Analysis

With all of the advances in the movie theater industry, companies have to change with the times. In this day in age computer technology is not only important but it's necessary. Employees are an integral part of the company, managing the employees and their hiring process is extremely important. The MIS system can not only make this process easier but also more efficient. AMC uses Oracle, an ERP system (enterprise resource planning system) to more efficiently organize and share information throughout the company. 

MIS Components

Every Management Information System is composed by the following:. Hardware, Software, Data, Procedure and People. All five of these components are vital to the success of the business. The collaboration of all five of these components allows AMC theaters to run successfully and profitably.

Hardware

While AMC has a vast array of different hardware it uses in its day to day operations such as the POS terminals and Projector systems, the HR department uses simple hardware in its operations. AMC does not maintain its own server as it is more cost effective to have a third party to run its servers, so AMC can focus on the entertainment aspect of the business. In its contract with oracle AMC also purchased Servers from Oracle which is maintained by a third party which is called if there are any problems as each theatre does not have an IT department. Menlo Park has a SPAC server. AMC also has an administrator in charge of maintaining a backup of the systems.

Software

AMC uses Oracle, an ERP system (enterprise resource planning system) to more efficiently organize and share information throughout the company. Each AMC employee at the corporate level and theater level can login to an oracle application to access personal information, pay slip information, and payment methods. Any information an employee changes goes directly to the corporate headquarters Human Resources department.

This is just a small example of how the MIS system at corporate works. There is also a separate information ship used by theatres called radiant, which tracks all business transactions at theatres such as ticket sales and concession sales. Dine-in theatres use radiant as well as using a separate system for restaurant management called Aloha. At dine-in theatres the information in Aloha has to be entered on a daily basis into the radiant system for the sales numbers to be accurate. This blog will be focusing on how the Human Resources department works at the theatre level. AMC uses oracle company wide to connect itself to all the theatres. The software involved in the HR process at the theatre level includes the HMC center where applicants are sent through and processed. It also includes Workbrain where employees are scheduled once hired and Workbrain is also where payroll is entered. Workbrain sends the information to Oracle once the payroll manager finalizes the hours for the week.

Data

AMC’s HR department uses the Workbrain interface to provide employees and managers the convenience of checking and managing their schedule and payroll on the computer. The Workbrain interface allows managers to assign shifts and the proper hours to their employees. Workbrain can be used by employees to check their schedule as well as manage their payroll. If employees want to change hours or shifts they must consult with a manager because managers can edit schedules and switch shifts. Workbrain allows employees and managers to be synchronized within the HR department.

Procedure

Firstly applicants go on the AMC website to apply for their desired position. After completing an assessment applicants are put into the HMC system (HR Management Center) and sorted into three categories green (High potential) yellow (average potential) and red (low potential).

The applicants are then sorted by potential and their files are pulled depending on the hiring need of the theatre. Red applicants are generally not called and yellow applicants are only called if the need is very high. After the file is pulled the HR team conducts a phone screen and an interview is set up if the applicant passes the phone screening. After the interview the applicant is either offered the position or turned down, either way the information is updated in the HMC system. If the applicant is accepted the HMC system will automatically send the applicants information to oracle and work brain and the onboarding process will begin. During the onboarding process the applicant will enter personal information into oracle such as social security number, birth date, etc. and preferences such as payment method. 

 They will then be put into work brain as well and given an employee number. The employee will be a trainee in the work brain system until their training is completed. Once the employee passes training they are recoded by a manager to their proper position. Once coded into their proper position their pay rate will automatically change from the eight dollar training rate to the correct rate for that position. If that employee is ever promoted or moved to a different position a simple recoding will automatically change their pay rate. Changing an employee code is very simple and takes nothing more than the click of a button. If an employee quits they are required to go through self-service on the oracle system to remove themselves from the system by selecting voluntary termination. If an employee is terminated they generally do not follow proper procedures when leaving the company, so management can manually remove them as long as they cannot claim unemployment. If an employee can claim unemployment we cannot remove them from the system until the issue with unemployment is settled. When employees leave their physical and electronic files are permanently kept with AMC and they are marked as re-hirable or un-hirable. The hiring goals of Menlo Park are very ambitious, this theatre already has one of the largest staffs in the country and if staffing goals are met the building will have over five hundred associates.

People

Of course without a team to efficiently use this technology the software and hardware set in place is useless. Each manager has some responsibility in the HR process with having the power to approve shift trades and availabilities; however there are certain managers focusing on HR processes. Chris is the Head of the HR department and handles the majority of the hiring process. Chris along with the hiring supervisor Jason G. handle pulling applicants from HMC, setting up and conducting interviews, onboarding, and are ultimately responsible for the very ambitious hiring goals. Once the candidates are offered a position and on boarded they are sent to the Training team. Jason Y. is the head of the training department and along with the training supervisor Mike is in charge of overseeing the two week training process and ensuring the transition into the trainees’ position. The training department will work with the other managers to set up training hours and ensure the job codes are changed when they are officially put into their position. Back of house associates (cooks, dishwashers, and expeditors) go through a similar process, but Dominick is in charge of this process for the back of house. Scheduling is handled by Jackie (for servers and bartenders), Dominick (for back of house), and Doran (for bussers and guest services). Scheduling is done weekly and each manager is responsible for ensuring that (with few exceptions) that our staff does not exceed hour limits and that we are properly staffed to handle expected attendance.

How a work schedule looks in work brain

Doran is also the payroll manager and at the end of every work week verifies all associates hours and ensures everyone’s pay is correct. Mitch the Administrator is in charge of organizing employee files and disciplinary warnings issued by any managers. With a staff of over four hundred without at HR team that is organized and works together the HR Process could never function.