EVANS ENTERPRISES

BACKGROUND TO THE COMPANY

Evans Enterprises is the overall name of Perfect Parties, Exceptional Events and soon to be Wonderful Weddings ran by Elizabeth Evans. Elizabeth Evans after leaving her long term successful job in hotel management in 2002 for personal reasons she later in 2005 realised that she would like to get back into the working world. She had a simple idea of starting her own business. The idea was to use her extensive personal and professional experience that she had gained to organise and host childrens birthday parties. She soon realised that her plan of hosting parties in peoples houses was not what the customer wanted meaning that she had to rent a premises to host these parties. After renting a local church hall she started to advertise this new adventure, Perfect Parties was created. It was soon discovered that this venue was at times unreliable as events hosted by the church came first. This meant that on several occasional a booking was made by Elizabeth and had to be canceled at the last minute this was not a good image for the expanding business. Demand for Perfect Parties was soon becoming too much for Elizabeth alone and in 2006 Elizabeth and her husband Stephen decided that they were ready to rent their own permanent premises to host their business. With this new move they also decided to hire staff to lessen the burden on Elizabeth. Four new members of staff were appointed, one permanent, two part-time and also a part time cleaner. As Perfect Parties grew Elizabeth contained to develop new ideas for the business to attract new clientele. Within the year it was very clear that additional staff would need to be hired to cope with demand. Two current part time members of staff were made full time, and seven more staff appointed including catering staff. As Elizabeths experience with Perfect Parties had increased she decided that she could extend her organisation and hosting abilities to professional events for example, meetings, marketing events and promotions. In 2008 she opened a new branch to her company under the name of Exceptional Events. One member of staff was brought to Exceptional Events as manager with three additional staff members hired to take care of marketing, research and client liaison. The Exceptional Events office was based in the centre of town and provided a front window opportunity for the business. The office has more than enough room with a reception/waiting area and also three private offices where deals could be made and plans finalised. With this new location Elizabeth knew that communication would be

vital, therefore purchased three computers, a printed and two laptops to add to the stock that they already had. Although both businesses are doing very well there are problems which need to be addressed. Communication between both locations and also between members of staff in each location needs to be improved. For example, Elizabeth would not always record meeting that she needs to attend, this meant that she failed to attend which reflects poorly on the management and organization. Both businesses are expanding and doing well even with the issues that need to be addressed. After some research Elizabeth is possibly extending the business further by adding another branch to the company under the name Wonderful Weddings. The overall name of the organization is Evans Enterprises with each branch retaining its familiar name.

ORGANSIATION STRUCTURE

Elizabeth Evans Business

Peter Morgan Manager of Exceptional Events Rachel Devine Secretary of Exceptional Events Charlie Harris Marketing in Exceptional Events Celica Boyd Research and Client Liaison Exceptional Events Brian Johnston Assistant

Margret Bryce Manager of Perfect Parties

Julie Mitchell Assistant Manager

Emma Davey Secretary of Perfect Parties

Paula Morrison Catering Manager

Susan Rodgers Assistant

Susan Rodgers Catering Assistant

Mark McKenna Assistant

Susan Rodgers Catering Assistant

ROLES WITHIN THE ORGANISATION

ELIZABETH EVANS BUSINESS OWNER

Elizabeth Evans owns the business and is in charge of the organization over all. Her job involves meeting potential clients and catering to their every need this includes booking hotels, arranging transfers, sending invitations on behalf of the client and receiving reply slips. She oversees everything that happens at both Perfect Parties and Exceptional Events.
MANAGERS

Margret is the manager of the Perfect Parties branch of Evans Enterprises, her role in the organization is to oversee all that happens at Perfect Parties and report back to Elizabeth. She is also in charge of staff procedures in the form of time sheets, holiday arrangements and personal matters staff from both Perfect Parties and Exceptional Events would have to contact Margret about these matters. Margret would have human resources aspects in her job. Peter was the assistant manager of Perfect Parties, but then was transferred to become the manager of the new branch Exceptional Events. As the manager he was to oversee all staff as well as completing his duties which include making the necessary arrangements e.g. Book hotels for clients. SECRETARYS The secretaries in the organization are Rachel Devine and Emma Davey. Secretaries have a range of duties which make the overall office run more smoothly. These duties include answering telephones, transferring to the appropriate person and if necessary taking and delivering messages. The secretaries are also responsible for filing away documents into an appropriate place, this is important as inspectors can come and check this.
CHARLIE HARRIS MARKETING

Charlie Harris is in charge of marketing for Evans Enterprises this involves him selling the company to people that may be interested in using the organization for an event. He must use people skills to show the prospective people that it would be the right choice to use Evans Enterprises as the company to host and organize their events.

