Real Estate Management Business: Analysis And Solutions Essay.

Your task is to analyse an employment category applying Information Systems in Organisations concepts. The assignment requires you to apply the skills and knowledge you are acquiring during this semester based on information systems in organisations topics. This can involve modelling the work/business processes, describing various scenarios of how information system might change the job in the future, stakeholder identification, discussing various information system issues, and presenting it all in a well organised professional management report.

In this assignment, your group will analyse a job or role in an organisation to try to understand how it might evolve in the future. The assignment requires you to apply the skills and knowledge you are acquiring during this semester based on ISO topics. Some of these topics include:

• e-business
• business intelligence and decision making
• supply chain management
• business system modelling
• Enterprise Computing (ERP, SCM, CRM) transformation
• Information systems management
• Cloud computing
• IT security in an organisational context

In addition to the disciplinary skills and knowledge mentioned above, the case study is expected to improve your skills in communication, problem solving, analysis and learning to work with a professional attitude independently and with others.

Business Models

This management report addresses the aspects surrounding the real estate management business managed by a real estate agent. The report addresses the current situation with the real estate management business. Factors that are good for the business can be embraced and more resources allocated to them for them to thrive more. The challenges or obstacles the business faces on a day to day basis in the execution of the tasks by the real estate agent. The report also identifies the problems or challenges the business faces and gives the possible solutions that can be implemented or put into place to curb the challenges and problems that hinder the prosperity of the business, For instance, if the business is using a manual or traditional approach to business activities automation can be done to the system and observe the changes in the flow of customers and the profits that accrue for a certain period of time after the implementation of the automated system. The pillars of this business and what the real estate management system entails for this case. The activities and the transactions done by the real estate agent for the business are also spelt out in this document. 

Canvas business model

This is a business model which appears like a canvas Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010)

Barquet et.al (2013) the canvas consists of the vital components of the real estate management which include: customer segment, the partners in the business, the vital activities and resources of the business, the value proposition to the customers, customer relationship to the real estate business, cost structure, and the revenue streams.

Partners in the business include all the members of the real estate business that offer services to the tenants or customers.

The customers are the tenants in the houses in the estates that the real estate management business owns. The customers are the most vital component of the business because without them there is no business that will occur.

Vital activities and resources are the activities that the business performs and the facilities that the business owns to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the services to the tenants that they have.

Value proposition is the quality service that the real estate management business offers its customers or the tenants in this case. The measure of the real estate management business is measured by the value proposition. If the value proposition is well presented and provided then the business is most likely to prosper.

Organizational Context

Customer relationship is the intimacy or the business closeness of the business to its customers. This measured by the responses and feedback the business gives back to the customers. The quality of feedback enhances the reliability of the business.

Channels are the communication mediums in which the customers and the business use effectively and efficiently.

Cost structure and the revenue streams are the expenses the business incurs prior to getting profits and the profits the business accrues with time respectively.

ESSO Business model according to Lim, M., 2010.

ESSO business model is based on the Environment, Structure, Strategy, and Operations Lim, M., 2010.

Environment is the surrounding competitive alternatives for tenants. The environment affects the business through the tenants. The government policies for example you cannot provide real estate services unless you are issued a license by the Australian government leaves out some potential service providers.

Structure is based on the hierarchy of the officials in the real estate management business. This includes the business owners or the share holders, the property manager and other employees of the real estate management business. The structure of the organization of the community within which the business is located is also stated here.

Strategy is the plans and the methodologies that the business has in plan to manage the competition in the market. This involves the resources the business has, the activities it does, and the services it renders the customers that other competitive firms cannot provide.

Operations are the vital activities and resources rendered to the customers or tenants. The operations determine the customer relationships with the business. This depends on the quality of the services rendered and the time taken by the business to respond to matters raised by the tenants.

The real estate management business is a platform where experts in accounting and financing come together to manage established estates on behalf of the owners. An estate consists of several houses and households. The real estate agent’s work is to find customers who, in this case, are tenants who want to rent the apartments or houses in the estate. The real estate agent allocates houses to the tenants, collects rent and manages the funds for the owner of the estates.

For the real estate management to be allowed to work or render its services, they should have a license issued by the Australian government.

Real estate agent or property manager. The following are the roles played by the property manager Edwards and Ellison (2009)

Roles

Deals with matters concerning rent. The property manager sets the rent to a certain value, adjusts the rent depending on the duration of time that has passed maybe a month or a year and also does the collection of rent either monthly or yearly depending on the agreement between the tenant and the property manager.

First the property manager finds the tenants and offers them houses to choose from. This is done through advertisements on the radio, the television and also hanging notices on trees for customers to see.

Screening of tenants to find who best suits the apartments is also done by the property manager.The financial and the criminal records of a potential tenant is done by the property manager to select the right tenants for the apartments in the estate.

Response to emergencies and complaints. He or she is held responsible to responding to noise making people, maintenance, and emergencies like fire.

