Strategic Information System (SIS)

A Strategic Information System (SIS) is a system that helps companies change their business strategy and structure. It is typically utilised to speed up the reaction time to environmental changes and aid it in achieving a competitive advantage.

Key features of the Strategic Information Systems are the following:

1) Decision support systems that enable to develop a strategic approach to align Information Systems (IS)  with an organisation’s business strategies.

2) Primarily Enterprise resource planning solutions that integrate the business processes to meet the enterprise objectives for the optimisation of the enterprise resources.

3) Database systems with the “data mining” capabilities to make the best use of available corporate information for marketing, production, promotion and innovation. The SIS systems also facilitate identification of the data collection strategies to help optimize database marketing opportunities.

4) The real-time information Systems that intend to maintain a rapid-response and the quality indicators.

The relationship among business strategy, organizational strategy, and information strategy. It illustrates how important the business strategy is.

 

I will also add in this video on SIS which might also help explain it.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=information+systems+strategy+&oq=information+systems+strategy+&gs_l=youtube.3..0.784.10649.0.11906.13.9.0.4.4.0.213.1159.3j5j1.9.0…0.0…1ac.1.tZ5EOkcC3fM

Management Information Systems

Hey fellow bloggers today I am going to tell you a little on Management Information Systems,

Management Information Systems (MIS) is a computer system that stores and distributes information on how to successfully manage an organisation, and it is usually regarded as a subset of the internal controls of a business.

Process

Management Information Systems are an efficient and methodical approach to collecting, storing and processing raw data that underlines what needs to be done in order to handle an enterprise effectively.

Before data had to be manually inputted and consulted, which meant there was more of a risk for human errors and delays in terms of putting together the data into proper reports to facilitate management functions and it was more expensive. Nowadays, the advancement of MIS into the organised procedure that it is now has vastly improved the way businesses are run.

Analysing Data

The data stored in Management Information Systems covers various categories, such as technologies, people, documents and procedures.

Faster and more systematic than manual consulting and handling, this technology can analyse and collate raw data that it stores into reports which outline trends and patterns in decision-making and organisation functions.

Managers can then refer to these reports in order to systematically plan and direct business operations. These reports can also include knowledge about assumed scenarios resulting from prospective management-changing decisions.

MIS saves time, allowing for managers to make informed decisions more quickly, but also assist in helping those with authorisation to the information to better understand the enterprise and the nature of the industry.

This video also explains MIS very well, I hope you enjoy it.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Information Systems… The Final Blog!!! :)

Hi Bloggers,

Well, time for the final blog! To sum up all the previous blogs, I would like to just mention some benefits and drawbacks of Information Systems.

Some Benefits:

An information system can be defined as any means of communicating knowledge from one source to another, and/or from one person to another. The difference between an information system and a data system is that a data system makes raw data available to the user. On the other hand, an information system is designed to provide the best possible information to its users. Information systems typically refer to computerised methods of searching, storing and retrieving information. An information system is all about providing the most usable information needed, and is there to empower users and equip them with the tools to do their jobs most effectively. An information system offers a litany of benefits that help to make the process of managing information easier. Central access, easy back up, central distribution of information, easy record keeping, easy tax preparation, as well as easy customer trait identification, are just a few of the benefits offered by an information system.

Learning about information systems will help you both personally and professionally. An understanding of information systems can also help a company. An effective information system can have a major impact on corporate strategy and organizational success. This impact can benefit the organization, users of the information system, and any individual or group who will interact with the information system. Some of the benefits organizations seek to achieve through information systems include:

*Added value to products (goods and services)
*Better safety
*Better service
*Competitive advantages
*Fewer errors
*Greater accuracy
*Higher-quality products
*Improved communications
*Increased efficiency
*Increased productivity
*More efficient administration
*More opportunities
*Reduced labor requirements
*Reduced costs
*Superior financial decision making
*Superior control over operations
*Superior managerial decision making

Drawbacks?

The primary disadvantage is the vulnerability of data in today’s world. It is very easy for a business to be a victim of espionage or robbery if they keep their data online, which most businesses do now a days.

Depending on organization deployment, usage and extraneous factors, some disadvantages related to Management Information Systems can come to the fore. Allocation of budgets for MIS upgrades, modifications and other revisions can be quite tricky at times. If budgets are not allocated uniformly or as per immediate requirements, key functionalities might get effected and benefits might not be realized consistently. Integration issues with legacy systems can affect the quality of output and vital business intelligence reports.

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs and have found them useful. Thanks again for reading them 🙂

Best of Luck in the end of year exam!

http://www.ehow.com/about_5494879_advantages-disadvantages-information-management-systems.html

http://www.blurtit.com/q8104822.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Disadvantage_of_information_system

The Many Different Types of Information System Continued…

Following my last blog, I mentioned I will be discussing in detail Accounting Information Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, and Executive Support Systems. The first of these will be Accouting Information Systems.

