The Visible Employee

Dr. Jeffrey Stanton, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University
May 27, 2008

Abstract

In the area of information security and assurance, some experts believe that human behavior is as important as technology in the successful protection of information assets. In this perspective, motivation for positive security behavior is a necessary complement to knowledge and skill in this area. Dr. Jeffrey Stanton, author of the book The Visible Employee: Using Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance to Protect Information Assets-Without Compromising Employee Privacy or Trust, is one of the advocates of this idea. In this talk, Dr. Stanton will discuss some of the research results from his four year study of information security behavior in organizations. He will discuss transparent security governance, which IT professionals can use to develop beneficial changes to information security policies and practices within their own organizations.

Bio

Jeffrey M. Stanton, Ph.D. (University of Connecticut, 1997) is Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Studies in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. Dr. Stanton’s research focuses organizational behavior and technology, with his most recent projects examining how behavior affects information security and privacy in organizations. He is the author with Dr. Kathryn Stam of the book, The Visible Employee: Using Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance to Protect Information Assets – Without Compromising Employee Privacy or Trust (2006, Information Today, ISBN: 0910965749).

Stanton has published many scholarly articles in peer-reviewed behavioral science journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Human Performance.  His articles also appear in Computers and Security, Communications of the ACM, Computers in Human Behavior, the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, Information Technology and People, the Journal of Information Systems Education, the Journal of Digital Information, Surveillance and Society as well as Behaviour & Information Technology. He also has published several book chapters on privacy, research methods, and program evaluation.  Dr. Stanton’s methodological expertise is in psychometrics with published works on the measurement of job satisfaction and job stress, as well as research on creating abridged versions of scales and conducting survey research on the Internet; he is on the editorial board of Organizational Research Methods, the premier methodological journal in the field of management. Dr. Stanton is also an associate editor at the journal Human Resource Management. Dr. Stanton's research has been supported through 15 grants and supplements including the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award.

Dr. Stanton’s background also includes more than a decade of experience in business – both in established firms and start-up companies.  In 1995, Stanton worked as a human resources analyst for Applied Psychological Techniques, a human resource consulting firm based in Darien, Connecticut.  His projects at this firm included the development, implementation, and assessment of a performance appraisal system, development of a selection battery for customer service representatives, and the creation of a job classification and work standards system for over 350 positions in the public utilities industry.  Dr. Stanton has also worked for HRStrategies, Inc. (now Aon Consulting) as a human resources consultant, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health as a statistical consultant, and for Inpho Inc. (now Domania.com), AKG Acoustics Inc., and the Texet Corporation in management and engineering positions.