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Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

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Function<br />

Function refers to the specific job or tasks that can be accomplished with the software.<br />

Software designed <strong>for</strong> health care food service operations per<strong>for</strong>ms a wide variety of functions,<br />

including<br />

• Point-of-sale record keeping and sales analysis<br />

• Menu planning and cost analysis<br />

• Inventory and purchasing control<br />

• Maintenance of purchasing and receiving records<br />

• Recording production schedules<br />

• Production control and <strong>for</strong>ecasting<br />

• Labor productivity and payroll records<br />

• Financial management<br />

• Clinical nutrition care<br />

Selection<br />

When determining what to purchase, there are literally tens of thousands of application software<br />

packages to choose from. In their book Microcomputers: Business and Personal<br />

Applications, Burns and Eubanks recommend the following procedure <strong>for</strong> selecting software:<br />

• Define the application to be computerized.<br />

• Develop a list of available software.<br />

• Gather in<strong>for</strong>mation about available packages.<br />

• Narrow down the list of possible choices.<br />

• Obtain hands-on demonstrations.<br />

• Per<strong>for</strong>m a final evaluation.<br />

• Make a decision.<br />

Hardware<br />

Once software has been selected, hardware that can run the software must be identified. The<br />

computers used in health care operations vary from microcomputers used at individual workstations<br />

to large mainframes used <strong>for</strong> major organizational data-processing functions. The following<br />

discussion focuses on characteristics of microcomputers because of their prevalent use<br />

by health care food service managers.<br />

Components<br />

Microcomputers consist of basic hardware components to per<strong>for</strong>m input, processing, and output<br />

activities. Input devices include such <strong>for</strong>mats as keyboards and optical scanners. Processing<br />

devices include the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and storage. The most common<br />

output devices are printers and displays on computer screens. Microcomputers, available in a<br />

variety of <strong>for</strong>mats based on their anticipated use, include desktop computers, transportable<br />

computers, laptop computers, and handheld computers.<br />

Desirable Characteristics<br />

Selection of equipment is a major decision. Hardware features that should be considered<br />

include CPU speed, types of input and output devices, primary storage capacity, secondary storage<br />

capacity, and number of workstations supported. Expandability of the system is an important<br />

feature, and expansion products can be used to increase the power, enlarge the storage<br />

space, and customize the computer <strong>for</strong> special functions. Additional features to consider are<br />

warranties, user-support services, and maintenance contracts that may be provided by computer<br />

vendors.<br />

Management In<strong>for</strong>mation Systems<br />

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