CHITUNHA 1.docx

Chapter one

1.0 Introduction

This report is submitted in partial fulfilment of Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology Degree. It is a collection of daily activities undertaken by myself, in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department of GRAIN MARKETING BOARD. I hope that all activities outlined in the report will aid the university in assessing my activities and identifying my failures and success.

1.1 HISTORY OF ORGANISATION

The Grain Marketing Board (GMB), the country’s leading grain trade and Marketing Company was established under the Maize Control Act of 1931. Its basic responsibilities were to accord producers their fair share of the local and export markets, to provide them with a guaranteed outlet for their excess controlled products and to ensure the availability of adequate supplies for the local demand either from internal production or from exports. It also provide storage facilities for all types of grains These responsibilities have remained fundamentally unchanged, although many commodities in addition to maize have been brought under the control of the Grain Marketing Board.

The Grain Marketing Board is a parastatal directly under the Ministry of Agriculture. The GMB has a long history that stretches 80 years to the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s, when there was a slump in the world’s market. At that time, the colonial government had to intervene in agricultural pricing and marketing in order to mitigate the serious decline in the producer prices for maize which had occurred.

GMB was established by an Act of Parliament under the Maize Act on the 5th of June 1931.The circumstances which led to its establishment were that maize production was in excess of the local requirement, and that the domestic prices had fallen to uneconomic levels. The Board was therefore established to prevent the collapse of the agricultural industry, by providing the producers with a guaranteed price and to ensure that adequate supplies were available to meet local demands whether from internal production or imports.

However, the role in agriculture of assuring food security, raw material for industry and employment coupled with agricultural sector’s sensitivity to very low world prices for maize, led to original mandate of the board for successive years. This culminated in the Grain Marketing Act of 1950 which

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formally established the GMB. In 1951 it was renamed Grain Marketing Board through the Grain Marketing Act .This was done in line with the development that expanded its portfolio to include edible grains . The edible grains include:

Sorghum

Wheat

Cull peas (Nyemba)

White sorghum

Red sorghum

Millet

Sunflower

Soya beans

Cow beans

Groundnuts

Jugobeans

Sugar beans

Maize

Wheat

Its mandate, to ensure national food security has remained unchanged since its inception. GMB has been modified from being fundamentally a developmental or social institution to include being a commercially oriented commodity trading organisation. This led to introduction of SILO brand of products.

In addition to the above, GMB,s infrastructure that spans the whole country is used to disburse agricultural inputs to farmers.

1.2 MISSION STATEMENT


The Grain Marketing Board’s mission statement is a clear succinct representation of the organization’s purpose for existence. Hughes (2005:205) defines the mission statement as a “brief statement of the purpose of a company or organization. GMB uses the mission statement as an advertising slogan with the intent of keeping and conscientising the stakeholders of the organization’s purpose. The mission statement incorporates socially meaningful and measurable criteria. Concepts such as the moral ethical position of the Grain Marketing Board, public image, the target market, products or services, the geographical domain and expectation of growth and profitability are addressed in the mission statement. In the case of the organization the primary purpose is to always uphold the interests of the shareholders and stakeholders. The GMB`s mission statement is an opportunity to define the organization’s business at the most basic level. The mission statement tells the company’s story and ideals: who and what GMB is, what the organization stands for and why the company does it. The mission statement addresses issues like does the organization want to make profit, states the markets that the organization serves and the benefits offered to them. It also states the need to solve problems for the organization’s customers. Furthermore the mission statement encapsulates the kind of internal work environment for the employees. Values, mission and vision are elements that constitute the GMB`s mission statement

i.MISSION

To ensure national food security through the provision of grain related agricultural products and services efficiently and sustainably.

ii. VISION

To be the first choice provider of grain related agricultural products and services locally and regionally by 2015.

iii VALUES

Teamwork

Interdependent task execution through effective communication. Being the exercise of working together putting away your personal objectives and working towards attaining group objectives. As the Board it sets aside individual personal needs in order that GMB’s vision mission and objectives may be met.

Integrity


Upholding professional business ethics and promoting eco-sensitive operational systems. It is a condition of being complete. It is all about honesty. For any organization or group to function well it should be grounded on being honest with one another and also to the organization.

Transparency

Being accountable to internal and external stakeholders. This is a state of being easily understood. As one of the food suppliers in Zimbabwe with competitors such as National Foods, Victoria Foods, Red seal and other foreign companies who supply food staff to all households in the region, being easily understood by all stakeholders is of great importance. It gives a competitive urge over other companies and it aids in maintaining the confidence between the company and its stakeholders.

Commitment

Passionate dedication to turn vision into profit through leadership that reward mastery: is another important value that any company aimed at success has to have. This is prioritizing company business to our own personal needs. This entails sacrificing especially time so that the organization grow and succeed. Commitment done by management and workers has led GMB through 79 years of success.

Customer Service

Creative quality delivery of healthy relationships that motivate excellence, innovation and continuous improvement. As the vision says, the household that are the customers have to be served well so that they come back. Perfect customer service keeps the customers near thereby aiding as a competitive advantage that GMB has over other companies.

1.3 GRAIN MARKETING BOARD’S OBJECTIVES

Objectives provide a sense of direction and purpose for the Grain Marketing Board. The organisation has a strategic position which it is working to attain.Amstrong (2006:368) asserts that, “an objective or goal is a personal or organizational desired end point in development. It is usually endeavored to be reached in finite time by setting deadlines.” Objectives are similar to goals. The organisation set a specific ,measurable and time targeted objectives .This is an effective tool for making progress by ensuring that GMB`s various stakeholders are clearly aware of what is expected from them, for the objectives to be achieved. Grain Marketing Board’s objectives are of vital importance because they facilitate the organisation, in focusing its efforts in specific direction. Objectives are therefore an important tool for GMB since the objectives function as the Board’s regulatory mechanism that


acquires an employee and the stakeholders a certain amount of guidance. The Grain Marketing Board `s objectives are as follows:

To ensure food security at household level through procurement ,storage and distribution of the grain in a manner that employs cost effective logistic strategies

To be a viable institution that supports massive agriculture production for increased trading in crops value and added products to achieve full capacity utilization at all depots.

To improve operational efficiency by systematically implementing comprehensive and strategic supportive corporate governance, finance, human resources and related administrative systems and processes. Ensuring orderly marketing of controlled products. A “Controlled product is an agricultural product deemed by the Minister of Agriculture as controlled in terms of Grain Marketing Act. The product can only be bought or sold in terms of the Act. Any producer who wishes to dispose of excess production can only do so through the GMB as prescribed in Statutory Instrument 387of 2001, which makes it an offence for any person who fails to deliver any controlled product to the Grain Marketing Board within 14 days of harvest unless he is specifically exempted in writing by the organisation.

