Applied ICT - Unit 2 Coursework


Contents

Evans Enterprises

1.0 Brief Background
Up until 2002 Elizabeth Evans worked in hotel management before resigning due to her family’s needs. In 2005 Elizabeth Evans decided she wanted to work but do this from being self employed. Elizabeth soon opened up her own business named Perfect Parties. Perfect Parties was an organisation that provided organisation and resources for children’s parties. Elizabeth’s business plan took a while to be developed as she didn’t own any premises suitable for the parties to be held on and became unsure that parents would want them carried out in their own homes.
Elizabeth’s local church appeared to be the best option for her to hold the parties so she rented out this location. Elizabeth Evans also began advertising her organisation in the local area through the use press, other business and posters in shop windows. Her advertising strategy began to show its worth and business started to increase. As the business increases Elizabeth provided more engaging party pieces such as clowns, games and magicians.
As time progressed and Elizabeth’s new founded business expanded she realised the church hall could no longer cater for the company as many problems occurred such as; Elizabeth having to cancel party arrangements on short notice due to double booking and tight schedules in the hall meaning little or no time to set up the hall, this all adds up to making the business look unprofessional and unorganised.
To fund the successfully growing business Elizabeth Evans needed a bank loan for rent and a start up grant for small businesses. With this money Elizabeth recruited 3 staff and purchased new premises that suit the needs of Perfect Parties. A permanent member of staff was recruited called Margaret as well as two part time employees; Peter Morgan and Julie Mitch, and a cleaner who only came in for 2 hours every day except for Sundays. With the new facilities Perfect Parties had its own telephone and fax number and also a computer system equipped with a printer.
Currently employees and customers had to fill the booking form in on a piece of paper which was not ideal as they were easily lost and did not contain any specific details. To make the task of booking a party with Perfect Parties much easier Elizabeth needs a way for customers to book online and for this information to be sent immediately to the company’s email where Elizabeth can easily access it through Microsoft Outlook.
With Elizabeth lacking knowledge and skills in computer systems she recorded everything in word documents and this led to poor organisation, confusion and mistakes. With the need to calculate and store averages of quantities for the size of parties for future reference and a good list of deliveries, suppliers and products this was not possible with her current approach.
The categorisation of a list of previously booked entertainers is required to make the parties easier to organise. The total all income and expenditure was recorded by Elizabeth in excels. A time sheet was located at reception and collected at the end of the week and had to be completed by the staff at perfect parties, this was recorded and analysed and so the staffs wages could be calculated by the number of hours they worked.
As the perfect patties being a success Elizabeth decided to develop a new idea for the company started fancy dress parties and murder mystery parties which got more attention from older children. Perfect parties provided the costumes printed off scripts and created characters for the children. Once more a list had to be maintained regarding the necessary items; suppliers, contacts, sizes, delivery and availability.
Peter and Julie were pointed full time as Elizabeth seen it was necessary for extra staff to be employed to keep up with the size of the company. Four more staff was employed as full time; Mark McKenna, Emma Davey, Susan Rogers and Brian Johnston and Margaret Bryce were appointed as manager of perfect parties with Peter as assistant manager. The catering was dealt with by Paula and her two assistants; Francis Burke and Louise McShane.
With Perfect Parties’ business booming Elizabeth felt it would be a worthwhile investment and a clever business strategy to develop another branch under Evans Enterprises. This new branch would specialise in the organisation of events and was named Exceptional Events. Elizabeth then purchased the property of which this new branch would be based. It was fitted out with three offices, a waiting area and was centred in the middle of town with a front window to bring in maximum profit. Exceptional Events now needed staff, Peter was appointed manager of Exceptional Events and three members of staff were employed at Exceptional Events location; Celia Boyd and client liaison (responsible for research), Rachel Devine (secretary) and Charlie Harries (charge of marketing). Staffs were rotated around branches by Elizabeth.
Exceptional events are completely different to perfect parties as staff are constantly communicating and inform with each other. On exceptional events first job was a conference for the city council. The conference was about environmental issues Elizabeth’s company had to cater for 100 attendees and was given a list of what the council wanted to make conference unique and a success with guests. The events was very profitable but also raised a lot of concern for Elizabeth as mistakes where nearly made. For example Elizabeth and peter fortunately booked the same hotel and a double booking was avoided.
The delegated list was not managed accurately as the secretary printed a masters list and all the participants had to return an acceptance slip to confirm attendance with details of special requirements. The secretary did not correctly record the responses and so more than five people turned up who weren’t on the list. The company managed to solve the problem.

