Introduction of PTCL

1947-1962 is the era of development of Posts and Telegraph department and in this era PTCL becomes the major player of telecommunication sector in Pakistan, which is run by the Government, and in 1991 Government announced to privatize the PTCL. In 1995 PTCL recognized as the backbone of Telecom industry in the Pakistan. With the advancement of technology PTCL launched its mobile data services by name of UFONE. In the middle of 2005 company decided to sell its 26% share to the private agency. By this privatization certain changes involved in PTCL, which are as, follow VSS (Voluntary Separation Schemes for its Employees) Use of different operational and customer care softwares like ERP, SAP, B&CC Change in Logo of PTCL After privatization their main focus is on productivity and customer satisfaction. Currently PTCL is involved in following operations `Voice and Communication Broadband IPTV Services Vfone Pak internet Exchange Satellite Communication There are seven different types of switching technologies currently operated in PTCL network, which are Alcatel Siemens NEC Ericson Hawaii J.S Telecom ZTE
1

With these technologies PTCL running its e network and providing different communication facilities to its customers. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued 25 years licensed to PTCL for telecom services all over in Pakistan. PTCL is the largest telecommunication industry in Pakistan. PTCL is all set to redefine the established boundaries of the telecommunication market and is shifting the productivity frontier to new heights.

Information Systems
In organization different kind of levels are involved in management, there are different information systems at different level of organization. One information system cannot provide all the information thats why all departments coordinated with each other and jointly made a management information system for whole organization.

PTCL information systems

Following are the information systems involved in PTCL. OLD Telegraph System Computerized Fault Management System B&CC (Business and Customer Care System) Partial Office Automation System Human Resource Management Information System . PTCL is divided into two stages (1) strategic, management, knowledge and operational level (2) functional areas such as sales and marketing, manufacturing finance, accounting and human resource

Old Telegraph System

Old Telegraph system has been terminated by the PTCL now because of various recommendations. PTCL is improving and modernizing the system to meet the requirements of the 21st century because in delivering Telegrams by post it takes three to four days.

Computerized Fault Management System

CFMS stand for Computerized Fault Management System, which is used at operational level in PTCL. This system of PTCL helped in improving the network & is being used to register & rectify Land Line Faults in a computerized way. This fault management system contains activating notification software that allows a human to take proper intervention. This system was working in few cities but now it is available all over Pakistan. In this system when customer calls to PTCL at 1218 for complaints it registers there complaint and then this system track the faults and complaints for a particular user and sent notification alert for solutionthensystem itself calls back to the customer to know whether the customer problem has been solved and has the customer been satisfied or not.

Complaints

Calls Received form Costumers Register Complaints through Computerized System Data sent to Department and Identification of Problems Department Solved the Problem

Department

Call Back to Customer

Satisfied with Problem Solution Not Satisfied with Problem, Solution

Advantages of Computerized Fault Management System Following are the advantages of using computerized Fault management System. Provide Costumers feedback to top management regarding their problems. Track the faults and complaints. Focus on Customer Satisfaction. Help Managers to understand difficulties of customers regarding problem solutions. When a problem of a customer is not solved then a message is sent on the mobile of senior management by system. Disadvantage of Computerized Fault Management System Following are the disadvantages of this system that we found during our analysis. Security Threats because there is no proper security available for this system. No immediate backup for failure of this system This system is not able to automatically take action, either launching a program or script to take corrective action. B&CC System (Business and Customer Care System) The whole network of PTCL only one software name B&CC (Business & customer care System) is used and which is cost approximately 3 Arab rupees. This system is operated at all three levels of PTCL, which are operational, Middle level, Top Management. This system includes the following functions Franchise and Payphone Management Costumer Information Product Information Sales Management Order Entry Order Management Resource Management

Every employee in PTCL has an access to this software but options are limited according to the authority of each employee. For example if an operational level login his username and password then the options regarding his job appear on screen and if top manager login his username and password then the options for his purpose appear on the screen. The decision to grant installment in the bill to customer is made by lower level supervisors according to predefined criteria. Franchise and Payphone Management and Costumer Information These two functions involve bill payment and customer account information. PTCL employees just hit the phone number of customer and all the detail regarding billing and accounts appear on the screen. These functions include the following things Costumer Name Customer Address CNIC Payment Code Payment Name Payment Mode Payment Type Product Information Product information involves the details about the product, which has been used by the customer. For example it tells either a customer has used a PTSN or any other differentiated product. It has tabs of Product code, Product type, Product Status and Bill Status. Sales Management Sales management function of B&CC tells about the daily sales transactions and track elementary activities and transactions of the organization. It includes sales dialogs, customer experience about the sales and sales information about walk-in queries and existing customers. Order Entry and Order Management These two functions include the details about new order and any change in existing packages. Its process depends upon three phases Accepting (New Orders or New Package) Handling (Processing) Completed (Completion of Process)
5

Resource Management Resource Manager involves the computerize tracking of receipts, cash, deposits, payroll and store information for their materials like cables, telephone sets etc.

