Interview Questionaires Q1) What is the main business of Putri Resort Ayer Keroh Melaka?

A1) It is one of the many business units under a public listed company known as Kumpulan Sentosa Bhd. Putri Resort is in the resort and hotel business.

Q2) What position are you holding in the organisation? A2) I am the Finance Manager in the hotel.

Q3) How many years of experience have you been in the Hotel Industry? A3) I have worked in the Hotel Industry for more than 20 years.

Q4) What are your main job functions? A4) My main job function is to basically report the financial performance of the company to the Directors on a regular basis.

Q5) How do you accomplish that task? A5) We have a hotel management information system installed in our cmputer network.

Q6) Can you describe the application system that the company uses to capture data needed for your company information needs. A6) We use a software package called IFCA Hotel System, developed by a Malaysian software company IFCA Consulting Group. Its website is located here: http://www.ifca.com.my/index.html . Q7) When did the company start using the system? A7) The company started using the system way back in early 2008. Q8) Can you describe in more details what are the main feactures of the system?

A8) The software application is a windows based system that runs on Miscrosoft Windows XP opererating system in a network of personal computers and a central server. The software is setup under the client-server configuration. The software consists of a number of main application modules such as the Hotel Management System (Front end), Point-of Sales (POS) System, Financial Accounting (Back end). Addition optional modules include Event Management System, Key Card and PABX interface.

Q9) Can you elaborate in more details the main modules in terms of its application, functions and information? A9) Let me start with the Hotel Management system. This is the core module with sub-application like the Front Desk, Cashiering, Night Audit and Housekeeping Information System. Front Desk tasks include room resevations, guest check-in, check-out, guest ledger and related information about guests. Cashiering provides information about billings and payment details while Housekeeping provide information about room availability and other related details. Revenue information are generated from the Hotel management system and data are analysed for Sales and Marketing purposes besides accounting. Data enquiry can be done through the system adminstration under this module. The Point-of-Sales system (POS) caters to other profit centers within the Hotel such as the F&B Cofee House and Restaurent. Under POS, there is the billing entry, payment, close shift and Dayend closing. The Financial Accounting system is basically a back-end functions where financial data captured at the front-end are posted to the accounting ledgers. The accounting ladger modules are Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), Purchase Orders (PO) and General Ledger (GL).

Q10) Can you list out some of the key benefits of the Hotel Management Information System? A10) The key benefits of the Hotel MIS are as follows: 1. The turnaround time for hotel guests check-in and out is faster when compared with any manual system. Group check-in and out of guests are also faster. 2. The processing of billing and payment clearance are more efficient. 3. Room management is also enhanced as information are available by housekeeping to clear occupy rooms where guest have already check-out early so that more rooms may be made available for sales on a timely basis. 4. Guest information can be gathered and analysed and used for marketing purpose during promotional season. 5. The POS system has better contol over the revenue receipts. 6. The financial performance of the hotel can be generated from the system with reports customised to the requirements of the company. These reports, namely, Porfit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet are important information for the top management to review on a regular and timely basis so that better decision making can be made. For example, with

business information gathered within the hotel industry and the marketing and financial information contained in the company information system, the company Directors would be able to make more inform decision about business expansion or contraction. Information such as market share, profit margins, costs and prospect will bear prominently on those decisions.

Q11) What do you think are the limitations of the system? A11) The main limitation of the system is that it is not Web based which is the current trend. Of course upgrading is possible, but it will further cost the company more spending. The other limitation is that the Financial Module is not real time but dependent on batch processing. Other limitations are basically what I would call weaknesses of the system. The whole application is quite complex in its usage and is not very user friendly. It requires staff to be fairly computer literate to operate and understand. Long hours of training is a requirement besides experience. High staff turnover would basically disrupt the proper functioning of the system. The other weaknesses relate to error handling and basic security. The software application security are adequate but not pratical as the hotel operates on a 24 hours basis and not enough managers to provide the level of security to handle any suituations. Inevitablly, lowering the security level means staff are free to cover data entry mistakes and abuse of system.

Q12) Based on your assessment, do you this the Management Information System is successfully implemented in your company? A12) Yes, the system is successfully implemented for the most part. However, the Financial modules are still facing problems in terms of reports with figures carrying forward from year to year basis.

Q13) Can you please provide some screen shots of the system used in your personal computers? A13) Yes, I will provide them for you.