Adrian Porter
Assignment Three

Cash Registers and the General Store

1. Introduction

The employees of the grocery store of the past were more concerned with the satisfaction of the individual. The clerks often times knew the customers and would provide additional pleasurable experience to the customer. However, the clerk had to count the individual nails and manually add up the prices of each item. This process took a very long time and didn't allow for discounts and multiple forms of credit that we are accustomed to today.

The general store provided more than just food as they do today. They also doubled as a social center for the town. There were often saloons in the back of the store where people gathered to talk about politics and socialize. Sometimes men would gather around a pot-bellied stove and discuss war topics and upcoming elections. This kind of gathering is considered very odd in contemporary grocery stores.

The general store left much room for improvement. It was a type of business that didn't have a large profit margin and sales were all in small amounts. For the busy customer who needs to buy a large order quickly, the general store was a large hassle.

2. The First Stage of Insertion - Direct Replacement of Current Activity

The cash register provided no increase in convenience to the customer. The items still needed to be counted by the clerk. The counting of items was not sped up by the cash register so the customer was still hassled by the time spent at checkout. The cash register didn't provide any additional functionality to the customer. More specifically, the cash register didn't print anything out so it could be said that the register didn't do anything for the customer.

The cash register helped the clerk only minimally. Once again, he still had to count items which was a slow and laborious process. The cash register, although it did some very simplified adding provided little to the clerk. The clerk could, previously, add numbers in his head fairly quickly. However, now the clerk needed to put orders into the register, often slowing down his work. Less writing was necessary, however, creating a small advantage with the cash register.

The cash register gave no information to the managers. Because the cash registers were mechanical, they provided no data on the items sold that day. These calculations still needed to be done on paper as they were done before. Because the clerks were using the machine to do the calculations, however, fewer mistakes needed to be dealt with by the managers.

Clerks now didn't need to have fast adding skills. One by one, clerks who left and retired could be replaced by cheaper, less skilled clerks. This provided a small change in profit for the store but changed the overall productivity marginally.

3. The Second Stage of Insertion - Enhancement of Activities

The customer now was able to get in and out of the store with greater efficiency. The customer was able to get printouts of their purchases and see subtotals and various other pieces of information. Accuracy of the customer's order was very accurate due to the electronics doing all of the calculations.

The clerk now didn't need to count items or find prices of items. All prices, amounts, and discounts were handled by the bar-code and the electronics of the register. The clerk didn't need to spend time adding prices or calculating change due.

Managers were provided with accounting information from the registers. Items were restocked easily using this information and simple information was gathered about what was selling and what was not doing as well.

Companies who made the registers hired a highly qualified staff to design and program the registers. The grocery stores then paid the register companies for their registers. Now the grocery store could process more customers and meet a greater demand with fewer clerks. Fewer clerks in the grocery stores were being hired but in turn, more designers and programmers for the register makers were hired.

4. The Third Stage of Insertion - Ability to Perform New Functionality

Each register could be tailored to individual clerks. If a clerk has problems taking breaks at his designated time, the register could be used to schedule the breaks. If a clerk has problems finding a certain item on the keyboard, the clerk could have a very simple remapping of his keyboard.

Each register could also be tailored to individual customers. If a customer wants to use a certain type of credit every time they come to the store or if they have a special discount, the register could recognize the customer by their card and bill them accordingly. This billing system could give them special rewards for buying certain items or a certain number of items. The billing system could interface with their bank or an accountant system so the customer could keep track of spending and earning.

The improvement for the manager is obvious. Reports could be run on efficiency of clerks and statistics could be run on popularity of products.

5. An Overview of the Total Impact of Insertion

Due to the change in computing, clerks no longer needed extremely quick adding skills. Clerks who left and retired could be replaced (one by one) by less skilled clerks.

The second stage of insertion came with the invention of microelectronics. Now registers could do many complex operations based on a program definition and items could be scanned by bar code readers. The clerk didn't need to count items or spend time adding numbers. This provided very quick service for the customer. The registers could also be set up to provide the managers with customized information.

Grocery stores were able to meet the needs of a much larger population with fewer and fewer employees. Money was, however, going to register-making companies instead of employees; higher paid programmers and engineers were designing, building, and programming these registers.

Now this framework of computerized registers could make way for increased performance without limits. New customizations for clerks, managers, and even customers could be quickly and effortlessly mapped.

6. Conclusions Regarding the Benefits of Computer Insertion

7. References