William Hayes ICT Serving Organisations Year 13
AVCE ICT Unit 2 – ICT Serving Organisations
Main aims and functions of the Organisation (E1)
The organisation that I have chosen for this report is the Buckingham Bingo. The reason that I have chosen this organisation is because I work there and it also has many ICT provisions. The ICT provisions vary from huge databases to computerised tills to huge spreadsheets.
The main function of this organisation is basically a gambling organisation. The aim of the organisation is to make as much money as it possibly can. The bingo hall it’s self allows member’s of the bingo to basically come in and play bingo, the organisation then allows the customer’s to gamble, eat, drink and most of all socialise with all the other bingo members. The aim of the organisation is to make money, so the hall has many features to make money and achieve the main aim of the organisation.
These features include: -
- Before the customer enters the hall they have to pay an entrance fee of 80 pence.
- If the member wants to park their car in the bingo’s secure car park they have to pay a fee of £5.
- Fruit Machines, which allow the customer’s to gamble.
- A bingo hall which allows the customer’s to play traditional bingo (played in a bingo book.) and cash bingo (which is played on electronic boards, this is also all controlled by computer.).
- A buffet, which allows customer’s to purchase food.
- A bar which allows customers to consume alcohol and soft drinks.
The features shown above is just a short list of how the organisation meet’s its aim and make’s money.
Function of each Department (E1)
There are many departments in this organisation that keep it running and meeting its main aim. Here is a table to show the name of the Department and its functions :-
The Organisations customers (E1)
The type of customers that use the bingo vary from the younger generation to the older generation, in order for a customer to become a member they have to be 18 or over and it costs them absolutely nothing to subscribe and become a member. The majority of the customers that use the bingo are from the older age group.
A member of staff from the reception department keep’s the database of all the member’s of the bingo constantly up-to date. The reason for this is because the database is so big ...
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The Organisations customers (E1)
The type of customers that use the bingo vary from the younger generation to the older generation, in order for a customer to become a member they have to be 18 or over and it costs them absolutely nothing to subscribe and become a member. The majority of the customers that use the bingo are from the older age group.
A member of staff from the reception department keep’s the database of all the member’s of the bingo constantly up-to date. The reason for this is because the database is so big details on it are always changing e.g. moving house.
Recently this organisation completed a survey on what type of customer’s use their organisation. The outcome of this survey left the type of customer’s into three categories: -
- Gamblers – This type of customer comes to the bingo to purposely gamble and nothing else. They play the bingo usually on their own and if they are not playing bingo they are on the fruit machines trying to win some money back that they have lost.
- Socialise – The other type of people that use the bingo use it to socialise and have a good time. They come with friends, play their bingo, have a few drinks and then just basically spend the rest of the night as a night out and socialise.
- Elderly – The elderly use it to socialise too but they mainly come to the bingo to get out of their home and have a bit of fun.
The majority of the customer’s that use the bingo are classed as ‘regular’s’ this means that they come on the same day’s each week and regularly come to the bingo.
So basically the custom of the bingo has a wide range of age group, and people with different reasons for being there.
The Organisations suppliers (E1)
The Buckingham Bingo has many suppliers, which supply the goods in order for the company to keep going and making money. The suppliers vary from supplying huge amounts food to a couple of bingo markers. Here is a recommend list supplied by the main office: -
When I had an interview with the manager of this organisation I spoke to him and mentioned suppliers, he had no list of suppliers but kept a note of each supplier, there service and the rating out of 5 in his diary.
Here is a list of how each department use’s their service: -
- Buffet – This department needs a supplier which can supply them with everything they need. The reason for this is because it saves time shopping round, now they can just place an order to one supplier and get everything they need. So they chose Dales this supplies this department with fresh food, tea bags, coffee, biscuits, crisps etc. This supplier also supplies in huge amounts so re – ordering does not happen often. The buffet also sells soft drinks, so they need a company to supply that, so they use BARR soft drinks inc. this company supplies them with soft drinks at a cheap rate.
- Bar – This department needs a company that can supply them with alcoholic drinks such as ; larger; bitter; wine; spirits; soft drinks and fruit flavoured alcohol drinks e.g. WKD. On this department it is not so easy to place on order because they have to use several different companies for their supplies. The supplier’s that they use are Carlsberg Brewery, Tetley Brewery and Booze 4 you. These companies supply in bulk to and also at a very cheap rate.
