Employee Use of the Internet and Acceptable Use Policies in the Academic Workplace

193 Pages·2015·0.52 MB·English

East Tennessee State University
Digital Commons @ East
Tennessee State University
Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works
5-2007
Employee Use of the Internet and Acceptable Use
Policies in the Academic Workplace: Controlling
Abuse while Creating Culture.
B.J. King
East Tennessee State University
Follow this and additional works at:https://dc.etsu.edu/etd
Part of theCommunication Technology and New Media Commons, and theWork, Economy
and Organizations Commons
Recommended Citation
King, B.J., "Employee Use of the Internet and Acceptable Use Policies in the Academic Workplace: Controlling Abuse while Creating
Culture." (2007).Electronic Theses and Dissertations.Paper 2161. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2161
This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State
University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East
Tennessee State University. For more information, please [email protected].
Employee Use of the Internet and Acceptable Use Policies in the Academic Workplace:
Controlling Abuse While Creating Culture

A dissertation
presented to
the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
East Tennessee State University

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

by
B.J. King
May 2007

Dr. Nancy Dishner, Chair
Dr. James Lampley
Dr. Terrence Tollefson
Dr. John Quigley

Keywords: Internet, Intranet, Ethics, Management, Legal Liability,
Privacy, Monitoring, Corporate Culture
ABSTRACT
Employee Use of the Internet and Acceptable Use Policies in the Academic Workplace:
Controlling Abuse While Creating Culture
by
B.J. King
The use of the Internet has grown substantially, especially since the late 1990s. Businesses are
relying increasingly on the Internet and intranet as tools to promote productivity. Use of the
Internet has several implications for institutions of higher education. Some of the issues
institutions are faced with include legal liability for defamatory postings and sexually explicit
materials, monitoring versus privacy, motivations to abuse Internet privileges, and use of the
Internet to create a corporate culture. Institutions of higher education need to consider how the
Internet is being used and how it should be used when acceptable use policies are being
formulated.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to gain an understanding of perceptions about
acceptable use of the Internet by employees at work, attitudes about personal use of the Internet
during working hours, and the knowledge and effectiveness of an acceptable use policy within
the context of institutions of higher education. The data gathered could be used as a foundation
for an effective, progressive acceptable use policy for higher education.

The data for the research were gathered from December, 2005 through January of 2006. Six 4-
year institutions were surveyed. The study revealed older employees responded that the use of
the Internet at work as not acceptable, while younger employees, faculty members and
respondents with more Internet experience or more hours of overtime indicated that personal use
was acceptable. The study identified significant differences in self-reported use of the Internet,
both at home and at work. Additionally, a general lack of knowledge existed regarding an
institutional Internet acceptable use policy. The results of the study were applicable to the
formulation of policy for institutions of higher education.
2
DEDICATION

To my husband Bud for helping provide the solid foundation of faith, family, and friends
from which all our endeavors begin. This accomplishment would not have been possible without
your unfailing love and support.

To my children, grandchildren, and sisters for the sacrifices and accommodations made
by you all as I pursued this goal. Thank you for your understanding and encouragement.
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No student reaches her educational goal without the support of others. I would like to
acknowledge my committee chair, Dr. Nancy Dishner, both for planting the seed for this study in
classroom research and for helping push me over the finish line. Thanks also to committee
members Dr. Quigley, Dr. Tollefson, and Dr. Lampley for providing insights and guidance
regarding of the use of the Internet, educational leadership, and statistical analysis. The
contributions from these areas provided me with an interesting and challenging study which I
enjoyed from beginning to end.
Many thanks to friends in Johnson City and colleagues at ETSU and in the TBR who
continued to inquire about my progress and encouraged me to reach this milestone. Your
interest and support helped keep me focused on the task at hand.
I am indebted to the respondents to my survey, numerous colleagues across the state, for
providing candid responses to my survey. I appreciate your participation in the survey as well as
your insightful comments.
Last but not least, my heartfelt gratitude to my very special ETSU Cohort; Joyce Duncan,
Kate Ferguson, Jerry Nave, Steve Campbell, Bob Justice, Lois Sams, Rick Wallace, and Bob
Plummer. The best lessons I learned were not found in textbooks but in classroom and dinner
discussions with you. Thank you for your unique contribution to my educational experience.
4
CONTENTS

