ICAITTW001B Work Effectively in an Information Technology Environment (B)

Reference: http://hsc.csu.edu.au/info_tech/core/work/icaittw001b/Main_work_effectively.html

Objective - develop competencies in:

Comply with general information technology policies and procedures.

Promote the organization and the Information Technology department in a manner consistent with the organization's mission.

Identify information technology equipment, software and operating systems supported by the organization.

Key Players Who are key players?	How do you promote the organization? Learn how employees promote their organization.	Policies & Procedures What policies are likely to be in the work place?
Mission Statements What are they and look at some examples	Organizational Charts Examples of organizational charts	IT Functions Learn about the five general sectors of I.T
Exercise 1 Short answer questions relating to an IT environment	Unions Learn about unions from a young worker's point of view.	IT Careers Learn about the career choices and planning in IT
Exercise 2 Research an IT career	Exercise 3 Short answer questions about promoting the organization	Exercise 4 Rights in the Workplace
Exercise 5 Unions have millions of members	Quiz 1 Export and multi-skilling - Toyota	Quiz 2 Violence in the Workplace
Case Study Can you lose your job over email?	Glossary Explanation of terms that will help you with this unit	Other Resources Useful links

Glossary

Anti-discrimination	The Anti-Discrimination Act (1997) is designed to protect your rights and to prevent discrimination. This includes equality in the workplace and in other aspects of your life.
Capital equipment	An object which is a financial asset needed for an undertaking or to perform a service. Generally, capital equipment is a financial asset that adds to the net worth of a business.
Code of conduct	Ethics agreement which details acceptable behaviors and conduct for a particular company or role.
Contractor	A person or organization that agrees to provide materials or perform services at a specified price, especially for construction or development work.
Contracts	An employment agreement between employer and employee, which is enforceable by law. A contract of employment sets out the conditions and terms under which an employee accepts to work in a particular job, such as the wage or salary amount, number or spread of working hours and whether overtime is paid or allowed.
Computing support	The provision or maintenance of hardware and software assistance.
Consumables	Computer related goods, which are used in the daily use or maintenance of a computer system, for example ink cartridges for a printer.
Corporate hardware and software	Approved hardware and software products used within a business.
Deadlines	A time limit for the completion of a task.
Duty statements	Also known as a job description. A document which describes the purpose, expected activities and responsibilities of a particular job.
E business	E business (electronic business) is the conduct of business on the internet
EEO	Equal Employment Opportunity. Any person employing other people has to take care to treat those people fairly, and not to discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, marital status, physical or mental impairment or sexual preferences.
Employer/employee rights and responsibilities	The duties and conformable rules or guidelines for a worker who is hired to perform a job, the employee, and the person or company that employ workers, the employer.
External client	A customer or someone who pays for goods or services who is independent of the organization delivering the service.
Help desk	A department within a company that responds to technical questions. Most large software companies have help desks to answer user questions. Questions and answers can be delivered by telephone, email or fax .
Internal client	A customer within the limits of the organization.
Mission statement	A declaration of a company's vision and role statement.
Organizational chart	A graphic representation of how authority and responsibility is distributed within a company or other organization.
Outsourcing	Paying another company to provide services which a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform, for example software development.
Project teams	A group organized to work together to undertake and complete an extensive task.
Strategic plan	A plan detailing where a company wants to be in the future. These plans usually have a strong emphasis on new technologies and ways of conducting business, such as e business.
Supplier	Someone whose business is to supply a particular service or commodity.
Workplace committees	A group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering and/or reporting on a particular aspect of the workplace such as an Occupational Heath and Safety Committee.
Work schedules	A plan for performing work or achieving an objective by specifying the order and allotted time for each part.

Key Players

Key players are personnel within an organization that are essential for the functioning of that section or department. Within an organization key players may include:

Your supervisor
Your trainer
A manager
Helpdesk staff
Other colleagues in the department or division

There may be a number of key players outside your organization that influence how information technology is used in your organization. These may include:

Government departments
Vendors of information technology products or the customer
Professional bodies and societies such as the Australian Computer Society
Industry publications
Employer organizations and relevant unions

(Reproduced with permission of ANTA. (1998). Information Technology, Client Support Training Package - ICA98. Work effectively in an information technology environment. Learner Guide. Australian Training products - Melbourne.)

