Saturday, 19 February 2011

A2 Project Interview

My IT Questions

Project Company: King's Institute
Problem: Dealing with In/Out times for casual workers calculating pay as well as recording events for the year.

Questions: [Relating to wages]

What is the rate you pay your casual workers?
The rate varies according to the dictate of the employee, So how long they have been employed with us or the current legal rates that apply

Do they receive any bonus'?
They... Yes they can

When do they receive bonus'
At the conclusion of the job, Of their employment

At the moment, how do you record the amount of hours that the workers have worked for and the events that are booked?
I'll deal with the first one, "How do we record the amount of hours, Each employee is required to fill in a time sheet on a daily bases. That time sheet is then translated into the payroll system, and payment is made accordingly. How do we record the events? The events are recorded in an electronic diary and on the white board

How do you contact them for work?
We have 2 systems. The first one is the inquiry of the housemasters and ask them if they would like to ask they are, the senior students, if they are potentially interested in working during the holiday period. The second system is that we'll either ring, email or contact an workers that have been previously employed 

How many workers do you employee annually on average?
Different workers?Ahhh, 30

What kind of work do the employee's of the institute do?
Varies but it usually is associated with the setup, management and the conclusion of an event. They will anything from manual labour, through to assisting and directing people who are new to the site, in terms of acting as guides or  PR people

Given that the work load fluctuates, Would it be prudent to say that some days not all workers are required?
Correct

 How do you decide who works on a particular day?
Usually my assessment of their commitment to the job and ability to get the job done
Are the hours fixed?
No, they are different

How do you decide when adequate work has been done for the day?
Usually at the conclusion of the work that needs to be done for that period, but that can vary depending on the work that has been done during the day, so if it has been a very heavy workload, we may finish earlier than if it hasn't been physically demanding.
How do you deal with a situation where an employee is unable to make work?
Workload just increases for the people who are here or occasionally I will have a reserve list of people who I can ring and contact to come in and fill in the space of the missing employee

So when workers come to work, they must give you their details?
Yes, Well contact details

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Questions: [Relating to Events]

When someone wants to book the school, how long does it normally take for you to record that booking?
Usually its a protracted negotiation period that starts with an initial inquiry, the second step would be the negotiation of associated costs and the third stage would be a final booking and can vary from anything from 3 days to 3 months

By what means do you record events?
Well we use a manual diary to record events and we use a computer to record things such as the spreadsheets associated with the cost, provision for invoices or electronic communication via email or correspondence.

How do you charge those who wish to book the school?
They have 2 requirements, A facility reservation cost, which is basically a booking that they have made and the second payment is traditionally, within 30 days, an invoice for the event

How long is the school normally booked out for?
No, you can book it for as long as it's available and it's only available during the holiday period

A2 Project Intro


Description of the organisation

Point of program: To calculate workers payment, provide the institute with a list of people available to work on a particular day and their contact details and to book in events

Kings' Institute

Kings' Institute is an organisation that deals with events and functions
that take place within the college. This ranges from afternoon teas, weddings and
camps. The Institute needs to record each of the events that the school is booked out for and their duration. Normally each of these functions requires casual workers to look after the paying guests. The head of the institute is John Powell and he deals with managing and directing the rest of the institute in ensuring that their is an available period and enough workers required for each booking.

Methods Currently in use:

Normally Mr John Powell asks some of the students if they are keen to work and asks them to spread the word about work. He also sends an email to housemasters asking them to ask senior students if they are willing to work. So advertising for the job is done by word of mouth. When someone wishes to book out the school they contact Powell and he checks for an availability and a price. He normally works out the costs use a spreadsheet and has a white board that acts as a visual aid in seeing which dates are available for latter bookings.

Origin and form of the data used

The information comes from the students who wish to work at the school who will 
contact Mr John Powell and confirm that they are able to work. Each worker has their own unique ID and respective contact details. Those who wish to book the school out will also contact Powell and confirm availability. Mr Powell will also provide ratings as to how productive and committed each worker is to provide a useful indication as to which workers he will want for the next booking.