Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The success of companies today is defined by numbers. The product, the brand,

and the market are entities which drive the business to its goal but in the end, only the

gross sales and revenues are accounted for. That is how important sales are for a

business and this is where computers come in.

Selling is a science which can be mastered and perfected. By using computers,

companies use a proven method to enhance their sales force and guarantee revenues.

Enormous numbers of computers ranging from small, inexpensive micro-sized units to

super computers are now being used in banks, financial institutions, and in almost all

private companies around the world.

In many businesses, especially corporate ones, the use of computers is a must. It

increases productivity, speed and accuracy. It continues to push innovation among all

industries. It guarantees a secure storage of vital information where the data can be

used over and over again in many years to come.

Background of the Study

The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, has been the

premier life insurance organization in the Philippines for over five decades now.

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 Leading the nation's life industry with 30% share of total premiums, Philamlife

insures over a million policyholders. It has the most extensive network of more than 200

offices throughout the Philippines, over 8,000 sales agents and 1,000 employees. It

offers the most comprehensive range of insurance products and services.

Philamlife was founded in 1947 by Cornelius V. Starr and Earl Carroll, two

visionary men who set out to help revive the post-war Philippine economy utilizing

Filipino resources and self-reliance. Through a nationwide campaign named "House of

Savings", the Company effectively tapped the resources of individual families and built

up a reservoir of capital that was channeled into various industries and sectors, thus,

helping spur the growth of the economy.

Through the years, Philamlife has effectively fulfilled its dual role of providing

financial protection to its policyholders, and helping in capital formation by converting

insurance premiums into investments.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the proponents' research is to design an online system that

will maximize the sales potential of a life-insurance agency and efficiently track all the

sales activities of each agent.

Specific Objectives:

1. To develop an online system to walk agents through the stages of the sales

process thus making sure agents follow a scientific approach in closing a sale.

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 2. To provide easy accessibility for the managers and staffs when tracking all the

sales activities of agents, but maintaining a level of security for private information.

3. To develop a simple tool for agents to track their activities, clients, prospects

and future payments.

4. To provide a secure storage for all information and sales activities of an

agency.

Statement of the Problem

The researchers' interest to conduct an investigation has led them to understand

the company's present problems:

1. What are the demographic profiles of the respondents in terms of:

a. Age

b. Gender

c. Civil Status

d. Position

e. Length of Service

2. What are the common problems encountered during the implementation of the

existing system?

a. No clear sales process to guide the agents in every sale.

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 b. Prospect and client lists are done manually by agents.

c. Difficult and time consuming in keeping track of all schedules and

appointments.

d. Inability of managers to keep track of the agents’ sales activities.

e. Storage of files is susceptible to be damaged as well as lost of files.

3. What is the difference between the existing system and the proposed system

in terms of the following:

a. Accuracy

b. Reliability

c. Efficiency

d. Speed

e. User-Friendliness

Hypothesis of The Study

The hypothesis of this study are:

1. There is a significant difference using an online system compared to manually

managing all the sales of each agent.

2. The proposed online sales management system will radically improve the

efficiency of the agents and will maximize the sales potential of the agency.

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Scope and Limitation

After several interviews and observations, the researchers have come to identify

how to maximize the sales potential of the agency. The aim of the research is to provide

a specific agency of PhilamLife an online sales management system. The proposed

system will track the sales activities of the agents and guide the agents through the

stages of the sales process.

The scope of this study are as follows:

- Tracking of prospect and client for every agent.

- Stages of the sales process for each prospect that includes fact finding, setting

of appointments, making the sales presentation and closing the sale.

- Automated computation of sale details for every sale and tracking of agent and

agency performance reports.

- Capability to approve or deny every sale.

- Automated email reminders to agents for upcoming payments of their respective

clients.

The limitations of this study are as follows:

- This study is limited to the sales process of the agency and will not account for

the billing and accounting of the clients since Philam Life has its own accounting

department.

- The products that will be attached to clients will only serve as tracking for

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amount of premium, mode of payment and future payments and will not calculate the

billing information of the client.

- Only the commission, future payments and other sale details with regards to the

agent are computed.

