20th December 2014
Unit 4: Business Communications: Task(s) 1 b) & 1 c):
Introduction:
In this assignment I am going to look at the operational issues surrounding ensuring information is safe, health and safety, ICT requirements and the training of staff at Carlisle College. I am also going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of information security, health and safety and systems to manage information and how Carlisle College meets these legal and operational issues.
Task 1 b):
Ensuring Information is Secure:
The security of information is highly important for a business. The information could be sensitive, hold ideas for new products or plans or it could be private information about employees. This information could damage the companies reputation and it could costly them highly in legal fees or even the bust going bust. Most business information is stored on an electronic device and with things such as computers been easy to hack or infect with a virus, its important that the organisation keeps these computers software up to date so reduce the risk of attack. There are a number of operational issues surrounding ensuring information is safe. If personal or company information isn’t kept securely it will breach the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection Act helps to provide protection against the abuse of personal information. The act covers almost anything which is done with or done top date including obtaining data, recording or entering data onto files, holding data, organising/ altering or adapting data in any way, retrieving/consulting or using data by other means, disclosing data (for example via email), combining data with other information and erasing or destroying data. Under the act, companies and individuals responsible for using data has to follow rules known as ‘data protection principles’, in which they must make sure the information is used fairly and lawfully, used for limited, specifically stated purposes, used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive, is accurate, is kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary, handled according to people’s data protection rights, kept safe and secure and not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection from the individual(s) concerned.
Thomas Gill: L3 90 Credit Business Studies: Unit 4: Business Communications: Page 2:
Ensuring Information is Secure:
Carlisle College has a 12 page document on how staff should handle data to comply with this act. The act provides the College with many issues such as computer systems need to be up to date, up to date computer software, staff training on how to handle data, notifying students of their personal data been processed and staff need to make such copies of documents are stored on a safe memory stick to name a few. Carlisle College needs to ensure there are secure logins for its computer information and that systems are regularly checked and updated. This will prevent the college been attacked with viruses and hacked and this will keep the college’s private information safe.
Health & Safety:
The Health and Safety regulations are in place for two major purposes; one to prevent employees getting injured and secondly to prevent employers been taken to court and landed with hefty fines for not complying with the regulations. There are many different health and safety issues at work, one major health and safety issue is injury of workers at computers. Most office based jobs require workers to be seated at a computer for long periods of time during their working day. If the employee is seated at the computer which is incorrectly positioned and they are sat with bad posture, this could cause an injury known as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). An employer needs to take the risk of RSI seriously as legally they need to make sure computers are set correctly and they also need to give staff adequate training on how to seat