Assignment3: Short Report (Scenario #)
Assignment3- Short Report Instructions.pdf
sample 1- Short Report.pdf
Sample 2- Short Report.pdf
Assignment3: Short Report
Internet Usage Policy at
Pyramid:
A Short Report
September 20, 2013
Prepared for:
Pyramid Design Team
Prepared by:
Student Name
BUS105
Background
Pyramid Design Team began seven years ago as a smal
l design firm with three
employees. The original employees were the owner a
nd two designers. With this core
of three employees, each knew what was expected of
the other, and official policies cut
against the grain of the creative atmosphere that w
as being fostered. Therefore, aside
from the founding document containing the mission o
f the company, there were no
policies put in place. This worked fine, until rec
ently.
Within the last four years, Pyramid has hired 11 ad
ditional staff, including designers and
programmers. The company has been implementing new
policies regarding vacation
time, holidays, and sexual harassment, for example,
but there still exists no policy
governing the use of the Internet at work. Now tha
t the company consists of 14
employees, I propose the creation and adoption of a
n Internet policy that will provide
employees with clear guidelines about its appropria
te and sanctioned use at work.
Problem
The inappropriate use of the Internet is threefold.
First, the designers and developers
are downloading beta versions of software from the
Internet. Since this software is
often in beta, there can be, and have been, numerou
s problems with these types of free
downloads.
Our IT manager has seen a huge increase in Trojan v
iruses penetrating our system and
causing damage to our servers and other employees’
computers. He has spent
countless hours trying to find and remove these vir
uses and has expended thousands of
dollars in resources to call in technical specialis
ts to eradicate the viruses.
The intent of the designers and developers was simp
ly to get the latest software that
will allow them to create the best product. Unfort
unately, that has not always been the
case, and some of these downloads are causing serio
us IT threats to our systems.
The new Internet policy needs to ban this practice
and clearly state that nothing can be
downloaded from the Internet without the express co
nsent of the IT manager and a
supervisor.
Second is the use of social media at work. The use
of company computers by employees
to view Facebook, other social media, and streaming
services has increased 200% in the
past 18 months! Some employees, for example, are lo
gging-into Facebook when they
arrive at work and leaving the page running as a ta
b in their web browser, checking it
frequently throughout the day.
This has decreased productivity. A study conducted
by Nucleus Research and published
by Computerworld found that “Companies that allow u
sers to access Facebook in the
workplace lose an average of 1.5% in total employee
productivity, according to a new
report from Nucleus Research, an IT research compan
y. The survey of 237 employees
also showed that 77% of workers who have a Facebook
account use it during work
hours.” Facebook is, of course, the biggest offende
r, but the policy needs to ban all
social media, such as Twitter, while at work.
The third area of concern involves streaming video
services, such as Netflix, Amazon
Prime, and Hulu. Employees who eat lunch at their
desk are using their computers to
watch videos from a streaming video provider. The
problem arises when the employee
watching a video finds the content completely suita
ble, while a co-worker sitting
nearby, or passing by his or her desk, finds the co
ntent inappropriate. As this is a
subjective opinion, we can be opening ourselves up
to a lawsuit for sexual harassment,
for instance, if a video contained nudity in it and
the passerby saw it and became
threatened.
Although most employees are not falling into this c
ategory, it only takes one. Because
of this, we need to ban streaming videos.
Finally, there have been instances where pornograph
y has been viewed on a company
computer. I am sure we all can agree that banning
the use of viewing or downloading
any pornographic image using a company computer sho
uld be banned.
Solution
There needs to be a policy implemented where violat
ions like these above can be dealt
with immediately. Depending on the severity of the
infraction, we can have a tiered
system of punishment:
1.
First Infraction – verbal warning
2.
Second Infraction – written warning
3.
Third Infraction – dismissal from the company
There are many forms an Internet usage policy can t
ake, but I suggest we keep it simple.
GFI, a company that provides IT solutions, provides
a clear-cut policy for Internet usage
that details what company computers should, and sho
uld not, be used for:
•
Company employees are expected to use the Internet
responsibly and productively.
Internet access is limited to job-related activitie
s only and personal use is not
permitted
•
Job-related activities include research and educati
onal tasks that may be found via
the Internet that would help in an employee's role
•
All Internet data that is composed, transmitted and
/or received by <company's>
computer systems is considered to belong to <compan
y> and is recognized as part of
its official data. It is therefore subject to discl
osure for legal reasons or to other
appropriate third parties
•
The equipment, services and technology used to acce
ss the Internet are the property
of <company> and the company reserves the right to
monitor Internet traffic and
1
Instructions for Graded Writing Assignment 3: Short
Report
Readings:
•
Lesikar’s Chapter 11, pages 339-359
•
Sample Short Report, pages 350-358
•
Lesikar, Appendix B, pages 615-620
Instructions:
For this final Graded Writing Assignment, you will
compose a Short Report based on one of the
scenarios outlined below. You must choose one of th
e scenarios listed below; papers submitted
reflecting a scenario other than those listed below
(even those listed in your text) will not be
given credit or graded.