- The database of the proposed system will only store information of agents and

clients that belong in the respective agency the system was made for.

- For management and security purposes, the manager will be able to track the

activities as a whole, while agents will be limited to track his own respective activity.

Significance of the Study

Economical Significance. If implemented and used, the proposed software can

be considered to be economical because it can help the company strengthen their sales

revenues while decreasing company costs in paperwork.

Educational Significance. The outcome of the this study will be helpful to the

company beginning with the improvement of the system and for the future researchers

by providing an idea of this study that will somehow be of help in modifying or improving

the outcome of the research.

Social Significance. The manager or the authorized personnel as well as the

agents who would want to know the information of the data can get the records faster

and easier by accessing it online.

Technological Significance. The proponents had this study because it is

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beneficial to the company’s managers and agents to have a computerized database of

clients and to have a safe storage of sales activities which can easily be accessed

online.

The result of this study is beneficial to the following:

Agency. This study will maximize the sales potential of the agency and will

significantly lessen the work of the agency while increasing their sales.

Company. This study is significant to the company because it will improve the

productivity of its work place and increase the overall performance of its agencies in

terms of sales. It will also reduce the overall cost of the company since data are stored

online.

Managers. This study will make monitoring easier for the managers since all the

agents’ sales activities are easily accessible online.

Employees. This study will make the employees’ work faster and more efficient.

The employees will be able to focus on more productive work since a lot of paper work

has been reduced.

Agents. This study will maximize the earning potential of agents and help the

agents in organizing prospect lists, clienteles and future appointments. The agents will

also be able to easily track all their sales history online.

Prosponents. Conducting this study is significant to the proponents because it

can add knowledge in their filed as in information technology student. It also develops

the communication, writing and grammar skills of the proponents. And most importantly

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the proponents’ skill of making the proposed study enable them to research more about

the programming languages that best suits to the proposed system, and adds significant

knowledge and experience to the proponents capabilities of making a system.

Future Researchers. This will benefit other group of researchers who wish to

undertake similar studies as they can get more background information from the result

of the study, which can serve as a basis to modify or improve their own research.

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 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter places the current study into the context of previous, related research. It

consist of both the theoretical and conceptual framework of the present study, the critique of

both related studies and literature that are related to the present study, as well as the

operational definition of terms that are based on observable characteristics and how it is used in

the study.

Theoretical Framework

Theoretical Framework is a separate chapter consisting of a review of related literature,

the theories that have bearing the problem, the conceptual framework and the hypothesis.

The study is focused on the System Theory, which states that, "A System refers to any

collection or combination of programs, procedures data and equipment utilized in processing

information". A system by definition is an assemblage of inter-related elements comprising a

unified whole. It comprises of a set of information that are collected, stored and manipulated and

changed into a useful form of output producing specific results. It is mainly made up of three

components that represent the units of analysis or the variables under study. As the result of the

study, it represents Input as the Independent Variable (IV), the Process, as the Intervening

Variable (ITV), and the Output as the Dependent Variable (DV).

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 The upper portion of the paradigm (shown on Figure 2.0) clearly illustrates how the

existing system will be processed. The materials used in the traditional method, which is a

manual way of recording files using the pen, pencils, papers and columnar notebooks serves as

the input; and the manager being able to get the incoming files of the clients serves as the

output.

The lower portion of the paradigm illustrates how the proposed system will be

processed. It illustrates the new method of recording files through the use of a computer, which

serves as the input; the process is automated and is therefore faster, more efficient and easier

to work with. The manager can now get the recorded files faster by inputting the records.

Related Literature

This section presents both foreign and local related literatures relevant to the study. This

relevance is shown by the proponents in order to give more reason and understanding of the

proposition.

Tom DeMarco & Tim Lister of Peopleware, 2nd Edition, Dorset House cited that,

“Companies that sensibly manage their investment in people will prosper and eventually

succeed in the long run.”

The authors of the book state that if companies manage investment in people wisely, it

will reap the rewards in the future as the company grows. It will succeed in the long run because

the people within the company are the ones contributing to the growth of the company. Thus

entails the importance of taking care of the people within the company.

