The organisation that I have chosen to base this case study on is the Natwest bank. Natwest bank is used by many people for their banking needs. I will be focusing on a particular branch of Natwest in West-Wickham and the head office.

The relationships between the main departments and outsiders

The relationships between the main departments

• The sales and marketing department communicate with each other.  The marketing department can obtain data of sales that have been made, and then send information to the customers.
• Research and development will also obtain data from sales.  This is used to study and aids the department in future product development.

The relationships between outsiders

• The customer services department handle any enquiries from the public by communicating face to face or via telephone.  When applying for a loan, information about it is calculated by an external company, which is a lending centre.  Communication takes place by fax.
• The sales department may want to sell products to people, so sales representatives can visit them, or communicate by telephone.
• Marketing may want to inform customers of promotional offers that Natwest have. This can be done by post, or e-mail.

A clear description of the ICT provision for each of the organisation’s departments (or functions) and identification of possible extensions or improvements to the use of ICT to benefit the organisation

The departments in a branch communicate to each over by a Local Area Network.  A Wide Area Network is used so that the departments from both the branch and head office can communicate with each other.  Where communication with e-mail takes place the software ‘Microsoft Outlook’ enables the communication.

Branch department

Customer services

They have their own database designed on Ms Access to hold details of customer’s bank accounts.  This database is available over Natwest’s own Wide Area Network, so other branches can view all the data and departments in the head office as well.  It is updated when money in the account is changed.   The database allows reports to be produced for customers e.g.- bank statements. A word processor is used to produce letters to customers, e.g.- payment left to pay for a loan.  Data from the database can be used with the word processor to mail-merge letters to customer’s without having to type each individual letter to each person, which can be time-consuming.

Head office departments

Personnel

The personnel department use ICT to perform calculations on wages for employees of a company.  This eliminates the tiring and enormous tasks if it were done manually.  This department also has a database to hold the information about the employees of the organisation. Microsoft Access is used to hold a database of all the employees. specialised payroll software is used to perform calculations for the payroll operation.  

Accounts/finance

ICT is used to calculate finances within the company without having to do the task manually, and work out all the calculations, which can be long.  Sage’s accounts is used to calculate finances.

Sales

To monitor sales that have been made over a period of time, sales figures and other information about sales can be viewed as graphs and statistics.  Microsoft Excel is used. This allows data to be presented quickly without having a user to create their own graph or chart.  Orders that have been made by customers are held on a database, using Ms Access. This allows data to be searched through quickly and presented in

suitable format as a report to see customer orders.  This department communicates to marketing via e- mail.

Marketing

To produce many forms of advertising like posters and leaflets a Desktop publishing package is used, which is Microsoft publisher.  There are fast computers, and printers that need to be used.  Promotional offers can be sent to customers by post, or e-mail.  Communication takes place with the sales department by e-mail on a Wide Area Network.

Research and development

Graphs and statistics are studied, and new ideas are developed of products that may be ideal for the customers.  Customers answer questionnaires, and when the data is recorded it is placed on a Microsoft Access database.  With this data graphs and statistics can be produced quickly in a clear, easy- to read format. Some of the data comes from the Sales department, which can send information and receive information to that department by e- mail.

Improvements to the use of ICT

• Natwest are a company that does arrange to have appointments and meetings. Appointments are booked manually, where the Customer service officer writes on a large diary for a particular date, the time, the name of the person for the appointment, and usually the subject of the appointment.  
• The member of staff would have to be careful they do not book an appointment at a time when another is taking place.  

• A type of software called ‘GroupWare’ could be a solution to this problem, e.g.- ‘Lotus notes’.  
• Appointments can be made accordingly where a user states the date and time of the appointment, and ensures that two appointments are not booked at the same time.
• The reason for this is because the information would be on a Local Area Network, and can be seen by other users.  
• This can be done with meetings that take place within the organisation, by ensuring that convenient times are planned.

Using examples to recommend improvements to the organisation’s internal ICT systems (This may cover item such as integration of existing systems, specialised equipment or software, database development, LAN or WAN systems

• The microcomputers used within a branch run at relatively slow speeds.  It is not beneficial if vital work is to take place by a member of staff.  I recommend that the organisation replace these machines and provide newer, faster and efficient machines with faster processors, and greater storage capacity.  

