ICSK3005 - Computer Skills: MS Office & Tech in Tourism (2018)

This report explores the use of computer skills and knowledge, particularly focusing on Microsoft Office applications (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and their impact on businesses, especially within the hospitality and tourism industries. It details how tools like graphical and table tools, spelling and grammar check, charts, formula tools, and slide presentations enhance productivity and presentation quality. The report also discusses the role of emerging technologies such as mobile applications and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in streamlining operations within the tourism sector, while also addressing their limitations like internet connectivity issues and data security concerns. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of hardware advancements like mobile devices and navigating devices in facilitating smoother business operations. Concluding that while technology offers numerous benefits, over-reliance can be detrimental in case of technical failures, the report underscores the significance of integrating computer skills into academic curricula to equip students with practical professional skills.

Running Head: Computer Skills and Knowledge
Computer Assignment

Computer Skills and Knowledge 1
Task 2.3
In today’s world of technological advancements, businesses are going digital on the rapid
basis so as to expand the scope of their business on a global level and to achieve competitive
edges in the intensely competitive market. The use of various computer programmes and their
functions can help a business achieve heights if the managers have proper skills and
knowledge to apply them to their real business case.
Microsoft office has various applications with each having a different and specific purpose.
Microsoft solutions and the innovative and intelligent platform offered my MS office enables
the hospitality industry to grow exponentially. The three major applications of the MS office
software are: MS Word MS Excel and MS Power-point.
MS Word:
 Graphical and table tools:
This tool helps the students to prepare their assignment reports in more attractive and
presentable as the use of graphics and tables enhances the communicative values of the
content of the student’s assignment files. Various graphs, charts and tables can be inserted in
the files using these graphic tools so as to summarise the data of the long content files. There
are different font styles and colours available in the word graphic tools so as to make the
work more presentable (M-Files, 2016).
 Spelling and grammar check tool:
This tool enables the students to form correct sentences in their assignment reports which
enhance their sentence structuring and grammar skills. The synonym feature in word helps
the student to enhance their vocabulary. This tool identifies the incorrectly framed sentences

Computer Skills and Knowledge 2
and provides the suggestions to make the required corrections. Also, the incorrect spellings
are also identified under this tool so as to avoid minor mistakes.
MS Excel:
 Graphs and charts:
This tool helps in creation of charts and tables for the complex data so that it can easily be
interpreted by the readers. Also, it helps in analysing the large volume data in a simplified
manner though the use of charts and diagrams (M-Files, 2016).
For example if the student is preparing a report on different costs associated with different
travelling plans, they can make use of charts and tables to show summary cost statements of
all the possible travelling plans.
 Formula tool:
This tool can be used by the student to make various calculations with the use of simple and
guided formula functions in the spread-sheets of MS excel. This tool provides various
functions such as identification of sums, averages etc. The students can use this tool for
various purposes such as to undertake what-if analysis, simulation analysis etc. The ‘what if’
analysis can help the students to figure out different possible outcomes in the different
scenarios (Microsoft, 2018)
MS Power-point:
 Slide presentations:
This tool helps in making attractive presentation on the entire project prepared by the student
on the given topic. The different layouts are provided in this tool for the slide preparation and
one of the most unique features of this tool is that it provides consistency throughout the slide

Computer Skills and Knowledge 3
work as it maintains single font size, colour, layout and style in all the slides. It is better to
use graphics and charts to make slides look more professional. This tool of power-point
application enables the users to do the same. The title slide layout can be used to place the
main topic of the project whereas the title and content slide layout can help the users to
incorporate the subject-matter in the slides.
 Animations tools
Also, there are various animations available in the power-point, the use of which makes the
appearance and presentation of slides more attractive.
Task 2.4
The emerging technological advancements in the areas computers are contributing to the
development of various economies in a very positive manner. Tourism and travelling industry
is also one of those industries which are being benefited remarkably because of the
technological developments in the modern times. Various hardware and software
programmes have been developed in last few years that has enabled the operators of
hospitability industry operate successfully and smoothly.
Software:
The mobile application
In the recent years various mobile applications have been designed and developed to provide
ease to the tourism service operators. These applications provide different facilities like
online money transfer, currency exchange, booking facilities etc.
How these applications enhance the productivity: All these applications enable the tourism
service providers to provide comfortable and convenient trips to their customers across the

