APPLIED

BUSINESS
TOOLS &
TECHNOLOGY
HM 313
LESSON 2:
Access and
use
common
business
tools
OBJECTIVES
• Identify and access business tools required to achieve work outcomes in
accordance enterprise policy and procedures

• Use business tools efficiently and effectively and in accordance with

enterprise policy and procedures

• Obtain and maintain business tools required to support workplace activities

• Store business tools in accordance with enterprise procedures and to reduce

theft and fraudulent activity

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 • A business tool can be considered as any asset that helps or assists the
organisation to achieve its stated aims or objectives. There are various
Introduction types of tools that may be used in a business varying in size,
complexity, danger, and importance to the business operation. This unit
aims to consider the items that are portable and valuable, and by their
very nature present unique management challenges to the business

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2.1 Identify and access business tools
required to achieve work outcomes in
accordance enterprise policy and procedures.

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Examples of Common Business
Tools
Each of these items represents an investment by the business and can be considered important to the
business. As they are portable they can be misplaced, require usage monitoring, training, and
maintenance:
• Digital Cameras – still, moving, and in
• Brochures
mobile telephones
• Information
• Mobile Telephones
• Knowledge
• Pagers
• Facsimile
• Scanners • Manuals
• Photocopiers
• Landline
• Notebooks
• telephones
• Batteries
• Software
• Dictation machines
• Wiki
• Order taking handhelds
• Email
• Laser pens
• The business web site.
• Mice Keyboards
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Defining a Business Tool
Each business will need to develop criteria
so as to identify which tools are to be
monitored and therefore controlled to
ensure that time and effort is devoted to
managing the proper and important tools.
Obviously a mobile phone supplied to a
salesperson will need to be monitored and
controlled to ensure that all costs are
consistent with business activity

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Defining a Business Tool
Portable and Attractive Tool: Regardless of the group name that is identified,
it is important to note that the tools:
This states that the item is portable and probably
does not have a fixed location. It also states they • Represent an investment to the business
are attractive, meaning they could be a target for • Require control as their use or loss can
theft or excessive use represent a significant cost to the business
• Will generally require training to prevent
Significant Small Items: damage to the user or the business
• Are attractive in terms of cost and can be
This is very similar as the items are small so they attractive to a potential thief
can be easily lost and they are significant to the • Are often portable so they are susceptible to
business damage and loss as a direct result of their
portability and the exact location of a tool at
Significant Small Tools. any time may not be known.

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Finding the Tool: The Register

As these items are portable there needs to

be a register of the tools that are owned and
available within the business. The register
will need sufficient information to ensure
the tools are locatable and identifiable
thereby ensuring the correct tool is
identified. Each business will have different
requirements, but there are a general set of
guidelines that will identify the data that
most businesses should collect

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Storing the Details
• There are various methods to record these details.
The simplest is the paper approach where all the
details are recorded in a book
• Spreadsheets are excellent tools to record the
required details. These can be easily constructed to
suit the individual needs of the business and
changed to suit changing needs.
• Electronic document files can be as simple as
word processing files that require a little more
effort to construct, but once done, are excellent
tools.

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 Description Of tools
What is the tool? • Brand or manufacturer
• Model or name
Each tool needs to be
• Purchase date Supplier
described and • Warranty Expiry date
identified, and this is • Purchase price
especially important • Department
where there are • Physical location
multiples of the same • Serial number
tools. • Asset number
• Colour
• Warranty responsibility
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Serial Numbers Asset Number
Most tools have a serial number Some businesses will attach their own
that is attached to the device as part asset or serial number. This has the
of the manufacturing process. advantage that the number can be
These are generally globally created for each asset that has
unique so that no two serial identification within the number.
numbers should be the same and
they will identify each item. As For example the asset number of CAM-
they were created by the FUJ-ROMSER-2001-005 identifies the
manufacturer they are cheap and asset as a camera, brand Fuji, that was
require very little effort purchased in 2001 and is number 5 of
that type.

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 Radio Frequency Identification
Barcodes Tags (RFID)
The asset number can be
encoded into a barcode that
These are electronic tags that can be
can be easily scanned to attached to items that will
maintain records. These have communicate with electronic scanning
the advantage of certainty and systems that will allow individual
the elimination of data entry items to be identified while in groups
error. The business needs the
equipment to be able to create
these codes and attach them to
the tool.

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2.2 Use business tools efficiently and
effectively and in accordance with
enterprise policy and procedures
Introduction:
Many modern business tools have wide
applications in a business where they can assist the
business in meeting its objectives. Many business
tools also present a possible non-business use that
should be considered when allowing access.
The simplest example is a telephone. Business
calls to suppliers and customers are obviously part
of the job of many people. Just as obviously a
telephone call to a relative in another country is
not.

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 The Business Web Site Software
This business tool is unique and must be Software is also a unique
considered as a separate entity. Whereas the item. Where software is
other tools have common challenges and distributed on portable
issues regarding use, access, and cost, the
website of the business can do unpresented media it will be installed on
damage to a business and requires special the various computers and
care and control to ensure the objectives of then stored and it may never
the business are achieved.
be needed again

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 Wiki Social Networking
Wiki‟ is Hawaiian for fast and Sites such as SOCMED can be assets
wiki sites allow users to update the for the business but they can also be
site with little restriction on access. liabilities. There have been several
Businesses can create their own cases where people have been fired
wiki sites to store information that because of what they wrote on
may be required by the internal Facebook and the impact the
business users. It is especially comments would have on the
suited for large business to be able business. Staff need to be aware of the
to publish internal public consequences of publishing material
information, this is information on the social sites.
that is freely available to anyone in
the business.

