BROKEN WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING: A TYPICAL CASE OF INTERNAL CONTROL FAILURE

In conventional wisdom, it is more likely that computer problems stem from human operating errors than from the computer breaking down on its own. Yet a certain number of users report that it "broke without anyone noticing." Most of them genuinely believe this. However, to colleagues and supervisors, it looks like an excuse—and in such cases, the individual is reprimanded for negligence, forming a self-deprecating belief that they are "bad with computers" before they themselves realize it. Organizations, meanwhile, recover quickly from the damage with little impact on operations. The fact that only the individual is hurt despite this constitutes a failure of internal control.