- Booksales – The type of supplier this department needs is a company that supplies bingo books and bingo equipment. This department use’s up huge amounts of bingo books each week, so they need a company that can supply this and at a quick speed. The supplier they use is Edward Thompson and co.
- The bingo itself needs things like cutlery, plates, cups, glasses, trays, moneybags, money trays etc. Vital things like this are essential to the bingo in order to keep it going so they are supplied by head office, which is in Manchester. The office just contacts head office and explains what is needed and they arrive at the bingo with in two days.
- Also cleaning and storage equipment is needed e.g. fridge’s, freezers, dish washers, hovers etc. Now instead of the company shopping around for this equipment separately they found a supplier which can supply all of this, the supplier they chose was Whirlpool.
How each department communicates (E1)
Inside the organisation it is vital that all departments are able to communicate with each other. Therefore a local area network was set up, so basically each department was given a telephone, and each telephone was then linked up to the local area network. Now each department can communicate with each other by simply picking up the phone and dialling that certain department’s number. But the local area network only allows the departments to communicate with each other and no one from the outside. So if a certain department needs to communicate with an outsider they need to use the office.
All departments in this organisation are related to each other one way or another. The main relationship is between the bar, buffet and the floor. This is because they help each other all the time and they use this local area network to communicate when they need help on their department. Booksales and the main office are related to, this is basically for the same reason, which is help. Also booksales need the network to communicate with the office so they can decide what prize money to have on that night.
Description of ICT provision for each department (E2)
Hardware used within The Buckingham Bingo (E2)
Improvements that could be made to the current ICT provisions (E2)
Overall ICT provision improvement.
In this organisation I think that there are many applications that need improving. Firstly I think that the computers within in the facility all need to be updated. Lately the computers are slowing down, so the hard drive needs to be de-fragmented. This will then leave the hard drive with more space and applications that are not used any more will be deleted from the computer. I also think that each computer should be issued with a CD Re-writer. This is because floppy disks are only capable of storing small documents, but if large document or application needs to be taken of the computer it can be placed onto a disk, which are capable of storing up to 700MB of space.
From a security point of view I think each member of staff should be issued with a swipe card, this swipe card will contain the member of staff’s details and what area’s of the organisation they are allowed in. To enter each area of the building the member of staff will have to swipe their card to gain access to that area. The manager will choose areas that staff are allowed access to and area’s that they aren’t. For example the manager will allow each member of staff to enter the building with their swipe card, but will not allow them to enter his office.
Improvement on the use of ICT in the office department’s.
I think that the biggest improvement that could be made to the use of ICT in the office is CCTV. I noticed that the CCTV footage doesn’t cover every part of the building. So I think more camera’s should be introduced, the advantages and disadvantages of this are: -
Advantages: -
- It will cover every single part of the bingo, so if anything goes wrong the staff in the office will be able to spot it no matter where it happened.
- If the bingo were to be robbed the cameras would have every move the thieves made on tape.
Disadvantages: -
- It would cost The Buckingham Bingo a lot of money to buy more cameras and fit them. Then pay more money to have them linked up to the computers in the office.
- Also if the bingo where to put camera’s everywhere it would violate people’s privacy. Therefore customers would feel uncomfortable while playing their bingo.
Improvement on the use of ICT in the floor department’s ( Bar, Buffet, booksales and the floor).
If all the computers on each department are going to be improved the staff’s training and computer Knowledge will need improvement too. This would cost a lot of money and certain staff are already computer literate, so a method of voicing equipment could be introduced. The advantages and disadvantages of this improvement are: -
Advantages: -
- The staff that are not very computer literate will not need to know how to use a computer because all they need to do is speak into the mouth piece and the computer will take out that command.
- This will make the job easier and it will be done twice as quick.
- It can be used in all areas of the ICT provisions. For example it can be used to take out an order on the bar and it can be used to fill in a spreadsheet.
Disadvantages: -
- This application would still cost a lot of money for the company to buy the software and all the headsets.
- It would take a lot of hard work and time, to get the computer to recognise every member of staffs voice and the computer to take out the correct command.
An improvement of how ICT can be used to improve the way bingo is played.
When a member wins in the bingo they have to shout ‘bingo’ in order for the caller to stop the game and validate the customer’s claim. But sometimes the caller does not hear the shout and carries on with the game. So a button can be placed on the edge of every table, this button will then be linked to a computer. When the customer win’s they have to press this button, it will then show up on the caller’s screen that somebody has won so he can stop the game. The advantages and disadvantages of this are: -
Advantages: -
- No claim would be missed, therefore the customer’s will be happy because the caller will always hear their claim and they can then claim the prize money.
