required, polling/reply yes/no, reply function. ‘Read’ function, ‘received’ function. Ability to easily organise both sent and received mail. Even deleted mail can be retrieved. Your dept will be able to set a size limit on each employee to suit your server size.
Benefits:
- The possibility of a ‘paperless office’ creating a more pleasant and ‘greener’ working environment
- No need for the large post room you currently have. 99% of companies have email facilities and can receive any email you send. The cost of sending an email is much less than sending a letter/package, particularly if the destination is overseas. Furthermore the client receives the email a few seconds after you have sent it. This allows for business to move faster and decisions to be made sooner.
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The cost savings of this are huge; no post room means that your company will be able to reduce staff costs in this area. There will also be significant savings on paper and envelopes. Your client’s perception of you will be enhanced as they will finally be able to send you documents and files on email as you embrace the technology of the 21st Century.
- The communication aspect of MS Outlook 2000 cannot be underestimated. Within a few seconds the whole of your department or company can be informed of a major change or event. For example, a change in Annual Leave entitlement can be typed on to an MS Word 2000 document and sent by email (using MS Outlook 2000) to all employees. This means that as fare as possible all employees have been informed simultaneously of any changes. This ‘information sharing’ aspect of MS Outlook 2000 will result in an enhanced service of the HRM team when it comes to dissemination of company/personnel information.
- As all sent emails can be stored on the hard drive, there will be less storage space needed of individual communication.
- The HRM department can set up an email service whereby employees and line managers can email the department for information or with queries. This could be set up in preference to a telephone consultancy service and thus produce further savings. It would allow a smaller number of specialists deal with queries in a timely manner without the internal cost of employees and line managers using phone lines.
- MS Excel 2000
This is a spreadsheet package enabling the user to record, analyse and manipulate statistics and numbers.
Features: Allows the user to enter statistical data onto the spreadsheet in rows or columns. The data can then be manipulated to a required formula. Graphs and graphics can be produced from this data and transferred to an MS word document. Allows the user to work from three pages. Workbook can be customised and automated for end user.
Benefits:
- Allows the easy retrieval of statistics, for example the ability to see the average no. of days sick leave per employee.
- The easy management both for line managers and HRM of annual leave, training records, leavers and joiners. – All of this info is useful when looking at cost cutting and quality improvement.
- Easy to detect different departments strengths and weaknesses in above areas.
- Info is easy to store and retrieve. Allows accurate records to be kept in a central file which means that there is a minimal chance of statistics being erroneously changed (eg. More annual leave added to an individual’s entitlement).
- The running of the HRM function will be radically changed for the better in that line managers and individuals will be able to input info on to Excel sheets formulated by HRM. HRM will then have all the info needed at their fingertips when statistical analysis is required.
- Training budget can be monitored effectively per individual. Per individual and per dept figures can be easily extracted.
- New targets can be set for (for instance) sick absence. If it known that each employee has an average of 7 days sick absence per year, then a target of 6 or 5 days can be set. This would further reduce costs.
- Excel sheets can be emailed from the HRM department, or stored on a common hard drive.
- MS Access 2000
MS Access 2000 is a database management system. ‘Microsoft Access enables the end user to manage all relevant information from a single database file.
Features: Within this file, data can be divided into separate sections called tables; view, add, and update table data by using online forms; find and retrieve just the data you want by using queries; and analyse or print data in a specific layout by using reports. Allow users to view, update, or analyse the database's data from the Internet or an intranet by creating data access pages.’ (Microsoft Access Help, Databases and what are they, P.2)
Benefits:
- Different data can be stored on each table. Entering a query, form, and report can bring this info together. The tables can be linked together to form a ‘relational database’ and analysis can take place accordingly.
- For the HRM dept, MS Access can be used to transfer info gained from different Excel sheets. For example, the info on a training budget spreadsheet, a sick leave spreadsheet and annual appraisal marks spreadsheet could all be entered on to different tables within MS Access. A link can then be made between all three tables and a query entered to see if there is a link between high sick leave, low annual appraisal marks and training spent per individual. This data can be used to find the possible root causes of sick absence and then steps taken to address this. Sick absence costs could then be reduced.