How do you promote the organization?

Promoting the organization to internal and external customers needs to be done in a manner consistent with organizational policies and procedures. You will need to establish how the organization wants to be promoted. To do this you may need to understand the organization’s mission statement. Mission statements are usually found in the organization’s strategic plan. The mission statement and organizational plans are often published on the organization’s web site.

Organizations promote themselves through corporate advertising. This includes posters, brochures, listings in phone books, promotion of their mission statement within the organization and having a presence on the internet. Individuals promote and are a representative of their organization. The overall image of the organization can be conveyed by the collective approach that staff have to customers, their dress, telephone manner and how their business is conducted, including meetings, presentations and interviews.

The organization may also have a code of conduct that outlines the manner in which staff are expected to conduct themselves when consulting customers. If you are unsure about what is expected of you, speak with your supervisor, trainer or mentor who can clarify the situation for you.

Policies & Procedures

Each organization will have its own policies and procedures. They 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 & Safety (OH&S) guidelines
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines
Guidelines outlining work practices in a department
The structure of departments within an organization
Work agreements or enterprise bargains
Manuals on how to use technological equipment
Preventative maintenance procedures
Purchasing requisition procedures and documentation

Mission Statements

A mission statement refers to the core business of the company, their general philosophy and customer service focus. Organizations often have their mission statement on display in the foyer of their office. Mission statements are readily accessible for viewing by the public as organizations publish them in documents, such as annual reports and overviews of the organization.

Mission statements need to be concise and effective, for example, Big W's mission statement is "To provide our customers with the best quality merchandise at the best possible prices". This gives the customer and the employee the focus of the organization, which is to sell products at a lower price than their competitors. More information on Big W

Another example of a mission statement is Australia Post's. Here is an extract from their mission statement, "Australia Post is committed to providing high-quality mail and parcel services to all Australians". For more information about Australia Post look at the website

Organizational Charts

Organizational charts are used to represent the hierarchical or vertical structure of the organization. These charts depict the reporting and communication lines for the organization.

An organizational chart usually includes job or position description, and in some cases the name of the person holding that position.

A sample organizational chart is shown below:

For another sample organizational chart see the Sydney City Council site

Information Technology Functions

Information Technology can be used for a wide range of functions depending on the sectors within the industry, the type of organization and the business conducted. The structure of the Information Technology department may be a separate branch, department, division or an integrated function of an organization.

The five general sectors of the Information Technology industry include:

computer hardware
communications hardware
packaged software
computer services
communication services

(Ref - The Information Technology Industry, Scannell, pp. 17)

Each of these general sectors uses information technology in different ways to achieve different organizational goals. For example, in the Computer Services sector, information technology may be used for:

data processing
information storage and retrieval
computer maintenance
computer consultancy

(Ref - The Information Technology Industry, Scannell, pp. 23)

Unions

A union is an organization of employees which acts collectively for mutual protection and assistance. Unions represent workers in dealings with employers. They negotiate wages and conditions of employment for their members.

For more information on unions, click on the link "Clueless About Unions" . It was written by a 16 year old who did work experience at the Finance Sector Union.

Information Technology Careers

The Information Technology industry is well known for its breadth and diversity. It is a dynamic area and students are well advised to read widely for current trends and emerging technologies. The broad fields in the Information Technology industry can include those associated with hardware, software, web design, networking, marketing, help desk, and communications. Many jobs in Information Technology are a broad combination of several areas. To gain an insight into the careers in the Information Technology industry, look at the following websites listed below. A brief description of each site is included.

Australian Careers Directory

The Australian Careers Directory site is designed to help you understand your career options. Here is an extract from the site. "Welcome to the Australian Careers Directory. This is a collection of links to help you explore sites which can help with career exploration and decision making, job search, decision making, career related education, training resources and law" Click on this link to get more information http://www.careers.gov.au Have a look at the "Get Access - Careers Game". A fun decision support system to help you select the most appropriate career for you.

Click on the "Careers Guidance" link.
Click on the "Self assessment Tools" link.
Click on the "Get Access" link.

