IT Management Issue: Cut Short Case Study Analysis and Suggestions

This assignment presents a case study analysis of Cut Short, a budget hair dressing chain experiencing customer wait time issues. The report begins with an introduction to IT management and the specific challenges faced by Cut Short, including a 15-minute wait time for customers. The discussion section outlines the business operations, including pre-booking appointments, payment gateways, discounts for online booking, surcharges for late customers, and hair product purchasing options. The analysis then offers three key recommendations: implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, integrating Supply Chain Management (SCM), and proper employee staffing. The assignment concludes with two additional suggestions for improving business services: providing employee training and incorporating a decision-making support system (DSS). This comprehensive analysis aims to improve operational efficiency and enhance the customer experience at Cut Short.

Running head: IT MANAGEMENT ISSUE
IT Management Issue
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Question 1....................................................................................................................2
1. Introduction...........................................................................................................2
2. Discussion.............................................................................................................2
2.1 Brief Idea of Case Study.................................................................................2
2.2 Outline of the Business Operations to the CEO of Cut Short.........................3
2.3 Three Suitable Recommendations for Cut Short............................................5
3. Conclusion............................................................................................................7
Question 2.................................................................................................................8
Two Suggestions for Improving Business Services or Operations Offerings for Cut
Short..........................................................................................................................8
References.................................................................................................................10

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Question 1
1. Introduction
IT or information technology management can be defined as the procedure to
oversee all types of matters associated to resources and operations of information
technology in any specific company (Schwalbe, 2015). Cut Short is a popular budget
hair dressing that has recently received a report from customers that these
customers have to wait for 15 minutes before being checked in. The following report
outlines a brief discussion on the case study of Cut Short by outlining business
operations and providing three recommendations.
2. Discussion
2.1 Brief Idea of Case Study
Cut Short is a popular and significant hair dressing chain that provides
budgetary services to their customers. They offer basic hair dressing services and
this has provided major advantages to their business. However, recently, they have
received a report from their new and existing customers that the customers always
have to wait for 15 minutes before they are being checked in, get seated and request
their respective styling preferences (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2017).
Since, the time value of every customer is extremely high, this report created a major
issue in their business. It is valuable time lost since every hair dressing salon has a
subsequent queue of customers in each day.
For improving the profitability, this report has embarked on few points like pre
booking appointments via their website, so that a customer could choose their
respective services and hence time and date would be saved, when pre booking is
done, the respective customer can select to pay for the booked services through a

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proper payment gateway such as PayPal and credit card (Holtshouse, 2013).
Moreover, for encouraging pre booking, they have decided to provide 10% discount
on online booking and the customers, who would not arrive on time, would have to
pay a surcharge for being late (Marchewka, 2014). Moreover, this system even
comprises of a hair product purchasing option so that customers can order the
products easily online and can pay and pick up purchases at appointment time.
2.2 Outline of the Business Operations to the CEO of Cut Short
The business operations refer to each and every activity that happens in an
organization for keeping it running as well as earning money and is collectively
termed as business operations. Staffing is determined by these business operation
processes and it ensures that the most effective and efficient people are working in
the company (Laudon & Laudon, 2015). Cut Short is one of the most popular hair
dressing salon. They have been providing services to their customers for several
years and have gained major competitive advantages in their work.
The customers are extremely satisfied with the services that Cut Short provide
to them and hence this particular hair dressing salon has gained high popularity in
extremely shorter duration of time. However recently, they have received a report
that states that the customers have to wait for 15 minutes for getting checked, get
seated and also request for the styling preferences (Willcocks, 2013). For this
purpose, the valuable time of customers is lost since every salon has a proper queue
for their customers each day. Hence, often customers get dissatisfied and the
business of Cut Short is going down. The business operations are required to be
changed so that it becomes easier for them to obtain more customers by making the
entire system extremely organized and systematic.

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For improving the overall profitability, they have embarked on few significant
factors. After considering these factors, it is expected that the business operations or
functions would be much better (Laudon & Laudon, 2016). The major factors that
they have decided to include and to mention them to the organizational CEO are as
follows:
i) Pre Booking Appointments: The first and the foremost factor that is
required to be considered in this particular case study of Cut Short is pre booking
appointments through a website. Pre booking of appointments of the customers is
expected to reduce the rush of the customers and hence they do not have to wait for
15 minutes while coming to the Cut Short hair dressing salon (Okumus, 2013). With
this facility, any specific customer could easily select the services that they want to
have such as blow wave, re styling and trimming of hair. Moreover, these customers
would also have the facility to select time and date for the day and time, they want an
appointment. For this purpose, it is required to enhance their business operations
and gain major profit.
ii) Easier Payment Mode: The second important and significant factor that
they have decided to be considered in their business operation is easier payment
modes for the respective customers (Schnoll, 2015). As soon as the pre booking of
the appointments is being done, the customer would be making payments for the
previously booked services. There are multiple payment gateways such as PayPal,
credit card and many more.’ Due to this type of online transaction, it would eventually
become easier for them to make payments without much complexities. Moreover, all
those customers, who have not made their payments twenty four hours prior to their
previously booked appointment, would have the booking cancelled and they have to
repeat the process again by booking an appointment.

