This document provides details of the author's field attachment at Prideland Tours and Travel (PT&T) in Kisumu, Kenya. It describes the background of PT&T including its vision, mission, and target groups. It then outlines the general activities performed during the attachment such as office administration, customer relationship management, and client bookings. Specifically, it details modules completed including software installation, schedule and restore backups, and data recovery tasks. The report provides insights into the skills and experience gained from the attachment.

1. A REPORT ON A FIELD ATTACHMENT AT PRIDELAND TOURS AND
TRAVEL , VICOS BUILDING, OPP. IMPERIAL DRIVING SCHOOL
,CATHEDRAL ROAD ,KISUMU.
BY
OWINO A. H JAVAN
A FIELD ATTATCHMENT REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE AWARD
OF DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
MANAGEMENT.
JANUARY 2010
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2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENT .............................................................................................. 4
ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................ 5
DEFINITION OF TERMS .......................................................................................... 6
1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 7
2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PT&T ..................................................... 8
Vision of Prideland Tours & Travel ................................................................................8
Mission of Prideland Tours & Travel..............................................................................8
Target Group ...................................................................................................................8
3.0 ATTACHMENT DETAILS ................................................................................... 9
3.1 General activities undertaken in the organization .....................................................9
3.2 Specific modules/activities undertaken during attachment .....................................10
3.3 Profile of competencies and skills acquired ............................................................12
3.4 Problems encountered .............................................................................................13
3.5 Areas that I applied my knowledge and skills for the benefit of PT&T..................14
4.0: ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS ................................................................. 16
5.0: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................... 17
6.0: REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 17
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3. DECLARATION
I declare that this is my original work and to the best of my knowledge, this attachment
report has not been submitted in any other College for the awarding of a Diploma.
Signature ______________________ Date __________________
Name
Reg. No
This attachment report has been submitted for examination with my approval as the
College Supervisor.
Signature ______________________ Date ______________________
_________________
College Supervisor
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4. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Sincere thanks goes to all lecturers at The Institute of Advanced Technology-Thika Road
campus for their dedication in equipping me with necessary knowledge and for their
immeasurable interaction with their students Very special thanks to my lecturer, Mr.
Ondu Mbogha for being considerate, supportive and understanding all through my
training and attachment period. I owe special thanks to Mr. Maurice Onditi Proprietor,
Prideland tours and Travel for giving me the opportunity to be attached at his institution
and more importantly for his guidance and deep insights while training. I would also like
to extend my thanks to all my fellow classmates and entire family members for their
constant encouragements and advice. To crown it all, immense gratitude goes to the
Almighty Father for making it all possible.
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5. ACRONYMS
PT&T Prideland Tours and Travel Company
DVD Digital Versatile Disks.
KWS Kenya Wildlife Services
SMS Short Messaging Service
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6. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Macros A way to automate repetitive tasks within the Microsoft office
environment by recording a combination of related tasks that are
to be executed as a group.
Defragmentation This is rearranging files on the hard disk for optimal performance
by using a tool called disk defragmenter
Partitioning this is the division of a hard disk into logical parts
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7. 1.0 INTRODUCTION
This attachment report outlines the skills and experiences acquired while on a field
attachment as an part-time IT administrator and support staff for the award of a Diploma
in Information Communication Technology Management at Prideland Tours and Travel
between the 11th of November 2009 and 18 January, 2010.The report outlines various
aspects of this period such as :background information on PT&T, details on various
duties performed, a profile of skills and expertise gained, strategy for utilization of the
contacts established during this period ,a critique of the status of the firm and finally a
summary and conclusions section.
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8. 2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PT&T
Prideland tours and Travel is a commercial new entrant into the service industry founded
in January 2009 offering various packages to famous destinations within Kenya with a
bias on foreign tourists. It aims to fill the gap between hotels in Kisumu city with their
clients as most hotels don’t have a chauffeur service. PT&T aims to utilize the full
opportunities that come with the upgrading of Kisumu Airport to an international Airport
as well as President Barrack Obama’s ancestral home in Kogello shooting to international
limelight as a tourist destination. Prideland has partnered with Vintage Counseling
Services (VICOS) to enhance its service delivery through offering client-support services
like counseling and team building for signed up corporate clients.
