Studying Management Information System Of Starbucks Information Technology Essay

Studying Management Information System Of Starbucks Information Technology Essay In this thrilling subject, i would be focusing on the Management Information System of Starbucks. It is no doubt that this firm in question, is one popular and well patronised firm amongst many. That being said, i would be doing justice to the very background of this organization in question and i would elucidate in tangible details their IT systems, schemes and practices and lastly, i would be recommending what i see fit to suite the organisation even in this era of technology. But before i proceed, i would like to briefly define MIS(Management Information System) MIS (Management Information System) This may be defined as a general word for computer systems in an enterprise or organisation which provides information or details on firms business operations. Its also refers to the people who manage and maintain these systems. Furthermore, in a large corporation, MIS or the MIS department refers to a central or centrally-coordinated system of pc expertise and management, and entire network of computer resources in a business organization (firm). Starbucks was first introduced in Seattles Pike Place Market in 1971. Back then, the company was called Starbucks Coffee, Tea ans Spices before change into what we have known today, Starbucks Coffee Company. Today, there are approximately 16, 706 Starbucks stores in 50 countries. The first ever Srabucks store in Malaysia opened on December 1998, located at KL Plaza, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Later, there are more than 115 Starbacks stores in Malaysia.Basically, their buyers will travel to Africa, Asia and Latin America to choose only the best quality of arabica beans. These high quality beans will be sent for roasting and production. Starbucks experts then only combine the roasted beans with Italian style expresso beverages to produce different type of cold and hot coffee beverages. The famous products introduced by Starbucks company and mainly can be found in all of its stores include more than 30 blends single-origin premier arabica coffees. As for their own signature of handcrafted beverages such as hot and iced expresso beverage, coffee and non-coffee blended beverages Vivanno smoothies, Frappuccino bottled coffee or blended and premium ice creams with the and brewed coffee and also tea product,Tazo Tea. Merchandises are also offered by Starbucks are coffee mugs and accessories. Customers not only can enjoy sipping their high quality coffee beverage but also indulging on baked pastries, sandwiches and cakes. The company focuses in providing a relax, comfortable atmosphere with modern fittings. It is an ideal place for hanging out with friends and families, with entertainment magazines to read. Most of the Starbucks company offer free wi-fi for their customers, so it is a great advantage to business people discussing on their work or students doing some research for assignments/ projects. POS P.O.S which stands for Point of Sale is a front-of-the-house system use by Starbucks company. Only employees with given authorization can access to this system such as Assistant Manager, Shift Supervisor, and Store Manager. Types of transactions can be made by the manager include paid in, paid out in the cases of emergencies or using the cash to buy supplies needed by the store. Other than that, making amendments for transaction mistakes in a form of refund. Important for inventory control as well. List of all food and beverages and merchandise sold are recorded in the P.O.S system. Wastage cost might as well be stored. All these vital information of dailys operation are transferred to a Management Work Station system to be analysed and evaluated. The information will be transform into a measurable data for decision making purposes. Manager Work Station (MWS) Manager Work station is the back of house computer system which prepares and sends all store information to adequately manage all parts of the store business. It brings access to real-time system wide reporting at store level. It shows all the various functions provided on the Intelligent Restaurant Information System (IRIS), of which some are only usable by partners with the accurate security. It helps the store manager to manage the store and also help the franchisees manage their entire market chain. It can be used in the office where there is a pc connected to an intranet of which is a private link channel for staffs to use the organization network that resembles the internet. It is required to log on with a passkey and ID to use the system. The system detects security level and allows using the method assigned to the security level. The staff can only use the time button option, which is a method that saves staff clock in and out for lunch and shifts. A begining of day and end of day is also saved into the very system on a daily bases. Shift managers can use cash control methods that are used to count cashboxes, change or fix transactions and to make ready everyday bank deposit. A menu of available reports is provided on a report menu. The Store manager can use these reports to follow sales, check customer transactions within various hours range, to view sale by product category, to save wastage, to carry finance audit. All these informations are relevant to Store Managers for them to pin out business requirements and customer needs, to check peak time in the store, to maximize or change product ordering, to manage wastage and monitor stock and choose whether it is necessary to reduce labour. Managers can use staff information and personal records in the work station, they can place new partners, cut off partners, manage employee records, watch employees training and process payroll. The payroll process carries over details to the support centre in order to pay partners. Store Manager and the shift supervisors can use the IRIS System to process electronic ordering for food, stationery, packaging. Hardware Example of hardware used for the computer system in Starbucks company include ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) modem and speed touch cable modem. These two are connect the Starbucks computer system to its retail network system. Wireless internet connection by T-mobile allows consumers to have the access of the available wireless network. Cisco Wireless and Cisco Routers are the type of equipment used as well. Other hardware output devices used include printers to process receipts. For security purposes, chips and pins for the payment made by credit card or debit card. A confidential security number (Pin number ) is required when making payment by either of these two cards. No signing is required. Further more, the Starbucks firm, uses Intel based