Group Efforts 21

Group Efforts
The Diary of a Workgroup Manager

Episode 36 (1997)

Our hero hands it to Llewellyn, Cathy gives as good as she gets, and Costello calls in the Hard Man.

Wednesday 5th
The end of Winter is heralded by longer afternoons, chirruping birds and - surest sign of all - Sheila clearing out the docket archive. Also full of the joys of spring is Amrat, who bounces in and offers me a sneak preview of a major enhancement to the company IntraWeb. One secret URL later, the screen is filled with the grinning face of Smithsons' Purchasing Manager, Archie McNab, and the message 'Good Morning Sassenachs!", all downloaded directly from Glasgow. Quickly sensing the implications, I ask Amrat if this means the two companies now have a permanent network link. Sensing that he may have revealed too much, he erases my browser cache and makes a quick exit. Proudly reflecting on my undimmed powers of recollection, I type in Archie's URL and begin to explore.

Tuesday 11th
The management meeting, with Llewellyn giving further details of his 'enhanced' Material Monitoring system, and Andy asking him not to try too hard to disguise the fact that it's really Smithsons', in case he ruins it. George asks, pointedly, if there are any plans for a direct link between us and Glasgow, and Llewellyn says it's under consideration. I ask pointedly if there are any plans for an IntraWeb site called 'Smithsons Online, the Pride of the Clyde', and Costello says it's obviously time for frankness and Amrat's recall from his IntraWeb empire in Solvents Stores. Llewellyn promises both, and I realise, too late, that I've given him the lad's head on a plate. Stricken, I sit the meeting out, then return to the ranch.

Friday 14th
Not a good day. First, I find Cathy dealing with a Hounslow B re-costing which she hasn't seen fit to tell me about. Second, I'm unable to avoid Amrat any longer, and encounter him in the canteen. Cathy says that, as a Planning Executive, she's supposed to handle re-costings and does feel entitled to this level of responsibility. Amrat, meanwhile, says that he wouldn't have shown me Archie's site if he'd known I was going to grass him to Costello, and that thanks to me he's now back in the Lubyanka under Llewellyn's beady eye. Both have a point, but I still find their youthful assertiveness unsettling, and retire with George to Peg's, where we lament the days when junior staff went in awe of their departmental leaders.

Wednesday 19th
Hot news - the word is that Llewellyn's MM conversion has gone so hopelessly pear-shaped that Costello is getting Smithsons Computer Manager, Bill Campbell, down to sort it out. Even better (though even less verifiable) is the rumour that Bill's been asked to give the rest of our I.T. systems the once-over too, with a view to introducing Caledonian-style performance and ease of use. We quiz Amrat, who describes Bill, with evident reverence, as 'the Hard Man of Code', before telling the B2's Bob a lengthy Smithsons anecdote involving two unsociable file servers and a C compiler. Clearly impressed, Bob predicts the end of Llewellyn's trendy 'enterprise application architecture', the return of proper programming, and the whole thing sorted out by Whitsun. A frisson of excitement circuits the All Stars' table, and we celebrate with extra teas all round.

Thursday 27th
A hard day spent clearing the administrative backlog before the holiday weekend. Amrat has applied for permission to install an experimental Win 95 compressed drive, which, in the spirit of conciliation, I authorise him to do on Sheila's PC provided he doesn't tell her. Danny has applied for permission to run an Outdoor Pursuits page on Planet Planning, which I refuse after a joint objection from the people he pursued last year. Cathy has applied to go on a Team Leadership Seminar, which I decide I'll definitely think about after the break when I've got time. Later Rose and June apply for permission to leave early as they're all going camping together, Patrick John's first experience of the wild. I agree, generously give the whole department an extra hour's holiday, and find George and Andy already ensconsed in Peg's Homeward Parlour.