Castle’s Family Restaurant Business Plan Essay Example for Free

Castle’s Family Restaurant Business Plan Essay Castle’s Family Restaurant is a medium sized business of approximately 300-340 employees with eight restaurants in the Northern California that is currently facing issues related to HR administration. Jay Morgan, the HR manager has to travel weekly to each restaurant location in order to take care of scheduling, recruiting, hiring, and answering employees’ questions. His biggest issue, however, is related to Payroll Administration since Jay Morgan is currently using an Excel spreadsheet with a computer application to print payroll checks manually instead of using automated HRIS software to assist on payroll activities to all employees. In fact, Jay Morgan needs to implement a HRIS Payroll software system to manage payroll information in order to provide fast, accurate and efficient payroll services to all restaurant employees while staying in compliance with industry regulations. HRIS Payroll type of software will definitely provide more accurate and efficient results to what concerns to calculation of employee’s rates differentiation for full and part time employees, hours worked and missing hours, taxes deduction, etc. A efficient payroll software will also automate all these functions that will be easily be managed from anywhere, which means that Jay Morgan will no longer have to travel to all restaurant location to take care of employee’s payroll related issues or inquiries. He also will not have to use an Excel spreadsheet and a computer application to print payroll checks because he can now offer direct deposit option, so employees can have the convenience of having their paychecks automatically deposited into their checking accounts at their payday. The use of HRIS Payroll type of software to be implemented will definitely make a significant difference on HRIS management of Castle’s Family Restaurants. HRIS VENDOR CHOICE A variety of payroll vendors is available in the market to assist Jay Morgan  to better manage all restaurants employees’ payrolls. This assessment however has the purpose to compare two vendors and indicate the most suitable for Castle’s Family Restaurant. 1) Payroll Cafe is a software package designed for all company sizes and a variety of industries that provides automated payroll tools to take care of employees’ payrolls, direct deposits, taxes deductions, etc. â€Å"Payroll Cafe Software is a Windows software package that includes a relational database backend to maximize single data entry which applies in multi-state, multi-location, and multi-department corporations.† (Payroll Cafe) In fact, Payroll Cafe Software offers efficiency and accuracy with their easy to use package, with technical support and development of a Certified Payroll Professional. (Payroll Cafe) Castle’s Family Restaurant can purchase the Payroll Cafà ©-Restaurant version, which is the software specific for restaurants, which includes in/out tips calculations, etc. More details for Payroll Cafe can be seen on link below: http://www.payrollcafe.com/index.htm 2) Paycom is another payroll vendor that offers web-based payroll services to manage employee data and process payroll quickly and accurately. Paycom software processes payroll, runs reports and accesses data regarding to employees Payroll, Time and Attendance, HR, Background Checks, Benefit Administration and COBRA Compliance. Paycom also supports storage of all payroll and HR information in a single database that offers more comprehensive reporting options with consistent data. (Paycom) More details for Paycom can be seen on link below: http://www.paycomonline.com/services/payroll-services/ Although both software vendors can be very beneficial to Castle’s Family Restaurant’s payroll administration, as HR consulting firm we suggest the implementation of â€Å"Paycom† opposed to â€Å"Payroll Cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬  because Paycom offers more payroll features than Payroll Cafe and Paycom is also a payroll software specifically developed for restaurant needs and provides all tools necessary to processes all restaurant-related payroll functions. Payroll Cafà © also offers a version of this software specific for restaurants, but it is not as complete as the one offered by Paycom. Paycom offers a variety of services with online convenience, which means that Jay Morgan will no longer have to travel to each location weekly to take care of scheduling, recruiting, hiring, and answering questions for employees. Paycom offers free training at client’s location and 24/7 live agent assistance to assist Jay Morgan with any inquiry he may have regarding to payroll taxes, time and attendance, garnishments, or a general software question. Payroll Cafà © does not offer training or 24/7 assistance- only regular business hours assistance regarding to software use, which is a downfall since Jay Morgan might need assistance after hours or weekends as well. Both vendors offer good and affordable pricing, but Paycom also has the convenience of â€Å"pay as you go† without upfront software costs or annual costs increase, which is not offered by Payroll Cafà ©. In fact, Paycom is definitely the best choice of HRIS vendor for Castle’s Family Restaurant since it will create a more efficient process for payroll issues and will also assist Jay Morgan with data management for all 300-340 employees, running payroll from anywhere and tracking employee information, such as Liquor Licenses, Permits, Training, I-9 filings, Workers’ Comp injuries, OSHA, FMLA, EEO information, disciplinary actions, turnover reasons, etc, which is not offered by Payroll Cafà ©. (Restaurant Payroll Services) Jay Morgan will no longer have to use an Excel spreadsheet and a computer application to print payroll checks because Paycom will automate all these processes, along with the option for direct deposit, so employees can have their paychecks automatically deposited into their checking accounts at payday. Paycom software will also integrate payroll with POS system, receive free new hire reporting, manage garnishments, comply with minimum wage, and claim tax credits with Paycom’s FICA Tax Tip Credit Report. In addition, earnings and deductions can be customized to the unique needs of restaurant, tips as In/Out earnings can be easily managed and Paycom’s Standard Reports can help Jay Morgan to manage turnover, overtime, labor distribution, and workers’ compensation. (Restaurant Payroll Services) The variety of easy to use functions and features offered by Paycom makes a great difference when  compared to Payroll Cafà © which offers accurate, efficient, but limited restaurant related features. As such, Paycom is a more complete software package and its implementation will eliminate previous payroll issues. Paycom can be easily managed from Jay Morgan’s office with the efficiency and variety of automated features offered by this HRIS software. REFERENCES: Kavanagh, Michael, Thite, Mohan. (2009). Human resource information systems: basics, applications and future directions. Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Paycom. Retrieved on 11/27/2010 from http://www.paycomonline.com/see-the-difference/ Payroll Cafà ©. Retrieved 11/28/2010, from http://www.payrollcafe.com/index.htm Restaurant Payroll Services. Retrieved on 11/26/2010, from http://www.paycomonline.com/solutions/industry/restaurants/

