Introduction
The Success International Company has managed to expand its business given that the aim of every business operation is to increase productivity. However, the expansion of its business operation has necessitated an increase in labor.
As a result, the company has been characterized by work overlap that tends to create a challenge while handling a proper communication channel between various departments of the company, as well as between the workers and the customers. This stems from the fact that the company has an obligation of keeping a wide range of information pertaining to its customers, business trends, as well as its profit margin.
Using paper work to convey such information is ineffective since it is vulnerable to errors that normally emanate from handwriting, lack of privacy, and lack of a system that helps to evaluate the letters, invoices, or purchases orders that need urgent attention (Rahman 13).
Therefore, a balance that bridges the communication gap amongst members of various disciplines and between the company and its customers must be sought in order to avert this discrepancy.
Because of this, it was expected that adopting automation system would facilitate company’s operations and communication channels. But the question of how to adopt automation system surfaced due to the logistics involved in it. This report primarily concentrates on evaluating the major shortcomings that emanate from paperwork.
It then provides a recommendation of adopting automation system from paperwork to supply answers as to what extent the automation system has on improving the company’s operations and communication channels. It does so by carrying out interviews with the staff, as well as analyzing relevant articles in a bid to evaluate the factors that facilitate a successful transition from paperwork to the automated system.
Findings And Conclusion
Research Methods on Elements of Problems in Task Functions
Errors in the Success International Company were attributed to a number of factors. While some errors emanated from the work practices, others emanated from relationship between the workers, as well as relationship between the workers and the customers. Informational and grammatical errors are prevalent in the working environment due to lack of a system that helps to avert the situation.
For case in point, grammatical mistakes emanating from poor handwriting, such as popper instead of paper, have led to writing incorrect invoices.
The informational errors, such as wrong placements of decimal points while placing the cost of the products, have resulted to a discrepancy in the operation system. Additionally, the Success International Company lacked a clear idea that could create awareness of environmental damage caused by business practices and processes.
An ethnographic study aimed at evaluating the causes of errors in paperwork found out that informational and grammatical errors were common in the Success International Company.
The findings, according to the study, reveal that one in every five invoices was characterized by spelling mistakes, leading to incorrect delivery; one in every five job rotations was characterized by poor allocation of staff, leading to work overlap; and one out of five processed bills was characterized by incorrect billing.
Mikeln (879) points out the efficacy of replacing the paperwork with automated system. His article plays a critical role in highlighting the shortcomings associated with the use of paperwork, especially in small companies.
And in a bid to promote the use of automated systems in various companies, this article was used to facilitate adoption of automated systems, as it provides analyses of problems while using paperwork systems.
More so, it provides guidelines on how to adopt an automated system easily at a minimum cost, taking into account the conservation of environment. Hence, this article, together with other articles and books, formed the center stage of analyzing the causes of errors in the Success International Company.
Analysis of Causes of Errors in the Task Functions
Before coming up with a proposed plan for addressing this problem, it was vital to carry out an investigation of the problem in order address it in a comprehensive manner. The investigation of this problem involved assessing the validity of having a good workflow, assessing the validity of reducing ambiguous terms while handling business transactions, and assessing the rationale behind protecting information.
The procedure and data collection method used entailed content analysis, which helped in defining the extent to which paperwork contribute to ineffectiveness while carrying out business operations. This was followed by determining the evidence that demonstrated the challenges of adopting an automated system.
These ideas were organized, and they formed the basis for coming up with the questionnaire that was used in the case study. Through these methods, the researcher was able to identify the main causes of errors:
- Lack of sharing honest information: By using paper work, the high workload in the Success International Company resulted to barriers to a point where some workers were not sure of the day or night shifts they had attended within a particular week. In such a case, retrieving evidence became so strenuous that the management tended to believe on the allegations of the worker in question;
- Lack of interpersonal relation: this emanated from lack of an effective decision support system that could guide the workflow process. The decision support mechanism, in this case, helps to prompt and give an alert where the workers are not complying with professional terms used in invoices or suppliers accounts (Luster 78-81).
- Lack of highlighting the company’s mission: this is evidenced by the fact that the company was not in a position of prioritizing on the letters that required immediate attention. Highlighting the mission helps in coming up with a criteria of handling letters despite their bulkiness.
Recommendation
Using an Automated System Software
To avert these discrepancies, the president of the Success International Company is required to adopt an automated system that would facilitate effectiveness on the following areas:
- Increased savings on material cost as it facilitates reduction of delivery cost that results from inappropriate product descriptions;
- Reduces costs that are associated with diverse steps of paperwork inventory;
- Increase financial productivity due to elimination of billing errors and work overlap;
- Ensures adequate supply of commodity at all times due to increased accuracy of product descriptions (Luster 97-104).
Building a Better Dialogue
Honesty is a decision support necessary for every leader when he/she intends to break news to members of an organization. Therefore, the president of the Success International Company should exercise effective communication skills in a manner that takes into account the attainment of a smooth transition of operation from paperwork to adoption of automated systems.
Decision support is a prerequisite for adopting the automated system, as this would facilitate cost effective measures. In turn, this creates comfort among the members of the staff, as it facilitates establishment of an environment in which personal differences from diverse backgrounds are clearly analyzed.
Using a Checklist
Adapting to the new changes calls for arrangements that need to be properly defined since the rate at which change is implemented can result to either negative or positive morale of the staff members. The president of the Success International Company should provide an avenue for a transition that takes into account the management of workload with respect to the company’s mission.
The projection of cost can be achieved through a management cost and control system, as shown in Table A below. Additionally, the president should collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including the environmental regulatory authority, as they facilitate awareness on environmental damage caused by business practices and processes overtime (Johnson 194).
Works Cited
Johnson, Jeremiah. “Transforming Sustainability Strategy into Action: the Chemical Industry.” Ecological Economics : the Journal of the International Society for Ecological Economics. 61.1 (2007): 194. Print.
Luster, Stephen. Paperless Material Inspection and Receiving Report: a Strategy to Streamline Acquisition and Reduce Paperwork. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1991.
Mikeln, Peter. “Analysis of Information Flows for the Needs of Factory of Future.” Proceedings of International Conference on Organization and Information Systems. (1989): 874-884. Print.
Rahman, Hakikur. Information and Communication Technologies for Economic and Regional Developments. Hershey: Idea Group Pub, 2007. Print.