- Using MS Access it is simple to add or update data on individuals (e.g. adding annual leave).
- This info is all held on paper within your HRM dept at present. This does not allow for analysis of the data or allow common trend and themes to be discovered. The targets that are currently set are not based on data collection. MS Access will allow you to store this info on a hard drive (and free up even more space and use even less paper).
Question 2
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Assume that you are working in the HRM department of a large organisation. Illustrate and describe the reporting structure within your department and show how your department fits into the organisation’s overall structure and clearly define the main activities of the organisation.
For this flow chart I considered the use of a Data Flow Diagram, however, when I researched Data Flow diagrams both on the Internet and from the handout given in lectures, I decided that this would not be the most effective tool to demonstrate my organisation’s structure. I have opted to use a traditional flowchart to describe this.
Main activities of the organisation: A global communications company providing residential and business customers with bespoke communications solutions. This includes selling wholesale to other operators, providing ‘landlines’, providing broadband Internet services to personal and business customers, providing mobile telephony to personal and business customers, researching new technologies.
The company is split into 5 main customer segments as follows. Retail, Wholesale, Ignite, Openworld and Affinitis. My role falls under the Retail segment of the business.
Please see the flowchart (App A) for (i) the reporting structure within my department and (ii) where my department fits into the overall organisational structure.
- Explain the term database management systems and the possible benefits to an HRM department.
Data is an asset to any company. It is invaluable, it is knowledge and can ensure that a company knows about its people, it products, it profits (or losses) and its market in the most detailed statistical manner. Data can be manipulated within a Database Management System (DBMS).
A database management system is a collection of that can , modify, and extract information from its . Types of DBMS vary from small ones that can be run on a personal PC to large ones that run on company . Some examples of database application are as follows.
- Banking information systems (when you call your bank they ask you for specific information like your account no and a password. This enables the information you require to be retrieved from the system
- Credit checking systems
- Train booking systems
- Student record systems
- Telephone account systems
Technically, DBMS’s can be very different. This difference is usually in the way the information is organised within a DBMS. Relational, flat, network and hierarchical are all different ways in which the information within a DBMS is organised. Depending on what sort of system is used information can be retrieved at varying speeds and varying degrees of flexibility.
Entering a query in the form of a particular question makes requests for information from a database. For example the query may be
SELECT ALL WHERE PLACE IS LONDON AND AGE < 10
Will request all records where the place field is London and the age is less than 10. The language of a query is called the ‘query language’. One of the current semi standard query languages is SQL (structured query language).
The results of a query can be displayed in different formats. Usually included is a report writer program and a graphics assistant that allows the information to be displayed as charts or graphs.
Possible benefits to and HRM department:
A DBMS can be used to hold the following information:
- Sick Absence Records
- Annual Leave Records
- Age of Staff
- Date of commencement of employment
- Training Records
- Skills Matrix
- Location
- Grade
- Manager
- Tel No
- Money spent on training
The DBMS gives the ability to store large amounts of data in an ordered and organised fashion on one database. The information above can be stored and manipulated if and when needed. For example the HRM department may wish to plan for any staff retiring in the forthcoming year. All they would have to do is to enter a query. Assuming retirement age is 60.
SELECT ALL WHERE AGE IS > 59
The information extracted would show all employees who are 59 and over and provide valuable information to those planning the retirements. If required it would be possible to extract information specific to a location. This would enable the HRM officer to check to see if there could be a possible skill/staff shortage in that particular area due to retirement. Other ways that the data could be manipulated to the benefit of the HRM practitioner are:
- Selecting leaving dates and area to search for geographic trends
- Selecting skills against starting date to check for skill deficiencies
- Checking for age (20 – 25) against sick absence to see how it compares to the age (25 – 30) – again looking for trends
By spotting trends in, for example, sick absence (which costs companies millions of pounds a year) the HR department can inform line managers and attempt to address the problem and monitor staff with high levels of sick absence. In short, a database management system does the work of dozens of HR administrators (saving money on recruiting) and in a fraction of the time. The information it extracts is reliable and accurate and this information can be used in a variety of different ways including cost reduction.
