Principles of Business Computing Assignment
AIM OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The majority of businesses use computers in some form within their operations. Many computer users need to create formal documents and reports. The aim of this assignment is to explore the use of computers in the business place, create and use a template to document the information obtained.
The first part of the assignment involves you interviewing a person who uses a computer as part of their everyday work.
This person can be anyone you know (not yourself!!).
You will need to interview the person to find out what hardware and software they use, what policies and procedures they are required to follow when using their computer and what types of data they process.
To enable your knowledge of computer systems to be assessed, you are also required to develop a computer package running on Windows 10 suitable for the person you interviewed to carry out their job. Assume that they need to replace their computer tomorrow as their current computer is no longer working. If the person you interview uses a networked terminal rather than a stand-a-lone computer, then develop a stand-a-lone computer which would allow them to complete their job (assume they can access any special software on this machine as well).
Often computer users need to create formal documents and reports. To assess your abilities in this area, the second part of the assignment requires you to develop an assignment report template and then to use this template to report back on what you found out in the first part of the assignment.
This template and report should be prepared for printing in black and white so any use of colour must take this into account.
Remember that the aim of a template is that it contains the basic information needed for all documents based on the template and it is easy to add new information to the report. Therefore, your template should be prepared in such a way that it could be used for future assignments in this or other courses you study.
ASSIGNMENT SECTION 1: GATHERING THE INFORMATION REQUIRED
Interview a person (not yourself!) who uses computer equipment as an important part of their job. This person may be another person in the class. Don’t expect them to know all the details about all your questions. You may also need to talk to other staff members who know more about areas such as the hardware, network or the data storage information you require.
You may include screenshots or photographs to aid your explanations provided you have permission of the person you are interviewing (make sure confidential information is not included/visible).
The user does not need to work in an office. A checkout operator, engineering fitter, salesperson or courier could be suitable business computer technology users for this. If you are having problems finding someone please email me.
Computers in the Workplace –
Explain the five parts of an information system the person interviewed and business researched:
1. Describe the role and main tasks of the person interviewed and how they use the computer to help them complete these tasks.
2. Explain the procedures (rules and guidelines for computer operations) the person follows in relation to their computer use including the use of the computer and timing of activities (i.e. how often they are normally performed, time of day normally performed etc).
3. Describe the system software, basic application software and specialised software used by the person and/or organization.
4. Describe the hardware the person uses (include information about the type of computer, CPU details, primary and secondary storage, and the input and output devices used).
5. Describe the data the person works with (i.e. the raw, unprocessed facts), what they do to this data (how do they process it) and what are the major types of output produced by this processing (e.g. types of information, reports and documents produced.
Designing a computer for a business –
Assume the person interviewed needs to update their computer tomorrow. This applies even if the person is using a different operating system (eg Apple, Linux).
Propose a suitable Windows based standalone computer using Windows 10 to meet the needs of the person or organisation explored above. The system designed should be either purchased as a package or built using a New Zealand online source.
1. Explain the purpose of the following and how/why you chose what you did for the computer proposed:
CPU details including microprocessor
memory/storage
output devices
input devices
2. Compare and contrast the purpose and functionality of system software, basic application software and specialised software proposed. Recommend at least 2 basic software applications which would be useful for the person you interviewed. Briefly discuss any software issues there may be with moving to the Windows 10 environment (if there aren’t any, state this fact).
3. Provide a copy of the vendors’ information for your proposed computer. Create a pdf document with the computer specifications directly from the website sourced and/or include scans of printed material.
ASSIGNMENT SECTION 2: PREPARE A REPORT TEMPLATE AND A REPORT
Create a MS Word report template and use it to prepare your report for section 1 of this assignment.
You must use this template to produce your reports for all other NZD550/INF550 assignments. This template will probably be very useful for your other NMIT classes as well.
This report and template are showing your skills with Word. Word’s cover pages, themes, templates and wizards may be used but must be modified to show your skills with Word.
Create an assignment template –
Your report template must contain the following but you are free to add your own flair to it. You will need to submit this template as a MS Word document template (.dotx) file. The template is to include:
A cover page that includes suitable details such as your name, student ID and email as well as a head and shoulders photo of yourself. This page may contain colour.
A table of contents and table of figures generated by MS Word.
The table of contents to show your placeholder headings and sub headings.
The table of figures as a heading with automatically generated ‘no entries found’ statement.
At least 3 pages for the body of the document (8 pages for whole document) with a heading and 2 sub headings on each page. These headings need to be general not specific to this assignment. You may use the sample document as a guide.
A references page that includes a heading with automatically generated ‘no sources in current document’ statement.
Appendix A
Create/modify 3 styles per the requirement in the marking guide – all fonts must be Arial and Black
Suitable headers and footers which include your name, ID, course code, assignment number, page number and the file name as a MS Word field.
The template should be prepared for printing in black and white – do not use colour except for the cover page and images.
Use your template to produce a Report –
From the information gained in your interview in part 1, prepare a well-formatted word processed report about your findings using the template you have created. You will need to submit:
1. A pdf copy as a black and white document.
2. The report as you have prepared it as a MS Word document (.docx) file.
3. A pdf file containing your vendors’ information.
Your report must start with an introduction about the person you interviewed including a brief description of the organisation they work for.
Ensure the report is of a professional standard and has content to meet the requirements of section 1 Each topic must have a heading but does not need to start on a new page.
Each topic in your report should be between a half and one page in length. The minimum is unlikely to gain full marks for some requirements. Paginate carefully to avoid splitting sentences.
Your report must have the following attributes:
Uses the styles created for your template.
Has a high level of readability through the use of headings and sub-headings, adequate paragraphs, suitable spacing before and after headings, suitable fonts and good pagination.
Includes at least 1 reference using APA formatting
Proof read for NZ English
Inclusion of at least 2 suitable images (may be colour) with captions and in- text referencing
The report is to be printed in black and white only (ie not in colour).