- It would also save a lot of time, therefore more games of bingo can be played. So the company will make a lit bit more money when this application is introduced.
Disadvantages: -
- Again this process would cost the organisation a lot of money and the whole point of the organisation is to make as much money as possible.
- Customer’s who are not playing bingo could accidentally press the button and interrupt the game. This would then annoy customer’s who are playing bingo.
- The button would be constantly in the customer’s way and it would get frustrating from the customer’s point of view.
How the organisation might benefit from more extensive use of new communications technology (A3)
An improvement that could be made is a system that can be used when a customer or a member of staff have a problem/complaint and need to speak with the manager when he is not on site.
This problem could easily be solved with a system called video conferencing. If this system were to be introduced into the organisation it would have many benefits because the manager would be able to communicate with staff face to face even when he is at home. This system works through two computers which both contain digital cameras. A videoconference room would then be set up on the Internet and then the organisation can have a videoconference. For example if the manager was at home sick and was needed to take a meeting in work, he could simply enter the video conference room and take the meeting while he sits at home in bed. He would be able to see, speak and hear everyone who was at the meeting in work and everybody in work would be able to see, speak and hear his or her manager who is at home.
There are several advantages and disadvantages to this system and they
are: -
Advantages: -
- Managers and supervisors will be able to work from instead of sitting in an office all day, if there is any problems in the organisation the certain member of staff with the problem can enter the conference room and speak with the manager.
- If the manager is away on holiday and there is an important message that he needs to see, the member of staff can record the message in the videoconference room and post it in the manager’s pigeonhole. Then when the manager next enters the conference room he will see his important message.
- If the manager carries a videophone with him he can record his video message and then e-mail it to the videoconference room.
Disadvantages: -
- When the manager is on his day off or on holiday he will be constantly, harassed by members of staff trying to get in touch with him.
- The software will not get used as much because there will always be a member of management on site at all times, so if anyone has a problem they will see that member of management instead of logging onto the videoconference room.
How information moves within the organisation and to from outsiders (E3)
- The customer collects a membership application form from the reception of the organisation. The customer then takes the form home and completes it.
- Once the customer has completed the application form he/she then sends the form back to the organisation. It will then arrive in the main office within two days.
- When the manager receives the application form he has to make sure that the customer has not been a member before. He does this by cheeking the computer for past members.
- Once the manager has confirmed the customer to become a member he then passes the form to reception.
- Now the receptionist has the manager’s approval, he/she can now create the customer’s membership. The details are entered onto the ECM system, once all of the details are entered a membership number is applied to the customer. This membership number is then printed onto a membership card, the card is then placed into a membership pack which contains details about the organisation and how to find it etc. The membership is now completed is ready to be dispatched to the customer.
- The membership pack is then collected by the postal service and is delivered to the customer.
- Once the member has received their membership card they are now able to play bingo. On arrival to the bingo hall the member is required to swipe their membership card through the ClubTRACK swipe. The member is now allowed to proceed into the bingo hall.
- The member is now allowed to sit anywhere in the bingo hall to play there bingo. Once the member is ready to play bingo the game begins. The member then wins the game of bingo on the National bingo ticket.
- The winning ticket is then collected by a member of staff and passed onto the booksales department.
- Once the booksales department receive the winning ticket they then have to fill out a National Gaming form. The details that are needed for this form are as follows; Name; Address; Postcode; Telephone number; Bank details; amount of numbers the game was won in and whether it was a single winner. All the member’s personal details can be found on the ClubTRACK database. Once the form is completed it is then ready to be sent of to the National Gaming Board.
- As soon as the form is completed it is then sent of to the National Gaming Board along with the winning ticket.
- Once the Gaming Board have received the details and the winning ticket they can then allow the prize money to be exchanged into the member’s bank account.
Data capture techniques, processing or calculations and the specification and the style of data output (C2).
When a client wishes to become a member of the Buckingham bingo they have to complete an application form ,once they have completed the form they send it back to the organisation. Once the organisation has received the application form they have to enter all the client’s details on the computer.
When collecting the data this organisation uses a number of methods in order to make sure that the information that is inputted into the system is correct. The reason this is done is because if an incorrect address is entered into a certain member’s record file, when information is being sent out to that certain member they will not receive the information because an incorrect address is in there record file.
