WORKING

EFFECTIVELY IN AN
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
ENVIRONMENT
 Element 1

Complying with general IT

policies and procedures
 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
 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.
These policies and procedures may
include:
• Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) 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
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
 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.
ROLES OF KEY PLAYERS OF THE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION (cont’d)

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
• 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.
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
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
• 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.
 The broad fields in Information Technology can
include those listed below:

General IT Categories

• Manufacturing
• Application development
• Software and hardware management
• Support and training
 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
 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
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.edu.au ,
http://www.careersonline.com.au
MORE ON
COMPLYING WITH
POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES
 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
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.