WORKING EFFECTIVELY IN AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT

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WORKING EFFECTIVELY IN AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
ENVIRONMENT
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Element 1 Complying with general IT policies
and procedures
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LEARNING OUTCOMES

• 1. Establish and explain clearly, the roles of
  key players in the IT organization
• 2. Establish career choices and options.
• 3. Comply with policies and procedures as
  directed by the supervisor

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IT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• When you join an IT organization it is very
  important for you to integrate into that
  environment as quickly as possible.
• One of the ways in which you can accomplish this
  is to know what the policies and procedures are
  and comply with them.
• Each organization will have its own policies and
  procedures, which may be directly related to the
  use of technology or designed to cover many
  aspects of the organization.

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These policies and procedures may include

• Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines
• Occupational Health and Safety policies
• Anti-discrimination policies
• Guidelines outlining ethical work practices
• Ergonomics
• Environmental factors
• Statutory and vendor requirements
• Preventative maintenance procedures
• Guidelines for appropriate employee conduct
• Manual on how to use technological equipment
• Purchasing requisition procedures and
  documentation
• The structure of departments within the
  organization

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• The extent to which some of these policies
• and procedures exist in an organization
• will depend on organizational variables such
• as
• Type and size
• Values
• Culture

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ROLES OF KEY PLAYERS OF THE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION

• Key players are the personnel within an
  organization that are essential for the
  functioning of that section or department.
• If you work in an organization that has an IT
  division, or is completely IT oriented, it is
  important to identify everyone and his/her (IT)
  role.

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ROLES OF KEY PLAYERS OF THE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION (contd)

• They may have job titles such as
• IT Manager
• Supervisor
• Systems Administrator
• Developer
• Information Systems Manager
• Systems Analyst
• Data Entry Operator
• Help Desk Staff
• Database Administrator
• Graphic Artist
• Desktop Publisher
• Trainer
• Other colleagues in the department or division

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• It is also important for you to establish the
  hierarchy of personnel i.e. you must know who
  has the authority to give instructions to which
  other staff and who has responsibility for
  certain areas of operation.
• The organization may publish an Organizational
  Chart which makes this hierarchy clear.

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Key players also exist outside of the
organization and these players directly or
indirectly affect how IT is used in your
organization. These may include but are not
limited to

• Government departments involved in IT
• Vendors of IT products and services
• IT professional bodies
• Industry publications
• Industry promotion
• Employer organizations
• Relevant unions

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CAREER CHOICES AND OPTIONS

• In order to effectively determine your career
• choice there are some things that you
• should be aware of
• The range of careers available in IT
• Your personal desires and abilities
• Current trends in the field
• Available training opportunities

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• The world of IT is very wide and dynamic with new
  technologies, techniques and careers emerging
  everyday.
• Therefore, it is advisable for you to read
  widely.

Help desk - is a department within a company that
responds to technical questions.
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The broad fields in Information Technology can
include those listed below

• General IT Categories
• Manufacturing
• Application development
• Software and hardware management
• Support and training

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The broad fields in Information Technology can
include those listed below

• Fields in IT include
• Hardware and software development
• Web design
• Database management
• Networking
• Information systems management
• Communication
• Marketing
• Help desk

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IT Careers

• Career choices may include but are not limited
  to
• Database Clerk/Operator/Administrator
• Web Page Designer/Programmer
• Data Entry Clerk/Operator/Supervisor
• Network Manager/Administrator
• Computer Programmer

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• As you can see from the foregoing, there are both
  breadth and diversity in IT jobs however, you
  will find that many of them are a combination of
  several areas.
• IT is a fast-moving, technology-driven industry
  and so the job descriptions and skill
  requirements change very quickly.

Some good sources of IT careers can be found
at http//www.careers.org , http//www.myfuture.e
du.au , http//www.careersonline.com.au
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MORE ONCOMPLYING WITH POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
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• Earlier you were introduced you to some of the
  policies and procedures that are likely to obtain
  in an IT environment.
• However, there are others which may be in
  existence which you need to know and comply with.
• For example many organizations, have a code of
  practice that employees are expected to follow,
  as well as other policies and procedures which
  outline how the organization carries out its
  business.

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Organizations will also have policies
controlling

• Purchasing
• Standard software
• Internet access
• E-mail usage
• Naming directories and files
• Network security
• Requests for IT assistance (personnel need to
  prioritize the work they do depending on what is
  most important as money may be lost if the
  priority is wrong). Users may need to log a
  request by e-mail with the "Help Desk" or use a
  special form.

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• Additionally, there may be procedures governing
• The use of capital equipment (only certain
  employees may be allowed to use certain
  equipment) and consumables such as paper, laser
  toner and disks. Different divisions of the
  company may have a budget to cover the cost of
  consumables, which should be accounted for.
• A list of steps used to complete an IT activity
  e.g. setting up a personal computer, installing a
  printer, and back up and retrieval procedures.

Code of Practice - Minimum standards of conduct
and practice to be followed by all members of an
organization. The standards are designed to be
fair to all and usually imply confidentiality,
privacy and non-exploitative policies.
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• Other organizational standards include the
  presentation of documents.
• You may be required to use a standard font, size
  and colour.
• There may be a bank of templates available on the
  organization's intranet, letterhead paper to be
  used and an organisation-wide Style Guide.
• As noted previously, organizational variables
  will determine which of these policies and
  procedures are in force in your office.
• If your company has an employee handbook it
  should stipulate them.

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ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

• What are some of the policies and procedures that
  an IT company is likely to enforce?
• Define Code of Practice.
• Identify 5 career options in the IT industry.
• Define Help desk.
• Identify and briefly explain the roles of key
  players in a typical IT organization.
• When should you comply with your organizations
  policies and proceedures?
• List some of the things that an organizations
  policies can control.