Advantages of B&CC B&CC used for all three levels of Management which made it a sole information system of the Organization Immediately can track the data about the customer, which made billing and other process quiet easy. Describe about the new orders and packages conversation of customer to their respective department. Purpose of B&CC is to control, monitor and manage the entire PTCL network and to enhance and optimize Network Management through a transparent and centralized platform. Increase network availability through Enhanced Quality of Service and centralized performance statistics and reporting mechanism. It provides the description about the resource used by organization and help managers to managing the resources.

Disadvantages of B&CC System Following are the disadvantages of B&CC, which we have found during our analysis. Much complicated software for operational level employees because these employees are not well educated and trained. Chances of Identity theft in this system. Breakdown of this system can be the breakdown of the whole network of PTCL. Decision-making through this system is slow, which leads to the lack of productivity. Difficulty for Top Managers to take decision via this system because it is not easy as compare to ESS or DSS. Partial Office Automation System PTCL also implement partial office automation system, which is based on database. It includes only two following things Word Processor Desktop Publishing Office automation systems (OAS) are configurations of networked computer hardware and software. A variety of office automation systems are now applied to business and communication functions that used to be performed manually or in multiple locations of a company, such as preparing written communications and strategic planning. In addition to this, functions that once required coordinating the expertise of outside specialists in typesetting, printing, or electronic recording can now be integrated into the everyday work of an organization, saving both time and money .If PTCL implement fully OAS in their organization then they can improve their performance. Human Resource Management Information System PTCL is also focusing on HR Management and Development; PTCL introduced the HR online Hiring Management System. Appropriate changes have been made in HRM such as to establishment of Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS). Recruitment process and system has been adequately revamped by adopting appropriate HR practices. Professional development of employees, especially the middle management, is being ensured. Training courses for employees have been redesigned. A special emphasis is being laid on the inculcation of sense of responsibility and politeness in the minds of employees, especially the lower management and staff. Training institutes of PTCL i.e. Telecom Staff College, Regional Telecom Training Schools and Divisional telecom Training Centers is also being revamped to
7

cope up with the changing trends in technical and managerial training. PTCLs engineers and professionals are also being continuously sent abroad for various training courses to keep them abreast with the latest technology and management skills.

BUSINESS PROBLEM & THEIR SOLUTION

The whole network of PTCL only one software name B&CC (Business & customer care System) is used and which is cost approximately 3 Arab rupees. This system is operated at all three levels of PTCL, which are operational, Middle level, Top Management. There are number of problems faced by PTCL, which are:Wrong Entry It is a common problem faced by PTCL.A Computer Operator mistakenly enters wrong information about the customer.e.g Customer name spelling,address etc so it is then corrected manually in B&CC Software.Below is the picture where computer operator enters data into customer account.

Solution The wrong data which is mistakenly entered by a computer operator is manually corrected by him,but i think that there should be a reverse button in B&CC Software so incase if there is a wrong entry by a computer operator then it should be undo by just one click in order to save time. Un-user friendly IS The Whole B&CC IS & the SAP Database is very un-user friendly especially for a new user.It takes alot of time for a new user to fully understand the B&CC software due to which time is wasted & organization faces difficulties in dealing with the customer. Below are the pictures of SAP Database & B&CC used by PTCL.

Solution As the SAP database & the B&CC Software is very expensive & is already in action throughout the organization so if the new employee comes to the organization then proper training must be

given to him/her by Trainners so that they can use SAP Database & B&CC Software easily & quickly. Hardware Problem It is the major problem in PTCL organization.Some times a part of hardware malfunctions inside an organization or of the customer, so the customer faces difficulties in using their service.It is noted & corrected through Complaint Management Service application. Below is the screen shot of hardware used by ptcl &Complaint and management information system

10

11

Solution As the organization faces number of hardware problems inside the organization as well as the hardware of customers, so proper IS must be installed in order to deal with hardware errors. They simply use Complaint Supervisor Interface in order to deal with hardware problems which is simply a complaint section & when the customer complaints about an error so they feed it into the Complaint Supervisor Interface software & then correct it. They must use proper software for it so that it automatically detects hardware error.

Conclusion Management Information system can play a vital role in building infrastructure of telecommunication in Pakistan. There is need to realize the importance of management information system in mind of PTCLs employees and to train them according to emerging technologies in the world. There is need of improvement like at operational level PTCL is using partially OAS (Office automation system); the use word processing is in a limit, because PTCL ground level labors are not educated as well as supervisor level employees. At managers level they have a system that track all the transaction of the system like fault every supervisor have an account and they have records so they use this record to remove faults and complains. At strategic level Managers should use ESS (Executive Support System) so that they can plan easily and take decisions

12