Caper Jones of A Practitioners Approach, Fifth Edition cited that, “Good estimating

approaches and solid historical data offer the best hope that reality will win over

impossible demands.”

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 The author of the book stated that in business, good estimating approaches and solid

historical data are beneficial tools to be taken advantage of. As to with research studies, one

does not jump to start right away, but the approach should start with solid historical data so that

awareness of the study be met with a hopeful result that will win over impossible demands.

Carl P. Zeithami & Thomas S. Bateman of Management Function and Strategy cited that,

“In today's business environment, planning has become a widespread management

function, involving people throughout the organization in the analysis, identification, and

selection of goals and priorities.”

Authors of the book state that planning is very important for every individual, work group,

or organization because it helps the systematic process during which decisions are made about

the goals and activities, just like companies using a manual system method to carefully plan on

what would be the possible solution to make the system work faster so that there is less

probability of errors in the activities, and in considering the need for a computerized system in

order to better answer the problem.

Related Studies

This section presents other related studies by the people who conducted studies similar

to the proponents that will also greatly help in the progress of the study. And it will also help the

understanding of the proposition.

Mark Dominic dela Torre stated that, “The concepts of a simple dream, a

determination, quality and perseverance are the forefront to any business that leads to

successful outcome.”

Having the concept of determination and assuring quality service to customers, the

proponents created an online software program to cater to company employees and agents in

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making their job easier and more efficient thus delivering quality service and maximizing the

potential of the business.

Gaudelyn C. Pantilo stated that, “The increasing demand gave us the idea how to

deal with our ongoing progress. It motivates us to meet their need efficiently.”

The company needs to continually diversify to meet the ongoing demands of the

business sectors today. Thus, proponents created an online software program for the company

to maximize their work force, easily tack all sales activities and to meet the demands of this ever

changing economy.

Kneener Lim and Antonette Goyenechea stated that, “Records security is also one of

the primary objectives and all the information received from its clients are confidential.”

The proponents created and designed a software program for the company to make the

system perfect where all the sales and client records should be kept, thus giving the assurance

that these files are secured and accessible for the advancement of the company.

Synthesis

The caption that is stated on the related studies by Kneener Lim and Antonette

Goyenechea and the studies that were conducted are related to the proponents' study because

these studies are concerned with the sales history of the company. Both studies are related in

the area of the importance in keeping all the records of sales and files of the clients of a

company and putting into account solid historical data of the company that could be used to

further improve the company’s growth in the future. It will give the assurance that these files are

secured and accessible for the advancement of the company. It also guarantees that people’s

job will be easier, faster and more efficient for the benefit of the company.

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Definition of Terms

The following terms are used in the study.

Agency. The team that comprises of the agency manager and group of agents that sell

and manage the investments in the company.

Agents. The person under the agency who sells investments to clients.

Client. The person who has invested money or someone who has purchased a life

insurance product from an agent.

Company. The company who is managing the investments and is selling life insurance.

Employee. Refers to a person employed by the company such as a secretary.

File. The application form that are submitted by agents whenever they sell a product.

Manager. The person in charge of the agency and manages the agents.

Record. A document that contains the data of the sale or investment.

Servicing. The financial planning that agents conduct to clients.

Internet. A worldwide system of computer networks.

Online. A state of being connected to the internet.

System. A combination of several components integrated to perform a specific task.

Sales Management System. A system wherein the sales cycle is organized that

would help in the selling process of its users.

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 Chapter III

RESEARCH AND SOFTWARE DESIGN

This chapter deals with the methods of research used whether it may be

historical, descriptive, and experimental or a case study. The techniques used under

Descriptive Research Method as well as the data gathering tools and analytical tools

used will be further explained in this chapter as well as the methods used in developing

the software and for evaluation.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Methods of Research Used

The proponents have used the Descriptive Research Method which involves

gathering data to obtain information regarding concerning the current situation and then

organize, tabulate, depict and describe the data.

Under the Descriptive Research Method, the researchers gathered information of

the current system through survey. With the survey method, the researchers are able to

gather data on the the behavior, practices, attitudes, opinions, interest and perceptions

of the users on the existing and the proposed system, and then such data is analyzed,

organized and interpreted.

