IT Work - Tool Man

John is a sales representative selling tools to garden centres and DIY stores. He travels over 1000 miles a week to see new and existing clients. For the past 20 years he has carried around a large diary, an address book, a large road atlas and numerous A-Zs as well as numerous small coins for phones. He prides himself on his punctuality, but even he is occasionally late as he struggles to find a new client or is delayed by traffic. He always takes along a calculator, and a bulky sales catalogue with the latest price lists and order forms. He is usually on the road four days a week, six hours a day and spends every Friday in the office ensuring all his administration and sales are handled properly. He has always said he quite likes the time spend in his car between appointments, as it is his time when he can listen to CDs undisturbed.

State how john could use the following ICT to change and hopefully improve his working style: PDA, GPS, Laptop, software, Mobile phone, and the internet:

PDA: He could use this to store all his notes and dates he needs to keep to in one place without needing numerous diaries. It is also fairly easy to use, depending on what type you buy and you can delete and change entries without wasting paper. They usually have a good battery life and so it will be cheaper to charge this than to buy the new diaries, you will probably have lots due to the amount of customers that "the tool man" sees each day. It is always a good idea though to keep a paper copy just in case something happens to the PDA (only small notes otherwise it will still take up a lot of room in a diary, e.g. Address : time.

GPS: This will help him know where he is going, he will be able to enter addresses of his clients and follow the route without having to start and stop and look at a map repeatedly. It also gives instructions on where to go and so you will just need to adjust it onces to add in the details and then just follow the instructions. Depending on the make and model you might even get traffic information and speed cameras so you will be able to get there faster by missing the traffic and knowing where the cameras are. Always keep a map in the back just in case the GPS does not work properly.

Laptop: This will be useful for doing all the administrative pieces in the work, it can also be used along with the PDA to backup all the dates and meetings he needs to attend. It is also portable so when he has free time in his van he will be able to do some administrative, this will also allow for more time to do other things such as have a break on Fridays. Make sure you make repeated backups of everything you do, and print out your work after each update and keep them in files just in case something happens to the computer.

Software: There is a large range of software available but what "the toll man" will need will be a word processor, spreadsheet, database and some type of mathematics calculation software. This will allow him to do everything that he needs to do, the database for keeping track of his customers, the word processor to send out letters and messages to his clients or to make information packs about keeping things in good condition and the spreadsheets to keep track of his money, income and outgoings so he will never have to worry about losing money and not knowing about it as long as he keeps the spreadsheet updated. Keep all the discs just in case something happens to the software.

Mobile Phone: This will allow him to call customers without having to stop off at a pay phone somewhere while he is driving as long as he had a hands free kit with his phone. It will also allow customers to call him, this will allow him to know whether they are out or something bad has happened and they can get him on call. Always keep coins handy though, but do not take as many, just in case the battery dies or you are in a "dead spot"

The Internet: This will allow him to find out things that he might want to know, if he has the right software or someone with the right skills he would be able to make a website to advertise his company more effectivly and gaining him more business and thus getting him more money to improve his business further.

What possible disadvantages are there for him in employing a lot of ICT?

They all take electricity and this might become expensive.
Keeping track of all the bits of electronics will get a little confusing.
You must know a little about computers and electronics to understand how to use things.
They can break and so will need to call someone or find out what is wrong with things unlike a notebook with a torn page.
The internet can hold many surprises that can be fatal to a PDA or Laptop so he must be careful.