Management Information System 201 0 Abstract
Telecommunication sector around the world is going through a process of rapid change due to convergence of advance Information Technology (IT), mobile telephony, Internet, e-commerce and value added services. PTCL is the prime telecom service provider in Pakistan. We choose this company because it is one of the pioneer company and largest company in telecom sector in Pakistan as it is the largest company that’s why we wanted to know which information system they are using to successfully control operations on such a massive scale. Our sole purpose is to analyze their Information systems. After our detailed analysis via different source and from visits of PTCL Company we have come to know that PTCL is using four types of information systems, which are Computerized Fault Management System B&CC (Business and Customer Care System) Partial Office Automation System Human Resource Management Information System Every system has its own advantage of using but B&CC controlled the major network of PTCL. Although PTCL is using these kinds of systems but most of employees of PTCL does not know about the Management Information System. So there is need to realize the importance of management information system in employees.
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Management Information System 201 0
Table of Contents
1
Introduction of Company
3-4
2
Purpose of Project
5
3
Information System
6-
13
4
Conclusion
13
5
Recommendation
14
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Management Information System 201 0
6
Part Two
15-18
7
References
19
Introduction Background 1947-1962 is the era of development of Posts and Telegraph department and in this era PTCL becomes the major player of telecommunication sector in Pakistan, which is run by the Government, and in 1991 Government announced to privatize the PTCL. In 1995 PTCL recognized as the backbone of Telecom industry in the Pakistan. With the advancement of technology PTCL launched its mobile data services by name of UFONE. In the middle of 2005 company decided to sell its 26% share to the private agency. By this privatization certain changes involved in PTCL, which are as, follow VSS (Voluntary Separation Schemes for its Employees) Use of different operational and customer care softwares like ERP, SAP, B&CC 3 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Change in Logo of PTCL After privatization their main focus is on productivity and customer satisfaction. Currently PTCL is involved in following operations `Voice and Communication Broadband IPTV Services Vfone Pak internet Exchange Satellite Communication There are seven different types of switching technologies currently operated in PTCL network, which are Alcatel Siemens NEC Erricsson Hawaii J.S Telecom ZTE
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Management Information System 201 0 With these technologies PTCL running its e network and providing different communication facilities to its customers. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued 25 years licensed to PTCL for telecom services all over in Pakistan. PTCL is the largest telecommunication industry in Pakistan. PTCL is all set to redefine the established boundaries of the telecommunication market and is shifting the productivity frontier to new heights. Vision of PTCL is “To be the leading Information and Communication Technology Service Provider in the region by achieving customer satisfaction and maximizing shareholders value” Mission of PTCL is to achieve our vision by having: •
An organizational environment that fosters professionalism, motivation and quality
•
An environment that is cost effective and quality conscious
•
Services that are based on the most optimum technology
•
"Quality" and "Time" conscious customer service
•
Sustained growth in earnings and profitability
Purpose Communication is very important for human because it is the process of sharing knowledge, ideas, thoughts and experience. For this purpose 5 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Telecommunication plays a vital role not only in communication but also in economic development. Due to emergence of Information technology there is rapid change in telecommunication sector. In today’s world managers can’t ignore the role of IT in business because all the
worldwide
organization
connected
with
its
stakeholders
via
IT
infrastructure and every business today wants to elaborate itself with new face of IT technology. MIS plays a very important role in the telecommunication sector. Information systems are part of organizations. Indeed, for some companies, such as Pakistan telecommunication, without the system there will be no business. In order to analyze these systems and provide recommendations for further improvement we need to study and understand the current Management Information System
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Management Information System 201 0
Information Systems In organization different kind of levels are involved in management, there are different information systems at different level of organization. One information system cannot provide all the information that’s why all departments coordinated with each other and jointly made a management information system for whole organization. Following are the information systems involved in PTCL. OLD Telegraph System Computerized Fault Management System B&CC (Business and Customer Care System) Partial Office Automation System Human Resource Management Information System . PTCL is divided into two stages (1) strategic, management, knowledge and operational level (2) functional areas such as sales and marketing, manufacturing finance, accounting and human resource
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Management Information System 201 0 Old Telegraph System Old Telegraph system has been terminated by the PTCL now because of various recommendations. PTCL is improving and modernizing the system to meet the requirements of the 21st century because in delivering Telegrams by post it takes three to four days.
Computerized Fault Management System CFMS stand for Computerized Fault Management System, which is used at operational level in PTCL. This system of PTCL helped in improving the network & is being used to register & rectify Land Line Faults in a computerized way. This fault management system contains activating notification software that allows a human to take proper intervention. This system was working in few cities but now it is available all over Pakistan. In this system when customer calls to PTCL at 1218 for complaints it registers there complaint and then this system track the faults and complaints for a particular user and sent notification alert for solutionthensystem itself calls back to the customer to know whether the customer problem has been solved and has the customer been satisfied or not.
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Management Information System 201 0
Advantages of Computerized Fault Management System Following are the advantages of using computerized Fault management System.
