Case Study: Should You Use Your I-Phone for Work?

Case Study: Should you use your I-phone for work?
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones at work? (A) Advantages – allows employees the flexibility to perform work related functions away from the office, allows employees to send and receive information quickly through text or email, allows companies to save cost of providing employees with smartphones. Disadvantages – companies cannot monitor information passed on personal phones, companies cannot streamline use of proprietary systems based on each personal employee phone, and companies cannot efficiently put out or change information based on each employee’s phone operating system.
2. What people, organization, and technology factors should be addressed when deciding whether to allow employees to use their smartphones for work? (A) The size of the company and number of employees should be the first consideration. Are company cell phones really needed if the employees only make phone calls to and from the office. However, if the company has employees constantly on the go and must interact with clients regularly through phone calls, text, email or video conference then company cell phones may be in order. If employees in the conduct of daily business utilize certain systems or confidential data, then the company must have a way to control that information. The size of the company and the type of business conducted will determine if company cell phones are needed or employees can just use their personal phone.
3. Allowing employees to use their smartphones for work will save the company money. Do you agree? Why or why not? (A) Maybe for smaller businesses that cannot afford the overhead or cost of company cell phones. However, if the cell phone is critical to the conduct of daily business then the additional cost of company cell phones is off set by the revenues gained through their use.