To expand commercial business activities through the establishment of export oriented business activities to generate foreign currency.

To achieve high level of customer satisfaction in all business activities by engaging all stakeholders as business partners and achieve excellence at each depot.

1.4 ORGANOGRAM

Organogram is a diagrammatic presentation of the main tasks and lines of authority within business organization. According to Robbins S.P (1994:208) “organogram is the framework as expressed by its degree of complexity, formalisation and centralisation that determines how tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated”. Thus the GMB organogram shows lines of responsibility between departments of the organization. The organizational structure of Grain Marketing Board as illustrated below basically centres on its head office in Harare. The other depots have unclear structures whilst the head office is the one with a clear-cut structure since all activities are centralized and this is illustrated by the organogram. The Board has its own Board of Directors who is directly responsible to the Ministry of Agriculture. The organization is headed by a General Manager who is answerable to the Board of Directors. Reporting to the General Manager are four Deputy General Manager that is Deputy General Manager –Finance and Administration, Deputy General Manager-Operations, Deputy General Manager-Human Resources ( this post was recently introduced since as illustrated by the diagram below Human resources reported directly to the


general manager) and the Deputy General Manager-Marketing. Deputy General Manager directly assisted

GMB ORGANOGRAM


1.5 The Main Stakeholders

As a parastatal , the Grain Marketing Board ‘s main stakeholders include the ministry of Agriculture , the Government of Zimbabwe , Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe , millers , farmers and the public.


1.5.1Ministry Of Agriculture

Its mission is to coordinate and oversee activities of the board in line with the grain marketing act chapter 18:14 and debt takeover agreement of june1996

1.5.2The Government of Zimbabwe

To ensure that Grain Marketing Board functions with the provisions of the grain marketing act 18:14

1.5.3 Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

To lead in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies and action plans for fighting inflation. Its major function is to ensure that Grain Marketing Board access financial resources for importation and purchase of grains especially maize and wheat to ensure food security.

1.5.4 Farmers

To reinvigorate the effective utilization of all land in Zimbabwe and thus arrest the decline in national productivity.

Generally, the Grain Marketing Board has relatively sound relationship with its stakeholders since it pursues its objectives to promote enough sufficiency in food production, satisfy the demand for raw materials from agro-processing industry and promote agricultural development in the communal areas as a means of generating growth in the rural economy thereby strengthening food security at household level.

1.6 The Organogram for the Information Technology Department


The I.T department falls under the Finance Executive .This means the whole I.T department is part of the Finance division. The head of the I.T is the I.T Manager; next in command are the System Analyst. These systems analyst are Material Management, Sales and distribution and Quality, Financial Controller, Human Resources and Plant Maintenance/ Fleet Maintenance Business Analyst. Still under the IT manager is Principal Systems Administrator, Hardware and Network administrator and Analyst Programmer ABAP. Under the principal administrator there are two systems administrators whereas the hardware administrator has two IT technicians and the Analyst ABAP has two programmers. The student falls under system administrator or IT technician.

1.7 Organisational culture

Organizational culture is the total sum of the values, customs, traditions and meanings that make a company unique. Corporate culture is often called “the character of an organization” since it embodies the vision of the company’s founders.

Corporate culture describes and governs the ways a company’s owners and employees think, feel and act. Different determinates define corporate culture. These include beliefs, values, norms, assumptions and management styles. The Grain Marketing Board corporate culture incorporates


both its corporate image and identity. Corporate identity is expressed through the name, symbols, and a logo used by the organisation, and the design of communication materials, and is a factor influencing corporate image of an organization. Corporate image is the impression of the policies, personnel, and operations of a corporation that is imparted to its employees and the public.

Corporate culture and identity are clearly noted in the following instances, displaying of logos on their products, at their varies locations through posting up of signs with their logo on it, branding of Grain Marketing Board products (Silo) to build their own identity and market share, use of brochures to label out what GMB is all about, what it deals with and services it provides, visual records to keep details like exhibition shows and corporate meetings that take place and many more ways.

1.7.1 BELIEFS

Opinion, feelings, idea, impression, assessment, notion and judgment that, an individual or a company perceives. An organizations belief assists it in running its daily activities in an efficient and proper manner. For instance if everyone’s belief was put into consideration, chaos may arise because every one pertains their own different beliefs. Grain Marketing Board believes in social responsibility and customer- employee care. Social responsibility is an ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, cooperation, organization, or individual has a responsibility to society at large. The grain marketing board has realized that it is operating in an environment and not a vacuum. As a result it took part in a lot of charity programs as a way to fulfil its social responsibility to the communities it is operating from.

1.7.2 Contributions from individuals

Individual contributions are very crucial as they aid to sustain and maintain the mission of the organization. GMB encourages individual contributions to keep in check its pledges to sustain and maintain its core values, destiny, cause and calling as it believes that a combination of these enables for the achievement of its mission statement. Both ministry of Agriculture and the GMB are in support of this.

Grain Marketing Board values

The values are abbreviated in this manner TITRACOCU

Meaning


T- Teamwork,

I-Integrity

TRA-transparency,

CO-commitment,

CU-customer

Teamwork

This generally entails a sense of unity among individuals or an organization, to perform a duty involving all of them. It is an aim for every individual in the organization to meet the goals of GMB. Thus, the workers at GMB strive to work together for the better running of activities within their organization. Therefore, no matter position holds in the organization, they are playing a crucial role for the GMB to function well.

Integrity

This is doing things in honesty without any form of corrupt measures taking place. It gives the organization a better name out there in the corporate world. Both management and shop floor workers are encouraged to perform their duties with integrity. GMB employees are encouraged to perform their duties well without any unprofessional practices such as avoiding poor service to their clients, aim at being honest to their clients and stakeholders, and perform duties to the specific deadlines.

Transparency

This refers to openness, accountability both the organization and the public. GMB has to aim to be transparent in all the activities they handle. This enables efficiency in the running of the organization. Therefore, all transactions that take place within and outside GMB have to be performed in the most professional manner; this also covers accounting for every thing.

Commitment

Commitment generally holds a sense of obligation of holding one side of the bargain. Therefore meaning whatever one has said there have dedicated themselves to do the have to meet their side of the bargain. Employees should faithfully commit to the GMB’s beliefs in a manner that is beneficial to the organizations customers and the employees themselves.


GMB holds its commitment to ensure food security regionally by 2012 in high esteem and all its expansion projects are driven by this desire.

