Business Information Systems, Essay Example

Information Systems, because of its potential to achieve exponential synergy within organizations, are too important to be left to computer specialists. Computer Specialist can only view and interpret data extracted from activities like production, marketing, sales, quality control, accounting and customer service, and as such may lack key ingredients that are necessary to bring the company performing divisions together as one unit to provide the products and services needed by customers in a timely manner.

They might lack the technology needed to alter the composition of products to achieve higher performance ratings that will attract higher numbers of customers in diverse markets.

The BMW organization for example did not allow its computer specialists at Oracle Database 11g Management Software to dictate what happens on the $300m sail boat, but also integrated the crewmen on board to ensure their critical piloting skills are utilized in real time. The benefits from both inputs, the leader of the team as well as other support groups enable the ultimate objective to be realized at the end of the race.

Had the Computer Specialist the sole authority over the race, the other members of the team may have become demoralized less productive and cause the team to fail. Similarly leaving the information systems to computer specialist on the organizations may result in below par products and services being delivered to consumers, and a concomitant reduction in revenues and profitability.

Establishing a new website for another Major League Baseball Team will require a comprehensive, collaborative program of management, organization and prudent use of technology within the designed mission and vision statement of the business.

The primary goal of the team will be to win the World Series and to achieve this the management has to be able to recruit the most competent, skillful, versatile and efficient players they can fine, as well as support groups like trainers, nutritionist, medical experts, statistical coordinators, as well as other who will provide vital needs of the team throughout the season to facilitate decisions that will maximize the performance of the team.

The Information Systems will be vital to develop the procedures, processes, standards and strategies developed by the team manager and the Chief Executive of the company, and will affect the performance of the marketing program, stadium seating accommodation, security management, ticket sales, development of diverse revenue streams, parking facility management, food services provisions, broadcasting frequencies, advertising strategies for games and entertainment packages between innings, as well as information on the  opposing teams key players and strategies deployed to achieve success.

Critical to the team will be the user friendly nature of the technology use to transmit the information needed by the team, the training levels of each member of the support group, and how the effect the information delivered will affect the team’s performance in real time, as well how the performance will impact on the fans in terms of their support attendance at the games and the revenue base of the company.

The success of UPS, which has been in operation since 1907, has not come by accident, but by the development and application of its unique intermodal transportation system using the DIAD or Delivery Information Acquisition Device technology, well executed strategic, organizational, and managerial maneuvers and use of its socially complementary assets.

Organizationally, the company has acquired 93,000 vehicles, 268 airplanes and 311 contract connection calls, so that it can access 391 airports in the USA and 219 abroad.

UPS Information Systems is extensive and specially adapted to the needs of parcel collection while connected to the intermodal transportation system which facilitate at least two modes of delivery to ensure customers globally receive their goods within 34 hours.

The company greatest assets however are its 425,000 employees and its UPSnet wireless communication system, which together ensure that the data on each parcel is transmitted through optical fibers while undergoing the management supervised consolidation, distribution and fragmentation operations over a 24 hour basis across 24, 000 distribution points into the homes and business of customers in a timely manner.

An information System can support the order fulfillment process in question by capturing every data from sales from each customer and using them to develop profiles which will forecast future orders and initiate production to meet them, thereby ensure the company is positioned to continuously to meet its customer’s needs.

The information system could also help to integrate the inventory system, customer accounts, invoice preparations, accounts payable and receivable, and all company marketing, purchasing, public relations, budgeting and planning strategies, because the information accumulated can be processed to meet the needs of the relevant department.

Computer Specialist would also be able to design real time response so that departments are able to make timely decisions in response to changing market conditions, and ensure customer’s needs are met at the most economical and efficient rates, despite the competitive pressure.

Overall then Information Systems can adequately serve the needs of the company internally and those of the customers in the external environment at the same time, so that the management and stakeholders may feel justified in the capital invested in the organization.

The process of selecting a book at the local library involves the patron using his or her library cards to input its title, edition, the authors or author’s last name and initials, and the year it was written, into the Library’s Information System, so that it can be sourced and located.