Vision of Prideland Tours & Travel
To be a leading tour operator offering world-class services to worlds famous destinations
in Kenya.
Mission of Prideland Tours & Travel
Provide world-class services at reasonable rates by providing quality services and
maintaining an array of sound market-optimized packages that are technologically sound
with an aim of creating a lasting customer satisfaction.
Target Group
a) Corporate customers seeking group excursion trips and team building
opportunities.
b) Schools and institutions of higher education
c) Foreign and local tourists
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9. 3.0 ATTACHMENT DETAILS
This section discusses the general and specific activities that I undertook while on
attachment as a part-time IT support staff at PT&T
3.1 General activities undertaken in the organization
They included the following:
a) General office administration
PT&T operates daily from 8.00 AM to 11.00 PM. Based on their nature of business it
was my duty to ensure that duties allocated to me by managers were promptly executed
and an optimal environment maintained for daily operations. Since PT&T is still in its
maiden years duties are not fully separated among staff hence the need to delegate duties
fairly and regularly a task that was accorded to me.
b) Customer relationship management
I would ensure that customer’s requests are promptly handled and the required
management is informed of the requests and enquiries via reports. This is very critical
since Prideland aims to create a niche in customer service. Part of my duties was to
respond to all enquiries via e-mail.
c) Clients bookings
My main focus was ensuring that all taxi bookings requested by partner hotels were
adequately entered into the system and scheduled. I also gave periodic reminders to
affected members of staff by SMS on new assignments allocated while they are on other
missions. Independent client’s bookings were also scheduled.
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10. 3.2 Specific modules/activities undertaken during attachment
In addition to the general routine duties highlighted above, the main tasks I performed are
as outlined below:
a) Software Installation
This was part of regular maintenance exercise whereby I was charged with renewing
antivirus licenses and carry out installations. Most computers had to be upgraded from
running Windows 2000 to windows Xp professional. Other software related tasks like
repairs and upgrades were also done.
b) Schedule ,make and Restore backups
This was a precaution to ensure the company would not be adversely affected by loss or
corruption of data. this is a measure I took up since it is critical and was not being
performed .it is important to state that PT&T has 22 computers all operated by clerks and
it doesn’t have a department to cater for the upkeep of the computers. This was a service
only sought during crisis.
c) Data recovery tasks
This was necessary whenever a clerk performed an accidental formatting of a
workstation. However, this problem was resolved by denying administrative rights to
some members of staff and issuing of user accounts with limited rights.
d) Hardware installation ,maintenance and Troubleshooting
This involved replacing old hard-disks since PT&T started off by purchasing old
computers. DVD drives were also installed as a major system upgrade to boost operations
was in effect. Regular disk management functions like defragmentation and partitioning
were carried out.
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11. e) Data entry and data capture
The task of recording macros to automate repetitive office tasks and save an incredible
amount of time in data processing was carried out and was deemed by management to be
a success. Data captured through questionnaires, emails sent to prospective clients,
receipts etc were successfully integrated and processed.
f) Graphic design services
PT&T felt it needed to reduce its operational costs by performing some of their
previously outsourced jobs internally. This task included designing brochures,
letterheads, promotional flyers, letterheads and internal memos among other office
documents.
g) Fleet maintenance
Even though this was not part of my area of expertise I was expected to periodically
provide the management with reports on the performance of various vehicles within their
fleet. Typical information requested included: fuel consumption, cost of repairs, total
mileage and income generated per vehicle.
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12. 3.3 Profile of competencies and skills acquired
a) Management skills that involved equitable delegation of duties but not
responsibility.
b) Effective and prompt two way communication process with necessary guidelines
as to how it should be carried out and within which formal channels is necessary
to ensure any commercial organization prospers
c) Adoption of performance driven goals is necessary to boost employee morale and
productivity.
d) To ensure sustainable business performance, it is important to create a strong
focus on customer care. Key considerations should be placed on understanding
customer expectations and requirements that will lead to provision of products
that meet their needs and hence building long term relationship with them.
