Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with department

Where's the fire?

avocet — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:00:43 -0800

Seeking fire department incident response websites from anywhere in the world – updated on the fly (e.g. Toronto) or whenever they get the chance (Shropshire), it doesn't matter. Does your area's fire service do this?

How do I politely refuse to keep the government's secrets?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:28:52 -0800

How do I excuse myself from applying for secret clearance without having my boss think less of me? My boss would like me to apply for a security clearance to help improve the chances of our company winning additional Department of Defense contracts. Most of my other co-workers claim that the process is easy and I have nothing to worry about. Currently, my work does not require a security clearance and I would prefer to keep it that way. After looking at the rationale of various adjudicators for denying clearance I am fairly confident that I would be denied a secret clearance. Also I do not wish to involve my partner or my friends in the application process, as I feel it would be both a hassle and a very large invasion of their personal privacy. I have made my reservations about applying for clearance very clear, but my boss continues to push me to do it.

How do I tell my boss to politely stop bothering me without giving away the reason I believe I would be denied secret clearance?

How do I handle the situation such that it doesn’t look like I have some nasty skeleton in my closet?

What are the ramifications for not applying for clearance? Can I be fired? Can I be fired for being denied a secret clearance even if my current work does not require one?

Purchasing department people: Credit card or purchase order?

PatoPata — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:50:10 -0800

I'm going to be selling two downloadable information products to businesses. One will be priced (at most) $495. The other will be more, about $1200. I hope customers will use credit cards, not purchase orders. Do I hope in vain? I can accept credit cards, so ideally the customer will enter their corporate card info and download the product.

Is either of these prices likely to be problematic for corporate credit card users? For example, are companies wanting the $1200 product likely to send a purchase order rather than just putting it on a card? If so, is it common or classy to give a discount to customers who use credit cards instead of purchase orders?

(Until now, I've sold only services, using invoices.)

Thanks!

Our IT department needs computerized help

joshrholloway — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:26:12 -0800

What is the best and most intuitive PC/Mac inventory management/software distribution solution available for a small business with around 250 users and six IT guys? I am a Tier I/II technician in a small business with about 250 users and six IT guys. The company is growing quickly, and we have decided it's probably time to introduce some sort of system(s) that will let us remotely monitor, inventory, and distribute software packages to the systems in the building. We are looking for something that is intuitive for me, who will probably be using it the most, and for the administrators and IT manager. We have looked at a couple different solutions, but we have not really dug deep into any option because there are so many choices and we're too busy with day-to-day activities. (As a reference, we have taken a quick look at LANrev, GLPI, and OCS Inventory.)

Our ideal solution would allow us to easily and efficiently do at least the following things:

1. The ability to remotely monitor any system on the network. We want to be able to see if it's online, all of the hardware installed on it, the drivers it's using, the software it has installed, etc. We would love something that can remotely provide us with the wealth of info that something like SIW can show.

2. The ability to set up automated software distribution policies based on groups.

3. The ability to push out a single software package to a single system on-demand with as few steps as possible. (LANrev could do this, but it involved setting up system and software groups and it felt pretty convoluted.)

4. We are mostly PCs running Windows XP, but we have about a dozen or so Macs as well. We are ideally looking for a solution that will work for both without having to jump between two different systems.

5. Reasonable price for a small business. Our decision-makers are not frugal, per se, but they are extremely critical when spending money and want to make sure they're getting their money's worth for whatever we buy.

I have used Apple Remote Desktop a bit, and I was very impressed with how it worked and everything one could do with it. If there was some cross-platform solution out there that was similar to the way that system works in ease of use and functionality, it would be perfect.

So the bottom-line question is that I am looking for recommendations of systems that would meet our needs as outlined above. The best opinions would be from people in similar situations who have actually used these systems hands-on. If there's anything I left out in terms of important information, please let me know.

It's a man's IT world?

I_Love_Bananas — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:45:44 -0800

New to IT department- what to expect? I'll soon be joining our company's IT department - the culmination of a series of events in which I saw an opportunity, seized it and impressed enough people that they created the position for me. It's awesome. I'm nervous but excited about the job-specific uncertainties.

Aside from that, my question is- as a non-IT (female) person, what should I know about dealing with IT types? I come from the admin, executive world in which I had reason to interact with IT on occasion, but that's not the same thing.

Will there be more of a "no nonsense, head down, get to work" mentality (which I want) vs. the office politics/brown-nosing/playing favorites that's been the case in my past non-IT positions?

The 25-member department is 80% male. This doesn't necessarily faze me but I just wanted to get some perspective. My plan is to lay low for a while but I'd welcome any advice.

