Case Study

My partner and I chose the "Big Brother is Watching: Browsing on Company Time" case study, which represents the Employee Relations chapter of "Cases in Public Relations Management."

This case dealt with a newly founded company called ComXSoft, a computer products company. The company prides itself on a fun and relaxed environment. Nelson Perry, public relations director, works well with the marketing and human resource departments.

One day Perry's assistant,Larry Meyers, complains about Perry's new secretary. Meyers says, "She spends all her time on eBay." When the secretary was told about the concerns, she acts defensively, saying she is only on eBay during lunch hour and breaks. Afterward, Perry starts to take notice of the secretary's computer. He suspects she might spend more time on eBay than she admits to. Since Perry is fairly new to the job, he asks Paul Johnson, director of human resources, for advice.Perry "explains the situations about his secretary's possible abuse of office equipment for personal use." Johnson tells Perry to have a talk to his employees about the difference between work time and personal time.

Three months later, Johnson tells Perry that his employee's computers have been under surveillance with software technology that can record every Web site visited and data downloaded. Perry's computer was also watched. The research found Perry's secretary had been spending excessive amounts of time on eBay, but the secretary was not the only employee misusing company time. 20 employees were identified as excessive users.

Perry was in shock. Perry did not think this was legal, but according to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 it is. Perry began to form a plan of action bases on this employee relations issue that he will present at a management meeting.

This case raised many questions about employee relations. Employee relations are at the core of any business. If your employees are not happy they will not go above and beyond what is asked. They will do the bare minimum, which does not result on a return on investment. I believe on occasion personal email at a workplace is acceptable. One can not work eight straight hours without a little relief. Also, a company should be clear on their view of personal computer use at the very beginning.