Club_It_Part_1

Club IT Part 1 David Swensen University of Phoenix Business Information Systems BIS/219 Dr. Bruce D. Swanson May 23, 2011 Club IT Part 1 Club IT is a downtown music venue owned and managed by Rubin Keys and Lisa Tejada. Rubin and Lisa have recently hired and intern to develop a competitive strategy with their information technology systems that will help the nightclub gain a competitive advantage. The intern will present a competitive strategy that will be an operational effectiveness strategy. This strategy will focus on software applications that meet the specific needs of a nightclub. Rubin and Lisa will need to invest in hardware. Club IT is in need of accounting software and other office automation systems. The new strategy will include business intelligence systems that apply to marketing. The intern will also suggest an online training program in customer service for employees. The new IT solutions will help Lisa and Rubin with data management and decision- making capabilities (Rainer & Turban, 2008). The first step is to invest in the hardware. The intern will provide recommendations on desk top and server equipment that is capable of running the recommended software. Rubin and Lisa will also need smart phones that provide access to the business systems when they are not at the nightclub. Popular software for small business is Quick Books. Quick Books is able to keep track of point of sale transactions, payroll and payments due. By entering data on a daily basis, Lisa and Rubin are able to generate a balance sheet, an income statement and a statement of cash flow. The financial information provided by the software is valuable for tax information and helps Lisa and Rubin with strategic decision making. Microsoft office outlook can be utilized for internal communication. With access to a desktop computer, employees are able to pass on important information about needed supplies or employee issues. Outlook offers management a communication tool and a calendar to remind everyone of important events (Rainer & Turban, 2008). There are several marketing management software applications. The intern recommends an application that is web based. Instead of purchasing their own software, Lisa and Rubin can pay a monthly fee to utilize Intuit Quick Base. The Quick Base software can keep track of customer information, run surveys and create press releases. Quick Base is an example of a business intelligence system that provides information and helps management make complicated decisions. Utilizing a web based system makes it easy to switch if management is not satisfied with the results (Rainer & Turban, 2008). In order to gain a competitive advantage, Club IT must focus on customer service. The new operational effectiveness strategy will enable Rubin and Lisa to manage daily operations more effectively and provide more time to improve customer service. The intern is also suggesting a customer service training program. There are many online customer service programs. Rubin and Lisa should research programs and determine which program best fits their customer service vision (Rainer & Turban, 2008). The competitive strategy of putting new hardware, office and accounting software and marketing software in use at Club IT will help Rubin and Lisa gain a competitive advantage. Using an operational effectiveness strategy improves how internal business processes are executed. The end result is usually better employee and customer satisfaction (Rainer & Turban, 2008). The online customer service training course will help employees develop strong customer service skills. The intern believes that this strategy is the perfect IT solution for Club IT. References Rainer, R. K., & Turban, E. (2008). Introduction to Information Systems (second ed.). doi: University of Phoenix Library