• The printing speed of the ink- jet printers is not that fast.  Many members of staff can require hardcopy printouts at one time, but may have to wait a long time in order to carry out there next part of their work.  There should be laser printers installed e.g.- Epson 670, which produce fast and accurate printouts.
• When a user logs onto their user area on the Local Area Network the user interface that shows up is not very user-friendly.  It should be laid out in a way that allows easy access to users programs.  In order to go to the appropriate program the user has to sometimes go through many routes to find the required program.  Instant access would be beneficial if it were available.

Describing in detail how the organisation might benefit from more extensive use of new communication technologies such as the Internet, mobile communications, e-mail, e-commerce or EDI

• When a customer would like to buy a product from Natwest, e.g.- life insurance, they do not have to phone up a branch and actually meet at the branch.  
• A salesman can arrive at the required address with a laptop computer.  This enables the salesman to provide information about products instantly because the salesman can plug the computer into a telephone socket, and access a Wide Area Network.
• Natwest could use this approach to selling products more extensively. This would mean that there is no need for sales staff in a branch.  Instead salesman can be called from the head office.
• Natwest has a method of communicating from the head office to the different branches around the nation.  This is called Natwest TV.  It is a satellite link where a branch has a satellite dish placed on the roof, which receives information sent from a satellite from the head office.
• Announcements can be made to the different branches e.g.- about new services, or new products.  This information is seen when it is spoken by a person, and heard on a television screen.

• If this communication took place from branch to branch it would be more beneficial to Natwest.
• If members of staff would like to have meetings from different branches, this may be used.  This would mean that staff do not have to travel to a certain, and maybe far location, when they can communicate through the branch.
• Natwest TV enables information to be passed in a way that it is easy to understand, and can be seen and heard many people.  Different branches can use this to put important announcements across in an effective, faster way to many people.
• Natwest enables customers to do their banking on the Internet (on-line banking).  So just from a persons computer banking can just be done there, without going all the way to a Natwest branch.
• If more people choose to bank on-line, and it comes to a point where there are few customers arriving at branches, it gives Natwest a decision of whether it is necessary to keep this branch open.  If a branch is having few customers Natwest can choose to close a branch, seeing as it is not convenient anymore with little customers who bank at the branch.

Show clearly, using diagrams, how information essential to successful operation moves within the organisation and to and from outsiders

The role of information

Information is crucial for a business to have as it allows successful operations within the organisation to take place.  It is passed within and outside the organisation.  There are many different types of methods that allow information to flow.   It is vital in decision making, because in order to make suitable decisions the correct information must be needed.  Information within the organisation would be about itself, customers and suppliers, and the environment it is in.  Information about the organisation could be about new banking services provided for customers like a new mortgage available.  Requiring information about clients and suppliers could be used when records are kept on a database about the amount of money left in a customer’s account.  If there are many banks situated closely and are in competition and a particular bank has fewer customers, this bank needs to know why a particular bank has a greater number of customers.

On the next page is a information flow chart showing how information flows in and out of the organisation, when applying for a loan.

A flow diagram showing the flow of information when applying for a loan

Information on loans is contained in leaflet in appendix 5.

An explanation of the flow chart

• A customer goes to a branch and requests a loan from the customer service officer at the reception desk.
• An application form is given to the customer.
• Once the application form is complete, the customer goes to the branch and passes it to a customer services officer.
• The information is than put on a database by customer services officer.

• A copy of this information is sent to the lending centre by fax.  The lending centre is an external company that deals with loans.  There is one lending centre for each branch.
• At the lending centre the decisions for loans are worked out like interest rates and money to be taken out of a bank account every month.
• A copy of this new information is sent back to the Natwest Branch by fax.
• A customer service officer performs a credit score is on some the customer’s data, checking to see if the client is suitable to be having a loan.  Manager also checks.

• After the results of the credit score have been output, the manager then checks all the details regarding the loan.

• If credit score is suitable and manager agrees on details, then a customer agreement form is printed by a customer services officer and sent to client’s address by post.
• If customer fills in agreement form and signs it than it is given to customer services staff by post or by visiting a branch.

• A letter of confirmation is produced by customer service officer for a loan and is sent to the client’s address by post.  This letter shows the interest rates the amount of money that is to be deducted every month, and the date for every month that the money will be debited.  
• The same day that loan is opened the money for the loan is put into the customer’s account.  A direct debit account is set up, where every month money will be deducted automatically from a customer’s account and returned to the bank.

