APPLIED BUSINESS TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES IN

TOURISM (ABIT 211)

INTRODUCTION:  Will generally require training to prevent dam-
age to the user or the business
 The applied business tools and technologies in
 Are attractive in terms of cost and can be at-
the hospitality industry
tractive to a potential thief
 Challenges posed by technology in the hospi-
 Are often portable so they are susceptible to
tality industry
damage and loss as a direct result of their
 Dimensions of technology in business
portability and the exact location of a tool at
What is Business Tool? any time may not be known.

 A business tool can be considered as any asset EXAMPLES OF COMMON BUSINESS

that helps or assists the organization to achieve TOOLS:
its stated aims or objectives. There are various  Digital Cameras – still, moving, and in mobile
types of tools that may be used in a business telephones
varying in size, complexity, danger, and im-
 Mobile Telephones
portance to the business operation.
 Pagers
Defining a Business Tool  Scanners
 Photocopiers
Portable and Attractive Tool:
 Notebooks
 This states that the item is portable and proba-
 Laptop
bly does not have a fixed location. It also
states they are attractive, meaning they could  Dictation Machines

be a target for theft or excessive use.  Order Taking Handhelds

 Laser pens
Significant Small Tools:
 Keyboards
 This is very similar as the item are small so  Brochures
they can be easily lost and they are significant
 Facsimile
to the business
 Landline Telephones
Regardless of the group name that is identi-  Software
fied, it is important to note that the tools  E-mail
must:  Business web site
 Represent an investment to the business
CHAT TOOLS:
 Require control as their use or loss can repre-
 Phonecalls
sent a significant cost to the business
 Viber
  Messenger Characteristics of Technology-Intensive
 Telegram Projects

TASK MANAGEMENT TOOLS: 1. Value creation by applying technology

2. High task complexity, risks, and uncer-
 Gmail
tainty
 Yahoo
3. Resource constraints and tight end-date
 Windows driven schedules despite tough perfor-
 Microsoft Teams mance requirements.
 Microsoft Design 4. Highly educated and skilled personnel
WORK AND TIME TRACKING TOOLS: 5. Complex project organizations and cross-
 Drive functional linkages
 Canvas 6. Technology used as a tool for managing
 Outlook projects
7. Replacement of labor with technology
What is Business Technology?
8. Advanced infrastructure
 Business technology refers to the application 9. High front-end expenditures early in the
of science, data engineering and information project life cycle
for business purposes, such as achievement of 10. Low short-term profitability in spite of
economic and organizational goals. large capital investment
 The main element of technology is the idea 11. Changing markets, technology, and regu-
of change, and how it can affect business lations
and society. 12. Intense global competition, open markets,
 That technology can be customer-facing ap- low barriers to entry
plications and solutions, business-critical 13. Short product life cycles
production and logistics solutions, or back 14. Need for quick market response
office financial systems, among others. 15. Complex decision-making processes
Whatever its use, all this technology should 16. Many alliances, joint ventures, and part-
be managed professionally. nerships

Challenges Posed by Technology in the Hos-

pitality Industry:
 Changing World: Challenges and Opportuni-
ties
 Global Dimensions
 Project Deserves Special Attention Within the
Enterprise
 Unique Nature of Technology Projects
Dimensions of Technology in Business
 Ubiquity
 Global Reach
 Universal Standards
 Richness
 Interactivity
 Information Density
SOFTWARE
 Personalization/Customization
 A computer program is a series of instructions
 Social Technology
to a computer to execute any and all processes.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS  Computers only “understand” instructions con-
/ HARDWARE (lab) sisting of electrical signals alternating between

/SOFTWARE two states.

HARDWARE
The Central Tool of Modern Information System System Software

 A Four Basic Functions of Computers  Manages computer resources and performs

 Accept data routine tasks not specific to any application
 Process data  Copying and pasting sections and files
 Store data and instructions  Printing documents
 Output Data  Allocating memory

 Output devices  Developed to partner with as many applica-

 Input Devices tions as possible

 Applications will work with system software
 External storage
ONLY if they are developed to be compatible.
 Internal Memory
 Operating System (O/S)
 Central Processing Unit
 Single most important program and most
Considerations in Purchasing Hardware important type of system software
 Power – speed, size of memory, storage capac-  Developed for a certain microprocessor/s
ity  Addresses technical details such as regis-

 Expansion and upgrade capability ters and RAM addresses

 Plays the role of “traffic cop” or the
 Ports for external devices like printers and
“boss” of computer resources
communication devices
 Ergonomics : Keyboard, Monitor Application Software
 Vendor reliability, warranty policy, vendor  Application - specific programs
support
 Programs designed to perform specific jobs
 General - purpose programs  Virtual Reality (VR)
 Usable for different purposes  Mimics sensory reality
 Custom- Designed applications  Business use of VR is expected to grow
 Advantages : dramatically for design and testing of
 Meeting the organization’s exact needs new products, and for marketing.
 In-house developers are sensitive to the
CONSIDERATIONS IN PURCHASING SOFT-
organizational culture WARE
 Disadvantages
 High cost
 Production schedule subject to long de-
lays
 Incompatible with other organizations’
system
 Packaged software
 Advantages :
 Low cost
 High quality INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSI-
NESS : TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NET-
 Vendor support
WORKS
 Immediate availability
 Disadvantages  Telecommunications
 Features cater to the lowest common de-  Transmittal of data from onecomputer to
nominator of users’ needs another over a distance
 Software often addresses only a narrow  Telecommunications has improved business in
spectrum of business needs three main ways :
 Purchases may pay for features they  Better communication
don’t need  HIgher efficiency
 Impossible to alter to meet specific needs  Better distribution of data
 Vendor may go out of business, leaving WEEK FOUR:
users without support
 Packaged software
Common Components of Business Let-
 Multimedia ter
 Can handle many different types of data 1. Letter Heading
such as text, voice, and image 2. Recipient Address
 Powerful means of communicating 3. Sunbject
 Uses include education, training, re- 4. Greeting
search, and business 5. Body
 Packaged software 6. Complimentary Close
7. Signature 3.Use appropriate word/s and be sensitive to

There are different business letters, it could be : the reader’s feelings.

 Thank you letter Business / Corporate Correspondence |

 Response Letter Format & Template
 Letter of Request
 Sales/ Marketing Letter
 Memorandum
 Response Letter
 Acknowledgement Letter

BUSINESS LETTER BEST PRACTICES

1. Set a proper font,indentation and margin
2. Consider organization’s format (logo,heading,
signature, contact number) if any as there will be
uniformity and consistency
3. Usually in sales and reservation department, it
is better to have a uniformed template so that
there will be a standard and branding.

 Tone in the letter

1.Don’t make it sound arrogant
2.Your approach should be direct to the point
and conversational, yet proffesional