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The iPremier case is about a company that suffers a denial of service attack
on its Web site. Because the graphics add a great deal to the momentum and
urgency of the situation--and a bit of humor as well--I have elected to use a
graphic novel version of the case. While some of the detail from the regular
text version is lost, the imagery and immediacy of the drawings more than make
up for it. One thing that is lost in the graphic novel version is the
introduction of the various characters. Since these people and their official
roles are an important element in the case, I am providing the following list of
dramatis personae [more or less in the order of appearance].
| Name** |
Title |
Page when
they appear |
Name |
Title |
Page when
they appear |
| Bob Turley |
Chief Information Officer |
1 |
Joanne Ripley |
Head of IT operations |
5 |
| Jack Samuelson |
CEO |
1 |
Warren Spangler |
Vice president of business
development |
13 |
| Lydia Dawson |
Marketing; former IT intern] |
1 |
Tim Mandel |
Chief Technology Officer |
16 |
| Leon Ledbetter |
Information technology operations
person |
4 |
Peter Stewart |
Legal Counsel |
19 |
** Blake Carleton and Rajiv Narayandas are mentioned [on
p. 2] as the co-founders of the company, but play no role in the case.
Your assignment is as follows:
- Read the case [available from Harvard
Business School Publishing at no charge to you; see listing in
texts and
materials]
- For each of the individuals involved in the
events of January 12th, rate them as helpful or unhelpful
in dealing with the situation as it unfolds.
Helpful means that somehow or other they made the situation
better [or "less worse"]. Unhelpful means that they made it
worse or didn't do anything when they could have made it
better somehow. Unhelpful may also mean that a person's focus was on issues
that are important at some level, but not necessarily the
most critical thing at the moment. For example, when you have a
fire, the most critical things are to get people out of the building
and get the fire out, in that order. Bickering over who will file
the insurance claim can wait. Those who ask irrelevant
questions or who are otherwise a distraction are also unhelpful.
- Were the company's operation procedures deficient at the time of
the attack? Why or why not? Give specific examples that support your
contention.
- In the aftermath of the attack what would you be worried about.
What actions would you recommend?
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