Customer service

This is very crucial for services to run well and for sales to continue to be generated in the organization. Giving customer’s proper care and attention assist the organization to attain a better reputation. Customer’s preferences are put first. They have to be attended on time always. Employees need to have patience when attending to clients to avoid unnecessary disputes arising. A platform should be given to the customer to air out their views. GMB has to do this to attain a huge clientele base.

1.7.3 Norms within the Grain Marketing Board

Norms can be defined as an outcome of the behaviour pattern that is part of the culture.


The logo above represents the Grain Marketing Board logo. It symbolizes the need to provide food security both locally and regionally. At the very top of the logo is a scale, representing a form of measurement. The scale depicts the grading, quality and best standards of GMB general operations. The shield is a symbol for protection as noted in war circumstances. At Grain Marketing Board it’s symbolic for protection against starvation, the need to defend the nation from hunger. The antelope represents the origins of the organization, its strengths in the industry. The logo is very crucial to the Grain Marketing Board as it gives the organization a form of identity in the industry. This gives GMB a face and recognition therefore allowing people to easily identity what form trade the company is dealing with. The logo is found on their products, at the depots and on their material.

Corporate colours

Colour has a form of way to shout out to people what one perceives about them. At GMB corporate colors are olive green and gold. Of which these are found on buildings, letterheads and promotional material.

Dress code

This is crucial in most organizations as it describes the entity itself. Smart, professional dressing gives an entity a better more profound name to any organization. Employee integrity is also defined in the manner one portrays them self, therefore the way you dress paints a picture in the way you handle things. Dressing is very important as it creates one to be accepted. Safety clothing at the company is a top priority and every employee is entitled to wear safety clothing when entering the silos. Every employee who works in the silos is given work suit, overall, helmet, safety shoes and nose cap. Workers who work in the offices are required to put on formal clothing and only to put safety clothing when entering the silos.

Safety


Grain Marketing Board ensures safety rules are followed and by this every student who will be on attachment are taught safety rules during their first week by the training officer. This is to make sure the new students are well informed and help in reducing accidents at the company. All workers who work in the silos are required to put on safety clothing like hard hat, overalls, safety shoes and this is a punishable offense which can lead to dismissal. There is too much dust in the silos due to maize being processed therefore there is need for employees to wear protective clothing to prevent them from getting sick.

Security

Grain Marketing Board has got the security department which looks after the company property. Every employee is given a company ID. There are two gates used at GMB, one for visitors and one for employees. When entering the employees gate employees have to sign in for reporting for duty. After working hours everyone is entitled to be searched by this security personnel to safe keep the company properties since it is a big institution with a lot of workers. There is a silo shop which sells different products therefore if employees buy those products they should produce receipts to the security for them to take the goods with them. Workers who would have resigned are supposed to be cleared by the loss control department to avoid confusion and some risks. Personal laptops are not allowed at GMB. Visitors are to bring national ID and sign in and when leaving the premises.

Time management

At Head office work starts at 07:45am to16:30pm from Monday to Friday. If there is too much work people will have to work overtime until 19:00 hrs. Every worker is supposed to be at their respective department to avoid accidents no one is allowed to leave before knockoff time. Workers who come late for work are marked absent and they will be charged on their salaries. At other GMB depots work start at 07:00am to 17:00pm from Monday to Friday.

Transparency

Transparency is one of the company culture and they try by all means to make sure that all activities are open to the management and other parties who are interested through the internal auditors and hiring of external auditors. Activities are delegated to the subordinates but accountability still remains in the hands of the managers.

Ethical issues


Grain Marketing Board is comprised of different races and this is seen by the large employees of different ethnical backgrounds and races. This mixed cultural group has so many differences and perceptions about each other but these have been accommodated at the company and enjoying working together and sharing different ideas and resolving differences amicably

Gender Equality

Grain Marketing Board is trying by all means to empower women in more powerful position of decision making. Woman are taking up other professions which was used to be dominated by man by this it reflects gender equality. For instance deputy general manager (DGM Finance and DGM Human Resource) positions are being held by women. Moreover in the silos women are being found processing the maize and lifting maize bags.

Incentives

Workers are allocated incentives in the form of maize. Workers are allocated a 50kg bag of maize on a monthly basis. It is more of a token of appreciation for keeping the organization running. The other employees with higher grades are awarded airtime worth $100 to $200


Chapter Two

2.0 Nature of industry and industry requirement

Due to the economic hardships we are experiencing here in Zimbabwe the industry at large is greatly affected. A lot of industrial developments have affected Grain Marketing Board either negative or positive way.

GMB trades in the Agricultural industry. GMB is involved in the trade of grain products such as maize, rice, groundnuts. Agriculture is the backbone of Zimbabwean economy. Our economy is Agro based. GMB is a major player in the industry that it does virtually everything to set the pace in the industry. It is practically an all rounder in the industry; for it is involved in farming, inputs supply, contract farming, grain transportation and storage, marketing of grain produce, packaging, fumigation services and value addition. Such inputs include fertilizer, seeds and tillage machines.


The organization is involved in farming; it owns several productive farms in Mashonaland

West and Manicaland. On top of that it also supports farmers through inputs schemes such as contract farming, inputs loans and tonnage inputs bonuses. .

Zimbabwe is involved in a mechanization program that GMB is also heavily involved. The mechanization program seeks to empower new and old farmers with mechanical equipment. Hence, this means that GMB must build capacity to handle future mega increase in output. Currently the GMB has 68 depots across Zimbabwe. In terms of storage GMB has the 2nd largest silo storage in the world at Lions Den depot.

Developments

GMB has constructed four bakeries that are currently running at full capacity. The bakeries are in Marondera, Masvingo, Bindura and Mutare there are now making silo bread to the satisfaction of society in contact with the bakeries.

GMB is constructing state of the art stock feeds plant at its Norton depot. This will go a long way in easing the meat shortages in the country.

GMB has finished the digitalization of all the weigh bridges at its grain storage depots in Zimbabwe. This will save time in grain transactions.

The organization is also involved in the computerization of its depots nation wide.

2.1 Application of information Technology in the Industry

Considering the harsh conditions which Grain Marketing Board is operating in, it’s trying at its best not to be left out in the world of technology .Almost each and every employee at the head office has got one or more computers depending on number of personnel found in each department. However in other depots in rural areas like Mvurwi and Binga at least two or more machines will be used for off line production. There are not many as those in big towns. The production process involves use of computers hence the need for the ICT department .Since there is computerisation in each and every department, IT department provides the bridge between users and the computers.

Weighbridges

These are scales for weighing vehicles and wagons (including train wagons) by means of a metal plates set into roads or rails.

