Blogging and job security

As with most bloggers, I am always fascinated to read of the faux pas that bloggers can make whilst blogging.  The rampant media attention paid to this issue – often ending up in the loss of said blogger’s job – is perhaps one of the biggest reasons (sensible) people are reticent about blogging. 

On the one hand, having a good complain at the family BBQ on a Sunday about your job is a good Australian tradition, but it isn’t done in a forum where it’s likely to get back to your boss.  The recent episode of la Petite Anglaise – who seems to have lost her job as a direct result of blogging, even though on the basis of her side of the story all seems a little unfair (although blogging about a sickie is NOT perhaps the most sensible job retentions strategy one could choose) – reminds us all that, in cyberspace, everyone hears you scream, for years and years and years, if you’re not careful.  

The article is written up online at Australian IT.

It does show though that the dynamic world of the workplace is still desperately catching up with the online world of technology.  I know that there are some graduates that we have interviewed recently who go home and blog about their interviews, how it went, and which firm (not necessarily ours!) they would prefer to be offered a job by.  I think that the danger of a de-identified blog is that you feel anonymous and warm and protected – and so write accordingly.  Trouble is – it’s easy to slip up and find that you are actually identifiable. 

For the former French employer of our British blogger, the issue is highlighted in that now, it seems, a likely legal battle will ensue with the result that at the very least the firm faces legal costs and is distracted.  There are a lot of issues around blogging, and the legal issues that relate to it.  Perhaps Belinda Thompson and I will co-write an article on this one – I know she’s done some research in the area for us.

Taming the information technology beast – IT governance made relevant

Last night’s presentation to the CPA Australia IT Discussion Group (Taming the information technology beast – IT governance made relevant) went well overall. However, it was an awful lot to absorb, so I attach the content here as a PDF for those that weren’t able to attend or may have missed something on the night.

I understand that, tentatively, this session will be repeated in May – but that’s up to John Halliday. Thanks to John, incidentally, for organising the IT discussion group.

At any rate, here is the presentation: Taming the IT Beast.

Governing the IT Beast

I note the chaser’s take on blogs and how they can peter out (warning: some strong language in the Chaser Comments and some articles – non-FYOSS): “Blog Abandoned After Five Entries”.

At any rate, tonight I am to present at the CPA Australia IT Discussion Group, so you can as usual expect to see the growth in thinking that has occurred on IT Governance since the last time a presentations similar to this one was done. We had to close the books on this one at 50, so it is being re-run in May as I understand it from John Halliday.

Presentation for CPA Australia IT Discussion Group

Micheal is presenting to the CPA Australia IT Discussion Group on 29th March 2006 on the topic “Governing the Information Technology Beast”.

John Halliday is the convenor of this group – thanks John!!!

Topic: “Governing the Information Technology Beast”

Date: 29th March 2006 5:30pm for 6:00pm

About this Topic

This one hour presentation will introduce the topic of Information Technology Governance, and provide specific and practical tools to assist with taming the information technology ‘beast’ within your organisation.

Tools examined include:

  • Leading Approaches in Information Technology Management
  • The role of the Boardroom in Planning, Building, Managing, and Running the Information Technology business function
  • Business IT Planning Process
  • IT Governance Calendar
  • Project Governance Management Tools

The presentation is practical and is focussed on having an impact on the organisation, from an SME to a listed company. The material for this seminar will operate within the framework presented by CPA Australia’s recent ITM CoE publication, “IT Governance: a Practical Guide for Company Directors and Business Executives”.

About your Presenter:

Micheal is the Director of Information Systems Consulting within BDO Kendalls’ Consulting Division. Micheal has extensive expertise in the evaluation and assessment of information system projects and information technology services for large businesses and government agencies in line with business strategies, goals, and objectives.

Micheal has had several articles published on information systems and business in his role as Chairman for the CPA Australia Information Technology & Management Centre of Excellence. Micheal is also co-author of research papers on information systems in association with the University of Queensland and Georgia State University.

Good Practice, Best Practice, Leading Methods

You say tomato, I say tomato (say, that doesn’t work so well in print). A rose by any other name is just as thorny, that much is certain at least, and there are often objections to the term ‘best practice’. Although it is meant to capture practices that are generally accepted by everyone else, and that the ‘man on the Bondi tram’ might adopt if he thought about it, there are some who consider that ‘best practice’ is code for ‘doing what our competitors did five years ago’. And certainly there are some aspects of this – that ‘best practice’ is not necessarily ‘best’, it is just what everyone else is doing.

Still, it’s a good place to start, surely, and if it isn’t a place where competitive advantage can be gained (even unsustainable competitive advantage) for your business, why bother reinventing the wheel?

I note this recent article at NetworkWorld that discusses ITIL and COBIT, and discusses the two of them as being complementary, and in fact that they can result in more returns when coupled together. Certainly the news that 75% of IT Managers in the United States have plans to implement ITIL, or at least are thinking very strongly about it. When you check the fine print, of course, you realise that it isn’t that scientific a study (all those attending a conference on IT Service Management) but it probably provides some interesting flavour of what’s going on in the real world.