The topic for today is ‘’electronic monitoring’’.
Lekcje angielskiego przygotowuje firma
Task 1
Read the text below to get the general idea:
It has been reported recently that approximately 23 million US employees waste one or more hours on the Internet at work each day, and this ‘’waste time’’ costs US businesses around 64 billion dollars a year on average. So what do the employees do when they are supposed to be working?
A recent survey has shown that on company time some people are watching video films, playing computer games, surfing the Internet, sending personal emails, chatting online with friends, social networking or doing online shopping. On the other hand it has been noted that electronic surveillance of employees at the workplace is increasing every year. Employers tend to monitor their staff’s work in various ways, including email scanning, phone tapping, electronic keystroke counting, mobile phone tracking, video surveillance or location monitoring. These techniques along with sophisticated software are to secure the company’s valuable data and guard it against insider threats. What is more, implementing the idea of non-intrusive, within reason, monitoring might enhance employees’ productivity and at the same time it does not have to be considered an invasion of privacy. Additionally, companies need to make sure that they remain moral and ethical as far as legal monitoring is concerned, and they should be aware of its limitations or the invasive nature of being watched constantly as such. Some employees might find it unacceptable or unconstitutional and therefore might even quit the job. The company’s reputation might be put at risk or, what is worse, vital human resources might be lost.
Therefore beware of the Big Brother! He might be watching you.
Task 2
Study the text carefully and gap-fill the sentences below with correct words:
1. Since burglaries have risen by 5% this year, the company has been equipped with a few …………………………… cameras in the car park.
2. The annual report is ……………………….. to be ready for publication by the end of this month.
3. Qualified and experienced workers are believed to be the most ……………………….. asset of each company.
4. The government is carefully ……………………………. the situation on the job market but both employers and employees still keep complaining about the lack of substantial solutions.
5. It is estimated that this year Poles spend …………………………………. less money on foreign travels and summer holidays than last year.
6. Richard Mac Gregor, the CEO of our company, has a ………………………………. for being very demanding but fair.
7. All things …………………………., I am pretty sure that the executive manager has made the right decision.
8. Although they have all agreed to take part in a reality show, they have found the cameras pretty …………………………..
9. The …………………………… number of new born children per family has dropped significantly in Poland over the recent years.
10. Excessive …………………………. and photocopying of course books by university students has become a wide-spread trend nowadays.
Task 3
Watch the video ‘’How to monitor employees‘’ and answer the questions below:
1. What kind of valuable data can a company keep?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Who might have access to the valuable data?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. What might an interrogation cause among employees?
…………………………………………………………………………..
4. What is an easy and local way to monitor employees?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. What is the Spector 360?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. What does the Spector 360 do?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. What inappropriate activities might employees be doing at work?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. What type of information is finally provided by the Spector 360?
……………………………………………………………………………
9. What kinds of problems might be easily identified by the Spector 360?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. What are other advantages of the Spector 360?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The Big Brother is watching! KEY TO EXERCISES
Task 2
1. Since burglaries have risen by 5% this year, the company has been equipped with a few ……SURVEILLANCE…… cameras in the car park.
2. The annual report is ………SUPPOSED……….. to be ready for publication by the end of this month.
3. Qualified and experienced workers are believed to be the most ……VALUABLE…….. asset of each company.
4. The government is carefully ……MONITORING…. the situation on the job market but both employers and employees still keep complaining about the lack of substantial solutions.
5. It is estimated that this year Poles spend ……APPROXIMATELY………. less money on foreign travels and summer holidays than last year.
6. Richard Mac Gregor, the CEO of our company, has a ……REPUTATION………. for being very demanding but fair.
7. All things ……CONSIDERED……., I am pretty sure that the executive manager has made the right decision.
8. Although they have all agreed to take part in a reality show, they have found the cameras pretty ……INTRUSIVE……..
9. The ……AVERAGE…… number of new born children per family has dropped significantly in Poland over the recent years.
10. Excessive ………SCANNING……. and photocopying of course books by university students has become a wide-spread trend nowadays.
Task 3
1. What kind of valuable data can a company keep?
………..Customer lists, personal files, financial reports, confidential documents………….
2. Who might have access to the valuable data?
………….A lot of employees…………..
3. What might an interrogation cause among employees?
………Resentment……..
4. What is an easy and local way to monitor employees?
…………..The Spector 360, the revolutionary employee monitoring software…………
5. What is the Spector 360?
…………….A kind of a camera and software which alerts employers about potential problems and which allows employers to take immediate action if something unauthorised happens………….
6. What does the Spector 360 do?
……………It monitors and records employee’s activity, proactively searches company computers, servers and mobile devices, and records suspicious behaviour………
7. What inappropriate activities might employees be doing at work?
………Coping sensitive files onto USB drives or uploading clients lists to the cloud or visiting inappropriate websites………..
8. What type of information is finally provided by the Spector 360?
……A comprehensive report detailing exactly what happened………
9. What kinds of problems might be easily identified by the Spector 360?
………Fraud, productivity, even harassment………
10. What are other advantages of the Spector 360?
…..It helps to deal with problems immediately, minimizing any impact and improving your company’s organization’s efficiency …
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