On Tue, 16 Dec 1997 08:49:35 -0500, Joe Geiser <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>On Tuesday, December 16, 1997 6:57 AM, Tracy Johnson
<[log in to unmask]>
>said:
>
>
>>An MIS Director at one place I worked solved these kinds of problems with
>>policy.  "If it wasn't purchased with MIS approval, MIS was not obligated
>>to support it."
>
>
>I've always followed that policy and it really ticks 'em off when its
>enforced - but ya know what they say - "TFB" (Too Bad)... it makes them
>think twice before they do it again.

Now there's a real good way to win friends and influence people! (No
Smiley)

I think it's this type of "ivory tower"-ism that got DP/IS/IT into trouble 
in the first place.  The days when MIS could sit on high and dictate 
which tools the end-users were destined (forced) to use are over, at least 
in the small-to-medium-sized companies.  I manage IS for five companies at 
six different locations that are all owned by the same group of investors. 
We have 27 users connected to the HP, 35 PC's, and 18 printers.  While I 
agree that it would be easier to manage these devices if they were all the 
same make and model, the reality is that we have a variety of vendors for 
the hardware, all of which we are expected to support (with two people, 
but that's another story!).  And then there is software:  I standardized 
on the MS Office Suite (not necessarily because it's inherently better, 
but because I'm personally more familiar with it, and besides, it comes 
pre-loaded on the newer PC's we purchased).  So what do I tell the users 
who want Lotus instead of Excel?  Take a hike?  Not bloody likely!

The point of all this is that I could lay down strict standards that 
computer users are to adhere to (and I may in the future), but the 
harsh reality is that the attitude exhibited by the above responses 
serves to drive many users farther away from IS, and reinforces the 
belief in many end-users minds that IS is hopelessly clueless when 
it comes to business use of PC's.  IS must show itself to be a 
reliable, supportive business partner for the rest of the company 
in order to gain and keep the end-users trust.

Just my $.02 worth!  Now, where did I put that double cappacino? :-)

Jim Phillips                            Manager of Information Systems
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]      Therm-O-Link, Inc.
Phone: (330) 527-2124                   P. O. Box 285
  Fax: (330) 527-2123                   Garrettsville, Ohio  44231