In this report I will be investigating how two contrasting organisations use ICT. The two organisations I have chosen to compare are a high school, in this case Buile Hill High School, and a motorcar company, this being Ford.

Page

Richard Tandy

Richard Tandy Unit 2

Description Of ICT Systems.

Introduction

In this report I will be investigating how two contrasting organisations use ICT. The two organisations I have chosen to compare are a high school, in this case Buile Hill High School, and a motorcar company, this being Ford. I will be looking at how ICT helps these organisations operate. I will be analysing the advantages and disadvantages of the systems these organisations use and the impact of these ICT systems within these organisations, referring to implications such as cost, working practices, and security matters such as data protection.

ICT Systems in Buile Hill High School

Buile Hill High School is a secondary school with approximately 1200 pupils. In this school pupils are now registered using the Bromcom system. This computerised system has replaced he existing registers that followed a manual way of working of pen and paper. With the Bromcom system teachers use a personal digital assistant (PDA) connected to a wireless network, which enables marks to be transferred to a computer in the school office. This computer automatically dials the contact number of those pupils who are not in school. In addition the Bromcom system provides reports about pupil attendance and punctuality, working out pupils attendance and lates as a percentage and also informs teachers about pupils who are not in school for reasons such as being on holiday or for having doctors appointments for example.

The Bromcom system holds many advantages such as that like a normal register it is taken every lesson and so staff and teachers can keep a close track of pupils whereabouts and determine whether pupils may be skipping lessons or otherwise. Furthermore, it also allows imputed data to be changed easily, such as changing a pupil’s mark from an absence mark to a present mark. Also, as mentioned above it provides the advantage of convenience such as that data can be sent electronically so the register does not have to be taken to the office by person, this also saves time. The system also has the advantages of providing statistics about pupil’s details such as their attendance and their number of lates, also in the convenience of a percentage. The behavioural history of any pupil is also available to teachers and senior management at anytime, throughout the school.

However, the Bromcom system has the disadvantage that if the system fails then teachers and staff will be unable to register pupils. It also has the disadvantage that staff need to be trained to use it and it may cause problems for relief staff or people who are unfamiliar with it.

The Bromcom system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information such as the many examples above such as that that it has made registering pupils much easier and quicker for teachers. It has also made it much easier for staff to keep track of pupils and means less work for the office staff as everything is now computerised, such as that attendances etc are calculated automatically. According to Bromcom.com one of the advantages of a PDA unit is its “low cost”. However, altogether the initial cost to purchase the system including all of the necessary PDAs may have been expensive and the running of the system may be expensive when considering the overall energy consumption and the cost of batteries for the many units.

In terms of data protection this system also makes it much harder for people other than staff to get hold of students details. It is quite robust to hacking, as you have to know what to type in to access the Bromcom devices and it is only the staff who know what to type in. Also, the registration system has a very special and unique feature, which has addressed many educational institutions regarding the connection of PCs on the curriculum network for data-entry. Unlike any other product on the market Bromcoms system is the only one that can offer a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

This school also uses ICT with using spreadsheets to manage finances such as running the school budget, ordering equipment for the school, paying wages and paying regular bills such as electricity, water and gas.

Two advantages of using ICT systems in this way enables the school bursar to obtain electronic reminders when any bills are due or bills could be paid automatically and directly to other companies accounts so the school doesn’t have to carry any money. This adds to safety within the school.

One disadvantage would be that any details of bank accounts of financial information need to be imputed very accurately as an overpayment or money going to a wrong account could easily occur without being noticed for some time. Also, like many ICT systems there is the danger that hackers could get into the system and obtain bank details and thus withdraw money from school accounts.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing information such as that again it reduces the amount of work for the people concerned such as that finances are managed easier with the spreadsheets and the system is more organised, with the electronic reminders for example. The cost of this system may be quite expensive with the necessary equipment, the up keeping and the energy consumption.

The data on this system will also be more protected, as there will be a number of necessary safety procedures in order to access the system. Also the data and certain details will probably be encrypted as payments are made for example, and so the system will be quite secure and robust from potential outsiders and potential hackers.

Moreover, the teachers use ICT to help prepare resources and to do research about their subject. For example, teachers can use the Internet for research or can obtain other materials through emails through other teachers both home and abroad. Teachers can also use spreadsheets to keep assessment data of pupils for example, such as SAT, CAT, NC levels, homework, classwork marks and predicted grades.

An advantage of using ICT systems for this purpose is that it makes it easier for teachers to differentiate any materials for pupils who may need it such as larger print or different coloured paper that pupils may need for example. Also, using the Internet for example makes it much easier, quicker and convenient for teachers to acquire information or to do research.

However, disadvantages may be that using the Internet as a resource base can cause problems because information on the Internet is not guaranteed to be correct. Also, if the system fails and there is no hard copy of material, there could be problems when work needs to be done for a deadline. Also, to use his sort of system the teachers would need reasonable ITC skills as well as access to a computer.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information such as that it has made it far easier to prepare resources and lesson plans and to carry out necessary research, which is accessible with the Internet for example, and it has also made it far easier for teachers to keep assessment data of pupils, using spreadsheets. The cost of this system would be expensive to run for the school with the Internet connection for example. Also, the initial purchase of computers and the consistent energy consumption by the computers would add to the cost and would be expensive for the school on a whole.

The system is quite secure as it requires users to enter a user name and an accompanying password and so it is not so easy to abuse the system. However, there is a possibility that it may be open to hackers and so may not be secure in that sense.