Provide Costumer’s feedback to top management regarding their problems. Track the faults and complaints. Focus on Customer Satisfaction. Help Managers to understand difficulties of customers regarding problem solutions. 9 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 When a problem of a customer is not solved then a message is sent on the mobile of senior management by system.
Disadvantage of Computerized Fault Management System Following are the disadvantages of this system that we found during our analysis. Security Threats because there is no proper security available for this system. No immediate backup for failure of this system This system is not able to automatically take action, either launching a program or script to take corrective action.
B&CC System (Business and Customer Care System) The whole network of PTCL only one software name B&CC (Business & customer care System) is used and which is cost approximately 3 Arab rupees. This system is operated at all three levels of PTCL, which are operational, Middle level, Top Management. This system includes the following functions 10 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Franchise and Payphone Management Costumer Information Product Information Sales Management Order Entry Order Management Resource Management Every employee in PTCL has an access to this software but options are limited according to the authority of each employee. For example if an operational level login his username and password then the options regarding his job appear on screen and if top manager login his username and password then the options for his purpose appear on the screen. The decision to grant installment in the bill to customer is made by lower level supervisors according to predefined criteria.
Franchise and Payphone Management and Costumer Information These two functions involve bill payment and customer account information. PTCL employees just hit the phone number of customer and all the detail regarding billing and accounts appear on the screen. These functions include the following things Costumer Name Customer Address CNIC 11 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Payment Code Payment Name Payment Mode Payment Type
Product Information Product information involves the details about the product, which has been used by the customer. For example it tells either a customer has used a PTSN or any other differentiated product. It has tabs of Product code, Product type, Product Status and Bill Status.
Sales Management Sales management function of B&CC tells about the daily sales transactions and track elementary activities and transactions of the organization. It includes sales dialogs, customer experience about the sales and sales information about walk-in queries and existing customers.
Order Entry and Order Management These two functions include the details about new order and any change in existing packages. Its process depends upon three phases Accepting (New Orders or New Package) Handling (Processing) Completed (Completion of Process)
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Management Information System 201 0 Resource Management Resource Manager involves the computerize tracking of receipts, cash, deposits, payroll and store information for their materials like cables,
telephone sets etc.
Advantages of B&CC B&CC used for all three levels of Management which made it a sole information system of the Organization Immediately can track the data about the customer, which made billing and other process quiet easy. Describe about the new orders and packages conversation of customer to their respective department.
Purpose of B&CC is to control, monitor and manage the entire PTCL network and to enhance and optimize Network Management through a transparent and centralized platform.
Increase network availability through Enhanced Quality of Service and centralized performance statistics and reporting mechanism. 13 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 It provides the description about the resource used by organization and help managers to managing the resources.
Disadvantages of B&CC System Following are the disadvantages of B&CC, which we have found during our analysis. Much complicated software for operational level employees because these employees are not well educated and trained. Chances of Identity theft in this system. Breakdown of this system can be the breakdown of the whole network of PTCL.
Decision-making through this system is slow, which leads to the lack of productivity.
Difficulty for Top Managers to take decision via this system because it is not easy as compare to ESS or DSS.
Partial Office Automation System PTCL also implement partial office automation system, which is based on database. It includes only two following things Word Processor Desktop Publishing Office automation systems (OAS) are configurations of networked computer hardware and software. A variety of office automation systems are now applied to business and communication functions that used to be performed manually or in multiple locations of a company, such as preparing written communications and strategic planning. In addition to this, functions that once required coordinating the expertise of outside specialists in typesetting, printing, or electronic recording can now be integrated into the everyday work of an organization, saving both time and
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Management Information System 201 0 money .If PTCL implement fully OAS in their organization then they can improve their performance.
Human Resource Management Information System PTCL is also focusing on HR Management and Development; PTCL introduced the “HR online Hiring Management System”.
Appropriate changes have
been made in HRM such as to establishment of Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS). Recruitment process and system has been adequately revamped by adopting appropriate HR practices. Professional development of employees, especially the middle management, is being ensured. Training courses for employees have been redesigned. A special emphasis is being laid on the inculcation of sense of responsibility and politeness in the minds of employees, especially the lower management and staff. Training institutes of PTCL i.e. Telecom Staff College, Regional Telecom Training Schools and Divisional telecom Training Centers is also being revamped to cope up with the changing trends in technical and managerial training. PTCL’s engineers and professionals are also being continuously sent abroad for various training courses to keep them abreast with the latest technology and management skills.
Conclusion Management
Information
system
can
play
a
vital
role
in
building
infrastructure of telecommunication in Pakistan. There is need to realize the importance of management information system in mind of PTCL’s employees and to train them according to emerging technologies in the world. There is 15 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 need of improvement like at operational level PTCL is using partially OAS (Office automation system); the use word processing is in a limit, because PTCL ground level labors are not educated as well as supervisor level employees. At managers level they have a system that track all the transaction of the system like fault every supervisor have an account and they have records so they use this record to remove faults and complains. At strategic level Managers should use ESS (Executive Support System) so that they can plan easily and take decisions.
Recommendations Following are the recommendations to PTCL for enhancing the efficiency of their information systems. There should be proper security involved in each system of PTCL
Employees should be well trained and educated to operate these systems.
