OFFICE AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

The introduction of mini computer in to office in the late sixties has since then changed very significantly the way the work is done in office. Office automation is an assorted mix of technologies with the basic objective of improving the efficiency of office work. Office automation systems include the application of computer-based office- oriented technologies such as word-processing, desktop publishing, electronic mail, teletext and teleconferencing.

Business transactions are certain events that occur routinely in a business firm such as purchase and issue of raw materials. The nature and volume of transactions depend on type and size of business. These transactions are to be recorded to measure efficiency of operations and resource use. The transaction processing system (TPS) is the most important and rich source of data for a business firm.
The important areas in office automation are:
1. Word processing
2. Desktop publishing
3. Word processing
4. Electronic mail
5. Facsimile (FAX)
6. Voice Mail
7. Teleconferencing
8. Electronic fund transfer
9. Image storage and retrieval systems:
10. Multimedia systems:
1.Word processing:
Word processing permits typing in documents, manipulation of such documents and their
storage and retrieval.
2. Desktop publishing:
This uses computer hardware and software to produce documents of professional print
quality. The use can combine test, artwork, photos and a variety of fonts to produce the document.
3. Electronic mail:
E-mail is the fastest growing communication mode. Computer network facilitate
communication between computers. The electronic transfer of messages between computers is
quick, convenient and economic.
4. Facsimile (FAX):
The FAX machine sends and receives text and images. The text and images are converted into
digital form and at the receiving end it is converted into text and image form.
5. Voice Mail:
Voice mail sends digitized speech over phone to a mailbox and the message is digitally
stored at the receiving end, which can be accessed using telephone.
6. Teleconferencing:
It is the use of telecommunication technology to see people face to face without their
physical proximity to each other. The participants gather in specially equipped rooms capable of
simultaneous audio and video transmission

7. Image storage and retrieval systems:
These systems convert paper documents into electronic files and images for easy storage
and retrieval.
8. Electronic fund transfer:
It is a facility to transfer funds between accounts of customers with banks. At the point
of sale counter customers presents his cark and keys in a code and if the card and coke tally the
bill amount id transferred to the account of the retailer and the customer’s account is updated.
9.Multimedia systems:
The multimedia systems store. Retrieve and process different types of data such as text, graphics,
audio, video and animation. They facilitate information storage, retrieval and presentation in a
variety of impressive ways.

TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEMS

The transaction processing system (TPS) was the earliest form of computerized
management information system. Originally, business transactions were processed manually.
This was partly replaced by machine-assisted data processing systems. Gradually, electronic
data processing was introduced to record business transactions. TPS is today an integral part of
computer-based information systems. It is very difficult to imagine an organization without a
functional TPS. For example, if an airline reservation system breaks down for a day or two, it
will cripple the company and the flights will be in disarray causing untold miseries to customers.
In a business firm, there are two types of flows in and out of the firm. The first is a
physical flow. It is the flow of inputs through various processes within the firm and the output of
products and services out of the firm. The second is information flow. Information system
tracks the physical flow. The physical flow of input and output is measured and recorded. These
records are the sources of data for information corresponding to the physical flow.

The operations management takes care of the physical flow of resources and the
transaction processing system takes care of the information flow. The transaction processing
system processes all transactions and records them. This results in generation of transaction data
which are structured and stored in databases. Apart from recording routine transactions, TPS
also updates master files and databases.

TRANSACTION PROCESSING CYCLE

 Transaction processing is a basic activity in organizations. It is a routine and repetitive
activity that triggers a few other activities like updating database and generation of documents
forming a cycle. The transaction processing cycle consists of six steps such as:
a. Data entry
b. Input data validation
c. Transaction processing and validation of results
d. File and database maintenance
e. Document and report generation, and
f. Inquiry processing
The transactions are measured in some convenient unit for recording such as money unit
for expenses, hours in case of labour etc. Data pertaining to the transaction must be entered into
the system. The source of this data usually is a document such as sales order from customers,
invoice from suppliers etc., these are called source documents and they provide the basic data for
TPS. The data is entered using either the traditional data entry methods or the direct data entry
methods. In the former method the source documents like purchase order are prepared and
usually accumulated into batches. The direct entry method uses automated systems for data
capturing and recording. Point of sale terminals, optical scanners and MICR devices are used in
capturing data and transferring data to computers in real time for transactions processing.
Input data validation is the next step in TPS. It checks the accuracy and reliability of data
by comparing it with range data or standards etc. It involves error detection and error correction.
Checking for errors include checking the data for appropriate format, missing data and
inconsistent data. If the data value falls outside the normal range it is invalid. For example, if a
firm’s orders for materials in kilograms ranging from 100 to 1000 kilograms and if that range is
accepted as normal data range for purchase orders, then this range is coded into the program for
validation checking. That whenever a purchase order is prepared, as soon as quantity is entered
in the appropriate column the system check whether the quantity entered is between 100 and
1000. Otherwise it will give an error message as “Check the Quantity Entered, it is out of
range” or some other error message as is coded.
Processing of transaction data is the next step. This involves some computation,
checking and comparing etc. For instance, if it is a credit sale transaction, then the total value of
the transaction has to be computed, the system should check whether the value is within the
credit limit sanctioned to the customer, it should check the availability of stock, delivery data
possible etc.