GMB takes the weights of the trucks as they come in and go out so that determining the tonnage of the incoming/outgoing grains is made easy. No need of first packing bulky grains into sacks for


weighing since the difference of the loaded weight and truck weight denotes the weight of the contents. The scaling software is linked to SAP so that the farmers’ deliveries are captured direct into the system. Amount owed to farmers’ or owed to GMB by the buyer is then calculated automatically by the system using the buying and selling prices respectively. Large volumes of grains can be delivered and captured per day as there are no much manual activities involved.

GMB also provide weighbridge services to externals at a cost.

SAP

This is a systems, applications, products and data processing software. The software package is used by GMB for all its activities. The software incorporates all modules for HR, Selling and Distribution, Materials Management, Accounting, Fleet Management etc. Reports for all these modules are also extracted from the SAP system. Users are created in the system and they are given different authorities depending on the nature of their jobs. Those who do purchasing have their orders created and printed from SAP. Those who do farmers’ payments print the farmers’ cheques from SAP. Stocks of goods purchased or tonnages of grains available in the silos are all extracted from the SAP system since all intakes or outward movements of stocks are first authorized in the system. Depots which are not on the GMB wide area network process their documents in Excel and then take the processed documents to their respective provincial offices for the accountants to upload the data into SAP. This reduced manpower requirements as there is no more need of taking raw documents to the provincial offices for data capturing purposes. Transport costs were also cut as the processed documents and/or summaries are now sent by e-mail to the provinces. Selected depots which are not of the GMB WAN are connected by means of Econet dongles.


Chapter three

3.0 Products and Services

Market it’s a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell products .Grain Marketing Board offers a wide range of products to the market. Grain Marketing Board try by all means to meet the demands of the customers because they believe the customer is the King and want quality products. Below are some of the products that produced at Grain Marketing Board for different markets

Most of GMB products are controlled by the government. However, it is a fact that GMB makes profit on all its n on-controlled products that it trades in. Most of the GMB products trade under the silo brand e.g. silo upfu, silo salt and many more. Below is a picture of some of the silo products that GMB trades on:


3.1 Commercialisation

This has led to a number of values – added products being introduced by the organization to process the farmers’ produce into several products under the brand name SILO.

In line with the changing socio-economic and political conditions of the Grain Industry, the GMB’s focus has been changed from being fundamentally a development or social institution, to include being a commercially oriented commodity trading organization.

3.1.2 Maize Milling Project

The GMB has managed to open milling plants in most of its depots throughout the whole country with 37 sites already operating. The GMB through its Silo range of mealie meal which include Silo Upfu, Silo Roller and Silo Refined meal has managed to take control of 60% of the market share of mealie –meal as well as contributing to price stabilization of the commodity.

The main reason for embarking on the milling project was to

stabilize the market prices for mealie meal.

GMB is aiming at ensuring that every Zimbabwean has the basic food requirements


The sites that are already operational are approximately 37. The GMB aims to reach a target of 57 milling plants to match the 57 districts in the country through the establishment of milling plants in every province.

3.1.3 Rice Packaging Project

The Silo brand of rice is one of the most fast selling commodities in the market. The product boasts of 55% of the market share of rice and has contributed to price stabilization in this sector.

3.1.4 Bakeries project

Currently, GMB bakeries are already operating in Marondera, Bindura, Chinhoyi, Masvingo, Mutare and Hwange depots.

This will provide customers with an alternative and help in stamping out profiteering by some existing privately owned bakeries.

The Grain Marketing Board is envisaging the establishment of bakeries in every province in the country.

3.1.5 Flour

GMB has recently launched a new product in the name of Dely flour. The product received an overwhelming response from the customers. GMB is looking forward to making its products a pillar of life in Zimbabwe.

3.2 New products

The Grain Marketing Board is at an advanced stage of introducing new products in the market.

3.2.1 Paddie’s Premium rice

This is a new brand of long grain rice named after the name “Paddie” a field where rice is grown.

3.2.2Mtarazi water

GMB will be introducing an up market coffee named after Mtarazi Waterfalls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the world situated in the Eastern part of Zimbabwe.

3.2.3 Other silo products


Besides mealie meal, rice, bread and flour, the other value added products which are already in the market are Silo sugar beans, Silo popcorn, Silo nyimo, Silo salt and Silo samp.

3.3 Services

Contract farming: is whereby GMB and a farmer enter into a contract to produce grain. GMB provides the farmer with inputs and after the season the farmer sends the produce to GMB. GMB then buys the output at the current market price. The farmer gets the total revenue less inputs costs provided by GMB.

Inputs loans: are whereby GMB offers the farmer a loan in form of inputs. After the stated period the farmer returns the loan in form of cash. The cash will be the cost of the inputs plus a small interest.

Transportation : GMB has a very large fleet of vehicles that range from the 1tonne pick ups to 30tonne vehicles. GMB helps farmers in transporting their Agricultural goods. Most of GMB vehicles are used in transporting imported grain from the neighbouring countries.

Fumigation: GMB offer fumigation services to farmers that are registered under the inputs scheme. The service is conducted by trained personnel under the pay cheque of GMB. All farmers who have supplied grain to GMB qualify.

Poly bag assembly

The GMB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese technical partner to establish jointly establish a poly bag assembly factory. The Grain Marketing Board has also gone to tender to appoint a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of the factory

3.4 Stock feeds Manufacturing Project

The Grain Marketing Board has set up a stock feeds manufacturing plant at its Norton Depot. Part of the machinery (90 tonnes) has been purchased and delivered from South Africa. Currently the plant is at it advanced stage of establishment and it was made possible by December 2007. Different brands have been made as prototypes and were displayed at the Harare Agricultural show and stakeholders and clients were impressed with this development given the current shortage of stock feeds. Some of the brands include:-

Dairy Concentrate

Beef Concentrate


Layers Concentrate

Layers Concentrate

Pig Concentrate

Chapter Four

4.0 Expectations and Industrial Reality

The enthusiasm of working for a big organization was my endeavour. When I joined Grain Marketing Board my desire was fulfilled and being attached to such a company was a dream come true, and that only came with a number of expectations. Amongst these were:

To work with modern computers

To work in all three departments found in IT thus hardware dept, networking and software department.


Working with systems that are being developed by the new programming languages that are

being introduced and current.

Development of new systems or upgrading existing systems

Website development

Participate in team work

Working with users who know basic IT

Applying the programming languages learnt thus PHP,VB6.0 etc

To carry out tasks that i would have full responsibility

Being sent to some refresher courses that has to do with IT

Database programming

Exposure of networking and system administration

4.1 Reality

IT for the industry is different from what l expected .My expectations were very high than the reality and below is what i discovered working in the industry:

Required only to enter the server room with a supervisor only

Programming languages used were VB.Net and Java

Not much development of the system because it was done by external programmers and students weren’t allowed to participate in these programs

Grain marketing Board mainly focuses on hardware, networking and system administration and very little on programming.

