technology and surveillance

In Chapter 12 of the text the authors note early on, "Some writers warn that communication technologies imply increased management surveillance and control" (p. 346). There's no doubt this is happening in U.S. and international workplaces.

Several years ago two of my colleagues and I were on a hiking trip. We were talking about organizational communication (no surprise; we went to grad school together and all studied in that area). I had been teaching online for a few years and had recently taught the undergraduate course in organizational communication. I'd been amazed by how much students talked about organizational surveillance and the degree to which they were watched and monitored during their work day.

So the three of us decided to work on a project where we examined how organization members talk about surveillance. Rather than focusing on the types of surveillance, we wanted to know what people had to say about being surveilled. We developed a survey. Our students conducted interviews. We presented our findings in several venues, the most-recent one an article in Management Communication Quarterly. We thought study participants would report about all the ways they tried to subvert and work around surveillance systems. We were so wrong! Most organization members accepted the surveillance, buying into the reasons given when they joined the organization or when the surveillance was installed ("it's for your safety," "it increases productivity").

Especially in turbulent economic times organization members are hesitant to challenge the status quo and and their bosses. During times when jobs are easy to come by, organization members are more likely to resist control mechanisms such as surveillance systems. Still, consider the impact of upper management's poor decisions and unethical behavior (think of Enron, the savings and loan scandals, the current mortgage crisis). Where should the surveillance cameras be placed? In the organization's cubicles or the board room?

~ Professor Cyborg