Assignment Requirements:
Write your findings as a well-organized Short Repor
t containing the following key elements:
•
A title page
•
Document headings to separate parts of the report
•
At least two sources with brief in-text citations a
s shown in sample Short Report (pages
350-358)
1
•
Interpretation of your findings in terms of their l
ikely significance to you and your
readers.
Assignment Notes:
•
Create all pieces of the short report as one (1) do
cument.
•
The Short Report should be 1,200-1,500 words in len
gth. Remember to focus on
content, not just writing to fill a word requiremen
t.
•
You will upload your finished document to the appro
priate assignment in Business
Communications. Instructions on how to upload are a
vailable in the Topic 12
assignment area.
Scenarios:
Option 1)
The graphic design shop where you work as the acco
unt manager is doing well. Just
last year, the owner hired three new designers and
a receptionist, bringing the total number of
employees to 14. But with growth comes certain head
aches, and one of them is figuring out
how to regulate employees’ Internet use. Currently
, employees can download anything they
want from the Internet and view any web site they w
ish.
The owner’s IT person has alerted him to several pr
oblems. One is that the designers are
downloading any and all software that they think so
unds “cool” —even software in beta
1
Please note that the sample shown in your book is
a Mid-length Report and therefore contains some sec
tions
that you will not need for the Short Report. For in
stance, you will not need the letter of transmittal
or the
executive summary.
2
versions that still have a lot of kinks. As a resul
t, their computers lock up or malfunction, and
the IT person has to spend hours troubleshooting th
e problem to get it resolved.
Two, there is concern over what Internet sites empl
oyees are viewing, specifically those that
are inappropriate for the workplace. Overall, the I
T person is worried about security breaches
resulting from these downloads, inappropriate web s
ite visits, and other Internet activities.
It’s time for a policy to be developed governing In
ternet-use, and your boss thinks you’re just
the person to help write it. Your assignment is to
study the current wisdom on workplace
Internet policies and send your findings to your bo
ss and the IT person as a short report,
including a proposed Internet-use policy that might
be implemented.
Option 2)
As a Senior Buyer at Darcy’s, a national departmen
t store, Sasha Warner manages the
buyers in the eastern U.S. region. You’re currently
working under her as a sale co-op student.
She drops by your office to chat one day and brings
up a subject she’s been wondering about.
“Do you know anything about Skype?” she asks. You n
od, having used this online international
phone service yourself. “I heard it’s totally free
and really easy to use,” she continues, “so I’m
thinking about recommending that all my buyers subs
cribe to it. Then maybe they could talk to
each other and to international designers and merch
andisers more easily. Is there any
downside? Maybe security issues?” You’re not sure--
but you offer to look into the matter for
her.
Do the necessary research, and, if you haven’t yet
done so, try this service yourself and then
write Sasha a report giving her the information she
needs to decide whether or not to pursue
this idea further. She may want to share your repor
t with other managers in the company, so
be sure you give it your best effort.
Option 3)
You work for the owner of three local coffee and t
ea shops, one of which opened a
few months ago. The newest one has already develope
d quite a nice, regular clientele, mostly
those in or near the neighborhood who want an alter
native to the big-coffee-chain experience,
but your boss thinks its sales need a bump. She is
considering holding an in-store promotion at
the coffee shop – her first ever. Since she knows y
ou’re an Internet whiz, she turns to you for
help. “How do you run one of these events?” she wan
ts to know. “How much do they cost? Are
they worth the effort and expense? What are my opti
ons? Do such promotions have lasting
effects? How can I maximize the results?”
You turn to the Internet and find a lot of great st
uff about in-store promotions, so much, in fact,
that you decide to present your findings to your bo
ss in writing. Tell her what she needs and
wants to know in a clear, well organized report. Ha
ving the information in writing will also be
helpful if she wants to share it with other employe
es. Be sure she can go to your sources and
read more if she wants to.
Option 4)
Many managers today are realizing that there reall
y is something distinctive about
“Gen Y,” or “Millennial,” employees (the children o
f the “baby boomers”--who were themselves
children of the World War II generation). Find a re
al client or invent a realistic company to use
3
as your client. Then review the literature on Gen Y
employees and write your client a report in
which you describe the distinctive traits of this s
egment of the workforce and recommend ways
to recruit, manage, and retain them.
Option 5)
Your company does not offer flexible spending acco
unts (FSAs) for its employees.
Your boss wonders if your company (you pick the nam
e) should. Are FSAs a good idea for
businesses and employees? Prepare a report for your
boss in which you analyze the advantages
and disadvantages of FSAs so that she can decide wh
ether to offer FSAs to your employees.