Enquiries should be confidential as possible and promptly addressed.
e) Management through an “ABC” approach. Activators (tasks to be done) elicit a
behavior (a measurable action of performance based on a specific task).A
behavior necessitates a consequence (in this case evaluation.).From the
evaluation, an act can be praised or reprimanded. The action taken within the
consequence zone is guided by organizational principles e.g. if employees cannot
perform a task, management goes back to goal setting and analyses their training
program whereas if an employee wont perform a task then that is treated as an
attitude problem and a reprimand may be necessary.
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13. 3.4 Problems encountered
1) The college training program was rather more theoretical hence when confronted
with these tasks it was quite difficult to explain the expected outcomes. Most
concepts were exhaustively discussed in class but not experimented.
2) Correctly configuring networking devices. The curriculum had only one mass
practical session on networking limiting my knowledge and capabilities in this area.
3) Hardware installation. This was a challenge especially configuring a hard disk
using jumpers.
4) Server administration. Only windows 2003 server was taught yet the industry uses
quite a range of technologies e.g. Linux
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14. 3.5 Areas that I applied my knowledge and skills for the benefit of PT&T
The best I could have done for PT&T was to generate ideas of an improved and efficient
customer service framework, record keeping, disaster preparedness and management in
terms of data and information. All such duties were made possible by skills gained during
my training as a Diploma student. Based on the kind of business that PT&T is involved in
and the great potential that it shows for success I come up with recommendations for the
management. These include:
a) Web presence
Due to the fact that PT&T is in the service industry and it targets to capitalize on foreign
tourists visiting western Kenya, a website can be an easier way to market themselves
globally and provide a lot of information about themselves in a one-stop-shop model.
b) Leadership and Management
Being a new entrant in the market requires best leadership approaches and quality
management so as to be able to fairly compete with the pioneers. Quality leadership
boosts staff morale, enhance productivity, and ensure survival of the company within the
consistency of change. A shift in management style is also necessary from departmental
view to a process view to promote accountability and remove redundancy of duties.
c) Quality and standards
With the current global financial crisis and everyone trying to cut-back on expenditure it
is certain that PT&T is walking within these tight ropes but quality should not be
compromised as it is the only selling point in the service industry.
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15. d) Diversification
PT&T need to focus also on domestic tourists rather than foreign ones whose inflow into
the country is constantly fluctuating. Other markets also exist for them in the broader
East African Region.
e) Employee Welfare & Training
This will greatly boost the quality of service enjoyed by their customers as they are
handled honorably and professionally
f) Invest in an Information System
There is bound to be information loss due to disintegrated processing of data from
various sources. This is made worse by lack of an elaborate system for data flow through
the organization.
g) Marketing
PT&T should target running promotions to popularize its activities. Sponsoring events
and mass media advertising would do them a great deal.
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16. 4.0: ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS
It is no doubt that the tourism industry is a major contributor to growth in Kenya. This
industry supports many companies and organizations .however, Kenyan companies have
always sidelined local tourist at the peril of foreigners. With proper strategies local
tourists can provide continuous cash flow to companies in the tourism sector. Contrary to
popular belief, tourist destinations are not only at the coast but spread all around the
country hence the need to exploit these opportunities. Diversification of Tourism from
cultural to infrastructural, historical and magnificent landscapes should be encouraged.
PT&T has a greater chance of survival and thriving through diversification which will
ensure it has a constant cash flow during low tourist seasons.
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17. 5.0: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Although PT&T is still in its infancy, it has shown great signs of progressing to become a
multinational. Great impact has been realized in creation of employment and to some
extent diversification of activities as the company now has established contracts to shuttle
employees of two companies to and from work daily. Seeking ISO certification would
propel the company to greater heights.
In conclusion, PT&T operates as a near monopoly in the region hence it’s bound to
benefit from various government initiatives through KWS and benefit from the decisions
of the consortium Nyanza Economic Forum.
6.0: REFERENCES
Kenneth H Blanchard (2009).Putting the One Minute Manager to Work
NCC EDUCATION (2002).Business Organization, second edition
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