reports programmed’ to serve the information needs

As a part of the Company’s data base, this information will

become a part of a number of reports programmed’ to serve the information needs of

Typical’s employees. Shipping depa11ment workers will get the information they need to

fill the order. Sales managers will receive summary rep0l1s of the activities of their

salespeople. Production planners will receive” the, inventory and product demand

information they need to work out production schedules. And the top executives will get

the overall activity rep0l1s which give them the performance information they need in

guiding Typical’s comse.

Among those in the shipping department who will receive the ordel; infOlmation is

ShaImila, the department secretary. One of Ms. Sharmila’s duties is to send the shipping

details to the customers in specially adapted acknowledgement ‘letters. The Typical

company uses a specially adapted letter rather than a routine from acknowledgement

because the firm recognizes the goodwill- building effect of making every

communication contact as favourable as possible. Obviously, individually composed

letters are expensive; so Ms. Sharmila cheats a

little by selecting from a half dozen basic form letters stored in the memory of her word

processor. Of course, the word processor will reproduce the letter and adapt it to the

one customer.

Contents of the next envelope Ram opens are not so positive as the first. This one is a

note from a Typical salesperson in the field who reports on a difficulty a customer is

having with a T-shirt. Using his computer terminal, Ram enters the pertinent facts into the

Company’s data base. There it will become a part of summary reports which may be

useful to production control and product design. Then Ram forwards this message

through interplant mail to the customer services depatlment. Here Typical’s

individualized attention will be given to the problem, for Typical knows that it is good

business .to keep its customers satisfied. Probably someone in customer services will

communicate with some of Typical technical personnel in an eff0l1 to find the cause of

the difficulty