As the business was thriving Elizabeth often forgot to record meeting arrangements and failed to attend them on several occasions. This was a problem with clients and staff so exception events developed an internal memo system for leaving massages at reception. Sometimes these where not received on time as staff was caught up else ware our just forgot.
Perfect parties and exceptional events where doing well a lot of problems were not being addressed. Perfect parties had administration and accounting issues and were growing also similar issues at exceptional events. The two companies also had a concern with the whole computer system. Elizabeth took advice from a firm of consultants and was sure that the company could afford to develop suitable resources to support their business function.
Elizabeth was also passionate about her new idea on wedding planning services and was exited at the prospect. The new branch wonderful weddings and knew it presented an exciting challenge for the future. Elizabeth came up with Evans enterprises but retain the branch names perfect parties, exceptional events and the new one wonderful wedding. 1.1 Current Status of the company
Evans Enterprises is a Hierarchal Structure. The current organisational structure, management and resources are not capable for the scale of Evans Enterprises. The Church Hall is unreliable to hold parties as it can be booked out on short notice, loosing Elizabeth business and giving her a bad reputation. Elizabeth’s communication between branches of Evans Enterprises is ineffective. She also needs to develop Evans Enterprises online, this will increase Evans Enterprises success greatly as it is easier for clients to book in, check times, contact the company and view all relevant information as well as grow people’s knowledge on her company. Evans Enterprises is also an SME, which stands for Small to Medium Size Enterprise. It is essential that Elizabeth organises how much and when employees are working so she can calculate the correct amount they are owed. She also needs to record all her meetings.

2.0 Types of Organisations
2.1 Multinational Companies
An enterprise that manages production or delivers a service to more than one country.
A company that provides jobs and delivers benefits to developing countries.
Examples: Nike, Adidas, McDonalds and Puma.

2.2 Financial Institutions
A Financial Institution provides financial services to its clients and members.
3 Major Types of Financial Institutions: Depositary Institutions, Contractual Institutions and Investment Institutes.
Examples: HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Alliance & Leicester.

2.3 Public Sector
Referred to as the State Sector or Government Sector.
Part of the state that deals with services by and for the government or its citizens.
Examples: Fire Service, Police Department and NHS.

2.4 Utilities
An economic term referring to the total satisfaction received from consuming a good or service.
A company that generates transmits and/or distributes electricity, water and/or gas from facilities that it owns and/or operates.
Examples: Water Service, Energy Suppliers.

2.5 Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SME)
SME are companies that personnel numbers fall below 15 or more employees, Evans Enterprises falls into this category.
SMEs have few branches and don’t cover a large geographical area.
Examples: Ban Barbers, Cost cuter and Super Fry.

3.0 How Information is communicated
How Information is communicated in Evans Enterprises is inadequate. The communication between employees and branches are not as efficient as they need to be and cause major problems within the company. Evans Enterprises are suffering unsatisfactory technical knowledge and equipment. They lack technical communication and reliance on verbal communication and their memory to remember vital business information is not an ideal situation for this company
4.0 Main Types of Organisation
4.1 Hierarchical Organisational Structure
Each level is one above the other; employees are ranked at various levels within the organisations. One person has a number of workers directly under them, within their span of control.

4.2 Matrix Organisational Structure
A type of organizational management in which people with similar skills are pooled for work assignments. Each employee may have to work under several managers to get their job done.

4.3 Flat Organisational Structure
Refers to an organizational structure with few or no levels of intervening management between staff and managers. His idea is that well-trained workers will be more productive when they are more directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely supervised by many layers of management.

Evans Enterprises currently has the Hierarchal Organisational Structure. They are currently using it because it is the most effective to them.

5.0 Types of Management
There are 3 levels of management in an organisation, they are:

Strategic Management
Tactical Management
Operational Management

5.1 Strategic Management
This is the highest level of management and makes decisions concerning the overall objectives, expectations and what business the organisation should be in. A main role the strategic management take care of is the long term expectations, usually 2-3 years but this can differ. The strategic management are the highest in authority and are comprised of chief executives, M.D and senior managers etc.

Below are some of the decisions the strategic management are faced with and what they need to discuss when it comes to making each of these decisions. This make the management think about events in a long time scale, up to 5 years.
Structure of the organisation?
The organisational structure of both past and present of Evans Enterprises should be well documented and reviewed so that the managers can review and discuss weather changes to the hierarchical structure could benefit and increase effectiveness with the business and how these changes could be applied.
Expanding the organisation?
How Evans Enterprises will expand within the next 5-10 years and each individual branch.
Purchase other/large property?
How much each branches premises cost including heating, rates and lighting so they can compared with possible expenses when expanding the facilities.