1. Accounting Information Systems:

An accounting information system (AIS) is a system of collection, storage and processing of financial and accounting data that is used by decision makers. An accounting information system is generally a computer-based method for tracking accounting activity in conjunction with information technology resources. The resulting statistical reports can be used internally by management or externally by other interested parties including  investors,creditors and tax authorities.

Advantages of an Accounting Information System:

A big advantage of computer-based accounting information systems is that they automate and streamline reporting. Reporting is major tool for organizations to accurately see summarized, timely information used for decision-making and financial reporting. The accounting information system pulls data from the centralized database, processes and transforms it and ultimately generates a summary of that data as information that can now be easily consumed and analyzed by business analysts, managers or other decision makers. These systems must ensure that the reports are timely so that decision-makers are not acting on old, irrelevant information and, rather, able to act quickly and effectively based on report results.

 

2. Knowledge Management Systems:

Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizations as processes or practices.

Knowledge-management systems are used to improve the performance of business processes. The fields that most often use knowledge management include: computer science, public health, information systems, business administration, public policy, and library and information sciences, as well as general management. The departments in which knowledge management is used are typically called “Business Strategy,” “Human Resource Management” or “Information Technology.”

Different types of Knowledge Management Systems include:

Expert Systems, Groupware, Document Management Systems, Decision Support Systems, Database Management Systems, and Simulation Systems.

 

3. Executive Information Systems: 

An executive information system (EIS) is a type of management information system that facilitates and supports senior executive information and decision-making needs. It provides easy access to internal and external information relevant to organisational goals. It is commonly considered a specialized form of decision support systems (DSS).

EIS emphasizes graphical displays and easy-to-use user interfaces. They offer strong reporting and drill-down capabilities. In general, EIS are enterprise-wide DSS that help top-level executives analyze, compare, and highlight trends in important variables so that they can monitor performance and identify opportunities and problems. EIS and data warehousing technologies are converging in the marketplace.

EIS components can typically be classified as:

• Hardware
• Software
• User interface
• Telecommunications

EIS also has many advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages of EIS

• Easy for upper-level executives to use, extensive computer experience is not required in operations
• Provides timely delivery of company summary information
• Information that is provided is better understood
• EIS provides timely delivery of information. Management can make decisions made promptly.
• Improves tracking information
• Offers efficiency to decision makers

Disadvantages of EIS

• System dependent
• Limited functionality, by design
• Information overload for some managers
• Benefits hard to quantify
• High implementation costs
• System may become slow, large, and hard to manage
• Need good internal processes for data management
• May lead to less reliable and less secure data

Again, thanks for reading! My final blog will give a brief outline of information systems’ benefits and drawbacks as whole!

🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_information_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_information_system

Read more: Definition of Knowledge Management System | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5016840_definition-knowledge-management-system.html#ixzz2NApdwaCM

The Many Different Types of Information Systems…

There are many different types of Information System: Decision Support Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, Executive Support systems, Management Information System, Accounting Information Systems and Transaction Processing Systems to name a few.

In this blog, I will focus on Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, and Transaction Processing Systems. In the next blog, Knowledge Management Systems, Executive Support Systems and Accounting Information Systems will be discussed in detail.

1. Management Information Systems:

A management information system (MIS) provides information that organizations need to manage themselves efficiently and effectively. Management information systems are typically computer systems used for managing three primary components: technology, people (individuals, groups, or organizations), and data (information for decision making).

Why are they different to other information systems?

Well… Management Information Systems are used to analyze and facilitate strategic and operational activities. Many schools are organisations have an MIS department, just like they have an accounting department, a finance dept, marketing dept, etc.

Management information systems (MIS), produce fixed, regularly scheduled reports based on data extracted and summarized from the firm’s underlying transaction processing systems ( which will be discussed further on) to middle and operational level managers to identify and inform structured and semi-structured decision problems.

Management Information Systems have many advantages:

• Companies are able to highlight their strengths and weaknesses due to the presence of revenue reports, employees’ performance record etc. The identification of these aspects can help the company improve their business processes and operations.
  
• Information is an important asset for any company in the modern competitive world. The consumer buying trends and behaviours can be predicted by the analysis of sales and revenue reports from each operating region of the company.
• Giving an overall picture of the company and acting as a communication and planning tool.

2. Decision Support Systems: 

A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSS’s serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance. Decision support systems can be either fully computerized, human or a combination of both.

