Coleen cheered as she completed the last of her attachments for the report, a last-minute request before the weekend; a fair-weather Friday, one that she was eager to begin, since she had made plans for a date with her new romance of the last three weeks. She saved the interactive pdf file, which linked to eighteen ancillary files, all nineteen files attached to her e-mail to her boss. Coleen pressed "SEND" and her e-mail was off to her boss. Coleen rushed from her office to catch the 5:15 uptown bus. If she missed it, she would have to wait about a half-hour for the next one. As she jumped on the bus before the doors closed and grabbed a seat in the back, she opened her purse. She quickly turned off her phone, which had only a small charge left, to preserve the battery. She brushed her hair, powdered her face, and put on some lip gloss in preparation for dinner at a nice uptown bistro. Brian, her date, had made reservations for outdoor dining, on the bistro's balcony overlooking the hustle and bustle below. At the same moment, Coleen's boss was opening Coleen's e-mail. As he downloaded the files, error messages began popping up. Six of the files had been corrupted in electronic transit. He called Coleen's extension; it went immediately to voice mail. He called her cell phone; the receiving message said that the recipient was not receiving calls. He e-mailed her, hoping that she would somehow still be available, to no avail. Panic quickly set in—the report had to be delivered in a meeting in one hour, and the four functional area managers would be present

1. Do you perceive any possible repercussions from the failure of the electronic transfer of the six files?

2. What would you suggest as a one-hour plan for Coleen's boss?

3. How could problems like the one in this scenario be avoided a) by Coleen, b) by Coleen's boss, or c) by company policies?