Once the specific book has been located it is then taken to the check out desk and given to the librarian along with the patron’s library card. The Librarian will then disable security strip and then print a slip containing the relevant information on the book, and this include the date of return, penalties for late returns, so that that the book can be taken off the premises legally.

The process ends when the card and book is given to the patron and he or she is told that the book can be renewed at least twice if there are no holds pending. Finally the patron departs with the item needed.

Present Library Book Processing System

The process can be improved by personalizing the check out stage of the process, so that the patron conduct both stages with little help from the librarian except with the security stage. This new system would therefore expedite the number of check outs, reduce library traffic, and allow the institution to reallocate its human resources in other areas, where they can be fully utilize and ensure greater organizational efficiency.

New System Design

BMW Oracle team might have establish consultation with every departmental leader during training, practice runs and simulations and extract information from them as to what they deemed critical for the race to be a success.

It would then process these data into the system and used them to implement changes in the design of the boat at different stages of the journey when the weather conditions including wind speed, humidity, and other factors may reduce the speed of the unit.

This team approach would improve the morale of the entire crew and ensure greater coordination and commitment during the journey for the cup, and prevent individual team members to perceive the computer specialists are being to autocratic due to their seemingly privileged position.

There is no such thing as sustainable strategic advantage due to the fact that once a successful strategy has been used on the market, the competitors will strive to replicate even if it means doing re-engineering, so that that can use to gain the same market penetration that the creator has earned and perhaps more economically.

Companies that are keen on measure the effect of what their strategies are achieving ion the market and utilizes market intelligence, will adjust their strategies to maintain market leadership and remain sustainable.

The process will therefore continue, as change becomes the only constant especially in the global environment, as companies try to outperform each other. In some cases the customer will be the beneficiary as prices may ultimately fall due to the impact of technology and the constant desire to achieve the highest market share in the most economically efficient manner.

The advantage that  retailers like Dell and Wal-Mart have over the other competitors is really the caliber of management and not the technology they possess, because the latter can be easily replicates in many instances to remove the advantages gained.

These companies has been able to recruit top class managers, pay them very well, and allowed them to have high levels of autonomy at different levels whole holding them accountable at all times.

Dell and Wal-Mart will constantly develop visions and missions statements that reflect the reality of the market place and challenge these managers to defy the odds through superior support, organizational skills, and low cost high quality product offerings that consumers always finds difficult to ignore.  These companies have also established hundreds of distribution points and apply the same strategy throughout, as well as adequately capitalizing each point so that the market potentials are maximized. Other companies may not have the same chemistry, operating environment, distribution points, leveraging, influence on suppliers as well as the willingness to spend their capital to achieve the level of profitability and dominance achieved by these two companies.

Issues of concern that businesses should have, in terms of the internet providing competitive advantage are the types of software utilized, the response times to customer’s needs, the ability to identify trends and respond to them, the delivery of service, the quality of the marketing programs, the level of interactions provided to customers and the width and versatility of its products and services in comparison to its competitors.

Companies with cutting edge technologies will be able to meet these demands and achieve the desired competitive advantage to the extent that some may market their locations as one stop shop for all the goods and services in their industrial segments.

The ability of the internet to consistently and reliably provide information on the quality of services being offered is also critical for companies to gain and maintain competitive advantages, as customers who have grown accustomed to this service which they may need to forecast and plan their activities will practically remain permanent customers with such companies, in order to maintain the advantage the information has generated for them.

The producers of software based services such as    ATMs should not escape being held accountable for the economic injuries customers may experience when their systems fail. They reap the financial benefits as well as consumer confidence when things are going well, and should be equally responsible when the systems fail to deliver what they no doubt advertized for several years.

These software manufacturers have cause consumers to develop considerable loyalty and trust in their design systems and should be constantly monitoring, researching, testing and updating the services provided, knowing them criminal elements are always seeking ways to sabotage their operations and inflict economic injury to customers .

Additionally the years of accumulating millions in profits should prepare them to offer the necessary insurance and other protection customers will require in the few instances when breaches may occur.

These ATM providers should under no legal consideration be allow to abdicate their responsibilities to provide all the service facilities and safety features customers will require when using their machines, because it is their creation whether the performance is excellent or poor, and they are accountable to make sure the systems provide the services they have enunciated from time to time in the advertising media.

