Employee Surveillance and Investigation at Ikea, France
Synopsis
This case flyer focuses on the issue of employee surveillance and monitoring; and its ethical implications. It deliberates on the various forms of monitoring techniques employed by employers and whether such a close watch is acceptable beyond workplaces? The base article1 showcases the manner in which Ikea, the Swedish furniture group, had resorted to employee spying and investigations on numerous grounds. What are the various forms of monitoring employees? Which activities can an organization monitor and vice versa? For what reasons do organizations indulge in such monitoring and surveillance activities. In certain scenarios, monitoring equipment like closed circuit televisions provide crucial information pertaining to thefts or other nefarious activities at workplaces. Do the negatives of such forms of surveillance outweigh their benefits? Is employee monitoring a boon or a bane?
Expected Learning Outcomes
- • The various surveillance and investigation practices at workplaces
- • The ethical landmines in Ikea’s worker investigation in France
- • Employee surveillance and monitoring; a boon or a bane
Positioning and Setting
This case flyer can be used in the following course:
- a) Human Resource Management – Ethics and fair treatment at work
- b) Organizational Behavior – Creating an Ethical Organizational Culture – Is employee monitoring and surveillance an ethical workplace practice?
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Exhibits
Exhibit (TN)-I: Types of Employee Monitoring
Exhibit (TN)-II: Company’s Investigative Practice and its Impact on an Individual
Annexure
Annexure (TN)-I: Board Plan