My CEO Ask Me to do a job that it's another department's job

[ADIGA88]

First, I found the Debates forum the only one for this topic.

My company's CEO asked me to upload the vendors' logo to their profile in our ERP system (my job title is a software developer), and it's the job of the purchasing department as far as I know.

I don't have the resources or any knowledge about our vendors or even time to do it, so I thinking to relay this command to the purchasing department but I don't know-how.

So what should I do?

P.S. don't tell me to go back to my CEO and tell him, that he asked the wrong guy.

 

[Jon]

Can you ask the purchasing department how you should do it?

 

[ADIGA88]

Sorry if my answer is a little bit long.

Technically, I and PD know how to do it, but if I want to only upload the logos which is not a thing, I need the logo data which should be provided by the PD, and I know the data do not exist and need to be collected (usually the PD should collect all the logs from the vendors directly, invoices, or the internet but they don't), and fundamentally PD should be uploading the logo while they creating a vendor card.

The idea not about this case only, but it is a pattern where i am working, orders sent to wrong people to execute, so when it happed with me I don't know what to do.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If it is a common occurrence, perhaps the right thing to do is just do it because it sounds like it is a pervasive situation. By this, I specifically mean that from your comments, it doesn't sound so much like your boss was "picking on you" as much as he was just doing "business as usual." If that is the case, then just do it and recognize another imperfection about your boss that just makes him more human.

The only thing I would worry about is whether these logos are trade-marked emblems of the company. If so, you can perhaps get away with using them internally, but if you wanted to publish something that would leave your company (in print or via a web site), you might need permission from the company whose logo you were planning to use.

 

[Isaac]

I sympathize. It's hard sometimes when you're in a recurring situation of being asked to do things that really don't seem appropriate for your role.

Maybe you can go ahead and do this as best as possible, and then schedule a little time to talk to your boss about your role and come to some more agreement.

In the best case scenario, you produce such wonderful things in your true, [desired] role, that your boss learns to actually want to 'save' you for those activities alone, and preserve your time. But I know sometimes it takes time & maybe luck to get to that place.

Good luck

 

[arnelgp]

do it once and the next time politely refuse and point him to the right person.
or do it once and give him what he asked and politely explain to him the right person to do the job.

if you keep your silence, he will be thinking it is ok and it will be branded to you.

if you refuse, he might take it against you.

 

[Vassago]

Do it AND point him to the right people. Something along the lines of, "I'm happy to help with that. Normally it would be a job for X, but I can assist."

 

[Pat Hartman]

I agree with Vassago, you can't sound like you are evading work. You always want to be helpful, especially if you actually can do the job but you need to somehow get across the message that companies operate best when the right people do particular technical tasks because they have the tools to support them. I've worked for companies of all sizes and it is the small companies where this situation comes up most often. In a large company, the president probably wouldn't know me if he tripped over me but in a small company, the President is probably just going to ask the first person he sees and expect the job to get done. If that is the situation, it probably won't be a problem if you pass off the task to the correct person but don't make it sound like shirking work and offer to help if the responsible person is swamped.

 

[harpygaggle]

Probably respectfully assist only this time then communicate with him in the right manner concerning this. communication is a great key to avoid conflict and disarray of job responsibilities.