I need 2-3 pages only. Please see the attached document.
13
IT Support Systems IT225
This week’s topic goes here
name
08 June 2017
Table of Contents
Roles and Responsibilities 3
Centralized versus Decentralized…………………………………………………………………3
Staffing structures………………………………………………………………………………...5
Recommendations about the structure……………………………………………………………6
Tools and Technologies………………………………………………………………………….6
Steps in solving issues……………………………………………………………………………6
The deliverables generated at each step of problem solving…………………………………….7
What Technology is needed for each step of Problem solving………………………………….8
IT Systems Support
Self-service applications
Tools available in Web-based solutions
Real-time and Delayed assistance
Knowledge base in the help-desk environment
Processes and Problem solution………………………………………………………………….
Service level agreements
Metrics
Customer satisfaction
Performance management………………………………………………………………………..
Help desk application security
Help desk business continuity
References……………………………………………………………………………………….10
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Centralized versus Decentralized
Organizational structure refers to the outline of a company’s framework and guidelines for managing operations conducted in the business. Small businesses often create their organizational structure which is mostly attributed to the owners’ personality, management style, and characteristics. There are two major types of organizational structure namely; the centralized structure and decentralized structure.
Centralized organizational structure relies on one individual who most probably is the owner of the organization to make decisions and give direction to the company. The decision could also come from one place which could be the headquarters. Decentralization on the other end occurs when the top management delegates some of its responsibilities and decision making authorities to other people. The decentralization structure mainly happens due to the company’s expansive nature or when the owner needs to relieve themselves of many responsibilities upon them.
There are some advantages and disadvantages associated with the centralized organizational structure. The benefits are that; this structure is efficient on matters decision making since there are no consultations needed. Business owners set the firm's mission and vision and also set then objectives to be achieved by managers and employees to achieve goals. A centralized structure helps reduce conflicts among mid-level employees when they are involved in decision making. When centralized leaders are responsible for making all the great decisions, they retain control over the business and its culture. Fewer questions exist on who is accountable for results of decisions made.
Some of the disadvantages of this structure include the following; there is less creativity on the part of the employees because when the central office a particular decision to be implemented, it is hard to suggest otherwise and deviate from the company’s status quo. There could be limited communication between the employees and the executive. This mostly happens because communication is downward. A centralized structure requires a high level of flexibility. This is because employees have to seek approval from the head office before making individual decisions which create rigidity. (“Centralized Correspondence | Advantages | Disadvantages, 2017”)
Similarly, there are also pros and cons accrued to the decentralized organizational structure. Some of the benefits include the following; employees feel empowered since they are given permission to make decisions and give opinions on matters affecting the organization. This makes them feel be part of the team. Decentralization relieves the owner or key decision makers some burdens of daily business operations. This creates room for more time for meetings on other issues. In a case of an emergency, a decentralized structure helps the company maintain when the owner or key decision makers are not around. Both managers and employees will work autonomously to solve the crisis at hand. In a decentralized structure decision making is effective because a manager can make the decision without having to wait for it to go up the chain of command. This allows the organization to react quickly to instances where immediacy is paramount. A decentralized structure also gives room for expansion of business in a new geographical area. This is so because the entity will operate independently hence it can react efficiently to specific needs in its sphere of operation.
There are some disadvantages which are; due to weak financial resources, an appointment of exceptionally talented people could be impossible. Decentralization increases cases of incoordination across various units. This structure increases administrative expenses due to high salaries of managers. There is no uniformity since each manager comes with their style of managing and decision making. (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Decentralization, 2017”)
Staffing Structures
There are five primary staffing structures namely pool, dispatch, tiered, specialized and method. A pool staffing operates in a way that any service request goes to a centralized location and then handled by the available help desk employee. This means that any employee available will try and handle any request. Employees with limited experience on some issues will have same responsibilities as an employee with more experience. The pool staffing also indicates that a request can be handled by an employee who is not an expert in that area and the expert in this field is given another field to control.
When using the dispatch staffing, a service goes to an employee who then gathers information and redirects the request to an appropriate location to manage the application. This claim reduces phone queue however after redirection to the appropriate location; it may end up in a line. (Sanderson, 2004). A tiered staffing structure has a help desk divided into several groups. Any problem received is handled by a first line specialist. The specialist owns the problem, and this tactic makes the customer feel comfortable that the problem is being handled and addressed properly. If the first line specialist cannot handle the problem, it is escalated to the second line specialist usually an expert in particular areas. Tiered structures have a higher customer service satisfaction and employee satisfaction. This staffing structure gives a chance to less experienced employees to gain experience and knowledge by solving problems.
A specialized staffing has two support models; productivity and business. In the product design, the help desk is divided into different groups and each group has a particular responsibility. These groups may be broken down into even more specialized areas if need be. A disadvantage of this structure is when a user has more than one problem, and the problem may be caused by several things including different groups in the structure. In the business structure, the help desk is divided according to the units they provide support. E.g. accounting department gets help from the accounting help desk. Lastly, method staffing is organized in which support is provided. One group takes care of telephone requests, and another takes care of email and web applications. When the number of telephone requests and email and web requests is disproportionate, then the method is not the best to use.