GMB being a government owned company students were not allowed to have rights to know some of the IT passwords to the server, SAP system

The security system is not up to standard.

Windows XP operating system is used on the company machines and windows 7 is used on the top management personal laptops.

IT for GMB is centralised and students were mostly assigned duties to repair hardware.

GMB still uses IBM machines though they are steadily being phased off.


Refresher courses were not attended by students but only the permanent staff.

Other employees had a negative attitude thus didn’t want students to rectify their problem. They would opt to wait for my supervisor than a student.

Top management do not want students to attend to their problems.

Chapter five

5.0 Company and Society connection


Companies have got the social responsibility to help the society in which they are operating in. It is the duty of the company to say thank you to the people of the community by helping them in different ways .Grain Marketing Board accepted this responsibility of giving back to the community.

5.1 Social Responsibility

i. Education

Basic education is every Zimbabwean’s right .Grain Marketing Board ensured that every child in the community have their right to education by providing school feels for the under privileged and providing stationery to different schools. Recently they provided stationery to Kushinga primary school in Mazoe. Stationery was in form of pens, exercise books and text books

ii. Housing and Accommodation

Grain Marketing Board has a housing policy. Employees are given stands and the money is deducted from their salaries. These houses are meant for employees to occupy a decent home and their families. Stands for GMB employees are situated in Southly park and Glaudina in Harare. However those employees situated in other depots besides the head office reside in GMB houses within GMB premises or other houses in the nearby community.

iii. Recreation and Entertainment

Grain Marketing Board has got sports club which offer different sporting activities like football, tennis, basketball, etc. There is also a gym for the society to exercise in order to stay fit and healthy. Grain Marketing Board has got a football club which they sponsor and the players are mainly employees within the company. The sports club is based at Aspindale Depot near Rugare. There is a football ground which is either used by the employees or the community at large.

People around Aspindale have a beer hall built by GMB which they can relax and drink beer. Within the same area there is a canteen where employees, the community at large and people who work within can buy lunch for themselves.

iv. Health and Safety Issues

Grain Marketing Board has contributed much in ensuring that the community have access to good health facilities. Grain Marketing board adopted ward 15 in Marondera General Hospital. They are


responsible for everything in that ward which includes medication and food of patients; hospitality and hospital bills for the patients On top of that they have Grained (medical aid) for employees. All employees are required to have a medical aid for him and his family. Grain Marketing Board also promotes safety amongst its employees by awarding prizes to each department that scores high marks in housekeeping .Safety clothing it’s a must whenever you are entering the silos and the company provides these safety clothing. The company also helps in keeping the environment clean by engaging in various environments cleaning. Recently they took part in the cleaning of Samora Machel Street a program prepared by the town council

v. Transport and Communication Services

Company employees are ferried to and from work by the company bus, this reduces late arrivals at work. Pick up point for employees are at Gutsai Supermarket in Kwame Nkrumah Street. Employees who live were the bus cannot reach are provided with transport allowance. This is done to avoid employees to come late for work.

vi. Other Obligations

Grain Marketing Board also takes part in Oasis Zimbabwe in Kambuzuma. It is a girls home in which girls who were dumped at birth are given accommodation and education. GMB provides all the products e.g. mealie meal, maputi, rice and beans for the girls to have a balanced diet. Moreover they also donate food and clothing to Fredrick Cali cottages were old people are taken care of.

5.2 HIV and AIDS Awareness

The company has an HIV/AIDS policy to guide the management on HIV/AIDS pandemic. Its main focus is on preventing, mitigation, mainstreaming(increasing awareness amongst employees) fight discrimination and stigmatization against People living with HIV and Aids(PLWHA) and provision of care and support.

Fighting discrimination and stigmatisation:

There shall be no discrimination or stigmatization of employees living with HIV and Aids on the basis of our perceived or real HIV and AIDS status. The discrimination may be witnessed in the following:

Promotion

Transfers


Access to training

Handling of disciplinary cases

Recruitment and termination

Testing for employment.

Moreover they shall be non termination of contract if one is tested positive unless he or she is no longer fit for normal duty. Grain Marketing Board provides the following:

o Visits to an employee’s home to advice on issues of home based care and general health in and around the home.

o Assist once in facilitating access to home based care and health personnel

Chapter six

6.0 Work Related Assignments

Network configuration

Network configuration is setting up a computer so that it can access the Local Area Network (LAN) and internet. When configuring a network there has to be an IP address (Internet Protocol) and the proxy server address or gateway.


The IP address is different from computer to computer thus it uniquely identifies each computer from other computers on the network. An IP address also allows a computer to access other computer on the network. There are two different types of IP addresses which are those that can access the internet and the local area network and are able to download files and those that access the internet but are unable to download files.

The gateway allows computers to access the internet and this is the same in each computer.

In the Local Area network computers are grouped so that they can be easily identified, thus putting them in workgroups.

At Grain Marketing Board most computers have access to the Local Area network. To configure a network on a computer I would assign an IP address and a gateway or proxy server address. To do this one would select control panel, then network connections then local area connection. Under the general tab we select properties then double click internet protocols. When you reach this stage either you assign manually or it assigns automatically.

Operating system installation

At Grain Marketing Board most computers use Microsoft windows XP and window 7. Users are very sceptical about using Windows 8. I was taught how to install the operating system using CDs and also to partition a computer hard drive while installing the operating system.

This was not so challenging because I could do the installation on my own from the day I was taught.

I learnt that when installing an operating system from any other external drive besides the hard drive, the boot priority must be set to have the first boot priority of that device. For example when installing an operating system from the CD, the first boot priority must be the CD-ROM. This is done because when a computer is booting it checks first the device that is set as its first boot priority, if there is no device it goes on to the next boot priority. If the hard drive is to be partitioned, I had to partition before selecting the option for installing.

Microsoft Windows 7 installation

This operating system is not difficult in terms of installing. The operating system has an option of formatting a hard drive and partitioning the hard drive during the process of installation. To install windows 7 I would reboot the computer using a bootable CD and enter into setup to select the CD ROM as the first boot priority and exit setup after saving changes:


The computer will begin to load the system files and upon completion I would select the option for installing the operating system. Before the operating system has been installed I would back up the data and then format the hard drive to delete all the files in it and partition it if necessary. After these procedures the installation will start. There is also the option of installing a new copy of windows while preserving the data on the machine. The data is saved under windows old.

When the installation is done I would remove the CD so that the computer will boot from the operating system installed on the hard drive.

