CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0    INTRODUCTION

Every organization comprises of people, facilities and systems put in place to achieve specific objectives. In most cases, the objective is to render service(s) in pursuit of money or in fulfilling social obligations. The people, the facilities and the systems interplay in order to achieve the given goal, thus forming a system. The facilities are composed of buildings, infrastructure and support services.

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Agbola and Oyewale. (1998) explained Social housing as an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable housing. Social housing can also be seen as a potential remedy to housing inequality.    Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary within different contexts.

Accommodation is a place of lodging/settlement that meets a need; convenience of oneself. It is a type of residential building that people use for shelter, safety/protection, sleep, rest, luggage storage and access to common household functions. Accommodation can also be a philosophical concept used for a house, living or lingering somewhere Martin (1992). It is all about making oneself at home where the home itself is any place for habituation.

Organization quarters/staff accommodation is a living quarters provided for public (employees) convenience. It is been provided in most institution of government for the civil servants that came from remote areas especially those that live far from their places of work which has gone a long way in providing a convenient environment for the civil servants. Staff accommodation is very important to every organization. They are mostly houses that employees rent which are quite cheaper than having their own apartment. It is meant to provide staff with shelters, where in some cases employers that are not mostly in the business of providing tourist accommodation may rent a block or an entire floor from a local hotel/motel, where in some cases; employees may even rent an entire hotel for their staff.

1.1     PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Property Management Software is a full service application software solution designed to manage billing, recruitment of tenants and maintenance on a property whether residential Industrial or commercial. According to a Software Advice Survey, Thurman (2005) – softwareadvice.com 70.6% of property managers in the western society used software or some specific application to manage and monitor their properties. It makes everyone from landlords to commercial property owners’ life easier by interfacing all of the important tasks needed to be done on a desired property. The best thing about property management software is that it can be as comprehensive or as focused as you need.

Property management software is typically tailored to the needs of landlords and rental managers. This project outlines these needs and how property management software meets them this will go a long way in providing a convenient environment for the staff. For any management information system the basis of record keeping, record retrieval, accessing and traversing files are very vital for the overall functions and operations of the system. The success of every housing scheme is independent on many factors which can only be recognized and considered by a professional.

A The network based transaction processing system for the online application system is then necessary to address the challenges of getting critical information to those houses that need it in a sufficiently timely fashion that it can contribute to the quality of services rendered to the staff. This problem is more complex, considering the rate of scientific and technical changes, typified by the ever shortening time period for the doubling of information. Network based systems prefer a solution from the disadvantage of the existing manual system. It provides means of staff interaction with the working system. In the development of the online application housing system or any other complex application, most of the effort is based on getting the system to run, and allocate resources to accomplish the project goal. It is expected to simplify the application, energy and also saves time. It can be installed and increase productivity without the need of employing an allocation officer.

1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Kaduna state is a state located in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria, its capital is Kaduna. The state is the successor to old northern region of Nigeria which had it capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six state one which was the north central state, which name was changed to Kaduna state in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part of Katsina state. Kaduna is one of the education centers in Nigeria, with many colleges and most recognized universities. Under the governance of Kaduna is the ancient city of Zaria. Source: Kaduna state Compendium (2006)

1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The major problem mitigating against effective housing allocations in Kaduna state is the issue of method of application, acquisitions and rigorous process involved in the issuance of certificate of occupancies, check in and out procedures. The restructuring and re-organization of the housing allocation and management scheme of the state civil service is therefore necessary in order to ensure ease of access of accommodation by newly or existing staff of the civil service.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The universal aim of this premier project is to proffer solution encountered in the existing manual system of housing allocation Management by the introduction of computerize techniques via the Property Management Software which will carry out accurate and efficient work in less time.

The objectives of this project among other things include:

a)    To make it easier for the staff in applying for staff housing quarters

b)    Design an online system where staff (occupants) can be monitored and proper tracking of their application and allocations

c)    Allow administrators monitor the checking in and out of staff quarters

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The proposed project research software would contain a list of residential areas (quarters), their corresponding names and number of houses they have. The application would require an internet connection for easy access and storage of information and easy access of billing information. Thus making it easier for civil servants to apply for houses online without the need of rigorous manual processes. This application can be used by any of the staff/occupants.

1.6     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The research questions was necessary to aid in the process of actualizing this project research work, they include:

1.6.1  What are the current problems/constrains inhibiting effective housing allocation?

1.6.2  Can computerization help solve the problems discovered?

1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The proposed project research centers on creating online housing allocation software which is capable of allowing for application of new house allocation, generating reports of allocated houses, display vacant houses as well as allow for easy management of property management

1.8 ORGANISATION OF THE WORK

This project research is written to provide an introductory note on the computerization of an online housing allocation system. The system is aimed at solving the problem associated with the old system and also speed up processing and approval. This research work is divided into five (5) chapters, which are directly/indirectly related and dependent on each other.

Chapter one covers the general introduction, which is an overview of staff accommodation, the problem definition, objective of the study, significance of the study and the methodology adopted.

Chapter two the review of related literature, which include how the research is being addressed to the problem and the contributions made by other studies is also included.

Chapter three includes the system analysis and design methodology, which consist of the procedures to be applied in solving the problems. This includes program specification, charts and diagrams.

Chapter four is the implementation and documentation, which includes the system requirement and maintenance issues, features and also the choice of programming language.

Chapter five consists of summary, conclusion and recommendation of the entire project work.

Appendix, which contains all the codes used in designing the system.

1.9     HYPOTHESIS

This project research is largely based on the hypothesis carried out so as to determine if to accept or reject the hypothesis.

In order to achieve the stated objectives, the following hypothesis shall be tested.

NULL HYPOTHESIS (HO) online housing management system may not enhance/improve house allocation among civil servants in Kaduna state.

ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS (HI) online housing management can enhance/improve house allocation among civil servants in Kaduna state.

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