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Print-R-Us System

Posted by : Phil market

Introduction

Technological innovation has been growing tremendously in the recent past. The new era has brought with it numerous changes that have affected various sectors of the economy. Businesses have greatly been affected as it has managed to improve their operations in a variety of ways. One of the greatest developments that have been taken up by businesses is the system automation. This has led to the growth of business operations in several ways. Even though the growth of the automated systems has been seen as a great move, it has also been accompanied with challenges of its kind. The paper shall, therefore, discuss an example of an automated system and even give some of its advantages and setbacks that are likely to be experienced by Print-R-Us, the company that is introducing this as part of their system.

System background and functionality.

Print-R-Us is a print shop that works nationally with over 500 shops in the United States. The company has been in the course of developing an automated online ordering system that will replace its customer service representative. The new system will be able to perform some activities just like the customer service representatives, but it will be more efficient and responsive. The main function of the system is to take orders and give the various details involving the order about their clients. The new system should also be able to give the precise location of where the delivery should be made and when the client expects the delivery (Granello, & Wheaton, 2004). In addition to this, the automated system should manage to keep a track record of all orders that have made so that it can make it possible to create a proper audit report. The system will also increase the time phrase for feedback being given because the system can be created in such a way that it can give notification to the individual in charge. The system can allow for the information that is stored in it to be stored in the cloud.

The new system has managed to improve the new system in numerous ways. One of these ways is by having a more accurate information collection database compared to when information was greatly collected manually. The information collected can be more accurate and can include more information that it can be left out when an individual gets the information. The information can be backtracked in case an issue pops up when the client has not included some information (Angeli, Valanides & Bonk, 2003). Another area where the system is better than the old system is when it comes to customer records. This is essential for the company especially when it has offered and would like to provide them to their loyal clients. The company can also use for delivery purposes as they can know where the customer is located and where they need their delivery made and the costs associated with their respective orders.

The new system will have better records when it comes to customer records. This is because the system keeps a detailed amount of information on the clients’ orders. The system will have the time that the orders are made recorded as well as the requirements. Print-R-Us will be able to follow up on the information that is provided by the clients. The information will also give details on the methods of transactions that clients have used. Different clients have various means that they choose to offer their payment. The system will be able to compile such information so that when an issue arises in regards to the orders made, the management can track everything in regards to the order and take the necessary action. When it comes to inquiries being made by customers, the system can relay the information that the client needs to the individual who can help. For example, for a client who needs financial clarity, the system will direct the client’s question to the financial officer or representative who is in charge at that moment. If a client complains and wants a return, then the financial officer or the individual in charge will have to track the order information from the system and get the information pertaining the client’s order. For these types of issues, the enterprise will need to have a computer server that has fast data processing speed that will allow for this information to be updated rapidly just as the orders are made. Another piece of technology that is needed is a constant connection to the internet that will allow clients to make orders constantly without having to wait for a specific time of the day to operate.

Productivity.

The new system will be more productive compared to the old system. Customer handling will be better because it would be easier to have a customer’s record shared between individuals. For example, if employee S handle a customer in the morning and has already left the premises and the customer has an inquiry, it would be easier for employee X to assist the customer because he has some records to look at to prevent any mix up (Aronson, Liang, & Turban, 2005). The system will also increase the transparency of financial transactions as all the transactions shall be made through a single channel, and no employee will be allowed to be part of any transaction physical. The customers will feel more secure.

However, the employees will be affected directly both positively and negatively. On the positive side, the employee’s workload will be reduced immensely because with the new system in place, and they will only be waiting for notifications about a new client and what they need compared to the old system where they might face communication breakdown when taking customer orders. The employees’ productivity will also be increased as it will be easier to monitor how many clients each handles per day. This will keep track on the hard-working individuals in case there are bonuses to be given. On the other hand, a number of employees may be laid off because most of the tasks that they were doing are now being carried out automatically by the new system.

Information privacy.

Since the system is majorly based online, most of the customers believe that their information or track record private. There is some information that needs to be kept private. One of them is the orders on what they need to be printed. Some clients might have needs that might be against the law, but for a printing business, they might not know it. Another information that needs to be kept private is the transactions by the clients. This will prevent them from being extorted due to their financial transactions background. Their locations must also be kept private to prevent them from having unwanted visits from unauthorized salespersons and potential threats. The system can keep this information private by keeping this information behind encrypted passwords and pins (Granello, & Wheaton, 2004). And for everyone who logs into this system’s location, their login information is captured and recorded. The company will also have this system location be limited to a selected number of employees to reduce the potential risks.

Information security

To protect the individuals making the order, it is important to have some of the information stored in the cloud while other stored in the local computer stores. The transaction details, clients’ location, and address are some of the information that needs to be stored in the cloud. The name of the client, their order information, and delivery date are some of the information that can be stored in the local computer storage locations (Wright, 2005). To minimize the risks of security breaches, the security levels before accessing this information should be increased. The system would also have antivirus and malware detection software installed on it to prevent the system from being breach from a remote platform.

Ethical issues

The system might be liable to a limited number of ethical issues. The employees who are working with the system might not have been well trained on how the system work and thus, they might leave some information open for unauthorized individuals who might view the information with the intent of causing problems (Wright, 2005). Another ethical issue is that the employees might not have been exposed to proper training. Thus they might be putting the whole system and the whole operation at risk in case something goes wrong because of their mistake.

Conclusion

The system has great potential for improving the productivity and customer-company relations of the company. Even so, the installment of the system will have some of their employees lose their jobs, and it may also put the clients’ information at risk because the system is majorly based online. This will not be a limiting factor for the system as they can be controlled resulting in increased productivity and efficiency by Print-R-Us company.