Once the transaction is processed, certain output needs to be generated. The output may
be some documents like sales invoices, pay slips etc. Or screen displays or the output data may
used to update related databases. Files and databases have to be updated with each transaction or
each batch of transactions. In case of applications that are not time critical, the transactions may
be processed in batch mode. Certain systems like airline reservation require updating with every
transaction for giving status information in real time. Direct data entry devices have to be used
to capture transaction data and update related files and databases to provide current information
to users.
Inquiry processing is another activity of transaction processing system which involves
providing information on current status like inventory levels, customer credit limit, dues from a
particular customer, inbound supply, et. The inquiry response is pre-planned and the on-screen
display or output is formatted for the convenience of the requester.
A business transaction with a customer involves a good or service that a customer want
and the business provides for a price. The TPS supports the delivery process.
To complete a transaction with an external entity like customer, supplier etc. a series of
activities is involved such as checking of account, current inventory balance, delivery time and
price.
For instance, the transaction at a bank counter involves checking of account balance,
withdrawal of money or deposit of money. In the case of some transactions, an activity serves as
a trigger and a series of activities follow it. For example, a sales order from a customer is
followed by a number of activities; some of these are queries like:

• Checking whether the customer is an existing or a new customer,
• Checking customer’s credit limit to know whether the transaction is within the permitted credit limit or not,
• Checking inventory balance to know whether the order can be fulfilled within the time the customer needs it,
• Checking production schedule to know how much will be added to finished stock at the end of a production period,
• Checking of back orders to know how much stock will be left to meet this sale order.
• Once this querying is over and if adequate stock is available for meeting the order, the sales order is approved and the transaction is processed. This involves
• Debiting customer account with the value of goods
• Crediting sales file with the value of goods
• Updating inventory file with the quantity of stock sold
• Generating a packing list for the Dispatch department to assemble the order
• Generating documents like sales invoice bill of exchange etc.
• Packing the goods and handing them to the delivery staff, and
•  Delivering the goods.

TPS actually tracks the physical workflows. Each operation of the workflow is recorded. At
each of these points in the sales order processing, the information about the state of the order is
recorded.

FEATURES OF TPS

TPS is a fundamental activity subsystem of information system and plays a very critical
role in any organization. Some of the major features of TPS are as follows:
1. Integration tool
TPS integrates the various departments in an organization. Each department will
generate data and these transaction data flows into a centralized database. The common database
provides the raw data for information generation for various decision makers. TPS thus
integrates the various functional units of an organization.
2. Links customers with the organization
TPS also connects customers with the organization’s warehouse, plant and management.
If TPS fails, it may cut the link with customers and organization cannot transact business with
them.
3. Inputs
Processing involves sorting, listing, merging, updating etc. The inputs are transaction
data like customer code, name product, quantity price etc.
4. Output
The output includes invoice, sales reports, lists, summaries, and inquiry responses. These
are the results of enquiry processing, report processing and interactive processing.
5. The users
TPS is designed to support lower level management. The transactions are highly
structured and routine in nature. Applications are developed to facilitate data capture and
recording. Mostly, operations personnel and supervisors are the user4s of transaction processing
system.
6.User Department Specific
TPS is designed for each department to cater to its special data processing needs. Thus,
production department will have a TPS for processing transactions in the department; marketing
department will have another TPS for it and so on.
7. Highly structured
TPS is highly structured. Business transactions are routine events with relatively very
high frequency like those of inventory management, payroll processing, accounting etc. Hence,
these are early candidates for computerization in most business firms.
8.Scope for cost savings
Since manual transaction processing requires too man y hands and are often inefficient,
most organizations computerize transaction processing. This results in cost savings and drastic
improvement in efficiency of service and information availability.

TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS

Processing of transactions results in certain documents. These documents may be
classified into any of the following types:
(a) Informational Documents:
These documents just inform that something has taken place or is taking place. For
example, a sale confirms that the order has been received from the customer and has been
verified.
(b).Action Oriented Documents:
These documents need to be acted upon. For example, a purchase order initiates a
purchase. Similarly a production order instructs the production department to start production
of the products mentioned in the production order.
(c). Investigational Documents:
These are generated on an exceptional basis. For example, whenever operations are not
conforming to the range of deviations permitted, the variations are tracked and analyzed. A
report is generated to enable the control point to take corrective action.
The reports or outputs generated by the TPS can also be classified into the following
categories:
(a). Pre-planned Reports:
Formats of these reports are pre-designed. These reports are frequently generated to meet
information requirements of planning and control of actions. Most of these reports are periodic
in nature like daily report, weekly report, monthly report etc. for example, weekly sales analysis
report submitted to the sales manager helps him to know whether the sales targets for the week
were met or not. If the targets were not met, the reasons for failure to meet the targets are also
analyzed and mentioned in the report. This enables a manager to take corrective action.
(b). Pre-planned Enquiries:
For the smooth an deficient functioning of any business, a lot of status information will
be needed. For example, if a sale order comes from a customer, the sales clerk needs some status
information about the stock of that particular inventory item, pending orders, credit limits in case
of credit transaction etc. before he confirms the order. Most of this type of status information
needs can be met through built-in query facility.
(c). Ad-hoc Reports and inquiry Responses:
These reports and inquiries are infrequent or are not anticipated. They are needed to take
some non-routine decisions or actions. For example, at the time of wage negotiation with its
workers, if a firm is considering to offer a new incentive scheme, the personnel manager / the
finance manager may want to know the implications of this decision in terms of financial
obligations. This information need cannot be anticipated in advance. Hence, such unique
information needs have to be met by ad-hoc reports and enquiry facility.
(d) User Machine Dialogue results:
For interactive decision making like in DSS, the decision maker has to enter into a
dialogue with the system to generate more useful information. The results are interactively
generated and displayed on the screen.

TRANSACTION PROCESSING MODELS

Transactions may be processed individually or in batches. Similarly, the processing may
be done at local offices or at the head quarters of companies. The type of processing depends on
a set of factors like the volume of data, complexity of data processing operations, processing
time constraints, computational demands and the degree of decentralization of authority. Thus,
the processing modes are as follows:
(a) Batch Processing:
Under this method transactions are accumulated into batches which are processed
periodically. Most organizations handle a large number and variety of transactions every day
such as cash sales, credit sales, sales commission, customer credit, consignment sale, advertising,
etc, in marketing area. An efficient way to process these transactions is to collect all transactions
of the same type of a particular period of time and process them as one batch of transactions.
Thus, all sales transaction of a day of a particular product are processed once in a day or period.
All these transactions are entered into the system at one time. This enables data processing
personnel to better control the entire processing cycle for that type of transaction, and leads to
more efficient scheduling of computer time.
(b). On-line Processing:
The term on-line refers to the fact that the input/output files, data files and related
equipment are connected to the computer such that a transaction may be entered at once or
information may be retrieved immediately any time. Each transaction is entered into the system
as and when it arises. There is no waiting for a minimum number of transactions to enter
transaction data into the system.
(c) On-line, Real Time Processing:
If the transaction is processed singly and as it occurs without any loss of time between
the event and recording of the event, the processing is in on-line, real time mode. It means that
the files for the transaction type are kept on-line, that is electronically connected to the computer,
and the transaction is processed quickly, for example airline reservation.
The concept of real time means that data is entered relatively quickly as they arise and
updated information is available without loss of any time between data entry and information
retrieval. Real time processing usually requires dedicated terminals connected to the central
computer. An input transaction triggers an immediate processing of data with the response being
returned in seconds, for example, on-line stock trading.
(d) Distributed processing:
This arose out of the need to channel data processing power to where data actually arise
and where it can be processed more efficiently. That is, some processing power is distributed to
local or regional level officers by installing computers there rather than centralizing it at the head
quarters. The detailed information required for daily operations remains at the local level and the
summary information required at higher levels for planning and controlling overall operations is
forwarded to the central computer.
(e) Online Transaction Processing Systems
Airlines reservation system, online securities trading system, electronic banking, railway
reservation system, hotel room booking system etc, are examples of on-line transaction
processing system.