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Landline Telephones Email
Landline telephones can be restricted This is very similar to the landline
to local calls if necessary and they requirements. It may be possible to
usually have unlimited access. Some assume that most can use an email
businesses may not approve personal system, but different programs
calls, but in most the cost and number present different challenges. There
of local calls make it inefficient to is also the consideration of email
monitor. etiquette and how a sent email will
reflect on a business.

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Training programs in making
email may include:
• Colour schemes and which to avoid

• Standard greeting “Dear” rather than “Hi”

• Capitals – “HELLO” indicates shouting and a recipient may find such a message offensive

• Inappropriate attachments that recipients may find offensive and the possible consequences

• Inappropriate use as defined by the corporate email policy

• Use of group or bulk emails and when they are appropriate

• Private email use through the system

• Spam filters

• Attachment size – what is the maximum allowed size?

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2.3 Obtain and maintain
business tools required to
support workplace activities
Introduction:
As each tool is to be monitored and controlled it is
logical that the use of the tool must be also be
monitored for various reasons. It is important to
know who has the tool so that it can be located
should the need arrive. If the tool is to be used for a
set period there needs be a process that should be
followed to get the tool back.
Therefore the business needs a procedure to allocate
the tool to a user and record the date or time that it is
expected back, just as for a book in a library

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Chart

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Rosters

• Some tools will require a roster to allow users to plan for access and to allow planning
for events when the tool is being used by another. There are various tools available from
simple to complicated system-wide computer systems

• The simplest is a diary that can be paper or electronic.

• For larger systems and tools that are in heavy demand an electronic booking system

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Damage
• The business will need to establish rules and
responsibilities for tools that are damaged as a
result of negligent behaviour by the user.

• There will also be a need for a reporting

process to ensure that the appropriate action is
taken to ensure the tool is available when next
required. This may be having the tool repaired
if possible or the initiation of the replacement
process.

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Who Has the Tool?
In much the same fashion as a library, there needs to be a record
of who has the tool and who has used the tool. The business will
need to know who has the tool so management can be certain of
its location and the current person responsible. But a usage
history is also useful to determine if the tool is a worthwhile
asset. A tool that is not used may need to be replaced or simply
deleted as there is no longer a need to support ownership of the
tool.
1.4 Store business tools in accordance with
enterprise procedures and to reduce theft and
fraudulent activity
• The storage requirements for each tool must be considered. There is the
physical space that will be needed for the tool and any other items. There is
the security trade-off: the more secure the item the less accessible and the
more difficult it is to be accessed, the less secure the more accessible.
Management will need to determine the level of security required and the
resources that are to be devoted to the security
Security tools
The simplest tool is a document that controls the use and access to the tool. The cheapest is a book that records
all the relevant information and has to be signed on access and use of the tool. Other methods of security include
a selection of the following.
• Swipe Card Access - Access to the tools can be controlled by the use of swipe cards.
• Password- Computer systems can have password protection to restrict acces
• Security Cameras- As well as recording access, security cameras can record handling and use of the tool
in the area.
• Police Checks - Individuals may apply or authorise others to perform a police check which will disclose
any charges that have been made against a person. I
• Employment Contracts- Every employee is employed on a contract that sets out the terms and
conditions of their employment including such terms as holidays, wages, hours of work etc.
• Privacy- Terms in this section determine the nature of the information that an employee can publish
about the business and the guests of the business
• Internet- If Internet access is normally a part of the employee‟s duties it may be relevant to state the
allowable internet use that is allowed by an employee.
• Lockable Access- Locks can be used to prevent access and to enhance the possibility of the tool being
available for later use
Audits
• An audit can mean many things. In this context an audit is the assessment of the
processes that are in place on how the business tools are monitored, controlled
and used.

• The audit should also confirm that all relevant documentation for each business
tool is present and located in the correct location. As well as the individual tool,
and the associated support items, manuals are an important factor in the efficient
use of the tool. Being able to find the documentation, should the need arrive, is
important.
Stocktake
s
• A periodical stocktake can be performed on consumable resources to
ensure there are sufficient resources to meet the operational needs. A
brochure that shows the possible dishes for functions is useless if
they are not available because the supply has been distributed and
not reordered. Batteries are another item that are often in short
supply, making the associated tool useless.
Information
• information is an important business tool in a modern organization.
Like the other tools it needs protection from unauthorized use and
access. It needs maintenance as information that is old or outdated
may be useless and even dangerous.

Legal Implications
• Where information is disclosed various privacy acts and controls can impose
penalties for the business and the individual for acts that breach the act.
Computer programs have had to be changed to hide information about guests
staying in a hotel as it was deemed that not all employees needed to see the
guest telephone number.
 Access and use common business tools:

• Tools are an asset to the business that must be managed and controlled
Summary
• A business tool register records the details of all tools

• Each tool must have a unique identifier to positively identify one tool from another

• Tools can be considered as physical and non-tangible such as information

• Training is required to use the tool efficiently

• Support items should be considered as part of the tool

• Records must be maintained as to the location and usage history of the tool

• Tools must be stored in a secure location

• Access must be controlled.

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Thank You

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