When a computer has a new operating system there will be no Microsoft Office packages, antivirus and any other data. I would install the Microsoft office packages which include Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint. The version of the Microsoft Office package to be installed depends on whether the machine was a thirty two bit word machine or sixty four bit word machine. Microsoft Office 2010 could install on thirty two bit word machines but Microsoft Office

I would also install an antivirus that is compatible with the RAM of the computer.

Setting up an email account

For an email account to be created it has to be approved by the administrator first and he or she is the only one who can setup that email account.

At Grain Marketing Board we use Microsoft Outlook to setup accounts for users.

To setup an email account I would get the approval of the Administrator. The following would be done :

Log in as root

Type command useradd<username> press enter

Type command password<username> press enter

This prompts in for user password. It also prompts for the confirmation/ retyping the password.

If its correct then its done.

Scheduling of Back up

This is the procedure done when scheduling for back up:


Start- run- telnet 190.0.1.9 this prompts for username and password

Enter username and password (user is root)

Switch user to ORAPRD by typing command su – oraprd( you will now be logged into the production database)

After getting the database type brbackup –u / -q(this is a user query to check the tape volume which is needed for the backup

NB take note of the volume number as it will be requested in later stages

Type brbackup –i force –v PRDB—(the tape volume)

To schedule the back up type command: brtools(this gives you a screen with a number of options to choose the required in our case its option 4) this can be seen below

Press enter after selecting four


On screen 2 choose option1 and press enter



On screen 3 choose three and enter

Type tape volume number


On screen 4 choose 5 and enter

Enter user name and password


On screen 5 type C and enter

Type c (to continue) on the next screen until back up starts

Slaving a hard drive


At Grain Marketing Board we usually slave a hard drive when we want to scan or perform a backup so that we can reinstall an operating system or when the hard drive is not opening on its original computer.

To slave a hard drive I would read the hard drive instructions when one wants to make it a slave and these instructions are written on the hard drive. To make it a slave the jumper on the hard drive has to be on the slave position that is written on the instruction.

Resetting a switch

Sometimes when a certain group of computers that are connected to a certain hub are failing to access the LAN and the internet usually the problem will be with the switch.

To solve this problem I would check if the hub is on thus it will be showing green lights. If the lights are on I would switch it off and on again and check if there are any fly lids that are not connected and connect them. After I have done this I would check if the computers are able to see other computers on the network.

If all these connections are done the computers must be able to access other computers on the network if the problem persist it means there is a technical problem

Removing a virus that affect boot sector

I removed virus from

windows XP boot sector

a) Windows XP

A boot sector virus most of the times cannot be removed by an antivirus so I would search for a solution from the internet.

To remove a boot sector virus from a computer with windows XP I would replace the boot sector with a new boot sector.

This is done by using the following method


Boot from a an XP CD

Enter setup and then I would choose to repair using recovery console this will take me to DOS

In DOS I would type a command fixmbr , a message will be displayed asking me if am sure that I want to replace the boot sector with a new one and I would accept

I would then type fixboot and also accept to replace the boot sector with a new one.

When am through I would type exit and this will reboot the computer.

When the computer has finished rebooting I would update my antivirus and scan the computer to finish removing the virus which is not in the boot sector or mbr.

Configuring a new pc

This procedure is done before a new PC is sent to its respective user.

Check for software

Check to see if all power cables are there, connect them to the machine

Switch on, to check the software loaded. A pop up wizard automatically appears where you need to set up the internet, emails, dates, time zone, network connections etc.

Follow instructions from this wizard until you are through.

Sending icons on desktop

CLICK ON START:

You will see My Network Places, My Computer and My Documents, right click on each of them and tick “SHOW ON MY DESKTOP”

Driver installation

This is similar to operating system installation so it was not that difficult. A driver is a software program that is used by a computer to identify any hardware that is connected to it.

There are a lot of drivers that can be installed on a computer for it to recognise any hardware that are connected to it.


Most of the drivers that I installed are printer drivers and a few sound, network and VGA drivers. Drivers’ difference depends on the Computer type for example HP computer uses hp drivers and Acer computer uses Acer drivers meaning that for any hardware that is connected to an Acer computer it means the driver for that hardware must be an Acer driver.

To install I would follow the steps on the installation procedure. I installed drivers if ever there is any hardware that needs to be connected to a computer or that the computer is not recognising.

Rebuilding Computers

There were times when we were required to rebuild machines. These machines will have none working mother boards, power supply units, crushed hard disk drives etc. The greatest challenge was on installing the mother boards. These were of inferior quality (Winsonic mother boards) an would not start up of display anything on the monitor if there is a slight contact with the chassis. For this reason, a lot of insulation between the motherboard and the mounting had to be put. The whole process involved putting the motherboard in place and securing it tightly to the chassis whilst ensuring that there is no contact between the motherboard and the chassis. I would then mount the power supply unit and the hard disk drive. Ensuring that the right power lead is connected to the right socket was quite easy because the cables will only fit where its supposed to be connected to. After affixing the power supply unit I will then connect the hard disc drives which were mostly of SATA type. The motherboard would come with no RAM chips so I would make sure I place at least five hundred and twelve mega bytes of RAM on each machine. A cooling fan also had to be installed. The rebuilt machine is now ready for testing.

Chapter seven

7.0 Personal and Professional development

The year that I have been exposed to the working environment has opened me up and left a perfect and unblemished picture of what one ought to be if they are to be successful in their business domains. It made me realise the untapped talents that exist within me and those strengths that I have in me. Unfortunately where strengths exist one is bound to have some weaknesses but hopefully some of them have been addressed in this year of practical work environment. “After all a problem discovered is half solved”.


PERCIEVED STRENGTHS:

Decision making

During my first days of work related learning at Grain Marketing Board l did not want to get involved in decision making as I was still trying to understand the organisational politics. With each passing day l gained confidence to make right decisions in times of crises when they is no one to consult because everybody will be busy with their work. My previous work experience in private organisations (The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe and Quton Seed Company) were handy. I had to come to terms with parastatal mentality of leaving the important aspects of work too late as I got my other workmates in trouble after highlighting that a certain critical job has not yet been done. The urgency of work is just not there in the parastatal as compared to private companies.

Good Communication Skills

Working in the IT department at Grain Marketing board involves interacting with different users with different IT background .I managed to develop good communication skills which allowed me to communicate with different users and understand their problems and try to help them in a manner they will understand. They was also a two way communication channel between me and my supervisor, this helped me a lot to develop in communicating. Most of the faults were reported through telephone and this helped me in developing good telephone skills

Time Management

Time is a precious tool in the industry and during my work related learning period l managed to develop a good skill of time management. I made sure that l arrived early at work to plan my work for the day. Working in the IT department involves being assigned a lot of tasks at the same time and l tried by all means in order to finish my tasks in stipulated time so that l don’t delay other people’s work.