systems and fast Computers. In terms of functionality, the Starbucks firm is bent on getting hardwares(PC) that have great and outstanding specifications to avoid slow down on business. A sample spec would be: A PC with 512 Memory or 1GB. And A flat screen monitor and processor speed of 2.40GHZ and a HDD of 150GB to 200GB. The company has a nac for greater heights that why its no surprise that Starbucks is doing greatly well in terms of their ability to maintain their standards. Software OS (Operating System): As we all know, the I.T age is springing forth with lots of softwares and technology all with the focus of improving the lives of humans in all ramification of life. Having said that, the Starbucks company makes use of Windows based softwares for their computers which is categorized in the hardware section. They run applications that aid their business. Example POS, Excel and others. Excel is often used for their spreadsheet needs. When it comes to system software for driving their hardwares, they run windows XP or 7. Current themes and practices This Starbucks new idea of POS was introduced earlier this year and only available in all 6,800 Starbucks stores in the United States. This process only applicable to consumers with Blackberry or iPhone. The first steps will require consumers to download the Starbucks Card Mobile Application to their phones. Once he / she enters their registered Starbucks gift cards number into their phone and when they obtained the application, the card number is automatically saved. Consumer upon arriving at Starbucks counter can just inform the employee to make payments for their order via mobile phone. He / she then opens up the Starbucks Card Mobile Applications, choose the payment screen in the application where the 2D bar code appear showing the consumers Starbucks card. When this process is completed, Starbucks employee will key in payments made by mobile phone in the P.O.S system and asked the consumer to place their phones under the customer facing imager for scanning. The 2D bar-code is de tected and treated the transactions in the likes of a giftcard, based on the normal payment verification procedures. Consumer can just enjoy their coffee once the transaction is done. However, there are some setbacks of this new P.O.S strategy implemented by Starbucks. First, not all retailers practice the use of stored value card or known as giftcard. Secondly, Starbucks focuses on potential users with key smart phones, such as iPhone and Blackberry. It only covers the consumer demographic of savvy consumers at the U.S where most the people are iPhones and Blackberry users compared to consumers in Malaysia. Not all Starbuckss mobile payments scheme is negative since this methods of payment can actually help Starbucks to cover up the cost of operational system, able to record loyalty data of consumers and balance of cash as well. Since payments are charged on the consumers giftcard, means that the 2D bar-code payment system is actually connected to the card. Besides, payment made th is way is different compared to the legislation for payment made by credit card or debit card . Evaluation: 4).Starbucks also runs a high scale of management in handling their I.T related issues. They are I.T aware such that, they have good network services. An example would be, Starbucks offers free WIFI Zone. An attraction for a customer on the move. The firm has VOIP services for communication with other chains around the globe. As we live in a net centric age, Starbucks has made it a perfect fit, to incorporate most I.T business related schemes into their business. A good analyses on this company, would however show us that Starbucks uses the I.T based things to build their customer range. It is however no secret that most competitors have based their examples on companies in the likes of Starbucks. Some practices in Starbucks, include some discount sales issued by the management. A customer however sees this as a grand opportunity to have a 50%(Percent) discount on whatever he buys and also enjoys free internet. This indeed is a wise practice. The ManagementInformation system has in many ways, made things easy for staffs. Most messages to staffs are communicated via the network. As fore mentioned, Starbucks uses intranets and internet(Voip). This helps in forwarding swift messages to workers in the company. In addition to the newest development of MIS, payments made via mobile phones currently introduced in the Unites States is also one of the best P.O.S strategies to reduce the cost of operation. This company also makes judicious use of their MIS by running web based adverts and all. The firm keeps its customers continuously aware of products and new recipes that might be tried in a given time. Thus, their market base increases undoubtedly. Marketing Analysis: Retails: Recommendation: In my opinion having patronised Starbucks from time to time, i would suggest the following: Starbucks should try in purchasing a reasonably fast internet with low traffic. They should try to maintain their hardwares and try upgrades from time to time, to avoid being left out in the dark age of slow computing. They should employ staffs that are more I.T learned to avoid difficulty in system operations. They should embrace more of touch screen services. And what i mean is, buying gadgets(hardwares) that provide self service for each customer. The MIS should continually see to it that customers are intrigued by the brilliant I.T based services that Starbucks provide thus leaving the customers spell bound to return and purchase more items . They could also provide on screen advertisements for new generation hardwares this in itself, could be an avenue for Starbucks to get paid for advertising for I.T firms in the cities and wherever . They could also make a web based system, that would enable customers to order online to ease driving out of the office at lunch. Conclusion: At this juncture, it is important that i reiterate that it is of immense importance that the MIS in Starbucks embraces more heightened technology hardwares to ease the work load and the number of staffs. We all in the world are aware of the generation of computers. This promises to be huge and phenomenal turn in every industry especially industries like Starbucks. As we see Managements improve their information systems, it would be an important part for Starbucks to play in their MIS. With an improved and well balanced MIS, Starbucks has what it takes to battle up for the future even competitors. Time is of the essence for firms like Starbucks this is because each day slips away and more upgrades are made to databases. To this end, i would beseech Starbucks, to keep up the very good work and embrace a new era of improved management systems. Thus increasing their profit base and client base.