Computer Skills and Knowledge 4
world. For example: Duolingo app helps the users to learn about different languages so that it
can help tour operators and tourists as well to interact with the people on the foreign lands.
Also the currency app helps the travelling agents and tourists to know well in advance about
the prevailing exchange rates so that they can easily prepare the budget of trip cost (Travel
Locomote, 2018).
Limitations:
As all the above discussed mobile applications requires adequate systems and connectivity to
access them. However, it is generally found that there are certain areas where there is weak
internet connectivity which makes the use of these applications impracticable and ultimately
hampers the business functions of tourism operators.
Enterprise resource planner (ERP):
ERP systems like cloud bed helps in facilitating the integrated management of the core
business functions. The ERP software enables the tourism operators to maintain a database
of all the departments functioning under a common business unit so that effective flow of
information can be made across the business environment. The said software helps in
managing the data related to different possible locations, customers, agents and the business
parties.
Limitations: As all the data is maintained on the online platform while deploying the ERP
software, huge data security is required to be maintained so as to protect the private,
confidential business data. The implementation of data securities measures makes the use of
ERP systems quite expensive (Zeitels, et. al., 2006).
Hardware:

Computer Skills and Knowledge 5
Apart from development of various software to promote the hospitality business there are
various hardware developed in last few years which makes it quite convenient to operate the
business easily. They are:
Mobile devices:
Mobile devices are the most common invention that has provided ease to almost each
business industry. In travelling and tourism industry also mobile phones provides great help
as they help to support different applications as discussed above, to promote the tourism
business.
Limitations:
As all the electronic gadgets requires some power to remain charged for their usability. It is
not practically possible to keep those devices charged for all the times and during their period
of inactivity on account of non-chargeability and technical faults, they affect the normal
business functioning of the users.
Navigating devices:
There are various GPS devices that provide a worldwide base-map. The navigation and map
applications of these devices help the tour operators to locate different tourism locations to
their clients so that it could save their time in finding the right directions to such places.
Limitations:
These devices require proper internet connectivity to be operated smoothly and also these
devices have limited battery lives which get exhausted with the continuous use. It is not
practically possible to keep them charged for all the time (Petersen, 2018).
Task 2.5

Computer Skills and Knowledge 6
From the above report it can now be concluded that the use of various technological
advancements in the business facilitates it to achieve remarkable growth and success in
today’s competitive business environment. MS office is one of the key innovations in the
areas of IT technology. The inclusion of use of MS office in the academic courses enables the
students to learn about the practical use of various applications of the said function so that it
enhances their professional skills. Though it is general fact that the technological
advancement help the business achieve heights in different ways but too much reliance on
such technological advancement makes the businesses suffer badly whenever there are some
technological faults in their operations.

Computer Skills and Knowledge 7
M-Files, 2016. Functions in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Available at:
https://www.m-files.com/user-guide/latest/eng/Functions_in_Word_and_Excel.html
Accessed on: 28.11.2018
Microsoft, 2018. Hospitality & Travel. Available at:
https://enterprise.microsoft.com/en-in/industries/hospitality-and-travel/ Accessed on:
28.11.2018
Petersen, L., 2018. Technology Used in Hospitality & Tourism. Available at:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-used-hospitality-tourism-31033.html Accessed
on: 28.11.2018
Travel Locomote, 2018. Top 10 Apps Transforming and Travelling Industry. Available at:
https://blog.locomote.com/top-10-apps-transforming-the-travel-industry Accessed on:
28.11.2018
Zeitels, S.M., Burns, J.A., Akst, L.M., Hillman, R.E., Broadhurst, M.S. and Anderson, R.R.,
2006. Office-based and microlaryngeal applications of a fiber-based thulium laser. Annals of
Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology, 115(12), pp.891-896.