Software Implementation for Automated Club Management System (A Case Study of Lions Club in in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State)

1.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, organization of the research and definition of terms. There is no area of human endeavour today that computers are not applied. In clubs where people meet for specific reasons for their mutual benefits, there is need to properly document and manage the affairs of the club using automated system. This need has given birth to club management systems.

1.2 Background of Study

In any club, the board has the overall responsibility of seeing that the club runs smoothly and effectively. It controls the direction in which the club moves and acts to oversee day to day running of the club. The club’s planning and goals are initiated and guided by the strategies implemented by these board members. Among these tasks they should also: Create and administer action plans, develop policies and procedures, keep the club’s members informed of all club activities, including the outcome of executive meetings and forthcoming events through open communication, newsletters, e-mails and regular meetings, acknowledge the needs of clubs members, provide job descriptions for positions available within the club and assist with the recruitment of people for these positions, Assist with the changeover of board members, Provide opportunities for coaches and officials to obtain education and upgrade skills, Evaluate the performances of the volunteers and/or professionals that run the club, Ensure that funds raised are well managed and used to further develop the club and its members, Ensure that the club is well represented within the hockey community, and ensure regular attendance at State/Provincial hockey meetings, Maintain good relations within the local community

The Board is only successful if it works together as a team. This unifies the board giving it strength and worth. It allows for the talents of each member to be used to full potential by sharing the responsibility rather than duplicating tasks. Limitations or gaps within the group can be managed, and inadequacies resolved. Board members must be prepared to fulfill their duties and take the initiative to seek assistance should they need it.

Depending upon the specific appointment of the board members, their portfolios will differ with the tasks assigned as will expectations. However they should all:

1. Be willing to accept responsibility
2. Be enthusiastic and dedicated to the club
3. Have strong leadership and communication skills
4. Have a sound understanding of the Board and the roles within it
5. Have good time management skills
6. Be committed to the club’s vision

More importantly, the people on the Board should be there because they want to make a difference and help the club achieve its goals. Sub-committees can be formed to assist the Board member with specific portfolios. All actions proposed by the Sub-Committees should be pre-approved by the Board before they are undertaken, to ensure that the well-being of the club is maintained. However the Sub-Committees should be authorized to make operational decisions within their budget. The progress of the Sub-Committees should also be monitored by monthly reports submitted to the Board for review at Board meetings. For a club to run efficiently, be it small or large, there is a fairly standard system of administration that should be followed. Depending on your club’s policies there may be some differences in the structure of your Board and its sub-committees.

The purpose of administration or club management is to run the club in a coordinated way. Board members should approach the Board with any project or proposal they intend the club to undertake. This allows the Board to review and make any necessary recommendation to the proposal should they choose to accept it. It must be remembered that the club’s activities are largely governed by the club’s budget. The budget should be reviewed throughout the year and made available to each Board Member.

In view of the many variables involved in managing a club, there is need for an automated system that will aid the board members to manage the club effectively such that whenever information is needed pertaining any club activity or member, it can be produced

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Many clubs have the problem of ineffective documentation of membership and meeting information. This can be linked to the manual way of recording and maintain club information. The consequence of this is that the club may not function effectively due to poor management and reports cannot be easily presented when needed. This situation therefore requires the development of an automated system for club management.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to develop a software application that will manage basic club information. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To develop a system that will facilitate the registration of club members
2. To develop a system that will be used to verify the identity of club members
3. To develop a system that will maintain record of minutes of meetings held
4. To develop a system that can be used to record financial information pertaining to the club members.
5. To develop an automated system that will facilitate the presentation of reports pertaining the club based on the information in its database.

1.5 Significance of Study

The significance of the study is that it will provide an understanding of how clubs are managed and provide an automated system that will aid the process of club management thereby enhancing their level of productivity and growth. The study will also serve as a useful reference material to other researchers seeking for information pertaining the subject.

1.6 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the design and implementation of an Automated Club Management Systems using Lions Club in Owerri, Imo State as a case study.

1.7 Limitations of the study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).

1.8 Definition of Terms

Club: An association of group of people who meet for the purpose of achieving specific goals

Management: The organizing and controlling of the affairs of a business or a sector of a business

System: A combination of related parts working together to achieve a particular aim.

Data: Numbers, Text or image which is in the form suitable for Storage in or processing by a computer, or incomplete information.

Information: A meaning full material derived from computer data by organizing it and interpreting it in a specified way.

Input: Data entered into a computer for storage or processing.

Output: Information produced from a computer after processing.

Information System: A set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.

Computer: Computer is an electronic device that accepts data as Input, processes data and gives out information as output to the user.

Software: Software is set of related programs that are designed by the manufacturer to control the hardware and to enable the computer perform a given task.

Hardware: Hardware is a physical part of a computer that can be touched, seen, feel which are been control by the software to perform a given task.

Database: Database is the collection of related data in an organized form.

Programming: Programming is a set of coded instruction which the computers understands and obey.

Technology: Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use technical and their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drawing upon such as industrial art, engineering, applied science and pure science.

Algorithm: A set of logic rules determined during the design phase of a data matching application. The ‘blueprint’ used to turn logic rules into computer instructions that detail what step to perform in what order.

Application: The final combination of software and hardware which performs the data matching.

Data matching database: A structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system.

Data integrity: The quality of correctness, completeness and complain with the intention of the creators of the data i.e ‘fit for purpose’

Password: This is a secret code that a user must type into a computer to enable he/she access it or its applications. This is made up of numbers, letters, characters or contribution of any of the above categories.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (the name is a recursive acronym) This is a Programming language known as a server-side scripting language. It was used in the developing of this software.

Identification: The act of recognizing and naming someone or something.

Certificate: A document serving as evidence or as a written testimony, as a status of qualifications, privileges, or the truth of something.

Verification: Evidence that establishes or confirms the accuracy or truth of something.

Query language: A database query language and report writer allows users to interactively interrogate the database, analyze its data and update it according to the user’s privileges on data. It also controls the security of the database.

1.9 Organization of the Research

This research work is organized into five chapters.

Chapter one is concerned with the introduction of the research study and it presents the preliminaries, theoretical background, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, organization of the research and definition of terms.

Chapter two focuses on the literature review, the contributions of other scholars on the subject matter is discussed.

Chapter three is concerned with the system analysis and design. It analyzes the present system to identify the problems and provides information on the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system. The system design is also presented in this chapter.

Chapter four presents the system implementation and documentation. The choice of programming language, analysis of modules, choice of programming language and system requirements for implementation.

Chapter five focuses on the summary, conclusion and recommendations are provided in this chapter based on the study carried out.