The Culture of Easy Credit Australia - Assignment Example

Question 1 The metaphor that can best describe the culture of Easy Credit Australia is HR. the management of the company has invested heavily in the employee as it has ensured that they have the necessary skills and expertise that can help in meeting the expectations of the clients. The company has realized the role played by employees in the process of achieving organizational success. As a result, it ensures that the employees are trained to be equipped with the necessary services that can serve the customers better. The level of satisfaction of the customer is purely determined by the ability of the employees to offer high-quality services. The company has been first researching on the need of the clients with the aim of tailoring its services delivery to meet the expectations of the customers. As a result, it ensures that the employees have the necessary skills that can help in achieving the set goals. For instance, the risk management team is trained on the best way to assessing the clients to establish the risk involved in the process of issuing credits to the clients. The company personnel can include risk analysts, mathematicians, and statisticians. The company has ensured that all the personnel has the required skills that can help them in achieving the set objectives in the organization. The expertise that the personnel has achieved assist in formulating the necessary strategies that can assist in managing the risks of the company. Risk management in the company is critical as it assists in avoiding defaults associated with the customers who fail to pay their credit facilities. Considering the challenges related to the nature of the services the company offers to the customers, risks management expertise is important in ensuring the success of the company. Besides, it is through the expertise of the personnel that the risk profile of the customers has been kept in a way that can help in managing the potential risks that can arise in the process of managing the company. The management of Easy Credit Australia has realized the benefits of making sure that the employees are trained on risks management techniques. Training the employees has assisted in providing and managing the necessary data that can help in managing risks. Besides, product analysis has been possible through the expertise of the employees concerning risk management. The analysis is conducted to assess the risks that are associated with certain products that the company offers to the clients. It is through the analysis of the products that the managing can come up with the necessary strategies that can help in managing the risks associated with the product (Hallikas, et al., 2004). Through the risk management expertise, the management through the help of the employees has managed to offer products that are less risky as it has been employing the conservative approach. Besides, it has been using interest rates that are different depending on the level of risk hence the risk expertise has helped in developing the necessary interest for the different profiles. As a result, the company has managed to be successful in the industry due to the proper analysis of the level of risks hence avoiding the possible loss that is linked to the poor risks management. The analysts in the company have constantly been trained to be equipped with the necessary skills and expertise that can help in increasing profits. The management through the help of the analysts has ensured that they keep monitoring the risk profile that has been changing due to the changes in the economic conditions. The company has trained the analysts to work with the teams of different products hence helping in making sure that the risks associated with the company products are monitored. Working with the team assists in making sure that the risks are assessed, and the teams are equipped with the necessary knowledge concerning the risks analysis. Working in teams has proved to be beneficial in the process of making sure that the risks are properly managed as the members of the team work together for a common goal. Besides, the management has ensured that the analysts are constantly trained to keep pace with the changes taking place in the market. As a result, the company products have remained to be competitive in the market and ensured that the services offered are in a position to meet the needs of the customers better in the industry. In the process of making sure that there is continued improvement in the service delivery, the management of the company has ensured that specialist training is offered to the employees. The management of the company has realized the need for motivating the employees in the process of improving service delivery. As a result, the human resources manager of the company has ensured that the employees are motivated to enhance their commitment to achieving the organizational goals. For instance, the employees are given incentives to boost their morale towards work where the management gives performance targets. Besides, the employees are involved in making decisions concerning risk management where they are given a chance to give their opinions concerning the best strategies that can be employed in the process of managing the risks. Team building training has also formed an important part in the process of motivating the employees as they are provided with the necessary working environment that can enhance their productivity. For instance, the company has created good relationships between the analysis and the teams to improve the risk management among the members of the teams. Question 2 The file server is a computer that is responsible for storing and managing data files with the aim of making sure that the computers that are on the same networks can be able to access the data files. The users can be in a position to share information using the network without necessary having a physical transfer of the data using storage devices. The computers that are configured as the host are said to act as the file server. Therefore, a file server can be the normal computer that can handle requests concerning files and sends the requested data files using the network. It serves as the hard disk for the other computers where anyone in the network can store and access data. There are differing views concerning the problems associated with the file server that can include the following: First, the computer that hosts the shared folders might not have a user account that has password hence failing to ensure proper control of the stored files. The lack of access control can result in unauthorized people accessing the stored data. The