Well’s Cargo Unethical Business Practices

Posted by : Phil market ,

Wells Fargo has a scandal about the creation of fraudulent savings and checking accounts without the consent of the clients. It involved the transfer of money from legitimate accounts. The company has been fined 185 million dollars by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because of the illegal activity (Koren, James). Wells Fargo customers started noticing the fraud after they were charged unexpected fees and receiving unanticipated credit and debit cards. Initially, the blame was put on the branch managers and workers but was soon shifted to the top-down pressure from the high-level management. Workers were encouraged to order for credit cards for those clients who were yet to be approved without their authorization. Employees were supposed to use unapproved client’s information when filling out the requests. The process of creating new accounts was made possible by the pinning process, which involved setting the customer’s pin as “0000”. By this, bankers were able to control the account of the client making it easy to enroll them in programs such as online banking. In September 2016, the number of unauthorized deposit accounts was 1,534,280 while the credit card accounts were 565,433.

Furthermore, estimates released in May 2017 showed that that the number of fraudulent accounts approximated to 3,500,000. Nearly 85,000 accounts opened incurred fees, which amounted to $2 million. Additionally, the client’s credit scores were affected by the fake accounts. The clients could not be able to take any legal action towards the bank because the process of opening an account required customers to enter into a private arbitration with the bank. The scandal also affected the non-management Wells Fargo employees (Koren, James). This is because the employees found it difficult to gain employment in other banks during the scandal. Banks are required to offer documents to departing employees showing their record on unethical conducts. Wells Fargo issued defamatory documents to the employees indicating that they had been involved in the creation of unwanted accounts. The company later released news that it would rehire 1000 employees who had been wrongfully terminated because of the fraud.

Wells Fargo remains under pressure from the politicians and customers over the issue of fake accounts. The Company is also facing a legal backlash from the borrowers who claim that they were charged fees for the bank to lock in the pledged rates on the new mortgages. However, the company has promised to pay $10.7 million to compensate the clients for opening fake accounts in their names without their authorization (Koren, James). This would include $7 million for refunds and $3.7 million for the complaint process and mediation. Moreover, the firm is also willing to pay $80 million to those affected by the auto insurance misfortune with more money for those who lost their cars.

CEO Stumpf should be arrested and prosecuted for criminal charges against the customers. This is because he failed in his duty to govern and control the acts of the employees. Furthermore, the manager encouraged the employees to create fake accounts. Those who did not follow the order were illegally terminated from employment. Employees should also be prosecuted for interfering with the accounts of the clients. It is against the code of ethics to try and access customer’s accounts without their consent. In case they are found guilty of creating accounts, they should be forced to compensate the customers. Furthermore, the affected clients should be allowed to testify against CEO Stumpf and the employees.

States Intervention in Market Economy

Posted by : Phil market

Recently, there has been development concerning free market trends adjustment in Africa and the world. But despite that, generally free market has remained a subordinate instrument of the national political system and their policies. The popularity and free trade policies being enjoyed by the market at the present moment wouldn’t be possible without government intervention in business affairs; concerning State involvement it is necessary to point out that, the primary objective of the state is to facilitate market competition and assist markets to achieve their national policy objectives.

Notably, the role of State policies intervention should be more than just addressing more than the purpose of rationalizing trade, but rather address the factor that effects the market trends. These rationalized objectives often result to do marketing practices to conform mechanically to the modern model. Market interventions should take into consideration of marketing network proven capability. Main reason for developing policies is to make the market work within the existing system, but not to replace it. Some States get more involved in the market to change free market systems, raising the costs of marketing, hurting consumers, distorting resources allocations, as well as damaging the economy.

Policy makers or free market conservatives should view trading as a necessary and socially desirable activity carried out under favorable regulations and friendly environment. General advice regarding their intervention is that they should play a facilitation role rather than a direct role in the market. There should be limited regulatory responses. Developed countries have a long involvement in nature, and they have three aims: to improve market infrastructure, to improve information flow, and to improve institutional infrastructure.

The concept of free market is created, maintained, and curated by the government. Conservatives of free market behave as if free market has the same idea as the state of nature in which tyrannical government arrives after the fact and wrecks the policies when, in fact, it is the opposite. The difference is that in State of nature, you have permanent war, while, traders and entrepreneurs in a free market can only exist if there are monsters to enforce things such as private property, contracts, and money, of which the State creates all of it.  The States sets free market rules and policies, and without their intervention, there would be no free market.

For instance, France has an average retail price of 20% higher than that in Germany, despite the fact that Germany has a higher VAT than France. Evidently, this is because retail market in France is cartel based; in this case, the biggest retailers hold local monopolies. Hence, there is no competition (Gobry, N.p). However, State involvement is based on the strength of the government, and free markets require a vigorous and active government. For instance, United States is more open market than Europe considering the power of their government, but they have been outshined because Europe has a government that is less concerned about maintaining a free market(Gobry, N.p).

In conclusion, involvement of State in every market economy is based on their strength on market policy. Regulations play a role of zoning laws which then prevent the opening of situations such as dumping, reduced price regulations, and squeezing of suppliers. Some States have more involvement because their big companies have created comfortable alliances that suppress other firms from merging. Lastly, it is recommended that government intervention creates a free market, nonetheless, there can be harmful interventions, such as France’ scrapping wrongheaded regulations, but primarily positive interventions have been witnessed with government involvement with the market economy.