Careers Online

The careers online website is designed to help you plan your career. "Through Australia's careers online job seekers of any age get help with their career planning and employment and job search."

Here is the link http://www.careersonline.com.au

Another career planning website is located at: http://www.myfuture.edu.au/

Activities

Exercise 1

Using your work placement company or another organization that you are studying, write a 2-3 page report which addresses each of the following points.

Identify the name, address, telephone and fax numbers of your organization

City of Sydney Council, Tel: 02 9265 9333
Email: council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
TTY: 02 9265 9276 (for a person disable of hearing)
Sites web: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Central Business District

Level 2, Town Hall House
456 Kent Street, Sydney
Monday- Friday: 8.00-18.00

Erskineville

104 Erskineville Road, Erskineville
Monday - Friday: 9.00-17.00

Kings Cross

50-52 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross
Monday - Friday: 9.30-17.30, Saturday: 9.00-12.00

Glebe

Glebe Town Hall
160 St Johns Road, Glebe
Monday - Friday: 8.30-17.30

Redfern

Tower 2, 1 Lawson Square, Redfern
Monday - Friday: 8.00-17.30, Saturday: 9.00-12.00

Identify and briefly explain the role of the key players in the organization.

The City of Sydney aims to be an employer of choice by attracting highly-skilled, energetic people who will add impetus to the development of an innovative, effective organization.

Create an organizational chart for your organization.

Councilors—manager—employee --client

a. What is the mission statement of the organization? The City of Sydney aims to be an employer of choice by attracting highly-skilled, energetic people who will add impetus to the development of an innovative, effective organization.

b. If it is not written down, is there an implied mission statement? The City of Sydney aims to make Council services easy and convenient to access through its locations across the City.

c. What does the mission statement mean to the employees ?. How does it help them to assimilate into the workplace? To give a better service to the community of Sydney

Briefly list and explain the information technology functions within the organization
computer hardware
communications hardware
packaged software
computer services
communication services

data processing
information storage and retrieval
computer maintenance

computer consultancy

Identify information technology equipment in use in the organization

hardware,
software (including operating system software),

The State Heritage Inventory or online database contains over 20,000 heritage items on statutory lists in New South Wales. This information is mainly provided by local councils and most records have basic identification information such as Name, Address and Listing.

It also includes items listed on the State Heritage Register which can be searched separately, using additional search criteria.

While the Heritage Office seeks to keep the Inventory up to date, the most recent listings in local and regional environmental plans may not yet be included. Always check with the relevant Local Council or Shire for the most recent listings.

description of any special information technology equipment used in the workplace.

Heritage Links

NSW Heritage Office

Allows you to search the State Heritage Register and the State Heritage Inventory, which include items within the City of Sydney.

Also provides a list of Publications providing guidance on a range of heritage issues under the 'Publications & Forms' tab, including 'Altering Heritage Assets'; 'Conservation Products and Services'; 'Heritage Consultants Directory'; 'How to carry out work on heritage buildings and sites”: the 'Maintenance series' and 'Principles of Conservation Work on Heritage Places.',

Website: www.heritage.nsw.gov.au

National Trust of Australia (NSW)

The Trust classifies heritage items and keeps a register of these items. The Trust also has a number of useful publications available online.

Website: www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au

National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

This site has publications under 'Conservation', 'Useful Documents' tabs, including 'Australian Housing Styles' and 'Twelve Tips for Caring for Old Buildings.'

Website: www.vic.nationaltrust.org.au

NSW Department of National Parks and Wildlife Services

Responsible for protecting and managing Aboriginal sites, objects and places of special significance to Aboriginal people within NSW.

Website: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au

Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage

Provides access to a number of heritage databases including the Australian Heritage Database, National Heritage List and Commonwealth Heritage List. See 'Heritage' tab on the front page.

Website: www.deh.gov.au

Royal Australian Institute of Architects

Maintains a register of significant 20th century buildings.

Website: www.architecture.com.au

Australia ICOMOS

This is the peak association of heritage professionals in Australia.

ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) is primarily concerned with the philosophy, terminology, methodology and techniques of conservation. It is a non-government professional organisation formed in 1965. It is closely linked to UNESCO with national committees in some 100 countries with the headquarters in France.