The organisation’s way of doing this is data validation, this technique is used to ensure that the data entered is reasonable and complete. This organisation is creating new members every day of the week so they have to make sure the data they enter into each member’s folder is correct.
The main validation check that is in place is the address check, this is a data validation check that is used on postcodes and peoples addresses. This check makes sure that the postcode is present and that the postcode contains an area code and a code, which contains one letter and two numbers e.g. L6 4BQ. This is a great advantage because postcodes can easily be left out or entered incorrectly. Another data validation check that is used is on people’s addresses. The check works when the member of staff enters the address of a member that is already on the system an error message will appear on the screen letting the member of staff know that the address already exists on the system.
The data capture technique that is used in this organisation is shown in appendix C. This is just a simple application form that is used to collect all of the necessary information that is needed to become a member of this organisation. Once the client has filled in the form it is then sent back to the organisation and placed in the ‘member’s application’ rack.
A member of staff from the reception then processes the member’s application form. This is easily done, the member of staff simply logs onto the ClubTRACK software and enters all of the clients information into the database. After the information has been processed the member is issued a membership number and a membership card. The membership card is then sent of to the customer with an information pack, which includes what days the bingo is open etc.
A form of calculation that is used is the attendance record. This calculates when the customer has attended the bingo it calculates the date, the time and whether it was in the day or the night. The attendance record is constantly being updated so this calculation can be very accurate. The record is updated every time the member makes a visit to the bingo. When the customer enters the building he/she swipes their card through the ClubTRACK swipe, this then automatically updates the record to show that they attended on that date. It is vital that the members card is swiped on every visit incase of an accident i.e. Fire. The attendance record can then be used as evidence to show that the member was in the bingo at the time of the accident.
Purpose and operation of an important ICT application used within the organisation (E4)
An important ICT application that is used within the Buckingham Bingo is software called ClubTRACK that is created by ECM systems. The main use of the software is a huge database, this database is used to store every single member of the bingo and their details. The screenshot below shows the opening page of the software. The part of the software that my organisation focuses on is the Member options. We then choose the link ‘Member Admin’, this then takes you to the database.
The ClubTRACK software is used within the Buckingham Bingo in the following ways: -
- The system is used to keep an up to date database of the organisations members.
- The details that are kept on the database are the members name, address, telephone number and date of birth. These details are compulsory, without these details the customer will not be able to become a member.
- Optional details that are kept on the database are mobile telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and method of transport.
- The software can be used by the bar department, it would be used by this department to see if a certain customer consumes alcohol from the bar and how much they spent at the bar, at there last appearance to the bingo.
- It can be used by the buffet department, it can be used by this department to see how much money certain members spend on food at the buffet.
- The floor department can use the software to calculate how much prize money a certain member was won.
- The reception department mainly uses this software. This is mainly because the computer is situated in the reception area, also it is the reception staff who enter the members onto the database.
The screenshot below shows another feature that is used within the database, this is an attendance record. Every member has an attendance record in his or her membership folder. The ClubTRACK swipe is linked to the database, so each time the member swipes there card the attendance record is automatically updated. If the card is swiped before 3.30 a green marker is shown, but if it is swiped after 3.30 it is shown as a red marker. The green marker represents an afternoon appearance and a red marker shows an evening appearance. The marker is then placed in the date that the member attended.
This information is just a set of statistics, which are calculated by the attendance record. It shows how many times the member has visited the bingo and when their last visit was.
Examples of input and output data
Here is an example screenshot of how data can be entered onto the database. This is a process that is used to create a new member, it is very straightforward. All you have to do is copy the information from the application form onto the form on-screen. This part of the input section is used for the member’s personal details, these details are essential if the customer wishes to become a member.
This section of the input data is for extra details, therefore the member does not have to complete this section if they do not want to. This section is just basically used for statistics i.e. they can calculate what percentage of members smoke or travel to the bingo by bus.
The outcome of this process is the customer becoming a member. Once the member has been entered onto the database he/she is issued with a membership number, this number is printed onto a membership card (appendix C). This membership card is then sent to the customer with a membership pack (appendix E). This membership pack welcomes the customer to the Buckingham bingo organisation and contains information on how to play bingo, how to find the organisation and all the bingo catchphrases they need to know.
Here is a screenshot of how the form looks when it is completed. These details have been taken from an application form, which is shown in
appendix B. The customer is now a member of the bingo and is stored on the database.