Things that would be typically visible in a decision support system:

• inventories of information assets (including legacy and relational data sources, cubes, data warehouses, and data marts),
• comparative sales figures between one period and the next,
• projected revenue figures based on product sales assumptions.

3 fundamental components in a DSS are:

1. the database, 2. the model, 3. the user interface.

As well, DSS boast many benefits including:

• Improves personal efficiency
• Speed up the process of decision making
• Increases organizational control
• Encourages exploration and discovery on the part of the decision maker
• Speeds up problem solving in an organization
• Facilitates interpersonal communication
• Promotes learning or training
• Generates new evidence in support of a decision
• Creates a competitive advantage over competition
• Reveals new approaches to thinking about the problem space
• Helps automate managerial processes
• Create Innovative ideas to speed up the performance.

3. Transaction Processing Systems: 

Transaction processing is a style of computing that divides work into individual, indivisible operations, called transactions. A transaction processing system (TPS) or transaction server is a software system, or software/hardware combination, that supports transaction processing.

Transaction processing systems also attempt to provide predictable response times to requests, although this is not as critical as for real-time systems. Rather than allowing the user to run arbitrary programs as time-sharing, transaction processing allows only predefined, structured transactions. Each transaction is usually short duration and the processing activity for each transaction is programmed in advance.

The following features are considered important in evaluating transaction processing systems.

Performance

Fast performance with a rapid response time is critical. Transaction processing systems are usually measured by the number of transactions they can process in a given period of time.

Continuous availability

The system must be available during the time period when the users are entering transactions. Many organizations rely heavily on their TPS; a breakdown will disrupt operations or even stop the business.

Data integrity

The system must be able to handle hardware or software problems without corrupting data. Multiple users must be protected from attempting to change the same piece of data at the same time, for example two operators cannot sell the same seat on an airplane.

Ease of use

Often users of transaction processing systems are casual users. The system should be simple for them to understand, protect them from data-entry errors as much as possible, and allow them to easily correct their errors.

Modular growth

The system should be capable of growth at incremental costs, rather than requiring a complete replacement. It should be possible to add, replace, or update hardware and software components without shutting down the system.

Hope this has been helpful, and the next blog will follow on from this explaining Knowledge Management Systems, Executive Support Systems and Accounting Information Systems in detail. Thanks for reading 🙂

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_support_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_information_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transaction_processing_system

How information systems create a competitive advantage

Hello bloggers how are ye all today? Have a read through this interesting article.

Technology is now one of the most important part of every business. What used to be manual are now automated, and electronic means of communication which have been become key in helping in all businesses. Since technology has been developed in recent decades it has transformed today’s business practices.

Information systems have been around for a few decades now, but as they develop, they are being outdated everyday and offer many more possibilities. IS can be used in a many ways. Many businesses today have realised the advantages technology has, but  not all businesses get the potential out of technology.

Don’t think of your IS systems as a commodity, view it as an assets and a way to gain a competitive advantage in your field.

Maximize your information systems:

• Enhance jobs

Implementing IS is expensive at first but it may mean you have to employ less people and makes jobs more efficient so employees can move onto other jobs. Staff do not have to spend valuable time sorting through statistics, data and other pertinent information because the system has ability to gather it for them. IS provides a cost-effective way to conduct transactions, significantly cutting down the time involved in processing.

• Differentiation

IS provides the capability to strategically define your organisation in a way that makes the business stand out from the competition. IS can be integrated  in such a way where customers can be offered something no one else provides. With a disctint design that makes your business appealing to do business with, you can easily increase your customer base.

• Coordination of supply and distribution

IS provides a terrific way to monitor and track inventory. Typically, managers will use information system to track goods and to manage their entire supply/chain management process. If s problem arises, you can easily pick out and find a solution before it becomes a costly issue.

• Customers

Integrating  business processes with the web is a great way to maximise your technology. You can generate efficiency, effectiveness and enhancement all at the same time. Employee work load is relieved and you can improve your customer’s shopping experience at the same time.

• Decision making

Information systems allow the key element of providing “real-time” information. In today’s competitive environment, a manager needs to make rapid decisions and to do this effectively, you will need the most up to date information available. Properly designing your IS to custom fit your needs will enable you to accomplish this. You will get fast action when you can quickly assess a situation.

The importance of Analysis and Design in business

Both of these topics are very closely related -you could even say, system design is a part of the System Development Life Cycle or SDLC which you may remember from Cathal’s lectures.

Firstly you have to understand what a “system” is. First of all, information systems are all around us. Think about your local supermarket, they have a system which tracks inventory levels and reorders stock as required. They also have a system which looks after the financial side of the organisation; how much money has been made from a day of trading. These systems don’t just include computers and software. They also include the people that use the system and procedures. So in short, an information system is a collection of hardware, software, data, human and procedural components intended to give the right data and information to the right person at the right time.