I've fallen into a Motor Vehicle Rabbit Hole

jimmyjimjim — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:34:49 -0800

When you find yourself in a life-harming situation due to a unique administrative hiccup in a government bureaucracy (and since no one's anticipated this sort of hiccup, no one's empowered to override it)....what do you do? I'd be immensely grateful to anyone with patience to read through and advise. I'm usually crafty enough to find a solution to any problem, but I'm stumped on this one.
I've lived in New York State for years, and recently moved to Connecticut. I maintain an office address in New York where I can get mail.
I need to switch my drivers licence from New York to Connecticut, but during the move, I lost my (NY) license. I went to New York dept of motor vehicles for a temporary license, and they said they'd mail me a permanent one. Connecticut won't switch my license unless I give them a full one...they won't accept the temporary. So I awaited the permanent one for weeks. Unfortunately, it was mailed to an old address so I never received it.
I called New York dept of motor vehicles and they confirmed it had been returned to them in the mail. I asked them to send it to my current New York address, and they noticed something in my record. According to their computer, I surrendered my New York license two weeks ago and currently hold a Connecticut driver's license. I have NO idea where they got this idea, and my mind breaks (zen enlightenment!) every time I ponder it. I've never successfully submitted anything to Connecticut motor vehicle (again, they need a full license to do the switch) and Connecticut has confirmed to me that I'm nowhere in their system.
I went directly to a New York motor vehicle office to sort it out, but was told this is what the computer says, and unless I can PROVE I'm unlicensed in Connecticut, New York will not give me a license.
Frantic, nearly hysterical at this point, I returned to Connecticut motor vehicles, and begged/pleaded for them to give me a written statement attesting to my non-existence as a Connecticut driver. But they have no mechanism for proving to anyone that a given person is NOT in their system. There's no form for that! They could only print me up a driver's abstract, which shows I have no VIOLATIONS in Connecticut. That won't cut it.
So I'm between unyielding bureaucracies. NY won't license me. Connecticut won't license me. I'm essentially an unlicensed driver with no options whatsoever. No one in the system has ever anticipated this unique situation, so there's no mechanism to override it.
What would you do?
One option: apply for a fresh new Connecticut license, take a driving test, etc etc, along with the 17 year olds. Problem is it will take weeks to apply for a test appointment (must be done via mail), wait for the date, and finally pass through the bureaucracy. And I NEED to drive! Also, I suspect there will be a question on the application asking whether I've ever held a license before...and, being disinclined to lie, I worry I'd find myself straight back in this loop.

I.T. Ninjas

jasondigitized — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:26:03 -0800

How do great I.T. Managers run their departments? I am looking for a playbook on how to run a steamlined I.T. department for an organization of 500-1000 people. McDonalds has a handbook on running a restaurant from soup-to-nuts. I want the same for an I.T. Department. I have searched the Web and Amazon and cannot practical, tactical information on managing an I.T. department. I can easily find literature on high-level concepts like ITIL, SOA, and 'Runnng I.T. Like a Business', but nothing practical like 'How to run a helpdesk', 'How To Keep Track of Software Licenses' or even 'What does an I.T. Manager really do?'. What are the things that your I.T. department does that make them great? How do I get a blackbelt in I.T. Management?

Best solution to manage documents?

aceyprime — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:06:48 -0800

What is the best solution for an IT department to manage documents? I'm in an IT department with less than 10 staff and we have a terrible mess of a shared drive. We have a wide range of information we need to keep: instructions for IT staff, instructions for users, diagrams, listings of server details, serial numbers, etc. What has worked for other groups/departments to keep lots of documents organized? We tried KnowledgeTree (ktdms.com) but it was too much upkeep for some of our staff. I've considered just tidying up our shared drive but was interested to see what others have tried. I'm open to any and all suggestions but prefer free solutions. Thanks in advance.

Does this building really exist?

beetsuits — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 10:25:07 -0800

I am trying to determine if a building I saw once was real or a dream. I was with my family in another city, possibly Chicago, and we saw something I have always sort of remembered. It was night time and, on the side of a building, possible a department store, a story or two up, there was what I remember as being like a large cuckoo clock. At certain times, doors opened up and there was music along with animatronic characters, sort of Disney-esque.

Does that ring any bells? My family claims no memory of it and it's possible I dreamed it, but I would really like it to be true.

ICJFilter

willbaude — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 06:46:28 -0800

When the United States gets involved in litigation before the International Court of Justice, who makes all of the relevant litigation decisions? I assume that in the end the president retains ultimate authority to call the shots here (is that right?), both about whether to participate and how to. But surely he doesn't make every decision himself-- Is there a "solicitor general" for international litigation? Is there a sub-cabinet department devoted to this, or is it just part of somebody else's official duties? Is this done by the state department or the justice department? Or is it all ad hoc?

why do sanitation workers make more than police officers

Mean Mr. Bucket — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 07:21:13 -0800

Is there some sort of civic reasoning as to why sanitation workers generally make more than police officers? Insert preemptive 'taking out the trash comment' here.

Just what are the socioeconomic and cultural stereotypes for Manhattan's more traditional department stores?

MiguelCardoso — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 01:26:44 -0800

A NYC Question: Just what are the socioeconomic and cultural stereotypes for Manhattan's more traditional department stores? In other words, why is Bloomingdale's often referred to as exclusive by (possibly ignorant) British journalists? [More inside.] I realize everyone shops everywhere and that stereotypes are often wildly imprecise but, for the benefit of an occasional visitor, what do stores such as Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks', Bergdorf Goodman and Lord and Taylor (perhaps Barney's is relevant too?) say about those who predominantly shop there, in standard terms of income, age and, if possible, general cultural and political outlook?

I know there's a big price difference between some of them but I was hoping for more subtle differences between what is probably quite a uniform shopping crowd already.

Thanks for any tentative answers and apologies if it's a redundant question.