Page
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2
DEDICATION....................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................... 4
LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................. 9
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................... 14
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 17
History and Growth of the Internet............................................................................ 18
Statement of the Problem........................................................................................... 21
Research Questions.................................................................................................... 22
Significance of the Study........................................................................................... 23
Delimitations and Limitations................................................................................... 24
Definition of Terms.................................................................................................... 24
Overview of the Study............................................................................................... 25
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 27
Business Ethics.......................................................................................................... 27
Internet Ethics............................................................................................................ 28
Business Use of the Internet...................................................................................... 29
Rise in Research on Employee Misuse...................................................................... 29
Issues Related to Personal Use at Work.................................................................... 31
Cyberslacking...................................................................................................... 31
Bandwidth Consumption..................................................................................... 32
Exposing Company Internet Assets to Viruses.................................................... 33
5
Institutional Legal Liability....................................................................................... 36
Monitoring and Controlling Usage vs. Privacy......................................................... 36
Possible Motivating Factors – Metaphor of the Ledger............................................ 38
Employer Encouraged Surfing, Creating a Culture................................................... 39
Acceptable Use Policies............................................................................................. 40
Summary.................................................................................................................... 42
3. METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................ 43
Overview.................................................................................................................... 43
Research Design........................................................................................................ 43
Survey Instrument Development............................................................................... 44
Instrument Validity.................................................................................................... 44
Population and Sample Selection.............................................................................. 45
Data Collection Procedures....................................................................................... 46
Research Questions.................................................................................................... 46
Data Analysis............................................................................................................. 47
Summary.................................................................................................................... 47
4. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA...................................................................... 48
Overview.................................................................................................................... 48
Analysis of the Data................................................................................................... 49
Population, Sample, and Respondents................................................................. 49
Gender of Respondents........................................................................................ 50
Age of Respondents............................................................................................. 50
Home Internet Connection of Respondents......................................................... 51
Job Classification of Respondents....................................................................... 52
Years of Internet Experience of Respondents...................................................... 53
Overtime Hours Worked per Week by Respondents........................................... 53
6
Research Question 1.................................................................................................. 54
Research Question 2.................................................................................................. 59
Research Question 3.................................................................................................. 61
Research Question 4.................................................................................................. 68
Research Question 5.................................................................................................. 71
Research Question 6.................................................................................................. 73
Research Question 7.................................................................................................. 76
Qualitative Comments............................................................................................... 80
5. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS....... 81
Findings..................................................................................................................... 82
Research Question 1............................................................................................ 82
Research Question 2............................................................................................ 83
Research Question 3............................................................................................ 84
Research Question 4............................................................................................ 86
Research Question 5............................................................................................ 87
Research Question 6............................................................................................ 87
Research Question 7............................................................................................ 88
Conclusions................................................................................................................ 89
Recommendations for Practice.................................................................................. 91
Recommendations for Further Study......................................................................... 92
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................... 93
APPENDICES....................................................................................................................... 97
Appendix A: Tennessee Board of Regents - Governance and Organization Policy
for Information Technology Resources, Section 6.2 and 6.3............... 97

Appendix B: Matrix of Relation Between Research Questions and Survey............. 98

Appendix C: Survey Assessment Form..................................................................... 100
7
Appendix D: Survey Of Higher Education Faculty, Staff, And Administrators
Regarding Personal Use Of The Internet At Work .............................. 101

Appendix E: Initial Mailing Letter............................................................................ 106

Appendix F: First Follow-up Email........................................................................... 107

Appendix G: Second Follow-up Email...................................................................... 108

Appendix H: Final Mailing Letter............................................................................. 109

Appendix I: Survey Question Histograms................................................................. 110

Appendix J: Figures for Significant Survey Responses............................................. 126

Appendix K: Tables for Survey Responses............................................................... 142

Appendix L: Comments............................................................................................. 183

VITA ..................................................................................................................................... 191

8
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Reported Virus Incidents, 1988 – 2003........................................................................... 34
2. Gender of Respondents ................................................................................................... 50
3. Age of Respondents ........................................................................................................ 51
4. Home Internet Connection of Respondents..................................................................... 51
5. Job Classification of Respondents................................................................................... 52
6. Years of Internet Experience of Respondents.................................................................. 53
7. Overtime Hours Worked per Week by Respondents....................................................... 54
8. Distribution of Responses to Survey Questions Related to Research Question 1........... 142
9. Research Question 1 Results of Mann-Whitney U Analysis of Gender.......................... 143
10. Research Question 1 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Age................................... 144
11. Pairwise Differences Between Age Groups in Survey Question 25................................ 145
12. Research Question 1 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of
Home Internet Connection................................................................................ 146
13. Research Question 1 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Job Classifications........... 147
14. Pairwise Differences Between Job Classification Groups in Survey Question 23.......... 147
15. Research Question 1 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of
Years of Internet Experience............................................................................ 148
16. Pairwise Differences Between Years of Internet Experience Groups in
Survey Question 26........................................................................................... 149
17. Research Question 1 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Overtime Hours Worked.. 150
18. Pairwise Differences Between Overtime Hours Worked in Survey Question 30........... 151
19. Distribution of Responses to Survey Questions Related to Research Question 2........... 151
20. Research Question 2 Results of Mann-Whitney U Analysis of Gender.......................... 152
21. Research Question 2 Results of Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Age................................... 152
9