5.2 Tactical Management
This is the intermediate level of management and has significantly less authority than the strategic management. The tactical management involves makes decisions on how to carry out the objectives actuated by the strategically management expectations and what business the organisation should be in. The tactical management also have to determine what has to be completed in that year to make sure the strategically managements’ plans are achieved.
Below are some of the decisions the tactical management are faced with and what they need to discuss when it comes to making each of these decisions. These make the management think about what will happen within the organisation in the next 5 years.

Investment to meet long term strategy?
Should Evans Enterprises request a business loan to accomplish objectives set out by the strategic management if the business lacks funds to complete them?
Current products the organisation should stop producing?
If there are particular activities or food options not being chosen and wasting money on equipment or ingredients then should the continuation of these options be discontinued to save money, effort and time?
Training for staff to meet long term goals?
Will the Evans Enterprises staff in each branch be able to complete the midterm goals, if not should they be trained to accomplish these objectives and what courses are available for them to enrol in.
New options should be added to party events?
Should new games or food options be considered for possible options on the party to offer on the booking form.

5.3 Operational Management
The Operational management’s role within a company is to deal with the management of products, design, services, supply chains and processes. The organisational management is the lowest in authority and is needed to carry out the daily work, determined by the tactical managements’ decisions. The operational management needs to control its activities so that resources are not wasted and constantly monitor its own performance.
Below are some of the decisions the operational management are faced with and what they need to discuss when it comes to making each of these decisions. These decisions are for managing the organisation for the next 6 to 12 months.
What measure can be taken in the short term to ensure that production is not affected if production employees are sick?
How long are the employees going to be off work for and who are these employees.
What raw materials are needed today?
What is going to be produced today? Have raw materials been moved to the production area?
Can we organise ourselves differently and speed up operations?
A floor plan and production flow information looking at how the goods move through the production line

6.0 Resources
6.1 Human Resources
The management of people in an organisation is controlled by human resources. The Human Resources, also known as the HR, is also in control of any people related issues within the organisation.
Currently Evans Enterprises have 14 members of staff including Elizabeth Evans.
In Evans Enterprises the role of Human Resources is currently undertaken by Elizabeth who also holds down the job of CEO. This has only been possible because of the small scale of Elizabeth’s organisation. With Elizabeth’s plans of expanding and developing Evans Enterprises she will need to have more control over human resources, to do this she will need to recruit a human resource manager. Although Elizabeth will be spending money on a Human Resource Manager the new recruit will be able to save Elizabeth a lot of money as well as improve the overall quality and smoothness of the organisation.
If Elizabeth Evans employed a Human Resource Manager she would benefit from the factors below:
Managing the recruitment of employees that are suitable for their role in the organisation
Getting current staffs the required training to complete given tasks
Attaining positive employee relations and welfare
Ensure the employees are working in a safe environment
Making the employees aware of the current workplace legislation

6.2 Physical Resources
The management of buildings and premises such as; maintenance, refurbishment and security are controlled by the Physical Resources. The physical resources are also in charge of the management of many other things such as machinery, equipment, materials and stock.
Once again the role of Physical Resources has been carried out by Elizabeth and if she wishes to expand and develop her company she will need to employ a Physical Resources Manager.
If Elizabeth Evans employed a Physical Resource Manager she would benefit from the factors below:
Better management of stock and supplies so there is more financial flexibility for the company to develop
Physical resources help tackle key issues in an organisation like obsolescence, damage and reduced waste
Facilities and office spaces are used to be more beneficial and efficient
Relationships with entertainers, suppliers and parents improve
More responsibility is given to workers and in turn they become more motivated

6.3 Financial Resources
Financial resources concern the ability of the business to "finance" its chosen strategy. For example, a strategy that requires significant investment in new products, distribution channels, production capacity and working capital will place great strain on the business finances. Such a strategy needs to be very carefully managed from a finance point-of-view.
If Elizabeth Evans employed a Financial Resource Manager she would benefit from the factors below:
More effective use of money
More in depth knowledge of financial capabilities with management levels
Less wasted money

7.0 Types of communication
7.1 Internal Communication
Internal communication is information that circulates with the business between the staff, this mainly takes the form on verbal communication as they are based in the one location but may also take the form of written and electronic if circumstances permit.
7.2 External Communication
External communication is information that takes place between the company and non employees such as suppliers, entertainers and customers; this will mainly be communicated by electronic communication such as emails, phone calls and faxes.

7.3 Written Communication
As time progresses communication through the use of paper is quickly declining and technology is taking over, however it is still necessary in some instances. The individual is presented with something physical to look at and refer to. Advertising by posters and flyers are still effective and will most likely be read or noticed if they are handed to the audience directly because people will be curious to what exactly they now hold, in contrast people could easily scroll by a advert on the side of a page and not have noticed it.