• This carries on until all the funds are paid.

Explaining in detail, with the aid of a diagram and definitions of the data, how information moves from a customer or client through the organisation to result in the delivery of a product or service

The flow diagram for this question is on the next page.

A flow diagram showing how information moves from customer through the organisation to result in a new bank account service

Explanation of the flow chart

• A client goes up to the customer services desk and says they would like to open an account.  The client receives an application form consisting of several pages. (See appendix 6 for application form).  With this form the client fills it when they can. The appropriate information is written for the account is filled in, not details of the savings account.  
• The details filled in are firstly personal details, so the bank can keep a record of the person who has the bank account.  The customer may need to be phoned for some reason, or have a letter sent.  Information about housing and family is filled in this section as well.

• The next section is for employed people to complete only. Details about the customer’s occupation, employer, phone number of the workplace, and date started are required. Following in this same section details about how wages are paid and income that the customer receives is to be filled in.  The purpose of this section is to find out more details about the applicant.
• Information about payments such as mortgages, credit/debit cards, and other accounts is filled in.  This is also additional information that the bank would like to know.
• The applicant next has to specify details about their account e.g.- how often to have statements sent, whether to have a PIN number.  This data is used so the applicant can personalise their account to suit their needs.
• Finally a declaration is to be read and the form is signed so the applicant can confirm the details on the form.
• Once filled in it is than given to a member of the customer services staff.
• A customer services officer puts this information onto a database.  This information goes onto approximately nine separate sections of the database.  These interfaces have the same look as the application form.  So basically the form is filled out again but this time on a computer screen.  The nine sections are split into the different types of details, which represent a part of the application form.

• A credit search is completed and a credit score is used.  The credit score than gives points to the customer.  This data indicates if the customer’s credit details are acceptable for a customer to have an account.
• This information is than checked by manager.
• If credit card information is valid, and acceptable credit score than letter of confirmation is automatically produced, with details on it.  A letter is sent to client to inform customer of the new bank account service.  Data from database performs a mail-merge operation to produce the letter.
• Customer also receives account card, chequebooks.  Customer will get statements received whenever specified on application form.
• The account card contains data about the account e.g.- PIN number, so money can be withdrawn from cash machines.  Data allows transactions with the card to be recorded.  
• Chequebook and card contain data that allows goods to be purchased from shops by using a cheque.
• Statements summarise transactions that have allowed money to be withdrawn from an account.

• The sales and marketing department send details of promotional offers to customers with bank accounts by post or e-mail.    Database of accounts is available on a Wide Area network, and is used to produce documents sent to customers.  

Explaining in detail how information used within the organisation is processed, including details of data capture techniques, any processing or calculations involved and the specification and style of data output

Explaining how information regarding transactions with credit/debit cards is processed within the organisation

Data capture techniques

• In order to collect data about payment of goods via credit/debit a special card reader is placed near a till in the shop.
• The card is swiped through the reader.
• The bank sort code, account number, card number, expiry number and issue number are read.
• These details with the retailer’s identification code and purchase total are sent to a EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) switch system.
• This system than sends requests for a card authorisation to the bank’s computer, to see if there is enough money in the shopper’s account.
• If there is then the details of the transaction go onto customer’s record on database.

Processing or calculations

• When new data of a transaction using credit/debit card has been made the database has to keep a record of this new added data.  This means that the database will need to be updated.
• The actual withdrawing of the money takes place.  The required money from the shopper’s account is electronically transferred to the shop’s own bank account, by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  The database keeps a record of this transaction.
• When the money has been withdrawn from the account a calculation takes place.  From the total amount that is currently in the account there would have been a calculation for it.
• When the money leaves the account, the total has to be re-calculated due to the decrease in funds.
• The calculation is the amount of withdrawn money deducted from the current money in the account.
• The total then changes to the changed funds in the account.
• The database is updated with new total.
• The computer places the information on the withdrawing of money on a separate file, and updates the file.

The specification and style of printed output

• Any transactions by credit/debit card will be shown on the customer’s bank statement.

• The bank statement contains the Natwest logo at the top.

