Management 320 Essay
Management 320: Individual case study Assignment
Natasha Hill
300188413
Executive Summary
Recently, ACC has had to radically think about and change its current management practices following the worst privacy breach in New Zealand’s history. ACC was once successful at providing New Zealanders with personal accident and insurance cover, now the organisation is struggling to keep their reputation afloat and striving to gain the trust back from the public. Management issues, which have been important to the case, are corporate culture and privacy management. Recovering from these issues is critical for ACC. Major consequences of this company’s lack in corporate culture and systems and processes have damaged the brand and reliability of the organisation from both the perspective of the employee but also the New Zealand public. Lessons are gradually being learnt from this downfall, from the way in which ACC is conducted through to its reputation given any situation.
The once integral personal accident and insurance government organisation now faces an uncertain future.
Current Issues at ACC
On August the 5th, 2011, a massive privacy breach saw the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) accidently send an email of details of at least 7000 claimants to an ACC client who had no business in receiving such details. It was a case of human error and ineffective management practices that contributed to the breach. It has also been reported that systemic weaknesses at ACC and an "almost cavalier" attitude towards claimants and their personal details led to one of New Zealand 's biggest privacy breaches (Levy, 2012). Some of the details shared were those of the sensitivity unit including rape and incest victims (Kitchin, 2012). It was not until March 2012 that the public and claimants involved were aware of this breach. The scale of this privacy breach has dramatically tarnished the reputation and credibility of ACC. It is apparent after the privacy
Natasha Hill
300188413
Executive Summary
Recently, ACC has had to radically think about and change its current management practices following the worst privacy breach in New Zealand’s history. ACC was once successful at providing New Zealanders with personal accident and insurance cover, now the organisation is struggling to keep their reputation afloat and striving to gain the trust back from the public. Management issues, which have been important to the case, are corporate culture and privacy management. Recovering from these issues is critical for ACC. Major consequences of this company’s lack in corporate culture and systems and processes have damaged the brand and reliability of the organisation from both the perspective of the employee but also the New Zealand public. Lessons are gradually being learnt from this downfall, from the way in which ACC is conducted through to its reputation given any situation.
The once integral personal accident and insurance government organisation now faces an uncertain future.
Current Issues at ACC
On August the 5th, 2011, a massive privacy breach saw the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) accidently send an email of details of at least 7000 claimants to an ACC client who had no business in receiving such details. It was a case of human error and ineffective management practices that contributed to the breach. It has also been reported that systemic weaknesses at ACC and an "almost cavalier" attitude towards claimants and their personal details led to one of New Zealand 's biggest privacy breaches (Levy, 2012). Some of the details shared were those of the sensitivity unit including rape and incest victims (Kitchin, 2012). It was not until March 2012 that the public and claimants involved were aware of this breach. The scale of this privacy breach has dramatically tarnished the reputation and credibility of ACC. It is apparent after the privacy
References: ACC. (2012). A brief history of ACC. Retrieved from: http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/overview-of-acc/introduction-to-acc/ABA00003 Basham, L. (2012). Privacy breach a warning for others. Retrieved from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/7541881/Privacy-breach-a-warning-for-others Cumming, S., & Crompton, M. (2012). Independent Review of ACC’s Privacy and Security of Information. Retrieved from: http://privacy.org.nz/assets/Files/Media-Releases/22-August-2012-ACC-Independent-Review-FINAL-REPORT.pdf Fairfax NZ News. (2012). ACC privacy breach timeline. Retrieve from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/7540101/ACC-privacy-breach-timeline Kitchin, P. (2012). Culture of fear within ACC. Retrieved from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/7538254/Culture-of-fear-within-ACC Levy, D. (2012). Damning ACC report ‘heartening’ whistleblower. Retrieved from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7530250/Damning-ACC-report-heartening-whistleblower Shuttleworth, K. (2012). New ACC board gets mixed reception. Retrieved from: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10831727