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RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY

The respondents of the study include the employees wherein the proponents

prepare a set of carefully prepared and logically ordered questions. This respondent

focuses on the company’s employees for they are very important in a sense that this

study is all about them. (See Table 1.)

Table 1.0

Respondents Distribution

N = 61

Position / Status No. of Respondents Percent

Managers 7 11%

Staff 8 13%

Agents 46 76%

Total 61 100%

Table 1.0 presents the distribution of respondents. There was a total of 61

respondents who took the survey. Out of the the total, 7 were managers, 8 were staffs

and the rest of the 46 were agents.

Data Gathering Tools

These are the instruments or tools for gathering data in research used as basis

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for drawing conclusions or making inferences. Some of these tools are questionnaires,

interviews, empirical observations, research and analysis used by the proponents as

they conduct the proposed study.

Interview. An Interview is defined as a meeting of two people face to face to

confer about something or an act of questioning to receive a desired answer that is

necessary in solving a specific problem. This is where data gathering occurs by asking

questions for much needed information from the interviewee verbally and directly.

Observation. This technique is used when the researcher cannot secure

adequate or valid data through the use of the questionnaire or some other technique. It

is considered to be the most direct means of studying people in so far as their overt

behavior is concerned. Observation of a current operating procedure is another data

gathering tool seeing the system in action gives you additional perspective and better

understanding of system procedures.

Research. Research is simply, the systematic search for pertinent information on

a specific topic or problem. It is systematic study or investigation or something for the

purpose of answering questions posed by the researcher. It includes reviewing journals,

periodicals, and books to obtain background information, technical material, and news

about industry trends and developments.

Questionnaire. A pre-written series of questions used in gathering important

information’s from one or more persons. This will be given to the individual who have a

direct bearing of the study and in order to satisfy the proponent’s goal that is to get and

measure the opinions, polls and attitude of the respondents of the study.

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 Analysis. Analysis is the process of breaking-up the whole study into its

constituent parts of the categories according to the specific questions under the

statement of the problem. This is to bring out into focus the essential feature of the

study.

Statistical Tools

Statistics is one way of getting the information’s organized. To have a general

view of the whole scenario of the study, statistical tool is used. This also includes the

scaling system, which is used by the proponents as a technique to monitor the

respondent’s interpretation of facts. (See Table 2.0 & Table 3.0)

Table 2.0

Scaling Systems of Existing and Proposed System

Rating Scale Interpretation

5 Excellent

4 Very Good

3 Good

2 Fair

1 Poor

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 Table 3.0

Scaling Systems of Problems in the Existing System

Rating Scale Interpretation

5 Strongly Agree

4 Agree

3 Undecided

2 Disagree

1 Strongly Disagree

Below are the Formulas used to arrive to the computation used by the Statistical

Tool:

1. Mean. The proponents used the mean to be able to identify the range of

interest.

The proponents obtained the Degree of Efficiency by using the formula:

Mean ( ) = f (X1 + X2 + ... Xn)

Where:

f = frequency that a given X was chosen by the respondents

X = represents any of the numerical ratings 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, representing

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 Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor respectively.

n = total number of respondents

2. Weighted Mean. The proponents also used the weighted mean in order to

weight the value of information according to its importance.

Weighted mean (x) = f (X1 + X2 + ... Xm)n

Where:

n = total number of criteria

3. T-Test. The proponents then used the T-Test in order to determine and

compare the means of the two populations.

T-Test = t computed = WMP – WME

∑MP² + ∑ME²

n (n-1)

Where:

WMP = weighted mean of the proposed system

WME = weighted mean of the existing system

∑MP² = square of the summation of all ratings for proposed system

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 ∑ME² = square of the summation of all ratings for existing system

n = total number of respondents

4. CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis)

P = F / ( 1 + i )n

Where:

P = present value

F = total savings

i = bank interest rate

n = number of years

5. FD (Frequency Distribution). The number of observation for each of the

possible categories in a data sheet.

