E-Mail Workplace Privacy Issues in an Information-And Knowledge-Based Environment

Abstract

Presently, business is in the midst of a total transformation in the management of information flow in the decision-- making process. This new management generation emphasizes the movement of information and virtually all forms of electronic surveillance and may provide the basis for a firm's sustainable competitive advantage. By definition, strategic assets are simultaneously valuable, rare, imperfectly irritable, and nonsubstitutable (Michalisin, Smith, & Kline, 1997: 360). Businesses are extremely dependent on computers and the communication devices and services that promote this information flow. According to Stallings & Slyke (1998), the number of computers and terminals at work in the world totals over 100 million. Hence, to eliminate the error inherent with the human elements in data collection, some type of automatic identification and data capture system is necessary to ensure the level of accuracy needed to support managerial decision-- making systems. According to Piggott (1997), E-commerce is a fairly new application of the Internet and World Wide Web, and its viability will depend on the development of globally accepted legal rules and regulations, as recognized by the U. S. President's nine recommendations. An obvious key to the success of Internet commerce will lie in improved privacy protection regulations and trusted encryption software. Another key lies in the application of knowledge management and knowledge management systems (KMS), to ensure that the right information reaches the right people in the company, with the Web acting as the enabler. Knowledge management will generally employ a pull, rather than a push, strategy since knowledge workers will know what information is wanted and will actively search for it via KMS. A need to develop appropriate critical success factors for measuring the contribution of KMS to the enterprise will arise. As more companies downsize, KMS will become more critical to the company since people leaving the company will take the knowledge they had gained with them. Thus, websites, various types of information infrastructure, and scanning equipment provide not only a direct contact between the organization and its customers but also present an opportunity for innovation in both the delivery and selling of products. Many employers are insisting that these types of informational technologies, coupled with e-mail surveillance, are needed to monitor security issues concerning employees in the workplace. As illustrated in Table 1, the use of e-mails and associated informational technologies in the United States has greatly increased. One factor determining whether the organization will use its information infrastructure and associated technologies, including e-mail, for the electronic delivery and monitoring of its products, both in terms of its customers and employees, may be the firm's pre-existing distribution structure and channel relationships. Some innovative organizations are attempting to provide customers greater value by using this technology within their value chain (Palmer Ed Griffith, 1998:47). Companies can gain significant advantage by utilizing their information infrastructures for communication purposes. information intensity of the product/service is a key element and may be reflected in how a business monitors its employees and measures associated performance for competitive advantage. Highly information-- intensive products and services require a higher frequency of contact with customers to achieve effective communication. The more information-intense the product, the more likely the website will utilize promotional activities to stimulate repeat consumer patronage of the site (Palmer & Griffith, 1998: 47). Therefore, the Internet offers a method of distribution of information to a vast host of potential users and, coupled with the associated automatic identification and data capture systems, can provide accurate and timely information as well. …