Work to be submitted
Computing: INFORMATION SYSTEMS: Impact on the Organisation
Office Supplies West (OSW) is a medium-sized company of
around 120 employees that supplies stationery products to businesses throughout
the western and central regions of England.
It consists of a central administration office, three warehouses, and a
fleet of delivery vehicles. The
principal departments and functions of OSW are as follows:
Executive
The Executive consists of the three joint owners of OSW,
together with a new finance director. They
are charged with ensuring that the performance of the company is maximised, both
through the smooth running of existing operations and through appropriate
planning for the future. The
Executive is currently considering expanding the business into new geographical
areas and/or new product areas, such as office furniture.
Purchasing
The purchasing department consists of the following key personnel:
Purchasing manager. Responsible
for overall running of the purchasing department, including staffing and
supplier performance monitoring.
§
Product managers. Responsible
for negotiating terms of supply with suppliers,
selecting new products and suppliers, approving orders
suggested by
the supply analysts, and monitoring product performance using summary
information provided by the sales clerks.
§
Ordering clerks. Responsible
for placing and tracking of paper/telephone/fax based orders for new stock, and
sending copies of orders to the warehouses and to finance clerks.
§
Supply analysts. Responsible
for maintaining and analysing spreadsheet information on current levels of
stock, forecasting future demand from customers, and suggesting new orders for
approval by the purchasing manager.
§
Special order clerk. Responsible
for the placing and tracking of one-off (special) orders from customers, and
sending copies of paper-based special orders to the warehouses
Warehousing
The warehousing department consists of the following key
personnel (in each warehouse):
§
Warehouse manager. Responsible
for overall running of the warehouse, including staffing, warehouse layout,
maintenance and stock quality.
§
Receivers. Responsible for
checking deliveries from suppliers against order information provided by the
ordering clerks, and the storage of all stock in the warehouse.
Also responsible for sending copies of delivery information to ordering
clerks, supply analysts and finance clerks.
§
Despatchers. Responsible for
picking and assembly of all customer orders from copies provided by sales
clerks. Also responsible for sending copies of customer order
delivery notes to sales clerks, supply analysts, delivery schedulers and finance
clerks.
§
Stock checkers. Responsible
for checking the condition and quantities of stock in the warehouse, using
spreadsheet reports provided by the supply analysts.
Any changes to stock details are sent back to the supply analysts on
hand-annotated reports.
Sales
The sales department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Sales manager. Responsible
for overall running of the sales department, including staffing and negotiating
of discount terms with major customers. Also
responsible for approving customer credit limits.
§
Marketing manager. Responsible
for placement and production of advertising, and the monitoring of its success
in generating new sales.
§
Sales representatives. Responsible
for visiting and telephoning existing customers, in order to generate new sales
or address major problems. Also
responsible for visiting potential customers and for initial contract
negotiations with new customers. Sales
representatives’ appointments are made either by themselves or by the sales
manager.
§
Sales clerk. Responsible for
processing and tracking all customer orders, whether received on paper, by fax
or by telephone. Also responsible
for sending customer order information to warehouses, finance clerks and special
order clerk (if appropriate).
§
Customer service. Responsible
for responding to all customer queries and complaints, and liasing with other
departments as appropriate.
Delivery
The delivery department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Fleet manager. Responsible
for overall running of the delivery department, including staffing, purchasing
of vehicles, performance monitoring of drivers and utilisation of vehicles
(currently an are of concern).
§
Fleet maintenance. Responsible
for maintenance of vehicles, MOTs, monitoring of vehicle performance,
maintenance of vehicle logs and servicing schedules.
§
Drivers. Responsible for
loading and delivery of customer orders, and for sending copies of completed
deliveries to sales clerks and finance clerks at the end of each day.
§
Delivery scheduler. Responsible
for deciding which orders are to be delivered by which vehicles/drivers, and at
which warehouse vehicles/drivers should be based each day. Drivers are informed of their base for the next day based on
the orders assembled by the end of the previous afternoon.
Finance and HR
The Finance and HR department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Finance manager. Responsible
for overall running of the Finance department, including staffing, preparation
of annual accounts, and preparation of spreadsheet-based financial analyses for
the Executive. Also
responsible for management of ICT.
§
Finance clerks. Responsible
for updating accounts system, paying supplier invoices, preparing customer
invoices, processing customer payments, and preparing spreadsheets or reports
for Finance Manager.
§
Payroll. Responsible for
payment of staff.
§
HR Manager. Responsible for
recruitment and career management of staff.
§
Credit clerks. Responsible
for credit checking/approval and customer account monitoring.
Other departments, such as security, exist but it is not
necessary to consider them for the purpose of this assessment.
3.0 Assessment Details:
This is the first assessment for the module CP2084.
TASK 1 (Group task)
You are to produce a group report for the Chief executive
of Office Supplies West (OSW), who has employed you to produce a report on
Information Systems (IS) provision for OSW, and to investigate the possible
resistance that may be expressed and the problems likely to occur during
implementation of new IS.
For the purposes of this assignment, you are to assume that
OSW currently operates a six-year-old accounting and payroll package, running on
a Windows NT/Oracle platform, but that in all other areas OSW are a “green
field” site (i.e. no current IT, other than spreadsheets and “Office”
applications).
You are also to assume that OSW are looking for
opportunities to reduce costs through improved efficiency, and to maximise
profits and sales through increased effectiveness. OSW’s finance director is not concerned with detailed
costings at this stage.
The report should be approximately 6,000 words (including
appendices). You must also state any assumptions you make.
Part 1: IS
Provision
Part 1 should include a detailed discussion of the
following issues:)
*******WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE************
1.
