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Observation and note-taking – This method of gathering information applies to all employees and authoritative figures in the company. It is essentially for my own inquisition and I will use them to help me understand the structure of the organisation and its operation. This method will be used throughout my visits regardless of whether I have taken any interviews or not.
LIST OF INTENDED INVESTIGATION TOPICS
Hardware and Software being used in the company
- Proposals for the hardware and software
- Requirements of the system
- Requirements of the software
- Choice of software
- Evaluation of the software
- Plan for introducing the software
- Training
Maintenance procedures
- Maintenance of hardware
- Maintenance of software
- Maintenance of data
Procedures:
- File management
- Software updates
- Testing procedures
- Logging faults Explain this in detail
- Service provider contacts
- How ‘Downtime’ is managed
Security measures
The possible areas for investigation are:
- Backup of data
- Virus control
- How security has been established
- How security has been maintained
- Discussion of both physical and software security measures
THE PROPOSED MAIN REPORT HEADINGS
APPLICATION TO BE RESEARCHED
- HISTORY
- DESCRIPTION
- SERVICES
HARDWARE
- PURCHASING
- UPGRADING
- REQUIREMENTS
TRAINING PROCEDURES
- HOW IS TRAINING CARRIED OUT?
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING?
- HOW IS TRAINING MAINTAINED?
SOFTWARE LIBRARY
SECURITY ISSUES
- BACKUP
- VIRUSES
- PHYSICAL FORMS OF SECURITY
- DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SECURITY
SOCIAL AND MORAL ISSUES
- RSI
- INTERNET USAGE AND EMAIL
- ILLEGAL CONDUCT AND MALPRACTICE
HISTORY OF INFORMATION GATHERING
VISIT 1 - Tuesday 2nd October 2002 (9 am – 11 am)
On this occasion, I interviewed Mr. Parkes, the company director of RS EQUIPMENT. The purpose of the interview was to ascertain the main functions of the organisation and gather first hand information on the history of the company. The interview lasted 2 hours which consisted of brief conversation and an opportunity to see how Mr. Parkes runs his office for the first part of the day (which is where most business is conducted). Mr. Parkes stated that he would like the details of all interviews and main documents such as accounts, to remain anonymous and preferred it if I extracted specific points from them.
VISIT 2 – Monday 7th October 2002 (2 pm – 4 pm)
The purpose of this visit was to see the working environment of the second office, where the main system is located, to make notes and observations in order to investigate the functions and responsibilities of the systems administrator, Mr. David Johnson and how procedures and measures are dealt with. I was met by the systems administrator and was showed around the office where I had a chance to meet the personnel, and noted down the specification of the network, software and hardware.
VISIT 3 – Monday 14th October 2002 (9 am – 11am)
On this visit I spent some time making observations and notes on the general performance of the system using a kind of fly-on-the-wall approach. I also distributed a questionnaire to the staff. The main focus of the questionnaire was to ascertain the thoughts of the staff towards the organisation of the company and their attitude towards working conditions, treatment by the authoritative figures and to determine the general morale of the staff.
VISIT 4 – Thursday 31st October 2002 (10 am – 12 pm)
This visit was primarily to show my findings and observations to the company director, in order to get an opinion on the accuracy and integrity of my initial report.
I made notes on the discussion and used them to make adjustments to my report, where necessary.
OBSERVATIONS ON VISIT 1:
- Mr. Parkes receives a high volume of calls during the hours of 9 am and 12 pm. These are mainly from directors of other companies or clients. The majority of orders are received by e-mail, although an equally large number of orders are received by fax.
- Mr. Parkes told me that all fax orders are dealt with first, since they are generally quite urgent, but after they have been dealt with, he takes a look at the e-mails.
- Each order is dealt is dealt with in the same way, which means that the products requested are located by Mr. Parkes and if available, a price is quoted to the particular client. The client then makes a decision on whether or not they should go ahead with the order.
- If an order is to be processed, Mr. Parkes forwards the details by fax to the second office, where the personnel contact suppliers and arrange deliveries.