The Elusive Form: The Use Of Female Characters In naked Nude :: essays research papers

The Elusive Form: The Use of Female Characters in "Naked Nude" Thesis and Outline: Thesis: In his picturesque short story, "The Naked Nude", Bernard Malamud uses the female characters to develop, enact, and resolve Fidelman's epiphany and to bring about the protagonist's final, artistic self-understanding. I. Introductory paragraph--statement of thesis. II. The prostitutes A. in contrast to Fidelman's initial idea of the artistic nude B. "maybe too many naked women around made it impossible to draw a nude"--establish basis of conflict within Fidelman III. Teresa A. flat, static character--functions totally as a touchstone for Fidelman B. provides Fidelman's first turn towards artistic epiphany IV. Bessie, his sister A. childhood memory brings about full epiphany V. Venus of Urbino A. aesthetic constant--she, as a painting, remains static B. Fidelman's method of viewing her evolves, providing his epiphany VI. Relationship of female characters VII. Conclusion and restatement of thesis. Bernard Malamud, a leading contemporary Jewish author, skirts between fantasy and reality in his almost allegorical short fiction, teaching the reader a lesson through coinciding elements of beauty and comedy. Venturing away from his usual, inner-city Jewish element, Malamud tackles new challenges of subject and setting in his novelistic collection of short stories, Pictures of Fidelman . Malamud develops his protagonist through a series of six, interrelated short works, each of which may function entirely independent from the others. In "The Naked Nude," for instance, Fidelman comes to a new, artistic maturity through his attempt to copy the famous painting "Venus of Urbino" by Titian Tiziano. Malamud's recurring theme of self-knowledge through suffering permeates this short work. Scarpio and Angelo, as primary antagonists, provide the bulk of this suffering for Fidelman. It is his own mental captivity concerning the female nude, however, that gives cause for Fidelman's eventual epiphany asan artist and as an individual. His relationship to the women in the work shapes his ability to capture the form of the "Venus" and to come to grips with his own self-worth. In "The Naked Nude," Bernard Malamud uses the female characters to develop, enact, and resolve Fidelman's epiphany and to bring about the protagonist's final, artistic self understanding. At the story's outset, Fidelman is forced to act as janitor and manservant to a group of ill mannered prostitutes under the employment of the padrone, Angelo. These offensive characters establish the first of a series of mental obstacles in the imprisoned protagonist's attempt to copy Titian's nude. They torment Fidelman with cynical laughter and exploit his demeaning position. His sexual insecurity is established at the beginning of the story when he ponders his violent guillotine sketch, asking "A man's head or his sex?...either case a terrible wound" (Malamud 318).

