I have decided to discuss the computer use policies of “The Michener Institute” and “Columbia-Greene Community College”. Although both policies address the relevant key activities very clearly regarding the use of computers, the policy of “Columbia-Greene Community College”, provides more in-depth details of how should a computer be used and how the information of the users will be protected (Columbia-Greene Community College, 2018). Moreover, it also discusses the different penalties that users have to bear in case they violate any of the terms of the policy. Therefore, in my opinion, there is no room available for abuse in this policy. In contrast, the computer use policy of “The Michener Institute” highlights the different responsibilities of the users in a generic manner which in my view can be improved by defining clear sections for usage, privileges, responsibilities, and violations as stated in the policy of “Columbia-Greene Community College” (The Michener Institute, 2008).
Lawsuit Based on Offensive Email
The lawsuit based on an offensive email that I found on the internet is about the inappropriate use of official email accounts by city employees for which they were disciplined by the city of Kennesaw (Rankin, 2013). The city was sued for racial harassment by two African-Americans and a former Korean public works employee in 2009. Later on, the city audited the email accounts of its employees and found 23 employees using their email accounts for offensive treatment and racial harassment. Consequently, they received penalties, however, 4 white employees again filed a suit. They claimed that they were treated unequally but the court rejected their claim stating that no rigid evidence is available to support their accusation. Kennesaw has already established the email policy that helped it to solve this matter very effectively. Therefore, the 11th Circuit said, “it was “entirely reasonable” for Kennesaw to establish its email policy” (Rankin, 2013).
References
Columbia-Greene Community College. (2018). Computer Use Policy – CGCC. Www.sunycgcc.edu. https://www.sunycgcc.edu/computer-use-policy/
Rankin, B. (2013). Kennesaw prevails in offensive email case. Ajc. https://www.ajc.com/news/local/kennesaw-prevails-offensive-email-case/OWDf1wyG4e9CjnkuXAuI5N/
The Michener Institute. (2008). Computer Use Policy. The Michener Institute. https://michener.ca/discover-michener/policies/computer-use-policy/