- The majority of orders are shipped to the individual company, whereas other orders (small orders) are delivered by courier service.
OBSERVATIONS ON VISIT 2:
- During the hours of my presence (2pm – 4pm) in the IT department, it was observed that most of the work being carried out was completion of orders received in the morning. I was told that every month the company is receiving 5% more orders than the previous month. The obvious implication of this is that expansion seems to be next on the agenda for the company director. I also observed and noted that each employee had full concentration on their particular section of the IT department. This meant that efficiency was always the main focus of the staff, and were motivated towards coping with the increase in orders.
- The systems administrator always makes sure that there are no communication barriers between himself and the staff (this is a result of pressure applied by the company director), and I noted that he always approaches staff regarding their particular duties. This portrayed to me the same sense of efficiency and achievement I saw in the staff, which suggested to me that the systems administrator had some bearing in the motivation levels of the staff.
THE REPORT
THE APPLICATION TO BE RESEARCHED
HISTORY
The application to be researched is a small company called RS EQUIPMENT. The company has been trading for 25 years and specialises in medical equipment and supplies which range from latex gloves to X-ray machines. Trading is an international affair which takes place mainly in North America, Europe and the Middle East, therefore the customer base is large and the company is well known within the medical/health industry in each area.
DESCRIPTION
The company is based in the United Kingdom in London and has two offices. One office deals with the general running of the organisation and is run by the company director, who deals with clients and orders; the second office is where all the orders are processed. The first office has a standalone PC with a scanner, printer, fax machine and photocopier. The second office has a small network of 6 PC’s with 6 users, which includes the systems administrator.
SERVICES
The organisation doesn’t advertise itself since the majority of business is gained through word of mouth. Extra services are also provided such as, on special request (and if feasible), the company will supply products which are hard to come by or need to be custom made, and will also arrange specialised delivery services such as to charter a plane specially for a certain cargo. The company also offers installations and maintenance of certain products such as control software or control hardware which is used for larger machines, for example, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI).
HARDWARE
PURCHASING & UPGRADING
All hardware purchasing is done by the Systems Administrator, David Johnson. He has setup an account with Hewlett-Packard, whereby they supply new computers after a 3-year period and take away the old computers. The users of the workstations will notify the systems administrator of any problems with the hardware or machines (such as slow running of applications indicating low RAM, low storage space, or problems with printing) therefore if any upgrading is required to the computers, the systems Administrator will contact Hewlett-Packard, who will send an engineer to perform the work required, there is no extra charge for this, since Hewlett-Packard have already been paid as part of the agreement.
REQUIREMENTS
The requirements for the type of computers required are set by the Systems Administrator as he sees fit. His decisions are based upon meetings with the users, who tell him what their usage is and this determines the requirements. The IT department has a network of 6 workstations, which are HP Pavilion 7925 PC’s (1.2GHz, 128Mb RAM, 40GB Ultra DMA hard drive, CD-RW 12x8x32x, DVD-ROM 16x). One of these workstations is used as a server.
TRAINING
HOW IS THE TRAINING CARRIED OUT?
This is carried out by both the Systems Administrator and the Company Director, sometimes in conjunction with an outside firm, which means that employees are sent to a “training camp”, to be made efficient in certain tasks or situations. They are trained in dealing with clients and orders, and how they are processed. This training is given to all employees regardless of their individual duties. This ensures each employee has a sound understanding of the company’s objectives and activities. Some training is given in-house as this is much cheaper.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING?
The benefits of training are that tasks are performed more efficiently and fewer errors are made. Staff remains focused on the company objectives, which helps to increase the image of the company, inversely increasing sales.
HOW IS TRAINING MAINTAINED?
Training is maintained by regular reviews, held once every month by the Systems Administrator and the Company Director. These reviews consist of a meeting with all the staff, where monthly sales figures and ratios are discussed, and any problems which are present are attempted to be resolved.
SOFTWARE LIBRARY
STORAGE
All software owned and used by the staff, is stored in a lockable cupboard, which is only accessed by the Systems Administrator. Almost all software is on a CD-ROM.