What is Voice Recognition? :: essays research papers

First off, what is voice recognition technology? Voice recognition is a computer application that lets people control a computer by speaking to it. In other words, rather than using a keyboard to communicate with the computer, the user speaks commands into a microphone (usually on a headset) that is connected to a computer. By speaking into the microphone, users can do two things. First, they can tell their computers to execute commands such as open a document, save changes, delete a paragraph, even move the cursor--all without touching a key. Second, users can write using voice recognition in conjunction with a standard word processing program. When users speak into the microphone their words can appear on a computer screen in a word processing format, ready for revision and editing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Voice recognition has gained tremendous popularity over the past few years. It has gone from imagination, to rumor, to reality and this trend is not going to stop. It this will be better explained by Jeffrey C. Scott from Computer Shopper in the paragraphs below. â€Å"The ability to interact with computers by talking to them may help bridge the gap between human beings and machines. Once deemed a fantastical glimpse into a science-fiction-like future, voice-recognition technology has undergone several significant developments recently, and it now seems destined to move us toward a humanized computer interface. But that's for the future. At present, voice-recognition technology at its best lets us focus on our daily tasks and needs rather than on the computer's commands and syntax. Imagine inputting all your requests, numerous e-mail messages, routine correspondence and numerical data simply by telling them to the computer. Executives with limited typing skills, individuals who are physically challenged, and users who suffer from pain associated with the repetitive motion of typing can all benefit from voice-recognition applications. In fact, almost anyone can profit from this technology, though it may take some adjustment and a little patie nce to scale the learning curve. Today's voice-recognition products are notably easier to use than those of the past. In addition, veterans of voice recognition should find that the new and improved dictation systems require substantially less training and customization.† â€Å"The Virtues of Training :Training a voice-recognition system consists of a defined dictation session where you are prompted to say words, phrases, and sentences. This exercise, which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and a half, allows the computer to become accustomed to your pronunciation.