Advantages
Written Communication is more formal and unique than speech.
Writing is also more reliable and valid than speech; it helps to state principles, rules and policies more clearly.
Written communication is more precise and explicit, is can be looked over for mistakes before finalising and can stop misspelling that can make companies look unprofessional.
Disadvantages
Written communication takes up resources, manpower and money, this is a serious issue with companies as they need to communicate effectively but keep cost to a low.
Written Communication is time consuming and feedback is not always immediate, this is also a major setback to companies because they might be sending letters long distances which take time and a response will not be spontaneous.

7.4 Verbal Communication
Verbal is the most used type of communication in an organisation. Quick response and instantaneous replies are benefits but some people lack verbal communication skills and other methods become more suitable.

Advantages
With verbal communication you can receive an immediate response; this is particularly effective as companies can operate more efficiently if they are not waiting long periods of time for vital feedback and information.
Using verbal communicate gives you the opportunity to take advantage of non-verbal cues such as body language and tone.
Verbal communication also gives you the opportunity to see if your message was understood fully, and if not, explain what you meant.

Disadvantages
There are hundreds of languages, if the person you are communicating with cannot speak your language, you will need to employ a translator which takes time and money.
Miscommunication can sometimes occur, this is when someone sayings something and means something different from what the listener heard, this is a problem when it comes to businesses’ as it causes problems between companies later down the line.

7.5 Electronic Communication
Not only has technology evolved over the years and is now used every day in the home; it is also used in business for communication purposes and is now almost impossible to operate a business without it. Information is now able to send to a global audience in seconds with the click of a button. Live video conferences are now a common occurrence with businesses of all sizes and save travel, accommodation expenses and time.

Advantages
Electronic communication lets you communicate more effectively with the use of various
Programmes such as the Microsoft Office Package.
Programmes like PowerPoint let you add transitions, graphics and sound/video, this can result in a far more meaningful presentation making it easier to take in important date or large amounts of information.
The use of the World Wide Web can allow you to hold online conferences and meetings from all over the globe, as well as being able to send charts, graphs and other useful data.
The use of the internet lets you simultaneously translate what other people are saying making communicating with other people of various languages much easier.

Disadvantages
People are able to hack and steal information from you if you do not you protect you pc with adequate programmes.
There are chances that a private email you send to someone could be read or tampered with before it reaches the intended individual.
At times people can intentionally send malicious programmes via email, such as key loggers which are used to gather information to attack you or your company.
If documents are not backed up they can get lost forever if the computer’s hard drive fails and stops working, so it is essential that companies back up everything they need in multiple locations

7.6 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Electronic data interchange is the sending and receiving of information various formats between organizations through the use of electronic means. It is used to transfer documents and business data from one computer system to another. Companies may use EDI to safely and securely send and receive important business information. This can benefit business greatly as they can share these documents and conversations from all over the world, quickly and effectively. These documents and conversations are secure and protect by encryptions. The use of EDI can strengthen company relationships, receive faster response times and reduced errors.

7.7 E- Commerce
E-Commerce, also known as Electronic Commerce is the sales and purchases of products and services over electronic services such as internet and computer networks. E-Commerce draws on technology such as EDI, electronic funds transfer and online transaction processing. E-Commerce is particularly effective as it enables sales and purchases to be made by overcoming geographical limitations. E-Commerce also significantly helps business’ function by cutting costs e.g. Flights and Accommodation; e-comm also allows products to be located quicker and easier. Another function that supports business functions are that they can operate 24/7, provide comparison shopping, use group buying, coupons and deals and finally target specific audiences with the use of cookies to access information about certain individuals.

8.0 Type of Information
Four examples of the types of information currently circulating within the company would be Memo, Booking Form, Time Sheet and a Sign-In Sheet. They are listed below.

8.1 Time Sheet
The time sheet was the first type of information that circulated within Evans Enterprises. It is used by the employer to determine payroll to calculate the number of hours each staff member worked and also to work out the wages due. This was recorded in a Word Document and was particularly inefficient when employees were going to the party’s destination before arriving at the Perfect Parties premises. This was a time wasting exercise as the time sheet was located at the Perfect Parties location which meant members weren’t filling in the time sheets. Time Sheets do not just gather information for the payroll but to record the start and end time of tasks, or just the duration.

