Lidl : Surveillance Case Study
As long as there has been employment, employees have been monitored (Nebeker & Tatum, 1993). However as the progress of technology becomes more rapid and equipment for monitoring is available to all, surveillance in the workplace has become a more alarming issue and the boundaries of what is necessary and what is an invasion of privacy are very vague. A case study presented for scrutiny is that of the ‘German supermarket chain Lidl accused of snooping on staff’.
Many employers appoint surveillance within the workplace for a variety of reasons such as safety, prevention of theft or misuse and performance checks. The issues identified within this article are that of whether the monitoring that was carried out was necessary or whether it breaches privacy rights and has a negative effect on the employee. Although this is the main issue highlighted in the article, there are many underlying problems within Lidl as an employer and an organization; which will be presented and scrutinized in this essay. The media source of the article is The Guardian which presents the occurring matters in a very negative light. However, the merging topics I will be using to provide impartial insight and further analysis into the subjects at hand are that of: stress at work, ethics and organizational culture.
As mentioned above, to further understand the article and the issues within it, it is useful to explore it through focus of stress at work. Cartwright and Cooper (1997, page 4) discuss the more modern concept of stress as “a person’s response to a disturbance” whereas Perrewe and Crandall (1995, page 5) say that “a transaction between the person and the environment is stressful only when it is evaluated by the person as a harm, threat or challenge to that persons well-being”.
Intrinsic to job
Role in organization
Relationships at work
Career
Organizational Structure
Non-work factors
Individual
Individual symptoms
-blood pressure up
-Depression
-Excessive
Many employers appoint surveillance within the workplace for a variety of reasons such as safety, prevention of theft or misuse and performance checks. The issues identified within this article are that of whether the monitoring that was carried out was necessary or whether it breaches privacy rights and has a negative effect on the employee. Although this is the main issue highlighted in the article, there are many underlying problems within Lidl as an employer and an organization; which will be presented and scrutinized in this essay. The media source of the article is The Guardian which presents the occurring matters in a very negative light. However, the merging topics I will be using to provide impartial insight and further analysis into the subjects at hand are that of: stress at work, ethics and organizational culture.
As mentioned above, to further understand the article and the issues within it, it is useful to explore it through focus of stress at work. Cartwright and Cooper (1997, page 4) discuss the more modern concept of stress as “a person’s response to a disturbance” whereas Perrewe and Crandall (1995, page 5) say that “a transaction between the person and the environment is stressful only when it is evaluated by the person as a harm, threat or challenge to that persons well-being”.
Intrinsic to job
Role in organization
Relationships at work
Career
Organizational Structure
Non-work factors
Individual
Individual symptoms
-blood pressure up
-Depression
-Excessive
Bibliography: Aiello, J.R., & Svec, C.M. (1993). “Computer monitoring of work performance: Extending the social facilitation framework to electronic presence”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology Ballinger, G.A Cartwright, S. Cooper, C.L. (1997) Managing Workplace Stress, London and Newbury Park, Sage Publications Chryssides, G.D., Kaler, J.H Crandall, R. Perrewe, P.L (1995) Occupational Stress, Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis Dick, P Nebeker, D.M. and Tatum, B.C. (1993) “The effects of computer monitoring, standards and rewards on work performance, job satisfaction and stress”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology Hatch, M.J Marx, G. T. (1998) “Ethics for the new surveillance”, The Information Society Murray, D Parker, M. (1998) Ethics and organizations, London, Sage Robbins, S Somers, M.J (2004) “Ethical Codes of Conduct and Organizational Context: A Study of the Relationship between Codes of Conduct, Employee Behaviour and Organizational Values”, Journal of Business Ethics Wilson F.M