Nathan wrote:
Run a tight ship? I worked under an IT Director who shouted down a
manager in a supported department who was considering buying a color
laser printer for his department. The IT Director threatened that it
would be the last decision the other manager would ever make in the
company. All computer hardware and software and configurations were
under the scrutiny of the IT Director. The "personal" in "personal
computer" had no meaning. The IT policy book was about 6" thick. The
nickname for the network group was "the gestapo".
Yes, we run a pretty tight ship. The "Personal" in PC doesn't apply on
company owned equipment. It's not yours, therefore you shouldn't expect to
be able to do what you'd like with it. Some of our people have company
issued vehicles assigned for their exclusive use. They often refer to those
vehicles as "my" car/truck, yet all of them have the common sense to realize
that it doesn't mean they're authorized to go and "pimp their ride".
That said, users are provided with whatever hardware & software they need to
do their job. The IT department doesn't decide what that is to be; the
appropriate managers do. The only time IT overrides a manager is if the
request would be in violation of a policy set at the executive level. And
even then it's not so much an "override" as it is an "I can't do that for
you until you clear it with the Commander-In-Chief".
Around here, one of the biggest responsibilities for the I.T. department is
maintaining a secure, stable, reliable systems infrastructure. The users get
that, and are educated to understand that it means anything affecting that
infrastructure must be run through the IT department for implementation in
order to maintain that quality of service to them.
Contrary to the atmosphere you've described above, I've had many employees
(past and present) tell me they appreciate never having to worry about
whether or not their computer is going to up and running when at the office.
They don't concern themselves with viruses, backups, driver issues etc. It
just works. And the little bit of "freedom" they've had to give up, proves
to be worth it.
John Taylor
midrange.com