In Evans Enterprises new time sheet, the company’s corporate logo and font including their distinguished colour scheme of green and orange are positioned at the very top of the page to ensure that they reader and clearly see what they are filling out and to make the company look professional and gain recognition with the simple graphics. Below the companies branding designed by myself, is the relevant information to be filled out by the employee. This is to keep an up to date record of available ways to contact and/or communicate to do with any relevant issues or information that may regard them.
A Time Sheet should include relevant contact information that the member of staff can fill out so the manager can keep updated on ways and methods to contact the employee if they didn’t turn up for work or were urgently needed. Underneath the contact information should be the actual table for recording when the members have completed tasks and how long it took them

8.2 Sign in Sheet
The sign in sheet was also a type of information that circulated within Evans Enterprises. This was used to record when employees sign in so the employer could track when their members of staff attended work to know how many staff were available and when. This was recorded on a sheet of paper at the perfect party’s premises and like the time sheet, this was wasting time and the members were driving to the destination of the parties so this was inefficient and was not being filled in.

Sign in sheets are particularly effective as this organises the business and keeps the manager’s knowledge of whose working up to date. The sign in sheet should be available to be accessed through the use of electronic communication. Members of staff should be able to access the sign in sheet from their phone or computer so this can be filled in on a daily basis.
8.3 Booking Form
The booking form is another example of information currently circulating within Evans Enterprises. The booking forms are for customers to fill in when booking a party with Perfect Parties. This form should have an in depth group of options so the customer can have the party exactly how they want it. The booking form starts off with a Booking Number. This is so that Perfect Parties can keep track of the Party and order the anything the party requires and prepare catering needs. Below that are the contact details so Perfect Parties staff can contact the customers about any news, delays or finer details. This is recorded in a word document and is ineffective as they have to manually change each detail which is time consuming and less accurate than the likes of Microsoft Access.
Evans Enterprises Company branding such as logo, text and colour scheme has been created and remains continuous at the top of each document to create a professional and instantly recognisable company.

Evans Enterprises new booking form lets the customer customise their party to their liking making Evans Enterprises a favoured party organiser over their competitors. This booking form is extremely user friendly, tick boxes have been included to add efficiency, and sections have used to keep all like information together. A similar type of form will be designed for the website as the drop down menus and tick boxes are much easier to use than the typical boxes to fill out making the form quicker to fill out and complete, giving Evans Enterprise more time to prepare and organise the Parties. Also this form has been created so it is compatible with websites to again make it easier to fill out and complete.
8.4 Memo
This was used to document what meetings Elizabeth had to attend and was held in the main office. The new memo is a lot more efficient as it has what needs filled out clearly displayed in italics, also the contact information is located at the top and is centred so it is easily visible.

Like the other documents, Evans Enterprises Company branding such as logo, text and colour scheme has been created and remains continuous at the top of each document to create a professional and instantly recognisable company.

9.0 Current Problems
9.1 No Website
Nowadays is just assumed by the general public that businesses and organisations have a website and when you don’t it is a typical opinion of the public to think the company isn't very professional and don’t care about their service. The website will need to be highly linked and referred to within the social media sites to insure there is a constant and increasing flow of traffic to the site. Not having a website in this day and age is limiting the growth of your company and limits its potential. Services, testimonials, skills and prices are just some of the things that you can display on your website that will make any potential customer want to have their party, wedding or event organised by you.
With the creation of a website payments and transactions would able to take place via the website, this would make the whole process of party booking a breeze for the customer resulting in better publicity and faithful customers. The initial start up of the website would cost Elizabeth a lot, and even more if she is to have transactions to take place as security measures and high encryptions are a necessity, but over time this would most definitely be a worth while investment.

9.2 Documents not being filled in properly
The written communication in Evans Enterprises is a huge problem that for such a small issue causes a lot of problems. The use of the new electronic methods makes this a lot easier because it is stored electronically they can

There seems to be flaws in communication inside Perfect Parties as vital information is often not recorded or passed from individual to individual. This lack of, or breakdown in communication is not satisfactory for a professional business such as Perfect Parties. Therefore the problems needs to be corrected and ironed out as soon as possible as communication is the key to a well-run and functioning business. A lack of communication could have huge impacts on the business. It will create much more work for staff, not to mention hassle for the customers. If information is not communicated bookings and/or orders may not be processed. This in turn could result in the loss of business as customers my not be satisfied with how they are being treated. A major problem with regard to communication is that Elizabeth often relies on her memory, which means that if something where to happen to her that she was unable to attend work, members of staff would not be aware bookings and orders. The staff would be affected not to mention the staff. Elizabeth needs to record and document information instead of relying on her memory, as information can be forgotten and sometimes passed on to those whom it affects. Elizabeth needs to set up an email system, which will allow information to passed on to multiple individuals, event those who are not present. This will confirm if information is sent or not, and be accessed at an time. Often memos are lost or not seen, whereas emails are stored electronically meaning there is less chance of information being missed, or lost. Another form of communication which is less expensive would be an Intranet System, which allow staff to communicate safely between one another, without the rise of information being leaked, or accessed by unauthorized personnel.