Systems like ESS and DSS should be used at strategic level so that Top manager can easily plan and take decisions.
Office automation system should be totally implemented rather than partial implementation.
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Management Information System 201 0 If PTCL implement proper Management Information systems then it will
be very beneficial for Organization.
The whole network of PTCL should not depend upon B&CC; there should be an alternative to this information system at different levels of Organization according to their strengths.
Employees understanding of Management Information System should be increased employees have no concept about Management Information System.
Part Two
YAHOO VS MSN “A comparison of two oldest email service providers on internet”
YAHOO Yahoo.com continues to be the most popular web mail service, As per comScore's latest figures in July, Yahoo added almost 20 million users last year, growing its share of the market by 22 percent from 87.2 million users to 106.2 million users in June. Yahoo modern business is rushing towards ecommerce. If the transition is done properly, it provides better management, new services, lower transaction costs, and better customer relations.
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Management Information System 201 0 Functions of Yahoo Yahoo performs the following functions regarding E-commerce and other related activities. Online Shopping Centers Internet Banking Internet Business and Economics Business to Business and Business to Costumer Transactions Provide Digital money for Business and Shopping Provide Small Business solutions Provide Investment opportunities to users Provide entertainment to user like, Sports, Movies, Travel and etc. Yahoo Mail Provide Profession Quality E-commerce Website Provide accurate shipping rate and Costumer information UPS World ship Compatible
User Friendliness Yahoo is not as complicated, and the layout is easier and more open which facilitates navigation not only through mail but through the other options and services yahoo offers. (Source: Yahoo answers [User’s views]) Yahoo is very user friendly for both new and existing users. Yahoo is much better than other website in terms of processing speed, understanding, and once a user get used to with Yahoo then he will not go anywhere else. As E-commerce is concerned it provides special quality E-commerce website by user can also built its own E-commerce Website for business purposes. It provides solution for online businesses and Yahoo! online Business is dedicated to delivering industry-leading business services at great values. Using a robust, scalable e-commerce platform, Yahoo! Merchant Solutions offers everything you need. 18 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Business Strategy of Yahoo Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo is responsible for providing world class service to Yahoo! Small Business customers by resolving customer inquiries through multiple contact channels, including phone and e-mail. This strategy include following things Provide world class service to all small business customers in a
customer-centric environment Document in detail all interactions with customers Educate customers on products; help customers to be successful
MSN MSN, formerly The Microsoft Network, is a collection of Internet sites
and services provided by Microsoft. It is one of the most popular website for any internet user and it performed number of services and function which made it much convenient for user. It gives ultimate solutions for communication and businesses.
Functions of MSN MSN performed the following functions which made it much better than other websites. Provide Marketing Tools Provide Business to Customers Solutions Search Engine Optimization Online Shopping Internet Banking Hotmail Digital Money, Maps and Directions Provide Entertainment like, Entertainment, sports, Traveling Information. 19 There are the things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
Management Information System 201 0 Provide Health and Fitness Information Careers and Jobs Portal
User Friendliness Like Yahoo, MSN is also very user friendly and all users can easily be familiar with this website and it provides easy environment MSN several useful comparison features to assist users that are searching for products within either portal or site. It also provide the different marketing tool and tolls for making your own E-Commerce website for business purposes and It also provide business to consumer e-commerce.
Business Strategy of MSN Business strategy of MSN focuses on B2C and e-commerce and this strategy is focused by follow mentioned functions. These functions are Focus one Personalization Client friendly application Easy marketing solutions Multiple ecommerce channels Customization with offline channels
Conclusion Both MSN and yahoo are good and user friendly for a new user. When we talk about old users, people have gotten used to the one they use. Those who had been using yahoo find it easier and better while those who used MSN consider it much better than yahoo. As an organization, yahoo had enjoyed better conditions than hotmail but the difference is not very big that may allow us to conclude that yahoo is better. So I would say that neither is better than the other for a new user but for me Yahoo is still better than MSN.
Recommendation There are some recommendations for both websites.
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Management Information System 201 0 Yahoo should maintained better security systems because Yahoo ID can easily hacked by Hackers. Yahoo sign up form should be made easy for users. They should promote e-commerce to large businesses as well. MSN should promote B2B E-commerce as well Yahoo and MSN should provide chatting history as the face book does. Msn should launch Internet banking as yahoo has launched. Msn should provide chat rooms to free users as well like yahoo does. They should provide such a mail service that mails which contain viruses should be automatically defused.
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Management Information System 201 0 References For successful completion of this project we have utilize different available resources, from which we have obtain the required data. These resources lie in both digital and analog form. Most of the information is obtain from Internet, while a visit to company is also made to get further information. We are thankful to company management who have welcomed and cooperated with us. Resources, which we utilize, are as follow:
Resources Company’s website - www.ptcl.com.pk Company Annual Reports Magazine Business Economist Google.com Economic survey of Pakistan PTA Reports Wikipedia.com Blogged.com Yahoo.com MSN.com
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Management Information System 201 0
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