CELICA BOYD RESEARCH AND CLIENT LIAISON

Research and client liaison is an integral part to any successful company. It is Celicas job to meet with the client assess their needs in the event and keep the organization up to date with what is happening with their event. Research is used to improve the organization for example researching a new idea to see if it has been successful with other organizations, without research within a company wrong decisions could be made resulting in a financial loss for Evans Enterprises.
CATERING DEPARTMENT

The catering department of Evans Enterprises in ran by the catering manager Paula Morrison. The catering department provides food and drink to events in both branches of Evans Enterprises. Paula is in charge of everything that happens within the department and is also responsible for the two catering assistants employed. Paula must report to the manger of Perfect Parties Margret.
GENERAL ASSISTANT

There are currently four assistants employed by Evan Enterprises that are based in Perfect Parties. They will help organize events e.g. contacting and hiring suitable performers and entertainers as well as collecting legal consent forms and information of the people attending. They are employed to help and make the overall business run more smoothly.

MANAGEMENT

The overall manager of Evans Enterprises is Elizabeth Evans who own the organization. At each branch there are managers and assistant managers appointed to help with the strain on work; they have their own duties and set of people to look over. For example the catering manager must report back to the manager of Perfect Parties where as the two catering assistants must report back to the catering manager. This means that the manager of Perfect Parties has less responsibility and has more time to get on with the other aspects of her job. Any decisions regarding the overall company would be made by Elizabeth Evans.
RESOURCES

Currently the organization owns two separate premises. Perfect Parties is professionally fitted with appropriate items for a childrens party for example an outdoor play area with swings and slides for younger children. At the premises they have their own telephone and fax number as well as a computer and printer to contact people for example they may use the computer to contact clients via email about their needs for the party. For childrens parties Elizabeth also has a list of contact details of performers and entertainers that they can hire. Also at Perfect

Parties they have a fully equipped catering team. As Perfect Parties started to host fancy dress parties they also have a large stock of their own fancy dress costumes. The second premise is also professionally fitted out with a reception and waiting area along with three private offices to hold meetings with clients in. There are also three computers, a printer and two laptops available at Exceptional Events.

HOW INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED IN THE COMPANY

Information within Evans Enterprises is communicated in several different ways. Ways in which information can be communicated can include verbal for example talking on the telephone, visual for example in the marketing department could use a presentation to display information about the company to prospective clients, written and electronic. Verbal communication is a large and essential part of any successful organization. There are many different scenarios that verbal communication would be appropriate and efficient to use. The receptionist of both branches would use a large amount of verbal communication as they would be the first point of contact for potential clients and the organization, the receptionist would use the telephone to contact clients which would use using verbal communication effectively. At a meeting with clients verbal communication would be used between the client and the member of staff present at the meeting to discuss their needs and what they would like to happen at the event Evans Enterprises is hosting. Verbal communication would also be used when members of staff are talking to each other but important details should not be communicative via verbal communication as there is no proof of the message being delivered, for example if someone left the receptionist a message for Elizabeth to ring them back and the receptionist said to Elizabeth on her way in she may forget or get distracted. The Elizabeth could say that the receptionist said that she didnt deliver the message. If this was done by a more appropriate method of communication for example if the message was emailed to Elizabeth the receptionist would have proof that the message was delivered. Verbal communication could be used for information that is internal as discussed earlier in the document between members of staff, but can also be used for information that is external for example, a staff member may have to purchase new stock for a party and may have to phone the supplier to check if they have it in stock and order it. This information is still communicated verbally but is information is being communicated externally between an organization that is not a part of Evans Enterprise. Video conferencing would also be verbal communication, as using an webcam and microphone people across a city or across the world can talk to each other. It would be appropriate to use a video conference to communicate with people who are far

away or cannot make it to an important meeting. For example if a member of the team is on other company business in another country but needs to be present at a meeting, using video conference means that they can be there. Written communication would also be used a lot Evans Enterprises. When at a meeting with a client Elizabeth or any other staff member present would not be expected to remember all information that is discussed or every single detail that the client requires at the event, they would write this information down this means that there is a record of the requests of the client and then Evans Enterprises will be able to host the event as the client requested. The information would be recorded in a booking form which the customer had to complete. Also at a meeting minutes will often be taken to record what has been discussed at the meeting this formal documentation means that if someone said that there was a particular item not addressed or if for example there was a training course that everyone had to attend and this was discussed at the meeting and recorded in the minutes everyone at this meeting would have no excuse of not knowing about the event. Before a meeting an agenda may be sent to all members who are attending the meeting. This would detail all the points that are due to be brought up. This information would be internal communication as it is between members of the organization only. At events hosted by both branches of Evans Enterprises clients return either permission slips or RSPV slips. This is a written method of communication as the response weather the child has permission or whether the person invited is going to attend is in written form, this physical form of document means that there is hard copy proof incase an inspector arrives to check over the documents. This written method of communication is external as the information is being transferred from inside the company to people outside the organization. Elizabeth uses written communication to record to information regarding a range of entertain or performers that Perfect Parties clients may want to hire for their event. Also members of staff must fill in timesheets detailing when and how long they worked for, this information is internal written communication. The internal memo system that Evans Enterprises uses is a form of written communication. This system was not very effective as members of staff would often be out and not return to the office to check messages meaning that many were left unnoticed until the following day. Email is a written and electronic method of communication email would be widely used in any organization as it is cheap and extremely quick. Most devices now are internet enabled e.g. Smartphones, tablets, etc. and can receive emails, this means that emails can be sent and received on the go, this is a lot more appropriate than