9.3 Lack of ICT knowledge
9.4 Lack of ICT equipment

10.0 Types of Networks
There are two types of networks, WAN (Wide Area Network) and LAN (Local Area Network). WAN Networks will cover vast distances from a town to even globally. LAN Networks will span areas such as buildings and homes. A network is an essential upgrade for Evans Enterprises in their new premises. I am recommending that Elizabeth has a LAN network set up with the topology of a Star Network. A Star Network in Evans Enterprises would be beneficial as it would enable Internal and External electronic communication. Evans Enterprises staff would be able to communicate with suppliers, entertainers and customers through the internet and would enable resource sharing, for example printers, files and applications. Evans Enterprises would be able to store all their data, drivers and applications on a wireless hard drive, this would increase and maintain consistent speeds on the machines they use as they are not being overloaded on data and Elizabeth and other staff would be able to access this withy suitable privileges.
There are 3 LAN topologies;
Bus
Ring
Star

10.1 Bus Network
A Bus Network Topology is a Network Structure in a LAN or Local Area Network which a set of clients are connected through a main cable or link called the bus.

A Bus network is the simplest way to connect multiple clients, it is simple and reliable. Bus networks are easy to expand and additional nodes can be added anywhere along the bus. However there a few limitations to a bus network, one being that the length of the bus are limited. Also, a bus network will not work well if the nodes are scattered in various locations or do not lie near a common line.

10.2 Ring Network
When a local-area network, abbreviated to LAN, has a topology is known as a Ring Network. The formation of the LAN is displayed below and each node is connected to two other nodes inside a closed loop. The connection between each node is connected via wires.

If a node fails or a break occurs between the connections of one node to another, this might isolate every other node in the ring network. Also data travels around the network in one direction

10.3 Star Network
In a star typology all the devices/components are connected to a router, hub or switch, but all are called a “Hub”. It is said there is a point to point-to-point connection between the “Hub” and that every node is indirectly connected to each other. With a Star typology, because all the components or devices are connected to a central hub if any number of devices/components breaks down the remainder will still be fully functional, but if the Hub fails to work, then all components and devices are unable to connect together and use the network.

Many modern Star networks have the ability to support wireless as well as wired connections to the Hub. This means that devices do not need long Ethernet cables and there are more free ports in the device.
The star network is the most ideal network topology for Evans Enterprises as it is the most reliable and for the size of the premises it should reach all corners of the business through wireless. The star network is also very reliable and staff can opt for Ethernet if they feel the need too. Staff can connect to the businesses network on mobile phones and tablets if circumstances permit where as they could not on other network topologies.

11.0 M I S
11.1 What is MIS?
MIS stands for Management Information Systems.
MIS is the study of information obtained and gathered by the organisation to support and aid in the decisions made by the operational, tactical, and strategic managements. The routines, procedures and process‘s are executed and designed so that they can
Its objective is to design and implement procedures, processes, and routines that provide suitably detailed reports in an accurate, consistent, and timely manner.
Advantages
Information overload is minimized.
Information being collected, observing the organisations operations and activities and working among the employees are all factors that MIS has to be able to manage and is designed around.
Disadvantages
Depending on organization deployment, usage and extraneous factors, some disadvantages related to Management Information Systems can come to the fore.

There are 3 main components within an MIS.
Technology
People
Data/Information

11.2 How MIS can help Evans Enterprises

11.3 Strategic
The strategic level of management as previously stated is the highest level of management within the organisation. The strategic management in Evans Enterprise would be Elizabeth Evans herself and would use MIS to provide summary data such as booking and profit trends.

11.4 Tactical
The tactical management level in Evans Enterprises is Peter Morgan and Margaret Bryce, the use of Management Information Systems in their job will help them prepare for possible high demands in their services or type of service at a certain point every year by spotting trends in business data, for example, MIS could spot that in the months of May – August the majority of birthdays were located and the activity of rounder’s was requested 90% of the time, this means they can purchase more supplies for outdoor activities than indoor so they save money and that supplies aren’t short when needed and plentiful when not.. Another example would be making one member of staff work full time in a peek season and not working when requests are low or shifting the employee’s hours to reflect the typical hour’s party’s are booked for.

11.5 Operational
The final level of management in Evans Enterprises is the Operational Management and in Evans Enterprises this role is fulfilled by Julie Mitchell and Paula Morison. Operational Management’s actives are dependent on the analysis of information to facilitate strategic decisions. With the use of Management Information Systems their job is not only made easier but their decisions are a lot less risky and dangerous to the company’s future. Decisions made by the operational management are dependent on accurate and in depth data which is exactly what MIS provides.
A main reason organisations may choose to utilise Management Information Systems is because it can easily recognise a company’s strengths and weaknesses. This is done through documents such as staff performance reports and revenue reports. The incorporation of MIS in Evans Enterprises would provide the management with relevant information regarding a more smooth and efficient business such as the hours worked by the staff and the type and number of bookings in a month.
Armed with this information the Evans Enterprises management would be able to make decisions such as staff hours, adjusting prices, and other aspects to attain the greatest revenue. For example, the managers would be able to reduce the number of staff working on a Mondays if the MIS reports showed that there were fewer bookings being made for Mondays. Customer feedback can also be incorporated into the company so that organisation can develop around their customers needs by having a form on a possible future website or social networking account.