Companies should not be held responsible for the unemployment caused by their information systems, for many reasons.

The information systems developed by these companies may be of several types with compelling features that consumers may even have difficulties making the right investment decision, but there are also risks attached to these decisions, in that the system chosen may become obsolete in a few years or months depending on the pace of technological development in their specific areas of operations.

Companies who are cognizant of these eventualities may develop the appropriate warranties to protect themselves, and as such may not be successfully sued in the courts for any harm that may result in terms of unemployment and other economic ills that may occur.

Systems should never be regarded as permanent in terms of life span or generations and manufacturers have no control on the areas of research their competitors may embark on to increase their market shares as well as revenue.

Companies that are users of information systems software should also be examining the relevance of their software to the changing markets and proactively make changes that will ensure sustainability is constantly achievable. This should include training and re-training employees as well as making new software acquisitions that will increase efficiency and productivity.

It is also worth mentioning that the very manufacturers themselves may have to terminate the services of their employees, if the information systems being offered have outlived their useful lives and are not replaced in time to meet the challenges presented by the competition.

Base on the evidence provided, there are no reasons why manufacturers of information systems should not be held responsible for the unemployment that their information systems may have caused in normal course of business operations.

Companies amassing massive data on individuals for behavioral targeting can benefit significantly them as well as create problems in terms of data security.

Collecting personal data to predict the behavior of consumers may be mutually beneficial to the marketing companies with increase in revenues and the consumers who will be supplied with products and services at the time, place and prices they can afford.

However, the possibility of hackers breaking into these systems and using the information to create havoc in the lives of individuals cannot be ignored, and marketing companies will be challenged to maintain balance and awareness as they seek to tap markets in several segments.

It will never be enough for these companies to publicly declare that there systems are well protected because things can change overnight and cause millions of data to fall in the wrong hands.

Selecting a hardware and software for an organization is an important management decision because once selected the package may have to be used in all the departments within the companies in an integrated manner to achieve high levels of productivity and efficiency.,

Each department will use the hardware and software differently from each other, and managers who are not involved in the decisions may fall behind and become obsolete in comparison to the entire process. Vital materials and services that may also be needed from one area of the company may not be supplied due to the lack of the technology required.

System Development Managers have to work with each department to ensure compatibility between what the systems require and what each operation demands to ensure that that both can co-exist and the information needed can be delivered when it is needed.

Issues like the length of time projects will take, their costs, the number of employees that will be required, the competence of suppliers, safety and security of equipment, the storage of hardcopy files, the impact on the overall company performance as well as the effect on the status of employees at the end are all issues that have to be discussed when companies are choosing the ideal hardware and software for their operations.

Cloud Computing, which came into being in 1996 via Compaq and a technologist named Sean Ossullivan, has caused a major shift in Information Technology, in that it offers more computer memory, processing power and applications in remote data centers on what is called cloud, according to Regaldo (2011).

The concept however is still not fully understood and defined in the general market, and is facing resistance by companies such as Google, Dell and IBM, because it entails  selling servers to internet providers and caused rebranding and supercomputing phrases to be used to describe its effect on the internet (Regaldo, 2011)

Websites seem threatened by the advent of cloud computing due to the data services and infrastructures it provides, as well as being a cheaper source for procuring vital technology services (Regaldo, 2011).

It is absurd to think that Database Management Software is not needed in any environment where data is being processed to determine trends, behavioral patterns, comparative performance levels, inventory cost, budget constraints, and many other computations to enhance accurate decision makings within organizations.

The software becomes the vehicle to provide these answers in terms of how to increase productivity, achieve rapid problem resolution, reductions of infrastructure cost, increase database efficiency and high availability (Quest Software, 2011).

Without Database Management Software, companies are only depriving themselves of the latest analytical tools that can transform their scope in a changing global landscape where speed and accuracy with respect to information are extremely critical to achieving and maintaining competitive advantages.

Users should be involved in every state of the selection process for any Database Management Software, as they are the ones doing the hands on work that creates the data needed for processing higher up in the organization, and the famous GIGO concept is very much a threat to organizational accuracy and competence.