Recommendations about the Structure
After acquiring information on the staffing arrangements, I would use a tiered structure and have a centralized organizational structure. A tiered structure seems to be a more efficient method to operate a help desk. This structure gives employees an opportunity to gain experience by solving issues and allows complex problems to be addressed by more experienced experts. This structure also makes clients feel that their problem is considered and being handled promptly. Since my business is small, a centralized structure will be appropriate. It will use the local resources available. As the firm grows, help desks will be added anywhere the business expands.
TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES
Steps in solving Issues
The problem-solving process involves five steps: determining the cause of the problem, identifying the problem, generating options, evaluating and prioritizing options, and determining a course of action. The most likely reason why an issue cannot be resolved is misinterpreting the real cause of the problem. The first step in the process is critical. If you initially fail to determine the real cause of the problem, the solutions that you generate will most likely fail.
Unraveling the real cause of a problem is just as important as the data the device processes. For instance, presuming an individual claim that a printer is malfunctioning, the desk analyst who takes the call asks all questions in regards to the printer, but fails to ask questions about the users. The is a prime example of where an analyst fail to fully diagnose the real cause of the problem. An analyst must gather information about the problem and the user.
The moment a help desk analyst receives a call, and there is a new issue, the analyst should evaluate the cause of the problem, and then create solutions. Necessary measures include recreating or replicating the problem, closed/open-ended questions and main cause analysis. For Open-ended questions, analysts should learn to ask more questions in order to better isolate the main cause of the problem. Proper diagnosis requires the open-ended and close-ended questions when attempting to gather more facts about the problem.
The deliverables generated at each step of problem solving
Effective problem-solving emphasizes the utilization of the right and left sides of the brain when using brainstorming as a way to generate solution to a problem. When this method is implemented, and still there are no reliable result found, another method is needed.
When generating solutions, a good strategy is replication. Replication is the process of intentionally taking measures to recreate a problem. For instance, assuming a user declared her computer frozen the moment she started Microsoft Excel that morning, an analyst may want to know the manner in which she tried to open Excel, then request her to perform the same process. At times, an analyst may try to replicate an issue on another computer so as to eliminate probable causes. If the problem does not occur on another computer, the analyst may examine the difference between the two machines to identify where the problem exists.
Cause analysis is a procedure whereby the underlying factors causing a problem are identified. The goal is to determine the root of the problem at its most fundamental stage. Some help desk analysts merely remove signs of an issue and never attempt to discover the root of the problem in order to resolve it quickly. In these cases, the problem continues to recur unless the root source of the problem isolated eliminated.
What Technology is needed for each step of Problem solving
There are three levels of information processing, which include identification of cause areas, underlying causes, and causes. To determine the cause of the problem, one must ask “why.” Brainstorming is most effective when all rulings ought to be stopped. When less suggestion is formed, key ideas are reviewed by the groups and choose the most appropriate. Many individuals try to find a solution by using their assembled knowledge, skills and experience; however, this sometimes get in the way of choosing a better way to resolve a particular problem.
Three fundamental theories are used to determine probable solutions to a problem. These include module replacement, hypothesis testing, and configuration management. A hardware-related problem that is tackled by replacing parts that could possibly be the cause of the problem is commonly referred to as module replacement. Components are removed one at a time, and a module known to function the same way is put in place. The problem is most likely to be a defective component when the problem is eradicated by swapping out a part, but in case the problem is unsolved, the initial component is put back in place and the process continues until a solution is found. In the same way, software problems are handled by getting rid of them and reinstalling the application. Hypothesis testing is the process of evaluating every probable solution through testing.
With configuration management, it can be difficult to determine the cause of a problem it lies within a particular type of hardware or software. It may also difficult to the cause of the problem if a device is connected to many different peripherals. For instance, in corporate structures, computers are mostly connected to a network which has many wires and peripherals. A software application may also become corrupt when it is operating at the same time another application is implemented. To solve these issues, analysts may use a standard configuration which involves disconnecting computers from other peripherals. In case the problem is software related, the computer may be restarted with the essential programs needed to begin normal operation.
After the computer reboots, each application is placed back to the point where the fault is experienced. This technique may only be used to solve a problem when others fail as it is time-consuming and labor intensive. After replicating and evaluating the most likely source of the problem, a plan of action is developed which indicates the procedure needed to resolve the problem.
Decision making is the process of carefully selecting the best possible solution to resolve a problem when a number of possible solutions are generated. It is performed to evaluate the most basic plan of action to take. This takes place when an analyst determines the solution with the greatest probability of succeeding.
In summary, professional experience and knowledge and skill pared with quality learning is essential to the development of an expert help desk technician.
REFERENCES
Advantages and Disadvantages of Decentralization. (2017). Money Matters | All Management Articles. Retrieved 23 May 2017, from http://accountlearning.com/advantages-and- disadvantages-of-decentralization/
Centralized Correspondence | Advantages | Disadvantages. (2017). Money Matters | All Management Articles. Retrieved 23 May 2017, from http://accountlearning.com/centralized- correspondence-advantages-disadvantages/
Sanderson, S. (2004). Introduction to help desk concepts and skills (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Technology Education.
Sanderson, S. (2004). Introduction to help desk concepts and skills. New York London: McGraw-Hill Technology Education.
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2017). The leadership challenge: how to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
