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Computer Monitoring of Employees In this

In this paper I will present both sides of the controversy concerning the monitoring of employees by employers in the United States. The central issue is control vs. freedom: where do you draw the line on this continuum?

I will put the controversy into an historical, political, sociological, legal, and ethical context. I will look at it from the point of view of management as well as labor. And I will also add a dollop of George Orwell, Jeremy Bentham and other maverick points of view to slice through the smug assumptions of corporate thinking and lay bare the contradictions between the supposed democracy in which we live, and the autocratic tendencies of the current American workplace.

With the rise of civilization in the Middle East about 5,000 years ago came the division of labor along lines of social class, which with endless variations continues to this day. The vast majority of people were slaves who served the interests of the hereditary rulers, warlords, and land-owning aristocrats. When the Renaissance ushered in the rise of capitalism and a money economy, a newly aggressive bourgeois class challenged the rights of kings and nobles. But upon gaining power they treated their employees much as the slaves, peasants, or serfs had been treated by royalty and the aristocracy. The wildly bloated CEO salaries and perks of today's corporate leaders put the wealth kings and dukes of the past to shame.

In the first half of the 20th century business leaders such as Henry Ford tried but failed to stamp out the labor movement which had arisen in response to their numerous abuses. The Great Depression and the passage of legislation enhancing workers' rights under Franklin Roosevelt brought reforms such as an end to child labor, the legalization of unions, the eight-hour workday, and paid vacations and sick days. Since then there has been grudging acceptance of these limitations on their previously untrammelled rights over the li...

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Computer Monitoring of Employees In this. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:28, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705837.html