rivals can know the secrets of the organization in the market leading to unfair competition (Bessis, 2011). For instance, the competitors of the company can easily access the strategies of the company that is in the implementation process hence affecting the competitiveness of the enterprise. The shareholders view file server to be risky due to the possibility of access to company secrets in the cases where there is no control of the stored data. The second problems associated with the file server is firewalls, in particular, the third party varieties. In case the ports that are needed ensuring folder sharing are not open on the two machines the access of the data files cannot be possible. The management considers the denied access to the file server as a delay in the operation of an organization where the operations can be interrupted in the process of waiting for the experts to restore the situation. Therefore, the firewalls are considered to be a major problem that is associated with the files servers in risk management. Third, the privacy of the data stored on the file servers is not guaranteed as it can be accessed by different people hence the confidentiality of the data cannot be possible. Most of the shareholders view the file servers to lack the necessary confidentiality of the information that is considered private. As a result, the lack of security of the data in the file server can result in access to confidential information of the company. Question 3 Cognitive map illustrating CIO’s view Cognitive map illustrating the Head of Risk Management’s view The group map Cognitive map illustrating the Head Question 4 a) The problems that are associated with file server usually interfere with operations management team. The problem like the inability to access data because of fireworks in some instances can affect the operations of the team in the process of managing risks. The team requires timely access to the data related to risks of the products and the customer profiles to ensure risky credits are avoided. As a result, poor operations might be realized at times when the risk management team cannot be in a position to access the necessary data for managing risks (Godfrey, 2005). The sense of satisfaction among the employees can also be affected by the availability of the necessary data as the team rely on the file server to access the data needed in the process of managing risks. The assurance professionals together with the Information Technology audit are usually expected to customize file server to the surrounding where they perform the assurance process. Moreover, the file server is both used as a starting point as well as the review tool. However, the file server can also be modified by the Information Technology Auditor or even by the assurance professional. Therefore, it is always assumed that both the assurance professional and the IT audit contain the subject matter expertise which is required in the process of conducting work, whereby it is supervised by a professional who is certified Information System Auditor. Moreover, the basic function of the file server is actually to manage as well as storing data. Besides, various organizational folders are usually established so as to store and ensure the availability of the data and other documents. However, during the early days when the office systems were networked, every file had personal access configuration unlike in nowadays whereby the user access rights which include the identity management are usually under the control of one system which integrates all the file servers into a single domain (Wipplinger, 2007). Also, as a result of a large number of employees who are making use of the cloud storage services in their process of conducting businesses, the efficient communication concerning the security risks for the cloud computing becomes imperative. Importantly, it has been the case since employees are assisted in controlling, creating and also storing more data than usual. However, the cloud adoption should also focus on the necessary measures for protecting the cloud data. Furthermore, any cloud data protection which is effective always starts by educating the employees concerning the risks of storing as well as sharing information in the cloud. Also, the aspect of cloud sharing information has become more prevalent among the majority of the employees who are willing to share their document even though they are not interested in using the physical means. Therefore, companies are required to look for secure alternatives through which their workers can share documents. b) The social-technical premise can be taken to represent all the technologies which are situated socially, where the ICT greatly depends on the social context that assists in reshaping the social world. However, the context fails to put into account the various social changes which take place during the technological innovations (Wipplinger, 2007). For instance, the social-technical approaches usually tend to ignore the temporal dimension of the Information Communication Technology. Moreover, the perspective of the social-technical makes ICT to be a complicated world for situated action. In according to the situated view, the context is not taken as fixed, but it is always defined dynamically. Therefore, the socio-technical approaches in most cases focus on the construction of both temporal and situational conditions thus relating them to the conceptualizations of the Information Communication Technology. The socio-technical approach is usually based on the linked relationships which are interdependent among the characteristics of any technological system and the social norms. Besides, the basis of the socio-technical approach is the mutual constitution of both technological and social aspects. The mutual constitution in most cases direct scholars to make considerations concerning the importance of the technological aspects or even the social aspects. However, the mutual constitution is always different from the social determinism, since the social determinists argue that the ICT was created for the various needs of organizations as well as for the decisions of individuals. The researchers who are socially deterministic make an argument that there are no particular impacts of technology which can be attributed to the material qualities for the technological aspect. Besides, the technological determinists usually characterize the Information Communication Technology as an independent variable (Stoneburner, Goguen and Feringa, 2002). In this context, the technology seems to be the material force which helps in the determination of specific behavior of people and also organizations. The mutual constitution