Give a general write up of recommendations of what “should have been done” by Lois instead (state your reasons).
Lois should have remained in control of her emotions as the Information Technology Department manager. The decision to fire the systems/network administrator was made in the heat of emotions which could have clouded clear judgment. Lois should have paid more attention to the behavior and the intentions of her employees rather than acting without clear facts of what had happened ( Roy, 2010). She should have called the system/network administrator aside and asked questions in order to understand the situation. She should have called the programmer and listened to his point of view. Then she should have talked to them together and assertively communicated her own concerns and opinions.
Lois should have followed the company’s guidelines regarding employee behavior after gathering all the facts. The programmer had written defective software that had interrupted the proper functioning of the department by taking cloud software offline for over an hour. Lois should have informed the programmer of the consequences of his action and the disciplinary actions that would be carried against him. The Network/system administrator had yelled and threatened the programmer which is contrary to the proper employee management guidelines. Lois should have informed him too of the disciplinary actions he would face. Lois should have handled the situation after everybody cools down and able to think clearly (Noe et al.2012).
What should Ann Bollinger do about Lois? In other words, what should Ann say or do concerning the actions Lois took (state your reasons).
Ann should hold a meeting with Lois asks questions regarding how she had fired the system/network administrator. Ann should try and understand the underlying reasons and motives. This should shed more light on what exactly happened and what led her to take such an action. Ann should assert her opinion on the matter by making Lois understand that she should not have sided with the programmer and fired the administrator without proper consideration. Ann should inform Lois of the proper termination procedures that the company follows because this would have protected the company from retaliation from the displaced employee. Ann should communicate her concerns on the manager’s actions and how they had cost the company. Ann should consult with the human resource and take the necessary action against Lois’s actions (Wood, 2003)
Write five policy statements to address aspects of the Incident that would be useful in the future to help deter or prevent such an incident, and to address sanctions for violations of the policy.
- System Changes.
Changes on the systems software may be made by I.T. Personnel at EPOCH. Changes must be done in consultation with the systems/Network administrator and must be done using approved software.
- New Software.
All new software’s must be tested according to the programming guidelines at EPOCH.New softwares must be approved by the systems/network administrator and cleared before they can be used.
- System access.
Regulating access to important information is important in the company (Dancho, 2010). The issuing of passwords, changing them and monitoring system security will be managed through consultations and approval by at least three people from EPOCH I.T. Management.
- System sabotage.
Authority, access or position given to EPOCH employees must be used for the good of the company and not for sabotage.
- Business Continuity Plan.
The critical business units such as the cloud software of the company need to continue operating during planned or unplanned disruptions. The management of the I. T. Department must always have a business continuity plan which includes a recovery plan.
Enforcement.
Any EPOCH employees found in violation of these policies will be subject to disciplinary action that could lead to being restricted from making any changes on the system.Extreme cases could lead up to termination of employment.
Work Cited:
- Dancho, D. (2010). Building and Implementing a Successful Information Security Policy. Retrieved January 4 2014, from http://www.windowsecurity.com/pages/security-policy.pdf
- Roy L.(2010). Dealing with Difficult People. Retrieved January 4 2014, from http://joygupta.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/nn03.pdf
- Wood, H. (2003). Supervising Difficult People. Retrieved from http://www.trainingsolutions.com/pdf/difficultemployees.pdf
- Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B. , Wright, P. (2012). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. (8th Ed.).Boston: McGraw-Hill/lrwin.