Imagine: John Lennon Essay

Considered by many as one of the greatest songs of all time, â€Å"Imagine† was performed by John Lennon in his 1971 album Imagine. It was thought that the lyrics of the song reflected solely Lennon’s hopes for a utopian world. However, the song’s refrain can be found in several of Yoko Onno’s poems written in the early1960s, before she met Lennon, and in her 1965 book Grapefruit. It was coined by Yoko Ono, in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II. (â€Å"Imagine: John Lennon†, 2006) The song contains a strong political message that is sugarcoated in a beautiful melody. In the book Lennon in America, written by Geoffrey Giuliano, Lennon commented the song was â€Å"an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it’s sugar-coated, it’s accepted. † (â€Å"Imagine: John Lennon†, 2006) Lennon realized that the softer approach would bring the song to a wider audience, who hopefully would listen to his message. Lennon therefore used soft melody and easy lyrics in order to convey a much deeper meaning to more people. Lennon used empathy in his words, in his call to the people to â€Å"imagine. † He knows a world without â€Å"countries† or â€Å"religions† does not exist, but Lennon is asking the listener to take a moment and imagine what it would be like if the words in the song would ever come true, to imagine living in a utopian world and experience the peace that everyone has been longing for. Also, the lyrics imply that Lennon recognizes the suffering of other people less privileged than he is, so he empathizes with these people and â€Å"imagines† being the same as them, being in a â€Å"brotherhood of man. † And through the song, he is also asking the listener to see and feel the things that he sees and feels, and to want a better world like he does, to end all suffering and division between peoples. Such call to â€Å"imagine† also involves the sympathetic identification with the singer and the collective â€Å"us† who Lennon refers to when he sings, â€Å"You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us. † He recognizes that he is not the only dreamer, that he is not the only one dreaming of a perfect place. But he also wants the listener to â€Å"join† him and the other dreamers, and be part of the collective â€Å"us† and imagine. Lennon knows that people long for peace, but these hopes for a better and ideal future have been long abandoned by many people whose lives have been tainted with negativity. But he calls out to these people and asks them to â€Å"imagine† and remember what it is like to hope again, no matter how impossible it is for the world to live as one. In identifying with Lennon and the other dreamers, their dreams become the listener’s own. That a listener realizes that their dreams are also his own, implies the existence of a social order the evils of which, if removed, would make the dream of everyone a reality. The feeling of being a part of the dream and making that dream come true reaffirms the sense of shared responsibility and the recognition that such misery in the world ought not to be. The message of the song is pure and simple, but the ideas it imparts are radical in more ways than one. It implies that religion has been nothing but destructive to human societies. It divides people into groups, feeds them with supernatural explanations and otherworldly notions of the world, gives them something to believe in and something which they fear, in order to control them and pit them against other people of another â€Å"religion†, all in the name of God. It also recognizes how countries have been divided and that many have died because of wars waged for these countries. The song also implies that want and need for the accumulation of material possessions is a cause of suffering in the world. It causes greed and hunger, a complete imbalance between those who have and those who do not. Lennon is imagining a world where people are sharing and living together, no man better then the other, a total state of equality. It is only when all people are equal, no rich or poor, where people will realize that there is no cause for division among them. When all is united, a perfect place becomes possible because one acts not for one’s own good but for the good of everybody. Many people criticize the song as a naive dream of a man far removed from reality. â€Å"But the reason critics dislike ‘Imagine’ also happens to be exactly why the song, and all such art, is necessary. It envisions, and in doing so creates, a world that we can’t in real life. † (â€Å"John Lennon and Neil Young†, n. d. ) Such grand statements of longing for world peace seems almost hypocritical to other people. But Lennon himself once said, â€Å"We are willing to become the world’s clowns if it helps spread the word for peace. † (â€Å"John Lennon and Neil Young†, n. d. ) Truly, this song is admirable simply for its capability to influence its listeners enough to pause and think about an ideal world†¦ to imagine, even for a second. WOKS CITED: â€Å"Imagine: John Lennon. † (2006, October 31). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Imagine:_John_Lennon â€Å"John Lennon and Neil Young. † n. d. Retrieved October 31, 2006, http://www. thrasherswheat. org/jammin/lennon. htm.

Chapters 4-6 of The Great Gatsby

Chapters 4-6 of The Great Gatsby revealed a lot about Jay Gatsby to the readers. The first thing to jump out at me was that Jay Gatsby’s real name is actually James Gatz. Also, Gatsby revealed that his parents were originally from the mid-western city of San Francisco. It became clear that Gatsby was living a life of uncertainty and that he was a mystery who chased wealth and greatness. The relationship between Gatsby and Nick changed a lot over these chapters. It is apparent that Nick lost some respect for Gatsby, once he began finding out some key details about his life and where he actually came from. When attending college, Gatsby dropped out after two weeks because he couldn’t handle the hard-working career as a janitor to support himself and make it through college. When Gatsby asks Nick to go to Coney Island, Nick declines his offer. Immediately after, Nick is asked by Gatsby to go swimming, he says that he just needs to go to bed. Now that Nick is finding out about Jay, he doesn’t really want all that much to do with him. Another developing relationship is the one between Gatsby and Daisy, who previously had a thing for each other. Despite being married, Daisy falls in love with Gatsby after Nick sets up for them to see each other in secrecy, without Tom finding out. Gatsby tells Daisy about how he always dreamt about having her love, and being together. Unfortunately for Gatsby, who wants Daisy to leave Tom, Daisy doesn’t have a good time at his next party. Tom, who doesn’t like or trust Gatsby, joined Daisy for the next party to keep an eye out. Obviously, Daisy and Gatsby were unable to connect in the way that they wanted to, and things became awkward and bad. As each chapter unfolds, we are learning more and more about Jay Gatsby, or James Gatz, and who he really is.

