Ask the expert: In the gun for boss' blue

How can you get redress when a mistake publicly attributed to you is not yours at all? Dr MARIE WILSON, head of management and employment relations at the University of Auckland Business School and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business, offers some helpful ideas.

Q: Last week, a decision on a piece of my work was over-ruled by my boss, but after it hit the public domain, that decision - about an issue of facts - was proved to be wrong.

An inaccuracy has got through with my name on it and it has really dented my reputation and credibility.

But I'm not getting anywhere suggesting some discussion of what happened to make sure it doesn't happen again. A "sorry", at least, would be good.

I assume that you have this "over-ruling" by your boss in writing (if not, I'm sure you will next time).

After an initial cool-down period, I would write as dispassionately as possible what occurred and the impact that it has had on you.

Present it to your boss and ask for any correction of the facts, any information that may have affected their decision-making, and a response to the impact on you.

If you still get no response, then calling in a third party to assist you in communicating to resolve this issue would be appropriate, or you can use the grievance procedures for your workplace.

These should be in your employment agreement.

Q: I read a story this year on the web about a British car firm whose boss sent a memo to staff on cost-cutting.

The memo included recommendations on going to the loo before they left home, rather than during company time, and raising the height of cubicle doors so that workers who were caught short could be identified by their shoes.

I laughed at that then - but there's a minor rebellion brewing at my work (in professional offices) because cost-cutting bosses have decided to do something that is sort of going down the same path.

They want to do away with providing free real coffee, and leave us with the instant stuff, which I can't stand. I don't imagine that it will save that much money.

The loss in goodwill would seem to be a lot more expensive.

Cost-cutting usually works best when you identify savings and implement them with the participation of staff.

You are correct - anything else is simply seen as mean-spirited, although not to the same extent as monitored toilet breaks.

If you really want to tackle this, you might do a costing on instant coffee versus real coffee to see how much is going to be saved.

You can propose alternatives, such as taking up a collection to make up the difference

Or trying to approach the decision-makers with a balanced analysis that looks at the potential losses from poorer morale among the staff caused by the decision balanced against the savings on the coffee.

You might also want to find out how important cost-cutting is.

If they're looking at coffee, it could possibly be serious news on some other fronts as well.

And perhaps you could get others involved in identifying potential cost savings within your areas of influence.

At the worst, you might have to bring your own coffee to work.

* E-mail your questions for Dr Marie Wilson to answer.