Systems Analysis deal with the process in which analysts go through to decide how a system should run – that is deciding what roles the system should perform, whether it’s viable for the system to be developed (such as financial feasibility; do the benefits of the system outweigh the costs of developing the system?), what data is going to be collected and stored. In essence, Systems Analysis is concerned with problem solving and having a system that will solve an organisations problems.

This is a interesting video which tells us how important system analysts are

Systems Design is actually the third step of the SDLC – it’s where the analysis designs how the system will operate. The physical components of the system are defined here which specifies how the problem at hand will be solved.

This video gives a more detailed view on System Design:

 

 

Information Systems Decisions & Last Blog!!

Hey Bloggers,

 

This is my final blog, on what is an information system. THANK GOD!

Today i will be discussing decision making systems.

Strategic Decisions. These affect the long-term direction of the business eg whether to take over Company A or Company B

Tactical Decisions. These are medium-term decisions about how to implement strategy eg what kind of marketing to have, or how many extra staff to recruit

Operational Decisions. These are short-term decisions (also called administrative decisions) about how to implement the tactics eg which firm to use to make deliveries.

Senior Managers (Strategic decisions) 

They make many unstructured decisions

e.g Enter a new market, to expand the business

Middle Managers (Tactical Decisions)

The middle managers make more structured decisions and some unstructured decisions.

e.g Why declines in sales in some areas.

Operation Managers ( Operational Decisions)

All there decisions are structured, on whats happening now.

e.g Does the customer meet the criteria.

Thank you for reading my blogs and also to my team members 112712305, 112759089.

references:

1.bp.blogspot.com/_PS1NZ66ZEe0/S7iqsJhiMdI/AAAAAAAAABE/0acXTnXwgGQ/s1600/gut+feel_1.

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/images/decisionmaking_intro.gif

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/organisation/decisionmaking.htm

cathaldoyle.com

summary of information systems in businesses

The growth of information systems and the constant development of personal computer technologies in the business world are reshaping the office work we were used to doing 10 years ago. Businesses can now provide customers with the best possible services and products due to the rapid growth of technology. Computer and information systems manage, plans, coordinate, direct, research and facilitate the computerrelated activities of firms. Information systems help both technical and business goals in consultation with top management and they can make detailed plans to achieve goals set by the business. 

 

 

How to set up a successful Information System

There is a thin line when it comes to success and failure of information systems. At least 50% of information systems fail and this figure could even be higher as people do not like admitting failure, so the attention to detail becomes crucial and the risks become grater. Some of the main reasons that seem to be recurring in IS failures are due to risk management, accountability, professionalism, formal training, research, good communications, leadership and ownership. For those who do not know a lot about IS system failures I will put it in a simpler form,a  software engineer is similar to a civil engineer. Building a large information system is almost like constructing a 30-story office building. If a bunch of architects, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, tillers and contractors meet in a office room, talk for a few hours and then start building, the building will be unstable if it even gets built at all. “If building engineers built buildings with the same care as software engineers build systems, the first woodpecker that comes along would knock the building making it a failure as the build should stand after storms.

 

Three Keys to Successful IS Projects

Successful projects are like a tripod and have these factors in common:

1. Top management support 

2. A sound methodology 

3. Solid technical leadership by someone who has successfully completed a similar project

1. Almost all system success or failures have identified top management support as a critical to the success factor. The management personnel in any organisation that undertakes a systems project should be understand that the project will meet stumbling blocks along the way. They will need to be prepared to keep there composure as there will be setbacks or else the project is set for failure. From my simplified point earlier there is a massive difference between systems projects and office buildings. When a building is half built, there is something to see, but when a software project is half done, there is almost nothing to see. Managers need to know what they can expect to see and when. If they assume that the project will have 50% of the systems running when the budget is 50% spent, they will probably start thinking about giving up on the project that is progressing exactly on schedule.

2.Many systems are built with little thought. The team gets together and as enough information is collected, coding begins. This lack of attention to process can ruin a system. It is easy to see the result of a lack of attention to process after a system fails. Usually parts of the user requirements are ignored. Large amounts of code need to be rewritten, since it does not meet user requirements the first time around. The system is put into place with scarce testing. Without a well thought out process, there is little chance that a systems project will be successful. If the project does succeed, it only does so with substantial rewrites and cost overruns.

3. Like a building needs an architect, software systems needs a technical lead. The technical lead must have built similar systems down to the level of the specific business area for which the system is being built. To be successful, technical lead must be the one in control of the “architecture” of the project, most importantly the data model and application design. This level of control must be recognised and acknowledged by everyone involved with the project.