidimensional Scaling Approach to Personal Web Usage in the Workplace ............................................................................................... 61 Murugan Anandarajan, Drexel University, USA Patrick Devine, Drexel University, USA Claire A. Simmers, Saint Joseph’s University, USA Section II: Managing Personal Web Usage from a Human Resource Perspective Chapter V The Effect of Trust on Personal Web Usage in the Workplace ........... 80 Susan K. Lippert, Drexel University, USA Chapter VI A Deterrence Theory Perspective on Personal Web Usage .............. 111 Dinesh A. Mirchandani, University of Missouri - St. Louis, USA Chapter VII Unsolicited Web Intrusions: Protecting Employers and Employees .. 125 Paulette S. Alexander, University of North Alabama, USA Chapter VIII Monitoring Strategies for Internet Technologies ............................... 141 Andrew Urbaczewski, University of Michigan - Dearborn, USA Chapter IX Convergence or Divergence? Web Usage in the Workplace in Nigeria, Malaysia, and the United States .......................................................... 158 Claire A. Simmers, Saint Joseph’s University, USA Murugan Anandarajan, Drexel University, USA Chapter X Legal Implications of Personal Web Use in the Workplace ............... 186 Grania Connors, Consultant, Law and Technology, United Kingdom Michael Aikenhead, University of Durham, United Kingdom Section III: Toward the Well-Being of the Employee Chapter XI A Psychoanalytic Perspective of Internet Abuse ................................ 217 Feng-Yang Kuo, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan Chapter XII Internet Abuse and Addiction in the Workplace: Issues and Concerns for Employers ........................................................................................ 230 Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University, UK Chapter XIII Impact of Personal Internet Usage on Employee’s Well-Being ......... 246 Pruthikrai Mahatanankoon, Illinois State University, USA Magid Igbaria, Claremont Graduate University, USA About the Authors ................................................................................. 264 Index ...................................................................................................... 270 viii Preface Few will deny that the increasingly omnipresent nature of the World Wide Web in the workplace is dramatically revolutionizing the manner in which we work. The advantages of the World Wide Web are the ability to gather, com- municate, distribute, share, and store information publicly in real time (Davis & Naumann, 1999). The reach and range of the World Wide Web is phenom- enal (Evans & Wurster, 2000) and employees have increasingly been given access to it in the workplace. Employees also view the World Wide Web as an indispensable tool, using it to communicate with colleagues, managers, and subordinates, and to maintain relationships with valued customers. According to the UCLA Internet Report, Surveying the Digital Future, Year 3 (2003, p. 72), of those who had Internet access at work, 90% visited work-related sites in 2002, up from 89% in 2001 and 83% in 2000. There is some evidence that the Internet is perceived as a catalyst for productivity, while those who report that the Internet makes them neither more nor less productive continue to decline (UCLA Center for Communication Policy, 2003, p. 75). In addition to being an organizational tool, the Web provides employees access to the world’s biggest playground and information repository. This as- pect has prompted growing concerns about personal World Wide Web usage in the workplace. According to IDC Research, 30% to 40% of employee World Wide Web activity is non-business-related. The UCLA Internet Re- port, Surveying the Digital Future, Year 3 reports that of those who had Internet access at work, about 60% visited websites for personal use in 2002, about the same as in 2001. Since the World Wide Web is an integral component of our workplaces, then management of personal use is a timely topic. There seems to be two ix major perspectives framing the management of personal Web usage (PWU) in the workplace. The first is that PWU is dysfunctional. It is negative, with no place in the workplace, as it can cost organizations billions of dollars in terms of lost productivity, increased security costs, and network overload, as well as the risk of civil and criminal liabilities. Personal usage at work is depicted as a variation of other dysfunctional work behaviors such as stealing, wasting time, and making personal long distance phone calls (Block, 2001). In this perspective PWU is often called cyber slacking, or Web abuse, or cyber deviance. This perspective fosters the characterization of employees as “vari- able costs” that are to be monitored, controlled, and where possible, mini- mized; it is more of an adversarial view of the employment relationship. To monitor and control personal Web usage, organizations often use information technology control mechanisms such as firewalls, content management soft- ware, log files, and blocking (Sunoo, 1996). A second viewpoint is that PWU has the potential for constructive ef- fects; roots of this viewpoint are in a human resource perspective. A human resource perspective views employees as valuable assets that are to be nur- tured and invested in. This perspective considers employees as partners where collaboration and trust are the drivers of organizational and personal inter- faces. When employees are viewed as investments, there are incentives to invest in such things as training, development, prevention of skill obsoles- cence, retention programs, wellness, and work life balance because the re- turns to these investments, less immediate and tangible, are real. The human st resource perspective is of increasing importance in the 21 century work- place because it is provides a stronger foundation for competitive advantage than products and facilities, which are easily imitated. A human resource- based view of the firm suggests that sustainable advantage derives primarily from human skills, knowledge bases, and service strengths that are not easily reproduced (Quinn, Doorley, & Paquette, 1990), and there is recognition that having superior people in your organization is critical. Personal Web usage then can have learning and well-being components from a human resource view. Personal Web usage can contribute to the continuous learning so impor- st tant for 21 century “knowledge workers.” The Web can be used to keep current on world events and business news, and to support educational efforts through formal classes and professional associations. As examples of the well- being component, PWU can be a way to manage an increasingly blended work and personal life. PWU permits the accomplishment of personal tasks that have been displaced as work demands spread out beyond the traditional eight-hour day, five-day-a-week work schedule. Surprisingly, in a recent sur
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