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Summary: Here a sample of an organization system analysis, which was an assignment for my Introduction to Instuctional Systems course.
This paper describes the characteristics of the Computer Department of the Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel in systems terms.
A System is a group of elements that work together and have a common purpose. The system that will be analyzed is a Computer Department, which is part of a larger system also called Supra-System. The supra-system to which this system belongs is a hotel named Hodelpa Gran Almirante. Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel is the overall system that includes many subsystems: General Management, Rooms Divisions, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Accounting, etc.
Subsystems are the small pieces or elements of a system. The Computer Department is a subsystem of the Accounting Department in the Hodelpa Gran Almirante hotel. In many others companies the Computer Department works independently from others departments, but this is not the case for this hotel. The General Account Manager supervises and sometimes make important decisions for the Computer Department. The following diagram is a representation of the system and subsystems of the Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel.
Many processes into the Computer Department transform the data into information useful to the user. The Hotel possesses a digital clock which gathers the employer ID, date and time when the employee swipes his identification card. The personnel of the Computer Department incorporate this data into the Payroll System, and this system is capable of elaborating a report that states how many hours each employee worked during night, so the Human Resources department will know how much each employee should be paid.
The status quo is the actual and real situation of the system. The status quo of the Computer Department is that they receive more request than the amount they can handle. The ideal will be that all the requests could be solved in a relative short period of time. Ideal occurs when the actual situation is within an optimal state. A goal could be to solve the requests in a shorter period of time. A goal is an end that a person or the system wants to achieve, and it needs some action.
Interface can be equipment or a person that connects the systems allowing exchange of information. In the Computer Department the personnel acts as interface, receiving the requests from others departments and giving the answer or solution to their request. The Computer Department can be called an Open System, because exists this exchange of information between others subsystems and him. When a system is closed doesn’t allow exchanging information, the Computer Department could never be a closed system because one of its main functions is to give support to people from other departments.
The Computer Department manages all the different software installed in the hotel. Anytime there is a change of software, upgrade or implementation of new software, a systems dissonance is produced. Despite the advantages and facilities of the new system, the users always feel rejection and resistance to the change within the first few months, so they have low productivity and the Computer Department have extra work to do. System dissonance can be defined as an element that alters or modify in a prejudicial way the operation of the system. Formerly to any change in the systems, training is given to the users. If a user doesn’t assist to the training, he creates entropy due to his lack of information. Entropy is a situation of disorder, confusion or chaos within or out the system. Information is the input of meaningful data that reduces entropy and creates order. The mentioned user then receives information about the new system in his workplace while he uses it, and the entropy disappears few days later.
The inputs are the data that the system accepts from the environment or other subsystems. The system processes the input, and the result that goes out of the system is an output. For example, an input could be a call from a person from other department that requests someone to check his printer because it is not working. Normally a person from the Computer Department goes to check the printer and fix it. The entire printer checking is a process, and the printer fixed is the output.
Maintenance Inputs keeps the system alive; they fulfill the basic needs that the systems have to survive. Electricity is a maintenance input for the Computer Department. When electricity goes off, the computers and its software go down. The Computer Department receives many calls from users that can not work. Actually this situation is very rare because the hotel has two electrical plants, many ups, and one inverter to support the electrical system.
Signal Inputs avoid the system of being distorted or degenerated, so it helps the system to work properly. The alerts that the Antivirus display in the monitor when it got a virus are signal inputs. When an alert is displayed, the Computer Department personnel analyze the causes, and implement security issues to avoid the virus from spreading.
The Computer Department delivers many reports to the Accounting Department. The person that receives the report usually gives feedback. The feedback can be positive if the given report meets the receiver’s requirements, usually the receiver thanks the person that made the report. Feedbacks also can be negative, if the receiver’s requirements are not satisfied, the receiver requests some changes to be made and a second draft of the report has to be delivered. The fact that the given report becomes useful to the Accounting Department is a FormalAchievement. A formal achievement occurs when the output of the system is accepted and become useful to other system.
Needs Satisfaction enables people to work in harmonious atmosphere. The friendship and respect between personnel of Computer Department and the rest of employers in the hotel arise out the Group Needs Satisfaction.
In conclusion, the Computer Department of Hodelpa Gran Almirante Hotel is system which concepts, characteristics and relationship with the others systems have been clarified in this work.
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This work is licensed by Lilian Torres under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 3.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.
Last edited by Lilian Torres on May 23, 2010 12:19 am -0500.