The importance of Spanish essays

The importance of Spanish essays What is the most important priority for students today? Many of them believe that sports and other clubs come before their academics. Sports and clubs are both equally important but a students main priority should be academics at all times. Academics are the most important thing in every persons life. How good or bad you do in school follows you for your entire life. If it wasnt so important, it wouldnt be mandatory for everyone to go. Academics are enforced first in every students life. In order to get into a good college, you have to do well on your ACT or SAT. In order to do well on these tests, you must pay attention in high school and get good grades. How well you do these four years in high school is also something that colleges use to determine if you will be accepted into their school. What college a student goes to will sometimes determine what job they will get later in life. All in all, academics are what will make or break a persons life. A person without schooling will go nowhere in life. A person who believes that academics are their main concern has the opportunity to be whatever they want later in life. Sports are an extremely important thing for students to be involved in at school. Sports not only help students keep in shape, but also help them learn life-long lessons and make school more fun. In sports you learn social skills, something that every person need in life. Athletes have to learn to be leaders, but also know how to play as a team. Teamwork is one major benefit received from being on a sport. Being able to cooperate with others is mandatory in almost any job. Responsibility can also be taught through sports. Most team members in school are looked at as role models by their peers. They must always be making responsible decisions and do well in all classes. This is where most athletes get confused with their priorities. They have t ...

Crisis Communication in oil & gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 1

Crisis Communication in oil & gas - Essay Example 3.The main focus of the company at this stage needs to be to incorporate a crisis communication department into their system. The Director General will head the department. It will include a Manager of communication, with supporting junior staff. There will be a spokesperson, who will directly report to the Director General but will work in collaboration with Manager of communication. The other directorates will access the communication department through the Manager. 20 Crises are inevitable realities in business organisations for which the organisation management must learn to prepare. This research paper discusses the role of public relations units, with a specific focus on the oil and gas industry which plays a crucial role in the economic development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Traditionally, most organisations use public relations at the forefront to control, manage and minimise the damage of crises to their business operations. Previous crises such as the BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill in 2010 and the Exxon oil spill of 1989 have demonstrated that Oil and Gas companies are not always transparent and they often experience great communication difficulties when crises occur. This study examines the significance of public relations activities in crisis management in the Oil & Gas industry in general and in the UAE in particular. It reviews four major Oil & Gas operators in the UAE that have faced crises recently. Those companies engage over 3000 employees, excluding contractors, and operate in more than 20 fields across the country. Using structured interviews and data analysis this study research discusses their crisis management philosophy, their systems and procedures, and how these are communicated and makes recommendations for improvements. According to the Webster New Collegiate Dictionary, a crisis is defined as ‘an unstable or crucial state or state of affairs whose outcome will make a decisive

4 Blog posts for my business website. It's related to wedding industry Essay

4 Blog posts for my business website. It's related to wedding industry - Essay Example Customs dictate that they send out written announcements telling people about your engagement. These days they can make your announcements personally by making phone calls and sending emails. There is of course a much more convenient way to go about things. Sending out formal engagement announcement cards is a practical option which in cases of a long engagement should only be sent out to the people you want to invite to the wedding. Ordinarily the parents of the bride send out the announcement cards though couples have been known to send out their own cards as well. The writing on the cards is straightforward, never revealing where or when the wedding is going to be. Even if some brides see the tradition of newspaper announcements for their engagement or their wedding as a relic of the past. The difference between the two announcements is that engagement announcements quite a while before the wedding while the wedding announcement is printed a little afterwards. There is no denying that such announcements can have great sentimental value, especially for parents and grandparents who love the idea. Even if you’re not really interested in getting both your names printed in the paper, it’s better to just make them happy and save your energy for the battles ahead. If you really are not into getting it done just send your parents who want it published a picture and let them do the hard work for you. The best part is that you can choose any paper that works for you. You can either get the announcement published in the paper in your local hometown even if you haven’t been there in a while or you can even get it printed in the local paper which delivers right to your door. Of course it’s best to check each the requirements of each paper on their website. They can detail your names and occupations as well as the same for your parents. There is also a photograph in