Management Notes

Reference Notes for Management

Surfing the Web – Web Surfing & Ethics | Managing Information and Technology

Surfing the Web | Web Surfing & Ethics | Managing Information and Technology 

Concept of Web Surfing

Web surfing involves browsing and navigating through different websites on the internet using a web browser. Search engines or website addresses can be entered to find specific information, and links or hyperlinks can be clicked to access the information. In addition to entertainment, research, communication, and shopping, web surfing has become a popular pastime. Modern life would not be possible without it. It has revolutionized the way people access and share information.

Advantages of web surfing:

  • A vast amount of information can be found on virtually any topic by surfing the Web.
  • The process can be conducted at any time of the day or night from the comfort of one’s home or office.
  • Through email, social media, and online chat, web surfing makes it possible to connect with people around the world.
  • You can stream movies, listen to music, and play online games while surfing the web.
  • Surfing the web allows you to shop online easily and conveniently, and you can access a variety of products and services.

Disadvantages of web surfing:

  • This can reduce productivity and cause procrastination because it is addictive and time-consuming.
  • Viruses, malware, and phishing scams are among the security risks associated with web surfing.
  • Over-reliance on technology can lead to a loss of social skills and face-to-face communication.
  • The collection of personal data and tracking of online activities can compromise privacy during web surfing.
  • A lack of information can lead to confusion and misinformation due to a lack of discernment between credible and accurate content.

Web Surfing Examples

The following are examples of web surfing:

  • Staying informed about current events by browsing news websites.
  • A search engine such as Google or Bing can be used to search for information about a specific topic.
  • Social media platforms are used to communicate with colleagues and friends.
  • Using YouTube or another video-sharing site to watch videos.
  • The act of shopping online on e-commerce sites such as Amazon, eBay, or Walmart for products and services.
  • For entertainment or to learn about a particular topic, you may read blogs and online articles.
  • Music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.
  • Engaging in online forums and discussion groups to connect with others who share the same interests.
  • You may play online games or access gaming platforms such as Steam or Xbox Live.
  • Using travel websites such as Expedia or Booking.com to find and book accommodations and flights.

Web Surfing in Organization

In my opinion, it is ethical for managers to monitor web surfing in the organization. Today the world is interconnected which makes the organizational data and security system more vulnerable and risky. Managers need to have a consistent lookout on the system on a routine basis to avoid unauthorized access that can harm the organizational existence.

If managers do not monitor their web surfing on a routine basis they might not be able to realize the vulnerability if not detected on the right time (Richmond, 2012). Monitoring web surfing by managers can result in many benefits to the organization. 

As already mentioned monitoring helps in protecting the company’s system from various harm and theft as well as makes the system ensures that the organizational system is free from any harassment and vulnerabilities. Both legally and ethically managers can monitor web surfing in the organization. Managers should not mix the aspect of monitoring with surveillance which looks creepy. I think monitoring web surfing by managers is ethical and is needed as well.

I don’t think it is an ethical practice to web surfing by employees in the organization for their personal purpose during the stated specific working hours (Burks, 2017). This results in the misuse of their organizational resources and decreased productivity at work. Along with this surfing the web makes the system more prone to risk and vulnerability as well.

Employees need to be made aware that they are being monitored regarding web surfing by the management. This will motivate the employees to be responsible regarding their web surfing behavior (Bolt, 2016). It is a big challenge for managers to make their employees motivate for work by tracking their surfing behavior or we can say disturbing their privacy.

I think the organization needs to install some software or programs that restrict the surfing of the employees to certain websites other than those related to their business needs. This will automatically control unnecessary web surfing behavior of their employees without disturbing their privacy time and again. Employees might feel disrespect and can be demotivated if someone is interfering with their privacy every time while working.

Extent of Vulnerability of Computer Systems and Importance of Information Security

With the growing use of the internet and the world being interconnected computer systems are being very vulnerable. Computer systems are vulnerable because the programs and software that the companies are using may not function exactly the way it should giving potential rise of opportunities to hackers. There are many security vulnerabilities that exist in the computer system like bugs in the system, pirated software affected with viruses, algorithms being broken, injection of SQL, forgery, etc.

Previously when there was no internet computer system was accessible physically and there was not so much of threat regarding attackers but with the rapid advancement of science and technology computer systems have become faster and more complicated making it more prone to hackers and unauthorized access from every point in the world.

Previously the host computer systems used to be independent but now they are related for the purpose of increasing efficiency and convenience which creates lots of threat to the computer system.

Simply, computer system vulnerabilities are the loopholes regarding security in the computer network and because computers are being faster and more complex today it becomes very difficult for programmers to focus on every aspect of the security (Gao Xin, 2014). Hackers are consistently looking at the flaws in the computer system that can damage the computer system entirely.

There are mainly three forms of vulnerability in computer systems which include: Entity Vulnerability, Vulnerability in Software, and Vulnerability in Internet Communication.

The social life of the people has been very much influenced by the use of computers making the life easy and complicated at the same time. The importance and necessity of computer systems in this today’s world cannot be denied. But there are many factors (external & internal) that make the computer system vulnerable. Therefore, organizations must adapt various measures to protect the computer system from vulnerability.

Because computer systems are very much vulnerable, management must keep information security on their top list. Mostly small business organization do ignore the aspect of information security with the thought that they are not the potential target for attackers making them more prone and easy way to target by attackers (Burcu Bulgurcu, 2010).

Implementing information security in the organization safeguards the information of the organization and the people associated with it. This helps to increase organizational efficiency and avoids heavy losses and damages that can lead an organization to bankruptcy.

Conclusion

It is completely ethical for managers to monitor web surfing in the organization. Today the world is interconnected which makes the organizational data and security system more vulnerable and risky. Managers need to have a consistent lookout on the system on a routine basis to avoid unauthorized access that can harm the organizational existence. I don’t think it is an ethical practice of web surfing by the employees in the organization for their personal purpose during the stated specific working hours.

Previously when there was no internet computer system was accessible physically and there was not so much of threat regarding attackers but with the rapid advancement of science and technology computer systems have become faster and more complicated making it more prone to hackers and unauthorized access from every point in the world.

Because computer systems is being very much vulnerable, management must keep information security on their top list. Therefore they must integrate necessary programs and software to protect their information from unauthorized access.

References

Bolt, R. (2016, February 11). Monitoring Employee Internet Usage. Retrieved from Spade Technology: https://www.spadetechnology.com/monitoring-employee-internet-usage/

Burcu Bulgurcu, H. C. (2010, September 10). Information security policy compliance: an empirical study of rationality-based beliefs and information security awareness. 5(6), 115-119.

Burks, F. (2017, April 12). Ethical Issues & Employer Monitoring Internet Usage. Retrieved from Small Business: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-issues-employer-monitoring-internet-usage-12617.html

Gao Xin, X. Z. (2014, July 13). Analysis of computer system vulnerability. Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 6(7), 903-906.

Richmond, R. (2012, May 31). 3 Tips for Legally and Ethically Monitoring Employees Online. Retrieved from Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223686

Smirti

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