In the school ICT is also used by the school office to keep pupil records on the School Information Management System (SIMS). Here there is important information kept on contact details, emergency phone numbers, addresses, medical problems, timetables and photographs.

An advantage of this is that you can run off or access a wide range of information relatively easily such as a pupil’s attendance or pupils personal details. All the personal data is also more organised with this system. Also this information can also be electronically transferred to other schools if a pupil moves from one school to another.

Disadvantages would be if there was a system failure or a power cut staff would not be able to access the information as it is all on computers. Also, student’s personal details could be obtained by unauthorised people through hacking into the system or obtaining a printout. Another disadvantage is that the system also requires constant manual updating such as when pupils move house or when pupils join or leave the school.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information such as that it has made it much easier and quicker for office staff to access and update pupil records with the School Information Management System where each pupil has their own record of personal details. The initial cost of this system would not be too high as it is a basic system and the up keeping and running cost would just be like other basic computer systems in the school.

The personal data on this system would be protected to an extent as it is on computers in the office where only staff are allowed and there would be passwords and security procedures needed to log on to the system, and so this ensures that outsiders would not be able to gain access unless someone had already logged onto the computer, therefore, it is quite robust.

ICT systems in the Ford motor corporation

Ford produce a wide range of cars from luxury cars to family cars and people carriers to general-purpose vans. By producing cars for such a wide range of people it means that Ford are not reliant upon one particular market for their profit.

Ford use ITC systems for their stock control. Cars when produced are held all over the country, the company is able to manage just where cars are kept so that if a customer order a particular model in any colour in any part of the country the sales reps are able to tell whether that particular car is held and if it is in stock they can arrange delivery.

The advantages of this is that the sales people have access to what is in stock and can advise customers there and then. By doing this they can also offer customers alternative colours or styles etc by searching on the system using different information.

However, a disadvantage could be that potential car buyers are not able to actually view the car until delivery, similarly to buying from a catalogue. Another disadvantage is that customers may therefore not be able to test drive the car until it is delivered.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information by making it much easier for staff to keep control of stock and to manage orders such as that they can track down stock easily and conveniently. The initial cost and the maintenance of this system could be expensive with buying the many PDAs and computers for example, however, the system is vital to the efficiency and management of the company.

Again the data on this system would be protected by passwords and security procedures, which would initially make it quite robust and also important details would be encrypted when exchanged for data protection.

Like all other major car dealers Ford use ICT systems for their parts department. Rather than holding thousands of different parts, the parts department is able to check on the system using a large database what they have got in and order it from their suppliers over the system as and when needed.

An advantage of this is that this saves the company money in that they don’t have money tied up in lots of spare parts that they aren’t using. Also, showrooms or the production line do not need masses of storage space as they can order the parts as and when they need them.

One major disadvantage is that the suppliers of parts for the cars may find it difficult to manage their finances because they won’t know how many or what parts Ford need until Ford order them and as such could have lots of money invested in spare parts that are not being sold. Another disadvantage could be that customers may have to wait for a particular spare part because it is not carried in stock and they would have to wait for the part to travel through the system.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information by again making it easier for staff to communicate and to manage stocks and orders so tracking parts down easily and conveniently. Again the initial cost and the maintenance of this system may be expensive, concerning the size of the company, however, the system is vital to the efficiency and management of the company.

As with stock control, the data on this system would be protected by passwords and security procedures, which would initially make it quite robust and also confidential details would be encrypted when exchanged for data protection.

Ford also uses ITC systems for promotion. For example, they use a database such as an MS Access database to collect prospective buyer details, which they can then use to send promotional material. They can also use the details on these systems to analyse sales of particular models, which enables them to slow down production of models that aren’t selling that well and vice-versa.

An advantage is that it enables Ford to target potential buyers and saves them having lots of cars in stock that people don’t want to buy. Ford can also mail shot particular possible buyers.

Disadvantages are that any information recorded has to be accurate. Also, Information gathered needs to be from a large number of people in order to produce more realistic predictions.

This system has impacted on working practices and processing and gaining information by making it much more convenient, quicker and easier to collect prospective buyer details and send promotions to these prospective buyers by using databases such as MS Access which list all the prospective buyers and their details. The initial cost and the maintenance of this system could be expensive, concerning the size of the company and additions such as PDAs, which may cost around £250 each, however, the system is vital to promote the company.

The data on this system would be quite secure as it would only be the staff who would be able to access the system through security measures such as passwords. Also, the new PDAs, which are in use by many companies such as Ford, offer improved features against hacking and are so more secure. Important data transferred between PDAs may furthermore be encrypted for extra security.

Bibliography

The sources of information I used for this report are:

The website

I visited this to find some additional information about the PDAs and the Bromcom system. I checked the accuracy of this source by comparing details such as those about the features of the PDAs with information provided on many other websites such as and , amongst others. I also compared it with the information in the report provided to me at school. I believe the information on this website is accurate enough as the information is consistent with that in the report and the many other websites I visited.

I received some help from a mechanic who works for a main Ford dealer. He told me about things such as how the parts department is organised. I think this source is accurate as he works for the company and others said that the information seems correct. The information is also quite similar to that in the report given to me about Bentley Motors which is also a car company and so will also operate similarly with stock control, parts etc.

I also used two example reports given to me by my teacher in school. These told me about ITC systems in Buile Hill High School and a Car company. I believe this source is accurate, as it was written by ICT teachers at school and on one report it says it has itself has been validated by tutors from Eccles College. The information on the other report about the car company is very similar to that in which the mechanic told me about the departments in the Ford Company such as the parts department and he said the information appears correct.