Group 11 : Management Accounting Seminar

1510534002 Ramadhani Sardiman International Accounting

1510534013 Retno Ladyta Andalas University

Reaction Paper of Chapter IV - Behavioral and Organizational Issues in Management

Accounting and Control Systems

Case : Monitoring in the Workplace

For the past decade, the number of organizations that have been installing electronic
performance monitoring systems to observe employee behavior at work has been steadily
increasing. Estimates are that over a quarter of the entire U.S. workforce works under these
systems. In addition, 66% of employers monitor internet connections and the monitoring of e-
mail and phone lines is also on the rise. This Orwellian “Big Brother” concept is supported
by companies but denounced by employees.

Companies state that the advantages of such systems are that they improve
productivity and the quality of work, they reduce human supervision costs, they overcome
issues of subjectivity in performance evaluations, and they help in the security of company
information and property.

As you might guess, employees are not very happy about such systems stating that
they feel that their privacy is violated, that the organization does not trust them, that it
reduces their dignity at work, and creates unnecessary tension and stress in the workplace.
Since it appears that these monitoring systems are here to stay, what can organizations do to
help mitigate the negative effects that these systems have on employees? First, the reason for
the system should be explained to all employees. Second, employees should be able to
participate in system design and implementation. Third, monitoring should be restricted only
to performance-related activities and not to other activities (such as lunch or coffee breaks).
Fourth, an organization should not rely solely on monitoring data to assess an employee’s
performance and, finally, management should be open to system design changes.

Contra :

We are not agree if company monitoring all of activities of employees in the office.
Cause it will make employees do not comfort, increase the feeling that they should move to

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other company to get respect in the workplace. The company can monitoring employees
activity in general, like put camera in the entrance, not for each table.

Monitoring refers to inspecting the work or behavior of employees while they are
performing a task. Monitoring can be accomplished using listening devices or through
surveillance. For example, all of us have experienced the situation in which a (sometimes
annoying) phone message tells us that the conversation we are about to have with a company
representative may be “monitored to ensure quality control.” Since monitoring, or listening in
to a conversation in this case, is often done randomly, the employee does not know when it
will occur and thus will be disciplined to act in a consistent, professional manner at all times.
Monitoring also can be accomplished using surveillance. For example, cameras or “eyes in
the sky” are used to observe the actions and behaviors of croupiers at gambling casinos.
Monitoring, however, can have its negative consequences. Some employees feel that being
monitored causes them unnecessary stress. These same employees believe that monitoring
also undermines the level of trust between employers and employees.

Reference :

Atkinson, Anthony A., Kaplan, Robert S., Matsumura, Ella Mae, Young, S.Mark. 2012.
(AKM): Management Accounting, Information for Decision and Strategy Execution, 6 th
edition. Pearson. AKM-9