Club_It_-_Part_One

Club IT Club IT is a downtown music and dance club venue providing limited food fare and liquor for customers. Owners Ruben Keys and Lisa Tejada both graduates in Business Administration followed their dream to open a night club that would cater to different types of music. Both owners sustained their livelihood during their college years as musicians which gave them ample experience in dealing with nightclub operations, music and musicians. Club IT completed extensive remodeling and hails ceilings and a high energetic light show displays providing an ambiance of liveliness and fun (Axia College, 2010.) The clubs diverse music schedule features two days of live bands that alternates with a deejay using an MP3 player to play the latest hip-hop, techno and top 40’s music. Although the owners have been successful in keeping track of financial and business-related records they have recognized a gap with their information management system. They have hired me as an intern to obtain a full gap analysis of their informational needs. As a pre-work to their business objectives, I enjoyed a night out with some friends and visited the club to observe operations and customers. In my opinion, a dance club is a business and to be successful should follow a business model, business plan and an integrated computer based information system that would “collect, process, store and analyze” information from all aspects of business of the club (Rainer & Turban, 2008 p. 4.) A computer based information system (CBIS) is an important part of any business model no matter how small. The functional areas I see important to Club IT are accounting, finance, operations, marketing and human resources. I would suggest an ERP (Enterprise Resource planning System) connecting all functional areas via a database and a TPS (Transactional processing system) that monitors the collection of money, the sale of food and liquor and inventory, and membership. I would further conduct an analysis of the supply chain that will indicate the “flow of the ordering of materials, money, and services to the supplying of materials through the collection of money from the customer” (Rainer & Turban, 2008 p. 5.) In my opinion the club will require hardware and software to keep track of sales, Club IT customers, employee information, employee schedules and benefits, food inventory, liquor inventory, and the miscellaneous products such as cleaning supplies and bar supplies. They will require a database to help store information regarding their accounting and financials, day to day operations, human resources and their marketing operations. They will require a computer interface that will provide real-time profits and inventory control for the owner and personnel. My initial assessment begins with their underdeveloped website. The difference between a small crowd and a packed club is buzz and it begins with excitement generated from a “wow” website and hip and funky advertising. To begin, I would upgrade the website using the latest visual technology such as is done by the competition: Greenhouse, Pacha NYC and Cielo. The website should include club information, pictures from the inside and outside of the club, a hip logo, and club highlights. There should be a separate internet link and intranet link for employees and potential hires. I would suggest hiring the best talent Club IT owners could afford since most musicians and deejays their own following of people. I would invest in targeting customers using effective and efficient ‘now” technology such as Tweeting, Facebook, direct mail, flyers, pop-ups, blogs, and e-blasts. The service industry is very fickle and customer service is everything to a club’s success. I would invest in training employees in excellent customer service and include incentives as a follow through on procedures. I would recommend leveraging their TRP system to connect with customers on the website with a “white glove service”. In effect permitting regular customers to become Club IT members and allowing members discounts and all access to private events and VIP status. Instead of tickets at the entrance, I would consider using bar-coded wristbands this way the color will determine your status and credit cards information could follow you into the club. Employees all access status will require passing security scrutiny especially if the employee is behind a cash register or the bar. Bar tabs could be connected to the barcode to ensure proper payment and real-time financial tracking. An organization information system such as TPS that tracks food and beverages sold, a great website, an HRIS system that provides employee information, employee hours, schedule, and wages, an expert system and an office automation system will be among some of my recommendations. Using a service oriented “white glove” strategy Club IT will be able to market at a different level, sell their image using the latest advances in technology and capitalize on real-time information using dashboard reports that track sales and human resource activity and functions. The use of barcodes and customer service will provide customers with a seamless experience hopefully capitalizing into Club IT sales. Club IT’s focus should be process, knowledge waylaid into effective and efficient streamlining of business operation with customer satisfaction.   References AxiaCollege (2010). Appendix C: Club IT Part 1. Retrieved from Axia College, XBIS/219 Business Information Systems course website. Rainer, R. K., Jr., & Turban, E. (2009). Introduction to information systems: Supporting and transforming business (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.