Self-Motivation

The need to learn new things that are found in the industry were the self-motivator .You finds sometimes what you learn at college is different from the reality. Different programming languages used here like VB. Net, Java and other different systems used motivated me, hence the need to learn.

Stress Management


Grain Marketing board is a big organisation with so many departments. In these departments they are so many users of computers and it was a challenge as a student to work with them because some of them have no confidents in students .Misunderstanding are always common with the users and during my period of work related learning l managed develop the skill on how to handle such conflicts with users and find a solution to the problem.

Ability to Adapt to Change

The IT industry is so dynamic and they are a lot of changes that happen every day. I can safely say l was able to adapt to new software’s that are being introduced on day to day. Some of the software that l had a chance to work with are the operating system windows 7 and Microsoft office 2010,l managed to master quickly on how to use them and l did not have any problem in using them.

Confidence

Confidence enabled me to do all the tasks that would have been assigned to me and meet the required objective. The availability of internet boosted my confidence since l was able to research any problem and find the solution. This helped me to produce good result and do my work without any fear of a difficult task. The organisation built in me a sense of confidence in the way I carry myself around and the way I handle situations. It has taught me that crisis situations can be triggered worse by lack of confidence and panic. Also the mere thought of being entrusted with privileged information contributes highly to self esteem. Finally the support I was given by my colleagues and supervisors raised my spirits and sense of confidence.

Sharing of Resources

Grain marketing board has got limited resources, so l developed the ability to share the little resources that are available with other for the benefit of the company in order to meet the required objectives and help the company to grow.

Responsibility

During my work related learning l was working under minimum supervision and l was responsible for the outcome of any task that would have been assigned to me .Given responsibility made feel being part of the organisation

Planning, Prioritisation and Tracking


Through planning the tasks that would have been allocated to me by my supervisor ,l had to make a choice which task should start first according to the importance and urgency .They were other tasks that l would make a follow up and see the performance, and do the changes whenever necessary .

Discipline

I did maintain a good reputation as a disciplined person who could humble himself in front of respectable people. I tried to be presentable at all times even in times of economic hardships.

I never absconded from work and attended to my duly assigned duties with such diligence expected of me. I did not at any time become involved the organisational politics neither was I warned of inapt and incompetent behaviour.

Reliability

It is in this year that I grasped the importance of being dependable. In the section that we worked in, all important data used for decision making purposes passed through it and any assigned tasks had to be thoroughly prepared otherwise it would prove to be fatal to the nation at large. In this regard one has to be highly agile and I had to quickly adapt and prove my inherent temperament of determination.

Professional competence

As a member of the Grain Marketing Board family I was taught how to uphold the ethics of a professional and consummate with this view the organisation gave me the opportunity to get knowledge from my superior who would have attended some training courses.. I also learnt that being honest on your capability to carry out a task helps in upholding your competence as a professional.

Teamwork

I managed to witness and experience the strength of teamwork when I was in the organisation. I managed to relate well with other staff from the various divisions of the organisation.

Thoroughness

Due to the nature of data that one works with in the research and development thoroughness is required in every aspect. Wrong data could lead to wrong decisions and advice and this could backfire on the systems analyst and the programmers and decision makers. In regard of this a certain degree of carefulness and thoroughness is required and the Authority has managed to instill a habit of thoroughness even in the way I handle minor things.


Objectivity

It was taught to me that if one is to become successful in their domain one should perform his or her duties with honesty and straightforwardness. I managed to act with impartiality and commendable honesty in carrying my duties. Lack of objectivity could lead to a prejudiced and skewed decision that could plunge the whole decision making process into oblivion.

Anger management/ Control

I managed to nurture myself to accept constructive criticism and advice. Previously I could easily misconstrue criticism as a personal attack on my work or personality. There are times when I felt my work was being disapproved even if this was open but I managed to learn to correct even the unsaid mistakes and the culture of thoroughness also helped a lot. Now I can easily seek clarification where I don’t understand and correction where I have failed without fear of being rejected.

WEAKNESSES:

Perfectionist

I discovered that I was a bit of a perfectionist and this tended to affect me adversely. The end result was I would sometimes want to do all things by myself not trusting my colleagues and probably criticizing their methods without attempting to try them. This perfectionist bit made me apprehensive on criticism even to constructive advice.

Entrance

The principal weakness at the start of my work related learning was that l was no so comfortable to be introduced as a student because of my age. However l managed to overcome this weakness with the help of my colleagues whom l was working with.

Being a Student

Being a student made it quite difficult to be involved in some of the IT departmental tasks .This measure is however justifiable because of the sensitiveness of the other tasks .The other tasks were done under close monitoring but with time they started to have trust in me and some of the sensitive tasks were assigned to me.


Impatience

Generally I like things that eventually come to an end and on most times when doing repetitive work I tended to be impatient. Also when I was faced with challenges that I could not effectively deal with I tended to be on the offensive and sometimes would leave those challenges unattempted without wish to retry again.

Impulsiveness

When I started my placement it was a little bit late so I was so full of zeal that, I was rather very hasty in carrying my duties wanting to impress. I was unnecessarily quick to do my duties without even considering the feasibility of doing such and the resources available.

Quietness

Generally I’m a quiet person but now coupled with the skeptism of fitting into an organisation as big as Grain Marketing board let alone the abhorrent thought of making a mistake that could let down decision makers made it only worst. This mode I had set for myself made it uneasy for me to settle quickly though it can not be discounted for purposes of observation of staff culture. My quietness also made it difficult for me to express myself and persuade especially even when I could see grim errors/consequences.

Chapter Eight

8.0 Handling conflict between personal and organizational objectives.

Usually you find out that the aims of work related learning are different with the company policies .This will lead to a conflict between personal objectives and company objectives .The


program l am studying requires me to have knowledge in networking, hardware and software, but the organisational structure at Grain marketing Board does not allow this because IT is seen as a private issue since this is a parastatal. Students are allowed to have full exposure in the hardware department. When it comes to networking especially, when monitoring networks of different depots no student shall carry out the task and no passwords are to be given to the student.

Moreover students are not allowed to attend any training courses unless the General manager says so. They is an issue of filling an IT request form by the user before troubleshooting .Some of the users are a bit reluctant to fill this form .The IT form is there to avoid conflicts that the user can blame me for causing more problems to their machines. So to avoid this l make sure the form is filled before troubleshooting.