The site includes the Burra Charter, the principle document guiding heritage conservation in Australia under the 'Charters and Publications' tab.

Website: www.icomos.org/australia/

'Ian Evans’ World of Old Houses

The following website is a one-stop shop of information on conservation of old Australian houses.

Ian Evans is the author of a number of popular books on the subject, including 'How to Restore the Old Aussie House' and 'Caring for Old Houses', and co-author of “Colour Schemes for Old Australian Houses' and 'More Colour Schemes for Old Australian Houses'.

Website: www.oldhouses.com.au/

Find out and write down the telephone number and location of your nearest branch of the Australian Computer Society.

*Secretariat Address*	*Sydney* *Mechanics School* of Arts Lower Ground 280 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Ph: +61 2 9261 4411 Fax. +61 2 9261 4277 Email: acsnsw@acslink.net.au

Find out where the following policies and procedures are located in your organization and write down where they are kept.

Occupational Health & Safety

The Council of the City of Sydney is committed to the occupational health and safety of all employees and those visiting Council premises by providing a safe and healthy workplace. The City regards its occupational health and safety responsibilities with the utmost importance and is committed to provide the necessary resources to comply with all relevant Acts and Regulations.

To achieve the commitment to Occupational Health and Safety, the City Occupational Health Safety and Rehabilitation Unit has developed numerous programs, in consultation with staff, to achieve a reduction in the number and severity of injuries in the workplace. The City's Occupational Health and Safety Committee conducts regular workplace inspections and plays an advisory role to staff and management.

The City contributes to improvements in equipment design and work practices to achieve higher levels of safety which are recognized throughout Local Government. The City is also represented on regional OH&S committees participating in regional initiatives to improve safety in the work environment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Council of the City of Sydney has a commitment to equal employment opportunity under the obligations of the Anti-Discrimination Act and other relevant legislation. This commitment is reflected by the integration of the principles of EEO into the City's policies and work practices.

Purchasing Guidelines

EXAMPLE ON APRIL 30^th 2007,

GUIDELINES FOR TABLE PURCHASING FOR CHARITY AND FUNDRAISING EVENTS

The following are recommended as guidelines to assist with determining whether a table should be purchased. Priority will be given to purchasing tables for events/functions which:

(a) Contribute toward a coordinated approach to service delivery and the development of responses to emerging social, community, cultural or economic issues.

(b) Strengthen formal and informal support networks, reduce isolation and increase community participation and opportunities.

(c) Increase access to and the achievement of basic rights for people with the greatest need.

(d) Promote a balanced debate aimed at achieving social harmony.

(e) Raise funds for a cause or organization which is in keeping with the City’s interests or experiencing exceptional circumstances involving genuine hardship. (f) Events linked to the corporate and strategic objectives of the City.

Information Technology Tray

You can find more detail by using the site

www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/.../GreenSquare/HistoriesofGreenSquare.pdf - 2007-07-28

Exercise 2

Identify career options in the Information Technology industry.

Click on this link to get more information http://www.careers.gov.au Have a look at the "Get Access - Careers Game". A fun decision support system to help you select the most appropriate career for you

Your task is to create a profile of a person currently working in the Information Technology industry.

Create a questionnaire to be used to gather information.
Include questions that will enable you to gather information
on:

Name : James Lee

Job title : IT programmer

Name of company : IT Link

Job description or role : Analyst program

Information Technology skills required to do this job : Microsoft Office Tools Microsoft Office Outlook Microsoft Office Excel Microsoft Office Word Microsoft office Visio Microsoft Office Power Point Master Landscape Pro™ Version 10

Salary (optional) : 120.000 pa

Length of time at current job role : 8 hour

Training or qualifications required : Bachelor of IT

How did you get this job? Internet advertisement

Future career aspirations: Have my own IT company

Use desktop publishing software to create a personal career profile - including a scanned photo or photo taken using a digital camera.
A Sample format is included below to help you

Exercise 3

Choose an information technology workplace and complete the exercises below.

Locate samples of information that the organization distributes to its customers. This could include pamphlets, booklets and posters that advertise various aspects of the organization. What does this information reveal about the organization?

www.componentsource.com, they’re using web page to advertise their product and service.