• Following underneath, there are five headings under which data will go underneath.  These five headings read ‘Date’, ‘Payment details’, ‘Taken out’, ‘Paid in’ and ‘Balance (£)’.  All these headings are in an oval shape, filled grey, using black font for the text.
• The actual data is tabulated under these headings.
• The heading ‘Date’ contains the actual date that the transfer of funds took place.  A dotted line goes vertically down the heading on the right, putting the next three headings in a block.
• ‘Payment’ details has the method of payment used (credit card in this case), and the company that sold the goods.  All the details of money withdrawn are contained for each date.
• ‘Taken out’ shows the value of money that was taken out of the shopper’s account for the payment.
• ‘Paid’ in is only used if a customer goes to the shop, and pays the money there, this is not applicable for the credit card method of payment.  A dotted line goes vertically right of the heading, finishing the block of headings.
• ‘Balance (£)’ displays the current amount of money in the account calculated for all the funds that have been withdrawn for that date, not just with credit card.
• The entire font used for the data is a black colour.
• In the bottom left hand corner the customer’s account number, and branch sort code are displayed.
• Underneath all the data is the name of the customer in capital letters.

END OF QUESTION

 A description in detail of the purpose and operation of an important ICT application used within the organisation, including examples of input and output data and the job, functions and personnel involved

The payroll operation used at Natwest bank

• The purpose of the payroll operation is to calculate wages for employees of an organisation.

• If the large organisation has hundreds of employees, the calculating of wages can be a long and tiring task to do if it is done manually.  Errors can take place as well.
• Also several factors need to be taken into account such as, the number of hours worked, how much overtime an employee has had, tax deductions, and any holidays an employee has had.  
• This is where a payroll system is needed, to handle the payment details of employees together with factors like these, and eliminating the enormous tasks when this process takes place manually.  
• The payroll process uses custom-written software. This software is a database, which allows calculations to take place.

Input

• The manager of a branch at Natwest inputs certain details of a employee such as the number of hours worked, any overtime, if bonus payment is required, any holidays the employee has had.  
• This can be done every week if an employee is hourly paid, or every month if salary paid, where a fixed amount is paid every month.  Most employees will be salary paid.

• Only data that changes on a regular basis is required, unlike static data, which is modified rarely i.e. name and address.
• Several documents of this data are sent as a batch over a wide area network to the head office.
• A personnel clerk at the head office inputs all this data onto the mainframe computer system, ready for the processing.

Processing

• This information is accessed at the personnel department and stored on a transaction file that keeps a copy of this changing data on a hard disk.  Data, which occasionally changes, is held on a master file.    
• The transaction file is then sorted into order by an employee’s own employee number.  
• The file is validated to ensure the data is sensible.  
• The process of batch processing takes place at a convenient time on a mainframe computer.  This means that data is collected all at once than processed in one go, rather than each individual set of data being processed one at a time.  
• Automatically the relevant data about the employee’s pay are calculated i.e. gross pay, which is calculated from the hours an employee has worked for multiplied by the hourly pay rate.  
• Once calculations like these have been made the details of an employee from the transaction file are merged together with the data held on the master file which changes rarely.

Output

• After the records have been processed all together the output produced by a printer is payslips with the data from the transaction and master file put together.  
• Data, which is indicated on the payslips, can be the gross pay, deductions for tax, net pay.  
• There will also be the regular information on these payslips like the employee name telephone number, National Insurance number and tax code.

Describing how the organisation might make use of a management information system to monitor or control activities, improve decision making and improve efficiency

Natwest management information system

The use of monitoring or controlling activities

• The management information system displays which members of staff are working at which times, and where they are actually working.
• It has data input in advance, which contains details of when members of staff should be working
• Therefore it enables the data to be displayed.

The use to improve decision making

• When the manger views sales figures, a comparison takes place between the number of staff employed, and the actual sales figures.
• If the sales figures drop below a certain number, the management information system will look at the staff numbers.  
• If the staff numbers seem to high in comparison to the sales figures, the management information system will suggest a suitable proposal.
• The system will actually display the suggestion to have fewer staff employed for the branch because the current number is unnecessary.

The use to improve efficiency

• The Management information system records the sales that have been made every week from people buying products.
• These monthly sales performances are compared to other Natwest branches in the country.
• The sales figures are displayed in a grid, that is colour coded, to indicate the performance of a particular branch.
• If a branch has a low value for this data, the manager may want to decide what to do to improve this problem, and try to gain more customers.

END OF QUESTION