These users can easily identify procedures and processes that are not feasible base on their experience, and may save organizations millions of dollars and times, if they are involved in the process. This is because they can most often justify their answers with answers that many program managers may not have seen or will agree based on the logics of their arguments.

Suggestions from users may also positively impact the designs that are made within organizations and may lead to software that may be marketed in the wider industry and produce considerable profits for their employers.

Involving end users in the decision making concerning Database Management Software may provide significant and enduring benefits to organizations that sees it wise to tap into these human resources to guide their advancement in the highly competitive business environment, which often leaves many causalities on the dunghill of obsolescence.

Information Policy within a company determines what kinds of information are created, collected, stored, accessed, retained, organized as well as released internally and externally according to BCLA Information Policy Committee (1995).

Companies not having such a policy are not protective of their future viability in that they may deprive themselves of valuable intellectual properties which their competitors can used to eventually drive them out of business.

They may also cause the private information of their employees as well as key historical data to be mislaid and prevent the possible use of empirical data generated by former executives to guide critical decision making in the future.

Information policy can also help the interest of companies in lawsuit actions that involving former employees divulging information on the secrets of products that are unique to the company and has been sources of great revenues.

The statement that smart phones will become the single most important device an individual may own in the near future is indeed a correct one.

Presently the device combines the functions of a PDA and a mobile phone, while there are models that serve as portable media players and camera with high resolution touch screens and web browsers that can display standard web pages.

Smart phones also provides GPS navigation, WI-FI and broadband access and overtime will improve to due to the number of mobile operating systems that are currently on the market and will most likely be incorporated.

The device possibilities seems endless as far as innovations that companies will bring to the table but the implications can be very sobering, in that it may reduce the number of laptops and PC used in the homes and offices, photo studios, printing companies and Post Offices may go out of business, while students going to colleges and universities will significantly reduce amount of books purchased and transported.

Sadly smart phones may also be the source of many crimes and accidents on the streets as users may be too engage to keep their eyes on the road or on incoming assailants.

The devise base on these observations will provide more benefits than injuries and may really be the most significant piece of equipment an individual may own in the near future.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which is a system that transmit the identity of objects or persons wirelessly using radio waves, should not be used by all companies but only by those in the business of marketing tangible goods and services, as well as those in key security matters that are significant to the protection of national assets and interest.

The reason behind this separation is the fact that the technology can be used to invade that private life of individuals and may result in breaches of the constitutional rights. Retailing and Manufacturing companies however could find this technology considerable useful as they could embrace it to improve the efficiency of their delivery systems, inventory status, production planning, as well as in forward planning and in financial planning. This is because they can correctly locate the stage of their product in terms of distribution, and have discussion with key individual without meeting in the same location to decide on actions to be taken.

Wi-Fi systems can potentially provide high speed multimedia content delivery to localized areas such as indoor offices, shopping malls, and airport lounges. The system provides ease of use, lowest set up and deployment costs, ubiquitous high speed computing, connections between computers the internet, wired networks as well as wireless LANS when liked with GSC and GPRS (Joseph, Manoj, Murthy, 2011)

Cellular DATA services on the other hand while providing internet connection near many large cities, are expensive, less reliable and slower than Wi-Fi connections.

This type of service provides a greater range of services than Wi-Fi and often covers large metropolis

Wi-Fi can be accessed from laptops and PC once users have the correct password, while cellular users have to be subscribers to local companies in order to access the internet.

Reference

BCLA Information Policy Committee (1995).What is Information Policy? www.vcn.bcl/bcla-ip/committee/broch95.html , 10/31/11

Joseph, D.A., Manoj, B., Murthy, C. S. A., (2011). The Interoperability of Wi-Fi Hotspots and Packet Cellular Networks and the Impact of User Behavior www.citesteerx.ist.psu.edu/view/downloads , 10/31/11

Quest Software Inc. (2011). Fog Light-Your Cross Platform Database Monitoring and Management Solution www.quest.com/landing/?ID=5733C_KWCID=TC%7C23773%7CBklyword%70%7c%Bplacement% , 10/31/11

Regaldo, A. (2011). Who Coined Cloud Computing? Technology Review www.technologyreview.com/business/38987/=chfeature , 10/32/11