Money Beat

This doesn't sound like a mistake to me. In order for everyone in the company to get this private email, Rose Zory first had to make the decision to click on the forward button, then she had to select the company-wide distribution list as the recipient. Now, many email programs will cache the list of addresses a user send email to, and will bring up that list as soon as you type a letter in the To: box, but for her to 'accidently' select the distribution list would be careless in the extreme. Besides, why was she forwarding such a sensitive email in the first place? Surely the originator sent it to everyone he wanted to see it.

I wonder if she still has a job with Carat...

That was not a mistake. That was a "Well... see how you like this!" Not that I blame her.

Gotta love the corporate bigwigs and the cover your ass mentality that these tools use. Bet Hollander hasn't worried too much about how he's paying for groceries next week.

Previous posts indicate it was probably not a mistake. Doesn't matter now. What is odd though is the response by outsiders. If I were a CEO in discussions with my senior team, I can discuss these matters in a conference room and draft a plan, but not pass this information to HR by the the most economical means, if HR was not present at the meeting(s)? Sounds like somebody doesn't understand their IT infrastructure, and somebody doesn't understand psychology.

I know no one wants to hear this because it digs at every person with curious tendencies but here goes: A conversation between two parties is their business and no one else’s. If external parties obtain the conversation via recording, forwarding of emails, accidental sending of emails to others, IM'ing, etc - that's unfortunate but apologies and various explanations should not be given just because the information is somehow deemed "hot" to the third party. If it's not illegal, it's none of the third parties business. We live in an extremely curious society, where third parties are stealing information, hacking to get information, lying to get information; Google even takes pictures of our streets - and for what? Losing your job is the absolute worst, but finding out earlier rather than later has very little influence over the pain.

Sounds to me like at least one more person needs to be released. A CEO this out of touch with reality, not to mention technology should be on the street.

"The IT staff attempted to recall the emails" One of the funniest things I ever read, you can't recall emails once they are actually sent, IF the IT department actually said that, they should be canned as well, because they are incompetent.

Duh, it's a huge mistake, but who can say something like this has never happened to them? It's a big issue with which we must become much more cognizant of as a society as we become increasingly dependent on email communication.

It would have been so easy to try send an email to say allissa, type in 'all-', see her name pop up and hit enter, and not realizing that "all" popped up instead of allissa. This is a particularly high profile, damaging, and sensationalist example, but don't sit on your soapbox and make public judgments and generalizations about the professionalism and worthiness of a person that makes an unintentional mistake. If people didn't make mistakes, we would be machines. This would have never happened in 1985.

Save your judgments for who should get fired, and allow the company make their own difficult decisions. If its own employees don't like the management, they should simply leave on their own terms.

"We have messaged to the organization in the form of an apology"?!? What a horrible example corpobonics...why can't she just say "we apologized to our employees"? Mutilation of language, particularly with the purpose of softening the mind of the listener, just makes me crazy.

Clearly the company was/is a facade-of-competence. They fail most of the Fisher rules, especially market-potential, any semblance of research, labor-relations, cost and accounting controls, ability to grow, but most of all, it fails in management integrity.

If ANY employee loses a job with little to no advanced notice, then it's a sign of incompetence, negligence or highly unethical and is always indefensible.

If the job of any employee is in peril, then the employees have the right to know and the company has the ethical obligation to let them know as soon as possible.

For anyone to suggest that a company has the right to withhold such information is to condone deceit and malfeasance.

Sure, communications between two or more other people is their private domain -- when it becomes a binding decision, on the physical or fiscal welfare of another then it becomes morally and ethically incumbent on those parties to relay the information to those affected.

If my boss says "Tim, pour this plutonium powder into that reservoir" then I might choose to do it or not depending on whether it's legal, but I have a moral imperative to inform those people which may be impacted by this action.

This isn't about whistle-blowing, it's about respect. Companies always say "their employees are their most important assets" yet astoundingly they perpetually and consistently fail to demonstrate their creed.

This "spin" put a certain degree of dihonesty on things. Lying to clients about changing representatives is the problem here. Fire the author and the idiot who sent it out "accidentally."

Here's a tip - get to the point. Basic journalism dictates that you do not get to the "who, what, where...etc." in the 5th paragraph. Shocking that this made it past the editor's desk.

Companies/people we are all alike. The dollar is all mighty. The people are not. If they were they wouldn't be thinking of ways to make the facts seem less or more than the facts. They must learn this at the colleges they got their education at or maybe forgot what their families thought them at home. I am sure that this will be a lesson on what not to do at job sites when laying off your employees at many schools. Tell them right away, don't delay, work out a plan that benefits the employees to another job, training, and so on ...
They must of not put that legal/private notice at the end of all company emails that notes if you get this and it is not intended for you to inform the sender and destroy all copies ...
I guess that's what makes news we like to read. As they say, every dog gets it's day. Which reminds me, I better go feed them.

howzilla, I agree. Hey, layoffs happen. Been there, on both sides. I'd rather know about it through a "mistake" than be surprised and have to clean out a desk in an hour, something I've had to stand and observe. If I were a client, I'd be pretty unhappy. If they're spinning this, what other bull are they feeding me? Can I trust anything they do--or say they've done in my monthly billing?

Bob, Yes, there REALLY is a way to recall an email...at least in Outlook Exchange there is. However, it needs to be done quickly, before anyone has time to open and read the email. Also, anyone sending such an important email to the CEO could have restricted permission for the email to be forwarded or could have used the encryption setting. Explore the menus and tools of your email application.

Zory sounds like a moron.

From the article: "The message was laid out in Microsoft PowerPoint and Word documents full of "message" points on how to advise U.S. employees that they would be out of a job."

The article exposes a glitch in certain versions of MS Word. A fellow employee and I fell prey to this glitch as well. We weren't fired but it was embarrassing for us and our employer.

Be aware that private notations in Word documents are no longer considered private notations once sent by email. Even if the points were marked in the document format as notations for the receiving persons viewing only, once the email was sent, all eyes can read what is written.

As I learned from the school of hard knocks, in this busy world of information that zips away with the push of a button, it is best to never assume that what is in written form will remain private!

I don't call the carrets or bigwigs I call them cashews.

I'm glad the employees found out through the "mistake"! Instead of the employees being humiliated...it was the company's top staff. The plan simply backfired. I once worked for a company that knew in advance they were letting people go. Each week, one or two employees were "let go". Top management would go into the employee lounge and laugh at 'em . Sick. That's why I'm super-determined to succeed as an entrepreneur.
BDavis for...sundaycosmetics.com

Well at least the employees know and they can apply for other work before the layoff.

Poor poor Rose, yea right. She is an awful person who cares nothing for people - for her to be in a role of 'people development' is a farce. She is incredibly unkind and rules through fear. I can speak for many who have worked with her - you get what you deserve in life and let's hope she gets hers. What a fool - karma's a bitch, huh.

Karma is a bitch. I can speak for many who have worked side by side with her - she 'rules' through fear, treats her peers disresectfully, and is your typical know-it-all. Life has a way of balancing things and whether she is fired or not, makes no difference - she has made a fool of herself and I am certain there are many people who are laughing at her. She will always be known for this blunder. I guess she's not looking that smart now!

Word to the wise - password protect critical documents. That way if accidentally sent to the wrong parties they cannot be viewed. It was an honest mistake and unfortunately the meida has run with it. Chin up, Rose. This will pass.

Chin up - ha...this will not pass. She will always be known for this.