Does the organization have guidelines that direct the way in which the organization is promoted? If so what are they, if not why aren't guidelines necessary?

IT-Workplace is a software company that specialists in Business Intelligence reporting solutions. Our primary product, Intelligencia, is designed to allow enterprise wide distribution of print quality reports from multidimensional (Olap) databases. IT-Workplace solutions deliver simple end-user driven report authoring combined with scalable web based server technology to maximize the data assets in your business.

The software IT-Workplace develops is 100% focused on Microsoft technology and is based on the .NET platform. All software development conforms to Microsoft, methodologies and architectures.

Whether direct or in conjunction with our solutions partners, we aim to provide organizations with better, faster and easier access to the information that exists within their operational systems and external data sources.

Our customer base crosses widely varied business segments demonstrating the general appeal of Intelligences and confirming our belief that a large market for BI reporting is as-yet unsatisfied by other vendors.

Exercise 4

Complete the exercise on "Rights in the Workplace", which is located on the Worksite website. This will test your knowledge on rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

Activity K

Rights in the workplace

Are you angry because you didn't get the holidays you wanted? Do you have reason to believe you're not getting paid enough for your age? Have you been working more hours than you are supposed to? You need to get in touch with your rights!

Know your rights!

Draw a line and match the right to its definition.

Rights	Definition
1. Equal opportunity employment	2. A safe place to work
2. Occupational health and safety	5. A fair go for pregnant women
3. Agreements/awards	1. A fair go for everybody
4. Overtime	3. A specific wage
5. Pregnancy discrimination	4. Time worked before or after your regularly working hours

Right on

Which right is most important to you and why?

_Overtime, because we deserve to pay more for the overtime we’ve done ____________________________________________________________________________

_Occupational health and safety, because that’s our right to get cover at work____________________________________________________________________________

__Equal opportunity employment, because it’s not fair if we are judge by our background, religion, racist, and gender__________________________________________________________________________

DISCRIMINATION

Everyone deserves a "fair go" at work. That means being treated fairly, having the same opportunities as others and being paid properly for your work. To support this the law says an employer must not discriminate between employees. Whether you are a man or woman, a person of any race, religion or culture, young or old, parent or single, an active union member, an injured worker, a disabled worker, or a pregnant worker, you must receive a fair go at work.

That means you are entitled to:

freedom from insults or jokes based on sex, race, religion or culture
equal pay for equal work
access to job opportunities and promotion
fair share of training
support if you are injured
support, where appropriate, so your work fits in with your family life.

Case study

Write a 'make-belief' case study of an employee that has been discriminated against in their workplace. Include how and why they were discriminated against, what their actions were in attempt to get help and how the conflict ended.

AWARDS/AGREEMENTS

Use the Glossary definition and define an award/agreement

__Award/agreement : A legal document which specifies the minimum conditions under which you are employed. It covers matters like wages, holidays, sick leave and overtime. Awards sometimes also set out the basic requirements of things like maternity leave. Employers must abide by the conditions of the award because it is a legal document.__________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

What's good for employees about awards/agreements?

__The employees know what’s their right and their responsibility __________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Back in front

You have the right to receive the correct pay, but working out exactly how much is owed to you is not always easy.

Use the Job Union Match section and work out how much these full-time jobs would expect to be paid yearly?

Occupation	Graduate/Training Salary	Professional Salary
Doctor	$52,456	$156,784
Accountant	$41,636	$134,242
Child care worker	$32,142	$117,420
Graphic designer	$32,893	$129,571
Hairdresser	$28,756	$56,694
Physiotherapist	$42,639	$151,278
Travel Agent	$17,000	$158,080
Veterinarian

YOUTH WAGES

'Youth wages' or 'junior wages' are rates of pay for young people.

What ages do youth wages apply to? Between 15 and 21 years old Hint: check out the Youth Wages Fact Sheet

Do you think youth wages are fair? any experiences I think it’s fair enough, because they don’t have on those ages. Find a partner and discuss. Explain your answer in detail. Share your answer with the class.

OVERTIME

Finding that 9-5 doesn't apply? Working long hours and receiving no extra pay?

It looks like you've been doing a little overtime - the time worked before or after your regularly scheduled working hours.