FD = n x 100%

Where:

n = number of cases

N = total population of respondents

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SYSTEM DESIGN

Analytical Tools

The analytical tools used in conducting the proposed study are the System

flowchart, IPO (Input Process Output) and HIPO (Hierarchical Input-Process-Output),

which are precisely discussed in this section for the development of the system.

System Flowchart. It is formalized graphic representation of a program logic

sequence, work or manufacturing process, organizing chart, or similar formalized

structure.

IPO or the Input Process Output. These are the components or elements that

make up the system. It is also described as tools on the design of the entire software.

HIPO or Hierarchical Input-Process-Output. A high-level view of the functions

performed by a system as its functions and software implementation.

Data Flow Diagram. This is a graphic illustration that shows the flow of data and

logic within the system.

Context Diagram. This is an overview of the organizational system that shows

the system boundary, external entities that interact with the system, and the major

information flows between the entities and the system.

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Methods Used in Developing the Software

At this point, the work of the system analyst will be tested to its fullest ability. This

is the part where the system analyst must be able to determine and explain the methods

that will be used throughout the entire project.

Software Development is a tedious task not only for the programmer but also for

the system analyst, because they will decide on the type, size and creativeness of the

system. At this juncture, the methods used in developing the software must be

explained and defined. The following are the system development methods, namely,

software planning, software analysis, software design, software testing and software

implementation.

Software Planning. This software development method designates a plan in

which a system analyst must first identify. Identify meaning, to identify the product goals

and requirement of the system. System analyst must also put into consideration the

capabilities of the programmer before deciding the product itself.

Software Analysis. It can be considered as the most difficult phase because in

this phase raw materials or information’s must first examine thoroughly before

converting it into a software design.

Software Design. Design is a visualization of the outcome of a product but then

in software design phase, time is very essential because designing software is not an

overnight job. It takes a long period of time to ensure efficiency, maintainability and

reliability if the software.

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 Software Testing. A stage or phase where the proposed system will be given to

a panel of critics and end-users for testing. In this way, the developer can determine the

response of the user whether the system works or not.

Software Implementation. The phase of the software development method

where software has already been debugged documented and tested. The objective of

the implementation phase is to deliver a completely functioning and documented

information system.

Software Operation and Maintenance. Maintenance keeps the system

functional at an acceptable level, correct errors and adapts changes in the new

environment to provide new features and benefits.

Methods Used for Product Evaluation

This part consists of the methods used in evaluating the proposed system in

terms of accuracy, efficiency, reliability, speed, portability and user friendliness which

lead to the integrity of the proposed system.

Technical Feasibility. The proposed system is technically flexible since

computerization of the existing data is possible and the components needed for the

system are widely sold in the market.

Market Feasibility. The proposed system of the proponents is market feasible

since the respondents will be able to save time in tallying and recording the files of

clients. They will also be able to save time and money by not purchasing a lot of papers

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for paper works and documentations.

CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis). This estimates and totals up the equivalent

money value of the benefits and costs to the community about whatever projects to

establish are worthwhile. Evaluating hardware and software, identifying and forecasting

cost and benefits and performing cost benefit analysis are all necessary activities the

system analyst must accomplish in preparing material for the systems proposal.

Operational Feasibility

To determine if the proposed system is operationally feasible to apply or

implement. Below are the given criteria, which serve as a basis to test the proposed

system if it really works.

Accuracy. The ability to be precise and avoid errors and the correctness or

truthfulness of something especially in the mathematical computation of sales so that

the business will not suffer from any losses.

Efficiency. The ability to do something well or achieve a desired result without

wasted energy or effort, or the degree to which this ability is used in the system.

Reliability. The ability to be trusted to do what is expected or has been promised.

The ability to be trusted, to be accurate or correct to provide result.

Speed. To reach the maximum or desirable rate of movement or progress. To be

or become fully informed about the latest developments, to accomplish things in a

manner that consumes less time. Speed is the main concern of the proponents so that

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the proposed system will be implemented successfully. In using computer based

program and the idea of automation, speed requirement should be satisfied.

User-Friendliness. Understandable software applications. Easy access and

easy to use Windows based system.

Portability. The ability to transfer software application to another computer. The

proposed system is hosted online so that users can easily access the system wherever

they are as long as there is internet access.

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