Bill Miller and Value Trust Essay

1. How well has Value Trust performed in recent years? In making that assessment, what benchmark(s) are you using? How do you measure investment performance? What does good performance mean to you? Value trust had outperformed its benchmark index, the Standard & poor 500 Index for 14 years in a row; am average annual total return of 14.6 percent, which surpassed the S&P 500 by 3.67% per year. Value trust had earned a cumulative return of more than 830% over the previous 14 years, more than double that its average peer and the index. There are two ways to mearsure investment performance; the percentage of annual growth rate of NAV assuming reinvestment (the total return on invenst) and the absoulute dollar value today of an investment made at some time in the past. These measure then compared with the performance of a benchmark portfolio such as the Russel 2000 Index or the S&P 500 Composite Index. 2. What might explain the fund’s performance? To what extent do you believe an investment strategy, such as Mill’s explains performance? Some observers attributed this success to the fund manager’s conscious strategy of staying fully invested at all times rather than attempting to time the extent of market investments. Another popular explanation for the fund’s performance was the unusual skill of Bill Miller, the fund’s portfolio manager. His approach was research-intensive and highly concentrated when 50% of its assets were invested in just 10 large-capitalization companies and he was not averse to take large positions in the stocks of growth companies. 3. How easy will it be to sustain Miller’s historical performance record into the future? What factors support your conclusion? NOT EASY EMH LUCKY EVENT 4. Consider the mutual fund industry. What roles do portfolio managers play? What are the differences between fundamental and technical securities analysis? How well do mutual funds generally perform relative to the overall market? Technical analysis: This involved the identification of profitable investment opportunities based on trends in stock prices, volume, market setiment, Fibonacci numbers,etc. Fundamental analysis: This approach relied on insights afforded by an analysis of the economic fundamentals of a company and its industry: supply and demand costs, growth prospects, etc. Mutual funds were able to perform up to the market on a gross-returns basis; however, when expenses were factored in, they underperformed the market. 5. What is capital market efficiency? What are its implications for investment performance in general? What are the implications for fund managers, if the market exhibits characteristics of strong, semi-strong, or weak efficiency? Three levels of market efficiency. 6. Suppose that you are an advisor to wealthy individuals in the area of equity investments. In 2005, would you recommend investing in Miller’s Value Trust? What beliefs about the equity markets does your answer reflect?

Citizen Coke The Making Of Coca Cola Capitalism

The book Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism by Bartow J. Elmore is about the environmental history of Coca-Cola. Elmore is a historian who grew up in the Atlanta area, where the Coca-Cola Company was formed and has a presence to this day. The book discusses how the Coca-Cola Company came into existence and how it acquired resources to manufacture the best-selling product, Coke. After doing a little bit of background on the three book options offered for review, I chose this book because I was most interested in how the company came into existence and how the products were manufactured. What I discovered was that the Coca-Cola Company is a consumer, not a producer. I will go on in this review and discuss the reasons why it is a consumer and not a producer. John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist and â€Å"cash-strapped morphine addict,† created Coca-Cola in 1886. He used a French wine called Vin Mariani as his product to replicate. Coca-Cola was different bec ause it was water-based, not wine-based, and included kola nut, caffeine, coca leaf extract, and sugar. It was originally sold as a medicine, a â€Å"brain tonic† that â€Å"Cures Morphine and Opium Habits and Desire for Intoxicants.† Later broke and ill from his stomach problems and morphine addiction, Pemberton sold the patent to Coca-Cola to Asa Candler, who later officially created The Coca-Cola Company. To keep shipping costs low, Coca-Cola was sold as concentrated syrup. Water was added at the destinationShow MoreRelatedCitizen Coke : The Making Of Coca Cola Capitalism1407 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism† by Bartow J. Elmore tells a story of how Coca- Cola have changed its industry as well as the globe by utilizing natural resources. 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