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Synopsis:
In the following article “BYOD: Business Opportunity or Big Headache?”, readers get an
insight into what advantages and disadvantages there are in terms of companies and firms
In the beginning, the article states that BYOD can increase employee job satisfaction and
productivity, but can also cause a number of problems if not managed properly. This is mainly
due to the fact that allowing employees to bring their own devices to work makes it much more
addition, these devices can also sometimes increase management costs, as a study by Aberdeen
Group found that there is an extra $170000 spent with 1000 mobile devices per year, when
BYOD is allowed. The article also states that allowing BYOD means that a significant portion of
corporate IT resources are required to manage and maintain these devices. Mobile digital
landscape has increased over the years, making it very complicated to operate well developed
tools for administration and security. For example, Android has 25000 phone models available,
and makes it difficult for companies to use for corporate work rather than Apple mobile devices.
There are many things a company must take into consideration before allowing its
employees to bring their own device to work. For example, being able to track all devices an
employee is using, being able to receive connections from an employee's device, flexibility
record changes to a device, try to ensure that company related information is kept securely in the
An example of two companies provided in the article who have succeeded and not
succeeded with the BYOD system is of Michelin North America, and Rosendin Electric.
Rosendin Electric had thousands of employees who were given more than 400 iPads, hundreds
of smartphones, and Microsoft Surface Tablets, which became careless in terms of handling.
Whereas, Michelin North America owned 4000 mobile devices that were obsolete and given to
employees, thus easier to track and handle. Therefore, Michelin North was undeniably successful
in maintaining the BYOD system effectively, whereas Rosendin had difficulties, as they were
unable to properly handle all the devices being used by the employees.
Therefore in conclusion, the article gives a brief insight to readers relating to how
companies can either become successful with the BYOD system, or, fall into hardships if not
maintained effectively.
1. ) What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal
There are many advantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones for work.
For example:
- The use of personal devices can undoubtedly increase productivity, and job satisfaction
as it becomes more convenient for the employees to be able to use their own device.
- Companies do not have to make large investments in devices. They are able to enjoy the
same benefits from an employee's personal device rather than increasing expenses by
- Employees who bring their own devices are readily prepared as to how to use the device.
This saves the company time and money in terms of training the employee how to use a
device.
Despite having advantages, there are disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal
- The support and supervision of a personally owned device is much more difficult for
companies.
- The cost of managing personal devices can increase significantly. For example, a research
conducted by Aberdeen Group stated that allowing the BYOD causes an enterprise with
- There are significant security concerns relating to the use of personal devices. It becomes
much more difficult for companies to ensure that personal information relating to the
company is not stolen, if a device is to be lost or stolen. For example, Marble Security
Labs conducted that 1.2 million Android and iOS apps do not adequately secure business
information.
- Allowing employees to use their own device means that the company has automatically
deciding whether to allow employees to use their personal smartphones for work?
Management:
- Companies must be effective in keeping track of all the devices used by employees,
- Companies must develop a management system that track what devices an employee uses
- Firms must be able to flexibly record changes made to an employees device, changes to
Organization:
- Firms must assure to keep costs levels low in terms of the usage of devices and
smartphones.
- Companies must store data related to how many employees use an Android device versus
an iOS device.
Technology:
- Firms must be able to effectively provide employees with proper technological support,
- Firms can develop softwares or applications that can ensure that employees remain
productive.
- Firms can provide employees with softwares that are easy to use.
receive connections from the employees devices, allowing the employees to access the
companies information.
3.) Compare the BYOD experiences of Michelin North America and Rosendin Electric.
Rosendin Electric had thousands of employees who were given more than 400 iPads, hundreds
of smartphones, and Microsoft Surface Tablets, which became careless in terms of handling.
Whereas, Michelin North America owned 4000 mobile devices that were obsolete and given to
The reason why BYOD at Michelin worked so well is mainly because they implemented their
own version of BYOD. They updated the functionality and mobile technology available to
employees, allowing them to choose between mobile devices and carrier plans. This allowed
increase in employee efficiency, productivity, and satisfaction. Michelin also obtained vendor
discounts thus reducing costs of deploying each mobile device by more than 30%.
4.) Allowing employees to use their own smartphones for work will save the company
- Allowing companies to bring their own smartphones to work reduces the companies
expenses and costs. This is because the company does not have to worry about spending
money on purchasing these devices for their employees, thus costs for these devices are
- These companies enjoy benefits available on the smartphone, without having to invest in
it themselves.
- The company saves money and time, as they do not have to worry about training their
employees as to how to use the smartphone or device. Since these smartphones are
personally owned, employees are comfortable with using them and require minimum help
- In addition, companies will also not have to worry about investing heavily in their IT
infrastructure for device support, as these employees will barely need help with a
Works Cited
Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2017). Management information systems: Managing the