impliedly suggests that technologies and the humans have the ability to act in a certain situation that is common. The collective action is among the primary features that are associated with the socio-technical premise which is the pursuit of goals by two or more parties that are interested. Moreover, the collective action in various situations undergirds the aspect of organizations and also sociality without necessary implying its positive or even negative outcomes. Also, underlying premise refers to the joint pursuit of shared goals by parties which focuses on the purpose of specific ICT. Also, in the case of collection action premise, the multiple goals, as well as the joint interests, are usually intertwined with the technological components. Furthermore, the social-technical research which is contemporary does not focus much on the individual workers such as the differences between an employee and a manager. However, the social-technical approaches usually differ in three major ways which are known as the standard models. The first difference of these approaches is that the standard models of ICT in most cases focuses on the technological aspects. The second difference of the social-technical approaches is that the standard models usually decontextualize work regarding generalities and also best practices. The third difference is that the standard models in most cases emphasize on both behavioral aspects and the cognitive aspects of the individual involvement in technologies. c) The implementation of data warehouse alone cannot solve all the problems that are faced by the risk management team. There is a need for other methods to be implemented together with the data warehouse to help in solving the problems in the management of the risks. Implementing warehouse will only solve the problems of data access by ensuring that the needed data that is necessary for managing risks is availed to the team (Godfrey, 2005). For instance, there is the need for addressing the personnel issues that can improve the process of managing risks among the team members. The other methods that can be used together with the implementation of data warehouse include the following: Understanding Risk Risks in any organization usually represent uncertainty, where certain situations do not necessary have a particular outcome as they are subject to deviations. Therefore, the project risks are categorized following their complexity level. Hence it means that those risks which are of low complexity level can be easily dealt with them, provided that the individuals who are handling it have the necessary set of skills. However, there are still some other components which include people that are introduced into an organization so as to establish relationships thus increasing dependency level. Transparent Communication In the process of managing risks in organizations, a transparent communication is necessary among the team members where the points of view of every individual are expressed freely. Moreover, it is quite difficult to arrive at a solution for a certain problem in case when people are not willing to speak-up. Also, the aspect of communication is a fundamental necessity, and this is the reason as to why employees in an organization would not express themselves because they fear being fired from their jobs. Therefore, effective communication in a case of problem-solving takes place because of the leader having the ability to create an open dialogue (Godfrey, 2005). As a result, individuals feel that they are in a safe environment to give their points of view pertaining the problem. However, even though communication is fundamental, the majority of the people are always not comfortable when they are sharing their thinking. Break Down Silos The risk management team does not only need to ensure transparent communication but also to break down silos to enable an organization to become boundary-less in sharing ideas. Moreover, the silos which are not necessary create hidden agendas instead of welcoming problem-solving. Also, the majority of the silos in various organizations are always the main cause of many problems which occur in the workplaces (Godfrey, Merrill, and Hansen, 2009. As a result of this in nowadays, an organization is required to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, whereby workers can cross-collaborate so as to find out the solution for a certain problem. In an organization where there is the existence of silos, the problem solving becomes quite difficult since the participants are more likely to be self-promoters, and thus the problem-solving process turns to be a discouraging task. Open-minded The risk management team need to be open minded in the process of looking for the best ways of mitigating the risks. Importantly, problem-solving revolves around individuals working together so as to make an organization perform better. However, there are some individuals in workplaces who like creating unnecessary chaos to hide their inefficiencies. The team members who are open minded usually view various risks as their best friends and therefore solve problems more easily. Problem Solving The team members need to be problem solvers to address the problems facing the risk management in the organization. Besides, the team members are required to be capable of sensing and also evaluating any crisis which arises either inside or outside their organization. Some of the problems in sometimes may lead to improvements in the standard operational practices in an organization. In the risk management, problem-solving is always reactive in nature, and thus extensive resources are required to be considered. The primary technique which is used in problem-solving is the transparent communication. References Bessis, J., 2011. Risk management in banking. John Wiley & Sons. Hallikas, J., Karvonen, I., Pulkkinen, U., Virolainen, V.M. and Tuominen, M., 2004. Risk management processes in supplier networks. International Journal of Production Economics, 90(1), pp.47-58. Godfrey, P.C., 2005. The relationship between corporate philanthropy and shareholder wealth: A risk management perspective. Academy of management review, 30(4), pp.777-798. Godfrey, P.C., Merrill, C.B. and Hansen, J.M., 2009. The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: An empirical test of the risk management hypothesis. Strategic management journal, 30(4), pp.425-445. Stoneburner, G., Goguen, A.Y. and Feringa, A., 2002. Sp 800-30. risk management guide for information technology systems. Wipplinger, E., 2007. Philippe Jorion: Value at Risk–The New Benchmark for Managing Financial Risk. Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, 21(3), pp.397-398. Read More