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iii) Special Discount to Pre Booking Appointments: This is the third and
yet another important and significant factor that they have decided to include in their
business operations and then present it to the CEO of this salon. The entire
management of Cut Short wants to encourage pre boking failure and for this
particular purpose, they will be starting a new facility for those customers, who would
take appointments online (Borja & Castells, 2013). For such appointments, the
organizational management will be obtaining a flat 10% discount and thus providing
special offer to the customers. This facility would even attract new customers and
thus business profit would be enhanced.
iv) Surcharge on Late Customers: It is yet another and noteworthy factor
that states that late coming customers will not be appointed or treated on top priority.
The customers, who would not be arriving on time, would not be having a check in
and a certain amount of surcharge would be levied on that particular customer. This
factor would be maintained in their business as they want to maintain timely manner
work and system to be organized.
v) Hair Product Purchasing Option: The proposed system would even allow
the customers to order and purchase hair products online (Taipaleenmäki &
Ikäheimo, 2013). The customers can order their several required hair products such
as shampoo or conditioner online and then pay and pickup during appointment.
2.3 Three Suitable Recommendations for Cut Short
This IT management ensures that every technological resources as well as
associated employees are being used in a proper manner so that they are able to
provide value to the respective company (Strohmeier, 2013). An effective
management of information technology allows a company to enforce the best

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practices, improvise business procedures as well as communications and also
optimize the staffing and resources. Three distinctive recommendations for Cut Short
for bringing such innovations in the business are as follows:
i) Involvement of Customer Relationship Management Software: This is
the first and the foremost recommendation for Cut Short. This software would be
helping them in managing the customer data in on singular place and then enabling
the employees for being more productive as well as efficient after tracking current
state of customers’ bookings. This would be able to reduce the complexity of
managing customers’ rush to a high level (Xiaofeng & Xiang, 2013). The database
would be kept updated and thus growth process would be speeded up. Moreover,
since Cut Short has received the report of 15 minutes waiting from customers, it is
needed to maintain CRM software in a better manner. Major improvements would
also be possible with this software.
ii) Involvement of Supply Chain Management: This is next recommendation
for Cut Short. Since, they would be providing hair care products to their customers, it
would be extremely vital for them to maintain supply chain to a higher level. A proper
supply chain management software can even be helpful to control and also reduce
the expenses (Dhanesh, 2014). Furthermore, logistical errors, late shipments and
many more issues would be hence resolved with much efficiency and customer
services and communication would be improved. Decision making and forecasting
would be done easily without any issue. Moreover, main processes like shipment
tracking, invoicing and order processing would be automated.
iii) Including Employees after Proper Staffing: This is an extremely vital for
Cut Short. Since, the main business of this salon is with customers, the employees

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should be able to handle the clients. For this purpose, it is required to include
employees only after proper staffing and screening.
3. Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded information
technology management is one of the major disciplines, in which each and every
resource of information technology within a firm is being managed as per
accordance to the priorities and requirements. All of these resources even involve
tangible investments such as networks, data, software and hardware as well as data
centre facilities and staff, who are being hired for maintain these resources. The
above provided report has clearly outlined the detailed case study of Cut Short with
proper recommendations and business operations.

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Question 2
Two Suggestions for Improving Business Services or Operations Offerings for
Cut Short
Two distinctive and suitable suggestions for improving the business services
offerings for Cut Short are as follows:
i) Providing Employee Training: This is the most common and important
suggestion to Cut Short. As they deal with customers, it is highly advisable to them
to train their employees properly so that they have the knowledge to handle these
clients effectively and efficiently (Tafti, Mithas & Krishnan, 2013). Moreover, client
handling is an important sector in any business as it strongly increases business
efficiency to a high level. Furthermore, business operations of Cut Short would also
be enhanced majorly. The business plans even involve a proper section that is
dedicated to the operations so that the organizational members are able to
understand the processes, people, equipment and systems for making the business
functional.
The major elements of business operations include business type, size,
industry and many more. The other elements that make the business successful
include are process, location, technology or equipment and staffing. The process is
extremely important as it has a major impact on the efficiency and productivity.
Employee training is a basic program, which is helpful to the staff to learn specified
skills and knowledge for the core purpose of improving performances in their current
roles. Employee growth and future performances are focused by this and hence Cut
Short would be able to improve their business.

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ii) Inclusion of Decision Making System: The next suggestion to the
business of Cut Short for enhancing their business growth is inclusion of DSS or
decision support system. As the hair dressing salon of Cut Short has to manage all
types of customers’ data in one single database, such as booking The information
technology management of responsibility in this particular business eventually entails
most of the basic management functionalities such as budgeting, change
management, organization, controlling and staffing and even with other aspects,
which are extremely unique to the technology such as network planning and
software designing (Pérez-Aróstegui, Bustinza-Sánchez & Barrales-Molina, 2015).
The individuals, who are working in the IT management of Cut Short should even
demonstrate the capabilities in various general management areas like resource
allocation, strategic planning and leadership.
The processes that are completed manually could be easily done with
software and the duplicate work done by any other department could cost a major
business money and time. Better improvement in the business operations is possible
for providing better efficiency and effectiveness in the work. The organizational
management always focuses on this system to take efficient and effective decisions
in the business. DSS, being an information system eventually supports the
organizational and business decision making actions. This specific system would
even be serving the management operations as well as planning levels of business.
This particular type of information system would also resolve the issues of customer
waiting for 15 minutes and would help the individuals to undertake significant
decisions regarding their customers’ booking. Decision support system would even
resolve the unstructured data and hence making the entire database much more
effective and faster.

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References
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information age. Routledge.
Dhanesh, G.S., (2014). CSR as organization–employee relationship management
strategy: A case study of socially responsible information technology
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149.
Holtshouse, D.K., (2013). Information technology for knowledge management.
Springer Science & Business Media.
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Okumus, F., (2013). Facilitating knowledge management through information
technology in hospitality organizations. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
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Pérez-Aróstegui, M.N., Bustinza-Sánchez, F. & Barrales-Molina, V., (2015).
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quality management. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 18(1), pp.4-17.
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