Eviction of a tenant from the apartment. When a tenant moves out of the house, the property manager checks for any damaged things or property left.

The property manager is held accountable for the maintenance of the houses. This is to make sure that they are in better conditions to consider for renting.

 A property manager should be well connected with a network of plumbers, electricians and carpenters so that in the event repair is needed it is delivered with immediate effect.

Supervision

The property manager ensures other employees in the agency work under the guidelines of the organization

He or she also watches over the vacant properties that were left either by eviction or moving to another estate by the tenant.

Record keeping. The property manager keeps all the information accrued form activities

He or she also manages the taxes and advises the property owner on how to file taxes.

Pays the rent stipulated at a stipulated time.

The tenants maintain the house as he or she found. Failure to do so there is a penalty issued as per the agreement between the property manager and the tenant.

The stake holders discuss the strategic important issues that are long term and affect the progress of the business after a period of time.

On being consulted by the property manager they can choose to expand the business. For instance, build more estates or buy the nearby estates depending on the current status of the business.

The stakeholders can also decide on whether or not to increase the number of employees working in their estates depending on the convenience and inconvenience of the current employees. If the number of employees provides effective and efficient labor they cannot hire theirs. If the workload is higher than the labor they have then they have to hire more employees for the real estate business.

Maintenance and Repair Responsibility

The stakeholders decide on which employee to dismiss from duties due to a genuine reason about the employee. The reasons can be laziness, poor time management, and underworking or underperforming of the duties. They can also consider sacking the property manager if they feel he or she has brought more losses than profits tow the business.

The ‘as-is’ flow chart

A tenant visits the website of the real estate management and requests for booking of a rental house. The system checks whether there are vacant houses. If there are no vacant houses the system informs the tenant. If there are vacant houses the tenant books a room. This process is via the booking officer of the real estate management organization.

To-be flow chart

 

There is the specialization and responsibility aspect. The officer managing online booking has to liaise with the allocation office for the process of booking to be complete. The allocation officer is in charge of assigning the rooms to the tenants whereas the booking officer is to manage the websites online booking. 

High value activity is in the payment mode for the booked room that is where the allocation officer liaises with the finance officer. For the allocation officer to assign a room to a tenant he or she must get an okay signal from the accountant stating that the customer has at least paid a deposit of 10% of the total rent. 

Enterprise computing

This is the implementation of the business-oriented information systems in the operations of business like accounting, sales and marketing, resource management, resource planning, decision making, customer relationship management and human resource management. 

Customer Relationship Management. This information system is responsible for the management of the intimacy between the real estate management and the tenants based on the services rendered to the tenants. 

Enterprise Resource Planning. This covers the scope of many businesses. It covers the logistics, workflow, accounting, human resource management and management of resources in a business. These are the main aspects of any business. The logistics manages flow of activities in the organization. The accounting manages funds, human resource manages the employees and workflow manages assignment of jobs. 

Supply Chain management is an information system that manages the chain of supplies within an organization. 

The CRM helps in the management of the tenant intimacy and enables the business to identify those tenants that are consistent. The real estate can even award its tenants. This service to the tenants help the business to grow because of the good rapport maintained with the customers. 

The ERP system through the accounting system enables accurate payment of rent by the tenants. The management of the rent paid by the tenants is also manageable as the system keeps the records of every transaction that is done by the system. These records are called log files. 

Through advertisement. The management can allocate funds to pay for advertisement on the televisions and radios. Bill boards can also be erected advertising the real estate management system and the services they offer. Online advertisements on the internet can also be applicable for the internet users. 

Through better service rendering. If the services offered by the real estate management are effective, efficient and beneficiary to the tenants then they will spread the word of the best real estate management and thus result to the increase of customers

Ways in which the current technology can be used to improve customer support. 

The CRM which is an information system enables the real estate management to identify those tenants that are very punctual in paying rent and in the events organized by the real estate management. After identifying the tenant the organization rewards the person. This acts as a motivation to the other tenants and the intimacy between the real estate management and the tenants increases.

Creation of online portals where the tenants are able to raise their complaints and concerns about certain activities that affect them in one way or another. Once the information is relayed by the tenants, the real estate management is supposed to react to these concerns. This will make the tenants gain trust in the real estate management.

Lim, M., 2010.Environment Strategy Structure Operations (ESSO) Business Model.Knowledge Management Module.Edited by Bangor University Wales.Bangor University Wales. 

Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y., 2010. Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons. 

Barquet, A.P.B., de Oliveira, M.G., Amigo, C.R., Cunha, V.P. and Rozenfeld, H., 2013. Employing the business model concept to support the adoption of product–service systems (PSS). Industrial Marketing Management, 42(5), pp.693-704. 

Edwards, V. and Ellison, L., 2009. Corporate property management: aligning real estate with business strategy. John Wiley & Sons.