AUTHORISED USERS
The authorised users of software depends on the area in which an employee works, i.e. if an employee only deals with spreadsheets, then they will be authorised to use the software package, whereas no-one else will be allowed, likewise for other types of software package. However, both the Systems Administrator and the Company Director have access to everything.
UPDATES
All updates are done by the Systems Administrator, who tells the software companies, individually, which updates are required along with any licences. Software is bought with licences for use on networks, as this allows the software package to be installed on the server, and shared amongst the other workstations, therefore costs are reduced greatly. The main software package that is installed on all workstations is MS-Office and Windows NT Operating System. Other software includes Norton Anti-Virus and a customised accounts package. For all hardware and software queries/problems, the staff can communicate with the systems administrator either directly or via messaging through the network or email.
SECURITY
BACKUP
The backup of data is done by the systems administrator, who makes regular backups of all important data and files, to an Iomega 2 Gb Jazz disk, which is a form of external storage media. The backups performed are total, since the company is of a small size. The backup procedure is that the systems administrator copies the appropriate file(s) from the (main) server onto the Jazz disk. The disk is then stored in a vault in the company director’s office. The files that are backed up are from each individual workstation that is used by the staff, who save specific files in a “Backup Folder” (to which only authorised users have access) on their workstations. This Backup Folder is present on the server and it is from here that the systems administrator performs the backup. This reduces the need for special software specific to performing backups. This procedure is done twice a week. All accounts are stored in an archive at the end of every month to keep them safe for future reference or for use as back data for research purposes. The main data that is backed up are files of invoices, records of all suppliers and customers, all orders, and all data relating to personnel.
VIRUSES
All terminals on the network have an anti-virus application installed namely Norton Anti-Virus, which is launched on start-up. This software was chosen because of its ability to perform regular checks when files have been downloaded or opened in other applications. It also checks both “.exe” files and data files, and is fully customisable. Security was established by calling in a security consultant, who advised on the best methods, and helped to implement them, and this is maintained by the consultant, who comes to see the office once every two weeks with a network engineer as part of a contract.
PHYSICAL FORMS OF SECURITY
The physical security measures are that each user has their own “USER ID”, and swipe card, which is used to enter the office. There is also a Compaq finger-scanner which is attached to each terminal, for identification purposes. The software measures are the network software which asks for the user’s ID.
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SECURITY
Level 1 security access is only available to the Systems Administrator and the Company director. This allows all areas access to the offices, workstations, accounts and all records. The next level down is Level 2, which is held by only the Accounts Manager. This allows access to all accounts records, information, and accounts software. Then there is Level 3, which is given to all other personnel. This only allows access to the individual workstations and their respective areas of work, such as spreadsheets, graphic design, and database.
SOCIAL AND MORAL ISSUES
Health & Safety is an important issue for RS Supplies’ working environment. All the employees follow guidelines and rules, and RS Supplies makes sure that all necessary equipment is present in the office, such as ergonomic keyboards, mice, and VDU’s. Socially, and morally, the usage of the workstations is closely monitored, so that there is no misuse of the facilities, such as the internet.
RSI
This is a term used to describe a variety of disorders affecting the shoulders, neck, and stiffness of limbs, as a result of using computers. Therefore, the company ensures that employees take regular breaks from their work and the company also arrange regular corporate activities which help to relax the employees, and improve employer-employee relationships.
INTERNET AND EMAIL USAGE
Since each user has their own ID, it is easy to track user activities such as
internet usage and e-mail messages. This is for security purposes so that if the internet or email is used fraudulently, it is easy to ascertain who the culprit was.
ILLEGAL CONDUCT AND MALPRACTICE
Any employee found to be conducting illegal business or activities will be dealt with and prosecuted. Any evidence required or found will be gathered and presented to the relevant authorities. The company consider malpractice and illegal conduct a very serious issue and endeavour to make sure all employees are aware of the consequences and procedures as a result of participating in any such activity.