The programming languages used at Grain Marketing Board are Java and Vb.net they are not Morden. In his case l found myself in conflict with the organisation because l have to learn both the languages used at Grain Marketing Board at the same time research on the current programming languages that are being introduced since IT is dynamic hence the need to move with time. The only way to solve this conflict was to learn the programming languages used at Grain Marketing Board at the same time researching on the new languages that are being introduced to the world.

Conflicting issues came when configuring IP addresses on the machines of users. At Grain Marketing board some of the IP addresses are limited not to access internet in order to avoid congestion and employees neglecting work due to face book .Some of the users will argue with me, that I am denying them their right to access internet and enjoy company resources ,but they was nothing l could do except to follow the procedures l would have been told by my superiors.

They was also conflicting issues when a new problem pop up, the users will be exerting too much pressure on me, not giving me time to research , but on this l would always thank my supervisor for standing by me during the time of research

During my first days private business was quite an issue for me there were times when I had to do stuff of my own during supposed work time but however with my acquired time management skills I managed to overcome this issue. I also managed to steer from the course of conflict of interest by taking time to study the Grain Marketing Board code of conduct and ethics, this booklet was designed to make sure that private interest were not put first at the expense of organisational goals.


During my work related learning period l got the opportunity to learn more about the industry, through practical implementation of theoretical study, sharpen analytical skills, time management skills and some of the skills that l will mention later .I managed to have an insight of what business is and what is needed and develop the skills that will help my career in future. Some of the skills that l developed are listed below:

Chapter nine

Key skills developed

(a)Time Management skill

Time management involves organising and planning the given tasks. I managed to develop this skill because Grain Marketing Board is a large organisation and a lot of tasks will be assigned. I had the ability to complete all my assigned tasks in time on daily basis, because of the skill (time management) l have developed. This skill was a success because l was copying from my supervisor on how he manages his time.

(b)Troubleshooting Skill


On day to day basis l was working with users who would encounter different problems and l was the consultant to solve their problem. Troubleshooting is solving the user’s problem; hence l gained this skill since l was solving different problems every day.

(c)Communication Skills

During my attachment period l was interacting with different peoples either verbal or orally. Interacting with different people enable me to have confidence and improve my communication skills. Since most of the time users would report their problems through the telephone l developed my verbal communication skill.

(d)Personal Management

During my attachment period l developed a skill to manage myself by being punctual to work, because for you to be able to plan and organise your tasks you have to come early. Proper personal management enables one to have confidence, complete tasks in time and being able to take responsibility without hesitation.

(e)Team Work

Working in IT department involves coordinating with other employees in order to complete tasks at hand and they are other problems which need to consult other employees so l managed to fit in well working as a team. I also learnt that each team player is equally important like everyone else in the team and there is need to demonstrate skills that improve team effectiveness for example negotiation ,compromise, consensus building , conflict management, shared decision making and goal setting.

(f)Research

Since IT is dynamic you have to continue researching for new things .Also during day to day running of the business you meet new problems and you have to research for the solution on the internet and books . Through researching no task was impossible a solution was always found and the required result was met.


Chapter ten

Re entry

After the completion of my work related leaning I have developed into a different person with different needs upon re-entry. The one-year Industrial Placement has been fruitful and an eye-opening experience as it has greatly helped me to develop personal and interpersonal skills, enhancing self-motivation, analytical skills, subject knowledge and subject-specific skills and provided an insight into what makes businesses survive.


Before work related learning I relied more on what I was taught by the lectures and didn’t do much to develop myself as an IT student, and an individual. But during my Work-Related Learning period I was expected to fend for myself, so to speak. This meant if there was something I didn’t know or did not fully understand the onus was on me to do my own research that is I had to be self-motivated to improve myself. This is one of the many things I think is required of a student in final year.

Having been widely exposed to extensive research and being able to work under pressure and still produce required results; I shall be able to tackle my fourth year with great caution and determination. Furthermore, I will also be able to relate most of the fourth year modules to the knowledge and experience I acquired during the Industrial-Attachment period. To a larger extent, I strongly believe that this shall make my learning process enjoyable and easier; as I shall be in a better position to give highly technical and practical examples to specific modules that I shall be doing.

I expect the main objective of my final year is that learning new things that will allow me to become an even more marketable individual when I re-enter the industry, this of course being done, on the foundation of all the things that I’ve learnt during my Work-Related Learning period of what it takes to survive in the real world.

Over and above, the ultimate goal on re-entry to university for the final year, is to articulate and convert my wealth of experience into better passes; become more focused and committed to both curriculum and non-curriculum activities as compared to my previous first two years in college.


Chapter eleven

Conclusions and recommendations

The attachment period has given me more experience on the practical side.

Through the practice of practical task I got to understand my theory better also I learnt new things even those that are not in line with my course of study.


I also improved my communication skills through interaction with different types users. I have grown to love my profession through this industrial attachment because I could see and do things in a more practical way and this made me understand better.

Recommendations

There is limited security on computers in that the users login as administrators such that they can do any changes to computer settings and this creates many problems most of the times. Because some changes will affect the performance of the computer and hence will require the IT department to solve the problems. To avoid some of these problems I would suggest that every user will be logged on with no administrator privileges such that no changes will be made by the user.

There should be another way a user should inform the IT department of a fault in the event that the telephones are not working. This can be done by the use of a Fault Login system on which the user will enter a fault and the IT department will check with the system if there is any fault that has occurred. Also a chat can be of help if the problem can be solved without the IT staff going to the user or the computer being brought to the IT department for repair.

Refresher courses for users to increase their appreciation for computers. These refresher courses can be held in two types:

(a)Refresher courses for secretaries on application that they use in order to increase their levels of computer literacy.

(b)Refresher courses for all users on how to reduce the threat of virus and other possible damages to computers.

They is need for fully computerisation of the organisation and dispose off all old computers.


New machines and software should start to be implemented in the IT department

then spread the implementation to any other departments

They should be machines, keyboards and mouse’s set aside for training such that when there is an impromptu training people won’t have stress to where to find the machines.

There should be greater utilisation of Desk Top Connection when trouble shouting machines in remote sites. This would greatly lower travelling expenses

Conclusion

The experience gained during my Industrial Attachment at Grain Marketing Board has been an eye-opening experience. It provided me with the opportunity to get a taste of a typical Information Technology working environment, with its high emphasis and strong bias on hands-on experience. Great co-operation with the IT team members facilitated a healthy exchange of ideas and views, and promoted a great teamwork.

However, there were times when research was futile, users impatient and ideas were not coming; these were the times when patience and perseverance was building-up and thinking was most draining. On the other hand, when times were better, success was sweet and threw us to greater heights.

In a world where employers want their graduates to be the most useful to the organization; the wealth of experience I have gained during my attachment, fills me with great confidence for the future.