leaving a paper note on someones desk as they may not return to their desk until the next day and miss the message or important information. Email would be used to contact clients to inform them on the progress of their event, between members of staff at both branches of Evans Enterprises or between the organization and suppliers of stock to the company. Email is a suitable method of communication as most people have an email address meaning

TYPES OF INFORMATION CURRENTLY CIRCULATING WITHIN THE COMPANY INVOICE

An invoice is a document from an organization detailing an amount of money that one company owes another to pay for either stock that they have provided the company or services that they have provided them. For example an invoice could be from an organization supplying stock of food etc to a company or for example a training course. Suppliers would send Elizabeth Evans an invoice if she had order stock from one of her suppliers, this invoice must be retained so that she can calculate the companys finances accurately. An invoice will contain multiple amounts of money for example the amount owed to the company may be displayed before and after tax to assist businesses. In the example invoice as seen above, in this small section of the invoice there is a lot of important information, for example the sales representative that completed the sale (this could become useful if products that were ordered did not arrive) also the date and method which the items were shipped, along with the order number above the organization could use the information to track their delivery via the couriers website. The invoice should be retained by the member of staff in charge with dealing with the companys finances. This method of communication is being transferred internally and externally. Externally as the invoice is delivered to Evans Enterprises from a supplier. Internally as when the post arrives at the office it must be delivered to the appropriate person within Evans Enterprises then checked, then the payment made. As seen in the sample below payment information could be on the invoice, this is essential to both companys one needs to pay and the other needs to be paid. Also a contact number may be displayed so that if there is any problem the organization can contact the supplier quickly.

LEGAL ISSUES

There are multiple legal issues that Evan Enterprises must make themselves are of, they include;
COMPUTER MISUSE ACT

The Computer Misuse Act addresses many issues that include hacking, data misuse, unauthorized transfer or copying, distributing copyrighted data, viruses and many more. This act makes it an offence to access someones computer without permission, accessing computer material without the owners permission with the intent to commit further criminal offences. For example hacking into someones personal bank account to transfer their money into your bank account, also using a computer to alter data on a person computer.
DATA PROTECTION ACT

The data protection act was put in place to protect companies and the customers or people connected to that company. The data protection act controls who has access to information held by companies on their clientele. The roles of those involved are as follows. The information commissioner the person who has the powers to enforce the act. The data controller the person who keeps all the information about people and also the data subject the person who has information about them stored. The act ensures that data is kept up to date and accurate and also ensures that data is not stored longer than it is deemed necessary. For example if an employee left an organization it would not be necessary to store their details 5 years after they have left.
COPYRIGHT DESIGNS AND PATIENTS ACT

The Copyright, Designs and Patient Act gives the creators of different types of media and software rights to decide when and where people can use their creation. For example if someone bought a piece of software and made a copy to give to a friend or family member, this would be a breach of the Copyright, Designs and Patients Act.
HEALTH AND SAFETY AND AT WORK

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 makes it a legal requirement for an organization to control and monitor potential hazards in the workplace. It states that a risk assessment must also be carried out. The legislation also states that safety procedures must be displayed for all to see, workers must be adequately changed.

IMPLICATIONS OF LEGISLATION ON EVANS ENTERPRISES

The above legalization will affect Evans Enterprises in multiple ways. One main way will be the Data Protection Act. As Evans Enterprises collects information on their staff including personal details and also personal information of their clients and people attending the events that they host, they must ensure that the information collected is only used responsibly and is not distributed without the permission of the client or that the information is not kept longer than necessary. Also the Copyright, Designs and Patients act will protect the organization. All the organizations logos and slogans will be protected meaning that a rival organization cannot copy them. The Health and Safety at Work Act will also impact the company, within Evans Enterprises there are many working conditions from working in a kitchen to in an office. All these premises must be regularly assessed and also for example in the kitchen where health and safety is a priority appropriate signs must be displayed.
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

A management information system is used to provide an organization that they need to make important decisions and become an effective and productive business. MIS can produce multiple types of reports to assist the management of an organization to make a well informed decision. There are many advantages of using an MIS. An organization is able to highlight with the help of reports produced their strengths and weaknesses using this information they can address issues accordingly. The use of an MIS could improve Evans Enterprises in many ways.