Use the Overtime Fact Sheet and the Glossary section to define the following
terms:

Paid overtime __: payment for extra hours worked;_______________________________________________________________

Time off in-lieu ____: paid time off instead of extra pay____________________________________________________________

Unpaid overtime ____you work and you don't get any extra pay or any time off.___________________________________________________________

How many hours is a full time employee expected to work a week before overtime applies? 37.5 hour a week

Reasonable hours are safer hours

Read the Overtime Fact Sheet and answer the following questions.

Why do you think that it important that people do not work too much over time?

________As well as denying you a social life, long working hours leads to inadequate rest, causes stress, disrupts personal and family life, could mean a higher risk of heart disease and can worsen existing medical problems._____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

How does overtime contribute to bad health?

__1. We don’t have enough time to sleep ___________________________________________________________________________

_2. Our eating habits could change ____________________________________________________________________________

_3. Breathe faster and shallower ____________________________________________________________________________

Lists some appropriate steps an employee could take to prevent them from working overtime.

Using the award, because we can sue the employer if they are still insist push us to work overtime_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5

Complete the exercises on "Unions have millions of members", which is located on the Worksite website. This will test your knowledge on the role of unions.

King of the mountain?

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was established to represent the national interests of Australian unions, and is now a peak body which represents workers both locally and internationally.

The ACTU coordinates campaigns on important work-related issues and is responsible for lodging pay claims with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on behalf of its member unions.

The ACTU also negotiates with the government, does research and analysis and keeps people in touch with workers in other countries.

Quick

United they stand

When was the ACTU established?	Melbourne in 1927
How many unions does the ACTU represent?	Made up of 46 unions
Which Australian Prime Minister was once president of the ACTU?	Bob Hawke
Who is the current president of the ACTU?	Sharan Burrow
What was her first profession?	Teacher of high school
What is APHEDA?	APHEDA stands for Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad. It is the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the ACTU. APHEDA assists international development by supporting skills training projects for workers in South East Asia, the Pacific, southern Africa and the Middle East. Click here for more details.

Consider

ACTUality

a) What do you think the ACTU is best known for?

To represent the interests of the union movement.

b) Write a one page `biography' of the ACTU.

If you're working and you're a member of a union, then there's a good chance your union is a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, otherwise known as the ACTU. The ACTU is the peak organization representing unions nationally in Australia and internationally around the world.

The ACTU has been around for around 76 years, having first been established in Melbourne in 1927 when the State unions recognized the need for a national organization to represent the interests of the union movement.

Today the ACTU is made up of 46 unions and represents around 1,786,000 Australian workers, that’s around 20% of the full-time workforce. (ABS August 2006)

There is a branch of the ACTU in each state and territory of Australia. These are called Trades and Labor Councils.

The ACTU supports:

Equal opportunity in the workplace.
An Australian republic.
Competency based training for workers, where workers don't end up in 'dead end' jobs and people are paid according to skill, not age.
Indigenous Australians in their struggle for a just outcome on land rights, reconciliation and recognition of their culture.
Economically sustainable development.
the call for the abolition of child labour and the exploitation of outworkers

Some current ACTU National Campaigns are:

Maternity Leave. The ACTU is campaigning for the introduction of paid maternity leave for all Australian women. Click here for more details.

Reasonable Hours. The ACTU's Reasonable Hours campaign aims to raise awareness about the effects of long working hours. Click here for more details.

Minimum Wages. The ACTU's Minimum Wages campaign aims to deliver a wage increase to award workers consistent with outcomes for others in the community and provide a real wage increase for the lowest paid. Click here for more details.

worker2worker. worker2worker is an ACTU/union initiative, which informs young people of their rights and responsibilities at work and provides advice on how to resolve workplace issues. Click here for more details.

Call Central. A campaign for decent minimum standards in the Call Centre Industry. Click here for more details.

If a work issue affects employees from a number of unions, the ACTU will usually be in charge of mounting a case that supports their reasons for wanting improved working conditions. This involves researching and writing a submission called a 'claim'.

When the claim is ready, the ACTU formally presents it to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) - the court for industrial disputes. It's the AIRC's job to listen to evidence and arguments from unions, employers, the government and community groups and make an unbiased decision about the claim.

c) Make a list of what you think are the top three achievements of the ACTU.

