The role and need for IT in organizations

1. The role and need for IT in organizations https://st-julians-itgs.wikispaces.com/3.10+IT+systems+in+organizations

2. Organizational IT policies • Examples of IT Policies • Electronic Mail Policy • The purpose of the E-mail policy of any company is to usually ensure the proper use of the companies e-mail system and ensure users of what is acceptable and unacceptable of the companies e-mail system.   • The Email Policy provides guidance about acceptable use, for the purpose of sending or receiving email messages and attachments, of any IT facilities, including hardware, software and networks provided by the company. • An example of an email policy can be seen here. • Data Protection Policy • Policies that determine certain rules that people should follow in order to protect certain data that is required to be private • An example of a data protection policy can be seen here. • Acceptable Use Policy • Policies that determine what is allowed to be done with the IT systems and what is considered to be an incorrect use of the IT system. • An example of an acceptable use policy can be seen here • Occupational Health and Safety Policy • A tutorial on how to create your own Health and Safety policy, with an example, can be seen here with an example.

3. Organizational IT policies How to Create a Policy Step 1: Planning and Consultation The first step in creating and implementing new policies is to involves the staff that will ultimately follow these policies. This promotes awareness and understanding. Involving staff might help determine when and under what circumstances the policies might apply. Step 2: Research and Define Policy Terms The next step in implementing new policies is to research existing policies that have been created and implemented in other companies. The policy should be well defined and explain what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, the best way to do this is to use examples. When creating policies, they must be clear on who they apply to. Some policies could only apply to office staff while others could apply only to the board of directors. The policy should also contain information on what to do when someone doesn’t abide by the policy. Step 3: Draft Policy When drafting a policy, it should be written in good English and be easy enough for everyone to understand. Policies should be translated into other languages in multi-cultural workplaces to ensure every employee understands them. Employees should be briefed on how to comply with the policies and the consequences of failing to do so. To keep them up to date, policies should be reviewed and revised often. Feedback from within the company will also help to improve existing policies. Step 4: Implementation For a policy to be successful it must be published and provided to all existing and new employees. To better explain policies to employees, workshops or training sessions can be organized. To keep policies relevant they should be discussed regularly and reiterated. Copies of every policy should be easily accessible to every employee. These copies can be stored on the company’s intranet, policy manuals and folders. Step 5: Compliance It is very important to keep applying policies consistently throughout the whole organisation. Any breach in policy should be dealt with swiftly and according to the procedures outlined in the policy. The consequence of non-compliance should also be scaled according to the severity of the breach. These could range from a warning, to a disciplinary action to summary dismissal. A disciplinary policy should be set up to explain to employees what the company considers to be serious offenses. Policies should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are in line. Whenever policies are changed they should be re-issued to all employees and explained to make sure employees are familiar with the companies new direction/rules.

4. IT personnel and organizational structure Information system (IS) managers Information system (IS) managers is responsible for computer systems within a company ensuring back up systems operate effectively, purchasing hardware and software, providing the ICT technology infrastructures for an organisation and contributing to organisational policy regarding quality standards and strategic planning. Example of an IS Manger’s job description here. Support Staff The job of the IT support staff is to support the provision of an efficient and effective ICT Support Service. Example of Support Staff’s job description here. Network Manager A network manager is the person responsible for installing and maintaining the computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. Example of a Network Manager’s job description here. Database Administrator A database administrator is the person responsible for the design, implementation, maintenance and repair of an organization's database. Example of a Database Administrator’ job description here.

5. Development Personnel ProgrammeManager – overall progress of ALL the IT projects taking place Project Manager – overall progress of a project, on time, in budget, meets needs of the client Analysts / Systems Analysts – document the current system, find it problems, areas for improvement, feasibility study Designers – using the information gathered during the analysis phase – design solution which can be passed to the programmer / developer for creation Development Manager – oversee the programmers Programmer – create the system specified in the design Support staff / Trainers – train end users and help them with problems as they occur Database Administrators – see previous slide Network Managers – see previous slide