Explain why some companies would choose to install a distributed computer system rather than a centralised one.
HARDA Fashion sells ready-to-wear fashion clothes to teenagers. The company has a 20-store
chain concentrated in the north-eastern part of the United States of America. Each store has
the experienced full-time staff consist of a manager and an assistant manager. The full-time
staff is paid a fixed salary. The full-time staff is assisted with a cashier and a sales assistant
who have comparatively less experience. The cashier and sales assistant are paid hourly
wages plus the commission based on the volume of sales. HARDA Fashion uses
unsophisticated cash registered with four-parts sales invoice to record each financial
transaction. These sales invoices for the sales transaction irrespective of the payment type.
The record-keeping starts with the sales assistant on the sales floor. The sales assistant fills the
sales invoices manually by providing the following information:
1. Records his or her employee number.
2. Enters the transaction details including clothes item number, description, quantity,
and the unit price.
3. Totals the sales invoice.
4. Calculates the discounts manually when appropriate.
5. Calculates the sales tax.
6. Finalise the sales invoice after calculating the grand total.
The sales assistant then forwards the sale invoice to the cashier and keeps one copy in the
sales book.
The cashier reviews this sales invoice and enters in the cash register. The cash register
mechanically validates the invoice, automatically assigning a consecutive number to the
transaction. The cashier is also responsible for getting credit approval on charge sales and
approving sales paid by cheque. The cashier gives (1) one copy of the invoice to the customer,
(2) retains the second copy as a store copy, and (3) the third for a bankcard, if a deposit is
needed. Returns are handled in exactly the reverse manner, with the cashier issuing a return
slip.
At the end of each day, the cashier sequentially orders the sales invoices and takes cash
register totals for cash, bankcard, cheque sales, and cash and credit card return. These totals
are reconciled by the assistant manager to the cash register tapes, the total of the consecutively
numbered sales invoices, and the return slips. The assistant manager prepares a daily
reconciliation report for the store manager’s review.
The manager reviews cash, cheque, and credit card sales and then prepares the daily bank
deposit (credit card sales invoices are included in the deposit). The manager makes the deposit
at the bank and files the validated deposit slip.
The cash register tapes, sales invoices, and return slips are forwarded daily to the central data
processing department at corporate headquarters for processing. The data processing
department returns a weekly sales and commission activity report to the manager for review.
Question
Explain why some companies would choose to install a distributed computer system
rather than a centralised one.
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