12.0 Legal Issues within Evans Enterprises
12.1 Data Protection Act
The UK law on identifiable living people’s data is defined by United Kingdom Act of Parliament. This Act is the primary statutory law that administrates personal data protection in the UK. Domestic use of personal data such as address books and phone contacts does not come into affect with this act. With the introduction and maintenance of this act individuals now have the option to control information about them.
This act’s objective is to do the following:
Keep individuals and company’s information secure
Have this information processed with the law
Make sure information isn’t transferred to country’s that do no have sufficient protection for the information
To make sure data is kept to a minimum, and no irrelevant data is gathered
Have information deleted when it is no longer needed
Kept up to date
Gathered and used for purposes that a legal
Respect of the individuals rights of their information

This act is extremely important and relevant to Evans Enterprises as they will be obtaining a lot of information and need to make sure this act is obeyed and all information is used for legal purposes. Evans Enterprises will need to be able to store this information with out any risk of individuals not apart of the business getting hold or access to the data whether good or bad intentions.
12.2 Computer Misuse Act
The computer misuse act is an act made in place by the United Kingdom parliament to stop criminal activities on computer systems. This act forbids the following:
Access to computer data without permission
Access to a computer system without permission to cater for future illegal activity
Reckless attempts to sabotage, harm or manipulate the performance or functioning state of a computer system
The supplementation, production or attainment of items for use in illegal activity that fall under section 1 or 3
The computer misuse act needs to be addressed in Evans Enterprises to make sure the employees blindly commit illegal activity. Elizabeth needs to prevent the duplication of software when purchased for sale or installation of software on multiple computer systems without the required licence keys.

The computer misuse act can also help Evans Enterprises, for example it protects the organisation from threats from anonymous hackers. These hackers have the potential to target business’ such as Evans Enterprises with harmful technology such as virus programmes wrote by the hackers with the intent to damage, Trojans which are programmes used to install other programmes which let the hacker gain access to the computer system, Worms which is another programme but has the objective of slowing down networks, Spy wares such as Key loggers which record the keystrokes from the keyboard, Ad wares that deliver adverts to your computer and finally Malwares that carry out malicious tasks such as spying, corruption and logging.

12.3 Health and Safety
In 1974 the Health and Safety at Work Act, also known as HSWA came into play. This legislation’s primary aim was to cover occupational health and safety within Great Britain. It is essential that this act is obeyed within Evans Enterprises; this act does not only concern Evans Enterprises’ employees but their customers as well.
Evans enterprises now have more than 5 employees, this means that they must have a health and safety policy written and fully implemented. There is also an onus on each employee to ensure their own heath and safety as well as those visiting the premises e.g. it is against the law to smoke in the work place. Finally food provided by Evans Enterprises must be verified that it is safe by the food standards agency and that when this food is cooked it is not undercooked and is not at any risk to the customers.
Perfect Parties branch predominantly work with children and need to make sure there is a strong sense of security employed. For a start any equipment or faculties need to be checked for hazards and cleanliness. Items such as Bouncy castles and soft play areas need to be check to make sure they are suitable and there is no risk of injury to the user for example, children must not be able to fit their heads through netting in play areas, ball pools should not be very deep to avoid potential suffocation. As well as equipment Evans Enterprises need to have sufficient legitimate information on any personnel that has access to the children while under super vision of Evans Enterprises such as entertainers. Vetting will need to be carried out upon all these individuals, this means they will need to be verified by the authorities via a background check to make sure they have not previously been involved with illegal activity. Tricks and stunts performed by the entertainers need to be assessed before the party to make sure there is no potential risk of injury or even death to any of the children, staff or performer.