Summary of OSW’s IS needs, opportunities and users, together with a
description of constraints and assumptions.
Part 2: Change
Management
In the report you are to take into consideration the
following as a minimum contents list:
1.
Analysis of the sub systems within the company, including the individual
groups of people involved in the change.
Executive
The Executive consists of the three joint owners of OSW,
together with a new finance director. They
are charged with ensuring that the performance of the company is maximised, both
through the smooth running of existing operations and through appropriate
planning for the future. The
Executive is currently considering expanding the business into new geographical
areas and/or new product areas, such as office furniture.
Purchasing
The purchasing department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Purchasing manager. Responsible
for overall running of the purchasing department, including staffing and
supplier performance monitoring.
§
Product managers. Responsible
for negotiating terms of supply with suppliers, selecting new products and
suppliers, approving orders suggested by the supply analysts, and monitoring
product performance using summary information provided by the sales clerks.
§
Ordering clerks. Responsible
for placing and tracking of paper/telephone/fax based orders for new stock, and
sending copies of orders to the warehouses and to finance clerks.
§
Supply analysts. Responsible
for maintaining and analysing spreadsheet information on current levels of
stock, forecasting future demand from customers, and suggesting new orders for
approval by the purchasing manager.
§
Special order clerk. Responsible
for the placing and tracking of one-off (special) orders from customers, and
sending copies of paper-based special orders to the warehouses
Warehousing
The warehousing department consists of the following key
personnel (in each warehouse):
§
Warehouse manager. Responsible
for overall running of the warehouse, including staffing, warehouse layout,
maintenance and stock quality.
§
Receivers. Responsible for
checking deliveries from suppliers against order information provided by the
ordering clerks, and the storage of all stock in the warehouse.
Also responsible for sending copies of delivery information to ordering
clerks, supply analysts and finance clerks.
§
Despatchers. Responsible for
picking and assembly of all customer orders from copies provided by sales
clerks. Also responsible for sending copies of customer order
delivery notes to sales clerks, supply analysts, delivery schedulers and finance
clerks.
§
Stock checkers. Responsible
for checking the condition and quantities of stock in the warehouse, using
spreadsheet reports provided by the supply analysts.
Any changes to stock details are sent back to the supply analysts on
hand-annotated reports.
Sales
The sales department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Sales manager. Responsible
for overall running of the sales department, including staffing and negotiating
of discount terms with major customers. Also
responsible for approving customer credit limits.
§
Marketing manager. Responsible
for placement and production of advertising, and the monitoring of its success
in generating new sales.
§
Sales representatives. Responsible
for visiting and telephoning existing customers, in order to generate new sales
or address major problems. Also
responsible for visiting potential customers and for initial contract
negotiations with new customers. Sales
representatives’ appointments are made either by themselves or by the sales
manager.
§
Sales clerk. Responsible for
processing and tracking all customer orders, whether received on paper, by fax
or by telephone. Also responsible
for sending customer order information to warehouses, finance clerks and special
order clerk (if appropriate).
§
Customer service. Responsible
for responding to all customer queries and complaints, and liasing with other
departments as appropriate.
Delivery
The delivery department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Fleet manager. Responsible
for overall running of the delivery department, including staffing, purchasing
of vehicles, performance monitoring of drivers and utilisation of vehicles
(currently an are of concern).
§
Fleet maintenance. Responsible
for maintenance of vehicles, MOTs, monitoring of vehicle performance,
maintenance of vehicle logs and servicing schedules.
§
Drivers. Responsible for
loading and delivery of customer orders, and for sending copies of completed
deliveries to sales clerks and finance clerks at the end of each day.
§
Delivery scheduler. Responsible
for deciding which orders are to be delivered by which vehicles/drivers, and at
which warehouse vehicles/drivers should be based each day. Drivers are informed of their base for the next day based on
the orders assembled by the end of the previous afternoon.
Finance and HR
The Finance and HR department consists of the following key
personnel:
§
Finance manager. Responsible
for overall running of the Finance department, including staffing, preparation
of annual accounts, and preparation of spreadsheet-based financial analyses for
the Executive. Also
responsible for management of ICT.
§
Finance clerks. Responsible
for updating accounts system, paying supplier invoices, preparing customer
invoices, processing customer payments, and preparing spreadsheets or reports
for Finance Manager.
§
Payroll. Responsible for
payment of staff.
§
HR Manager. Responsible for
recruitment and career management of staff.
§
Credit clerks. Responsible
for credit checking/approval and customer account monitoring.
Other departments, such as security, exist but it is not
necessary to consider them for the purpose of this assessment.
3.0 Assessment Details.
TASK 1
You are to produce a group report
for the Chief executive of Office Supplies West (OSW), who has employed you to
produce a report on Information Systems (IS) provision for OSW, and to
investigate the possible resistance that may be expressed and the problems
likely to occur during implementation of new IS.
For the purposes of this
assignment, you are to assume that OSW currently operates a six-year-old
accounting and payroll package, running on a Windows NT/Oracle platform, but
that in all other areas OSW are a “green field” site (i.e. no current IT,
other than spreadsheets and “Office” applications).
You are also to assume that OSW
are looking for opportunities to reduce costs through improved efficiency, and
to maximise profits and sales through increased effectiveness. OSW’s finance director is not concerned with detailed
costings at this stage.
Part 1:
IS Provision
Part 1 should include a detailed
discussion of the following issues:)
*******WHAT NEEDS TO BE
DONE************
1.
Summary of OSW’s IS needs, opportunities and users, together with a
description of constraints and assumptions.
Part 2:
Change Management
In the report you are to take into
consideration the following as a minimum contents list:
1. Analysis of the sub systems within the company, including the individual groups of people involved in the change.