EVALUATION
HISTORY, DESCRIPTION AND SERVICES
RS Supplies has been trading for a long time and has been very successful. The company is currently in the process of expansion, due to the growing client base however, I feel that RS Supplies isn’t a large enough organisation on which to write a detailed and comprehensive report. This is primarily due to the fact that the company has been operating steadily, and is currently expanding, therefore a period of two years is required after which the company will have more offices and locations internationally (this was told to me by the company director, Mr. john Parkes). However, the current size of the organisation is ideal to explain the present situation in terms of operating style, company ethics, and management, during the initial stage of expansion.
The current range and type of services is quite broad, which means that they have established themselves as specialists in their particular field (medical products). The range of services offered and the level of customer service given to all clients has resulted in RS Supplies having an unrivalled reputation amongst both clients and rival companies. The company director Mr. John Parkes informed me that a wide selection of products and customer service is a key principle which is the secret of the companies’ success.
Employer and employee relationship is another factor which the company as a whole feels very strongly about. Employee job satisfaction and morale is considered top priority at RS Supplies. Every opportunity is taken to keep the employees happy at work. This is dealt with as a double effort from the company director and the systems administrator, who arrange regular activities and trips, such as group holidays and outdoor/watersport activities. All employees are encouraged to discuss any problems they have, in confidence, with either the systems administrator or the company director.
This laissez-faire approach to work ensures that the employees and employers have a close working relationship, which results in a comfortable working environment. The company director however, fears that this will change dramatically as a result of expansion and could affect the companies’ current environment and structure, but this is a matter of debate which is to be considered at a later date.
TRAINING
Training is an integral part of RS Supplies operation and success and is taken very seriously which is why the company director invests greatly in this. Training takes place externally either at a specialist training centre or in the office and depends on the degree of training required. The training received is quite effective from what I have observed, as the employees meet all deadlines set, can co-operate efficiently with other employees and display a genuine enthusiasm for their work. All orders are dealt with professionally and all employees regularly give feedback on their work to the company director.
The employees also endeavour to enhance the company reputation and image, and have regular meetings with both the systems administrator and the company director in order to review whether any further training is required, so that effective maintenance can be observed.
SECURITY
Management of security is of paramount importance for the companies’ operations. A specialist security management firm was called in to advise and implement all areas of security, from staff security measures to data security. All employees were issued with user ID’s and password, swipe cards with different levels of access, and fingerprint scanners were installed on the workstations.
The Data Protection Act 1998 is closely followed, therefore all customer details and personnel details are encrypted and stored on the central server. This encryption process is used for all tasks which require a high degree of security. Access to this data is limited to only the systems administrator and the company director.
Anti-virus software is installed on all machines and care is taken when downloading files from the internet. If any data is lost or corrupted, the systems administrator calls upon the services of data recovery specialists.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Health & Safety is taken very seriously at RS Supplies. The company director makes it his duty to call in Health & Safety Inspectors regularly to ensure that all regulations are met, and that the employees are working in appropriate conditions. All employees are encouraged to speak to any of the senior staff (the company director or the systems administrator) if they have any problems regarding working conditions, after which all efforts are made to solve those problems.
After making various observations and interviews, I feel that at present, RS Supplies is a very organised and well-structured company that keeps the well-being of its employees at heart. The company director has a number of philosophies which he uses as a template to perform all company activities. These ensure that all operations and tasks are run smoothly and efficiently, resulting in maximum productivity, whilst also keeping employee morale at the highest levels possible. After speaking with the employees, I could feel that they were genuinely motivated and geared towards making the company a success, and that job satisfaction for every employee was very high. However, I did feel that the small size of the company would be a hindrance when I wrote this report, since I would not be able to make as much of an in-depth analysis of the procedures and objectives as that of other, more larger organisations. But an advantage was that everything was concise and made it easier to comprehend, as larger organisations would have various policies, longer procedures, greater emphasis on company worth and value etc. which could have made the report much longer than this one.
Ealing Tutorial College Favaz Pasha-Ansari
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