12.4 Copyright
The primary Copyright Law is called the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. This law essentially prevents the use of Pirated Software and also the distribution or use of music, video and software without paying for it or getting permission. Copyright laws need to be acknowledged by Elizabeth and the rest of the employees at Evans Enterprise to avoid illegal activity. As Elizabeth Evans currently uses software such as word processor and email this topic has to potential to damage the company if she does not comply with the law. Effects of Copyright laws that need to be prevented and may be of concern to Evans Enterprise in terms of software are:

Lending copies of the software to friends
Duplication of the software
Installation of this software over a network
Borrowing the software from a friend or a stranger

Evans Enterprises will be in breach of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 if they install more software than they have licenses for, this is an easy mistake to make and isn’t usually thought of as breaking the law as peoples opinions steer towards when they purchase the software via disk or download, they have the right to do whatever they want with it. This is invalid. If say Evans Enterprises buy a copy Microsoft Office 2010 that only supplies one license key and only permits it to be used for the program to be installed on one computer then installing this disc with the same license key you are committing a crime. To avoid this Evans Enterprise’s staff should be educated in some depth with the knowledge about relative criminal crimes that could affect the staff in terms of computer systems.
13.0 Evaluation
Now that I have completed my report I can asses how successfully I have been in completing the task and will evaluate the outcome. Equipment used by Evans Enterprises was also used by Elizabeth’s family to the time she had to use the faculties were limited.
Even when the business started to develop more they did incorporate more ICT use into the company but the staff lacked the computer knowledge to use the software and applications to an effective standard and therefore was not beneficial to the company.
Another issue was the information flow within the organisation. Employees were not recording and passing information on to the right people and on time due to a lack of organisational skills. Re-contacting and looking for information on customers wasted a lot of time that could have been used doing more important tasks.
These problems need to be solved and with this report Elizabeth can do that with precise instructions located above.

13.1 Network
Both branches and the future branches need to be able to communicate simply and quickly while being able to send information such as graphs and databases while keeping a satisfactory level of security. A LAN network will make this possible and checks all their boxes.

13.2 MIS
The management levels within Evans Enterprises rely on accurate statistics and data to make crucial business strategies that determine the success of the company, MIS provides the management levels with this information and would severely help the company develop.

13.3 Emails
Email services are an essential feature within a developing business such as Evans Enterprises and let customers and employees alike contact and communicate with Evans Enterprises staff. Emails are also a efficient service when it comes to contacting suppliers and entertainers as it is quick, easy and direct.

13.4 Websites
Nowadays is just assumed by the general public that businesses and organisations have a website and when you don’t it is a typical opinion of the public to think the company isn't very professional and don’t care about their service. The website will need to be highly linked and referred to within the social media sites to insure there is a constant and increasing flow of traffic to the site. On the website Evans Enterprises can display contact details, opening times, location and just share information about why parents should choose their company, this will save time as they won’t have to send out dozens of emails to customers asking questions as the answers will be located on the website.

13.5 Online Documents
Online documents such as booking forms can reduce hassle with handling paperback versions and make life so much easier as well as being environmentally friendly.

13.6 Booking Form
Customers will be able to book their parties online, this will make it easier for Evans Enterprises to manage the party bookings and they won’t lose the bookings. Customers will find it easier and more efficient to book their party over the internet as it is less time consuming and they can do it from the comfort t of their home.

13.7 Feedback Form
Feedback is quick and easy to obtain from customers with a simple form to collect the information from on the website. With this feature Evans Enterprises will be able to make changes within their company to suit the needs of the customers by listening to their opinions.

13.8 My performance
Personally the most challenging aspect to my performance was creating the online forms as the web development software I used to a long time produce the form due to its lengthy option menus and bad interface. The part I thought I performed best in was designing and producing the logo for Evans Enterprises as I have a lot of skill when it comes to graphic design.
13.9 Strengths of my performance
Presentation – I was able to maintain the company’s corporate colour scheme through out all the documents with their company’s logo. I also maintained the same typeface of the company in all documents with clear use of bold, italic, paragraphs and text colours.
Layout – I made full use of white space in all the documents to make them visually appealing to customers and easy to read. I was also able to break up bodies of text to make the documents not look like a cluster of text.
Thoroughness – I personally feel I included all the necessary and required information to make my report of a high standard but made sure not be repetitive and include irrelevant information.

13.10 Weaknesses of my performance
MIS was defiantly an area where I personally felt I didn’t produce my expected level of work as I didn’t know much about it and was struggling to write in-depth and relevant information.
I thought my work could have been a lot longer and talked about a lot more as well as mentioning the relevance of the give subject to Evans Enterprises.
13.11 Improvements which I could make
Time management – I would try to manage my time more effectively. I felt in this task I was very rushed, and could have done better with more time. I would give myself more time by dividing it into sections.

13.12 What I have learnt
I learnt about different management types and organisational structures as I had never come into contact with the names and had never previously come into contact with these words before.
I know have more knowledge on how to use SharePoint, as I did with my online forms. I found it difficult to begin with but definitely expanded my knowledge in the end.
I definitely have learnt a lot about legal issues such as Copyright, Data Protection act 1998, Computer misuse and Health and safety at work act 1974