1. What would it take for Melbourne's stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers, slates, plumbers, painters and coachbuilders to go marching through the city streets with placards? The push to reduce the working day to eight hours for the building trades, that's what! In Melbourne after union meetings, strikes and the march their wish for an eight hour day came true. In Sydney it wasn't so simple - only the stonemasons were lucky. In 1856 the Melbourne tradesmen formed the `Eight Hours League' and built a headquarters on land the government gave them. Melbourne Trades Hall - became known as the `working man's parliament'.

2. Remember Bob Hawke? His biggest claim to fame is probably being Prime Minister of Australia (1983-1991), but guess where he started his political career? Yep. The ACTU! In 1958 Bob was a research officer at the ACTU and was elected President in 1969. Other well-known ACTU presidents turned politicians include Martin Ferguson and former Labor leader Simon Crean.

3. Representing approximately 1.8 million Australian workers

d) Make a list of the problems the ACTU might face.

1. From the government policy

2. From the Employer

Opinion

What if...

Imagine there were no unions and no ACTU. How would the world of work be different? Consider issues like wages, a fair go for everyone and occupational health and safety.

Every worker might be don’t get a fair wages, no sick leave, their healthy and safety at work place.

Quizzes

Quiz 1

Complete the quiz "Export and multi-skilling - Toyota" , which is located on the Worksite website.

Quiz 2

Complete the quiz "Violence in the Workplace" , which is located on the Worksite website. Click on the link below.

Case Study

Email Policy

The following links to the Australasian Legal Information Institute have some interesting information regarding the use of e-mail in the workplace. This is an area that has hit the media and the courtrooms recently due to employee claims of unfair dismissal and invasion of privacy.

The section of the website called, Privacy Law and Policy Reporter, publishes articles relating to privacy and computing. Read the article titled E-mail Privacy

The article recommends that organizations publish their email policy so that employees are aware of the correct use of email and the consequences of any breach of the email policy.

Task 1

Locate your work placement or another organization’s email policy. Briefly outline the acceptable use of email for your organization. Are the consequences of breaching this policy documented? If so what are the consequences?

We are not allow to use the email for private purpose, we will get a warning note if we breaching the policy, if we still breach the policy the company can sack us.

Employees and emails

Look at this web site
Read the section Legal Setting of employment. This section discusses the topic of surveillance. Computer software can now monitor every keystroke that an employee makes for as little as $99. This section also refers to "cyber slacking", which is the use of email and the internet during work time posing a threat to productivity.

A well publicized court case involving the use of email during work time was between Ansett and one of its employees, Ms Gencarelli. Ms Gencarelli was a union delegate and she distributed information via email which was critical of Ansett's role in the negotiations with her union. She was dismissed for "unauthorized business use" of email. The case went to court and the judge ruled that the use of email was "authorized business use" and Ms Gencarelli was reinstated.

You can read the details of this case here under the heading Employees and emails

Task 2

Computerization has increased productivity, however, it also has the capacity to decrease productivity. How?

Computerization can increase productivity if the employee only using the computer to support their work only, if the employee only using the computer for checking their own private email at the work time, it will be decrease productivity.

What strategies are some companies implementing to monitor employees use of computers during work time ? Is this ethical?

Some companies have begun using surveillance software that covertly monitors and records each keystroke an employee makes: every letter, every comma, every revision, and every flick of the fingertip, regardless of whether the data is ever saved in a file or transmitted over a corporate computer network.

It’s depend on the situation of workplace, aren’t the employee not productive again

Do you agree with the judge's ruling in the case between Ms Gencarelli and Ansett ? Why or why not? Yes I agree, because Ms. Gencarelli was using the computer to send email for the Ansett costumer

Other Resources

ANTA. (1998). Information Technology, Client Support Training Package - ICA98. Work effectively in an information technology environment. Learner Guide. Australian Training products - Melbourne.

Australia Post

Australasian Legal Information Institute

Big W

Le Rossignol, K. (1999). Communication Skills for the Workplace. Eastern House - Victoria.

Scannell, D. (1996). The Information Technology Industry. Eastern House - Victoria.

Sydney City Council

Worksite.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007