Management of Information Systems - Coursework Example

Management of Information Systems Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Information Systems (IS) play a central role to the modern organisation since they hold all the information resources used to make critical business decisions. The effective management of information systems yields several advantages for organisations. The advantages include enhanced decision-making process, increased organisational efficiency, reduction of costs, and enhanced coordination of work and enhanced productivity of employees. In essence, information systems enable organisations to attain their strategic objectives, attain competitive advantage, and align operations in accordance with the market requirements. The paper covers the main uses of information systems as well as the barriers associated with the use of the systems in an organisational context. The Purpose of Information Systems An information system acts as a manipulator of the way things are done in an organisation. Therefore, whether developing a system to meet the traditional structure of the organisation or the new structure, an information system should be capable of manipulating the flow of work and other activities for the best interest of the organisation (Askenäs & Westelius, 2000). The adoption of the Triton way of carrying out workplace activities resulted in the second role of information systems, bureaucrat. Currently, an IS serves as a bureaucrat by restricting the “borrowing” of materials between orders and failing to record the transactions. The modern era IS such as the ERP system keeps records of all transactions taking place within the organisation to aid the decision-making process. Therefore, the modern system requires a firm to avail the resources used to assemble an order before embarking on the order assembly process rather than permitting the borrowing of materials from another order to assemble the order. Information systems also act as administrative assistants (Askenäs & Westelius, 2000). The bureaucratic role played by information systems in managing the order assembly process resulted in an increase in lead times and the failure of the organisation to allocate resources effectively. However, the systems could still play the role of administrative assistants by administering data for less complex tasks and relaying data from the head planner to the management. The system also relays final plans to the assembly section in its capacity as an administrative assistant. Information systems also serve as consultants. After understanding the different techniques associated with the planning of material requirements, it is possible to use information systems as consultants in order to identify the effective ways of operating under different techniques. Instead of using the system as a true bureaucrat, it is also possible to use the system as a consultant by using its inbuilt competence when necessary to receive the necessary support in the effective planning and control of material requirements. The other purpose of the information system is to intermediate between the managers and the sales personnel of an organisation to enable the implementation of effective decisions in the organisation. Data, Information, and Database Data refers to a representation of facts, instructions, or concepts in a formal manner to enable communication, processing, and interpretation by systems or individuals. As a result, it is possible to use data to record objective facts and have a common understanding of the facts. It is also possible to use data to record any concept without placing any guarantee for its validity or accuracy and expecting people to interpret it in different ways. Finally, one could use data as an agreed convention or structure for representing, recording, or transmitting information to facilitate its communication to the target audience. On the other hand, information refers to the selected, summarised, and presented data that is useful to the recipient in one way or the other. As a result, data becomes information following its appropriation by a human element (Alexander, 2003). A database refers to a collection of related data that presents a logically coherent structure that has inherent meaning and purpose for the intended applications or users. System and Information Systems A system refers to a set of detailed procedures, routines, or methods designed to carry out a duty, perform a particular activity, or solve a problem. A computer is a simple example of a system that enters data through the keyboard, stores the data on the hard drives, displays and enables the retrieval of the data on the monitor. The structure consists of elements that are interdependent and interrelated. An information system is a software system that captures, stores, transmits, retrieves, manipulates, and displays information to support other software systems, individuals or organisations (Cornford & Sheikh, 1992). A good example of an information system is the case of a family doctor. The information system is the software system that stores, retrieves and displays information about the patient. Some of the information stored in the system could be the symptoms of the patient, results of the doctor’s examination, the diagnosis, and the treatment. The information system supports the family doctor in treating patients within the family. Benefits of Information Systems and Information Management Information systems play a key role in organisations. However, before attaining maximum benefits from information systems, it is necessary to exploit all the capabilities provided by the system. Fostering the communication process within the organisation is one of the benefits of an information system (Markgraf, 2017). The fact that information systems enable managers to communicate rapidly imply that they enhance the communication process in an organisation. As a result, managers can use emails and share folders with other employees to enable the immediate sharing of information. Information systems are also beneficial because they improve the operations of a company. Apparently, the ability of an organisation to manage its information effectively depends on the specific information management system used by the organisation. Information systems enable immediate access to current and complete information thereby enhancing the operations of a company. Therefore, the effective use of information systems enable organisations to attain competitive advantage over their competitors in the market by differentiating products and services or offering exceptional customer service. Information systems are also beneficial in the decision making process (Markgraf, 2017). Therefore, a good information system relays credible and current information to managers thereby enabling them to make effective business decisions. The systems enables the manager to deliver complete information and model the results of the strategic decisions. An effective information system grants access to a lot of information thereby enabling the manager to make the right decision from the available options. Information systems also instil confidence in decision makers because it grants access to up-to-date information. As a result, the manager makes a decision based on the facts on the ground instead of the use of historical data. In the event that several courses of action are appealing from the available information, the systems enable decision makers to run different scenarios to determine the results of each scenario and the best course of action to take. Information systems are also effective in storing revision histories, operational data, communication records, and documents. However, the organisation should ensure the proper organisation of data and the use of the system in processing and presenting information. Challenges of Managing Information Systems Identifying the goal of the information system before purchasing it is critical in the avoidance of potential problems that could occur in the future (Markgraf, 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to determine the role that you want the system to perform before acquiring it. The need for identifying what you want the system to perform emanates from the fact that different systems have different capabilities. Some systems simply track pertinent company data and display it on a screen whereas others have added capabilities such as trend-analysis thereby implying that they are useful in decision-making. Providing raw data input and maintaining the information are the other challenges associated with the management of information systems. However, ensuring that the information system can source all critical fundamental information from all departments and update them in a standard format is critical towards addressing the challenge. Following the installation of a system, some employees have found it difficult to use the system effectively. Therefore, it is necessary to train employees on the effective use of such systems to prevent the occurrence of such problems. Finally, organisations have found it difficult to work with information systems that are not adaptive to change. Change adaptability should be one of the factors that determine the decision of a firm to acquire an information system. The system should be able to create room for revisions for both input and output data. Conclusion Information systems have played a fundamental role in modern organisations. Firms use the systems to acquire, store, retrieve, and display information to assist in the decision-making process. The appropriation of data by a human element transforms it into information since information refers to the selected, summarised, and presented data that is meaningful to the recipient or user. On the other hand, data merely refers to the representation of concepts, facts, or instructions in a formal manner. The benefits of information systems include enhanced communications and operational activities, improved record-keeping and enhanced decision-making. However, firms have to acquire information systems that are adaptive to change and able to perform the expected roles. The challenges of usability and maintenance associated with information systems require the firm to train its employees on the effective use of the system and ensure its ability to input and output the required data. References Alexander, P. M. (2003). Towards reconstructing meaning when text is communicated electronically (Doctoral dissertation). Askenäs, L., & Westelius, A. (2000, December). Five roles of an information system: a social constructionist approach to analyzing the use of ERP systems. In Proceedings of the twenty first international conference on Information systems (pp. 426-434). Association for Information Systems. Cornford, A., & Shaikh, M. (1992). Introduction to information systems. University of London. Markgraf, B. (2017). Common Problems in Management Information Systems. Chron. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/common-problems-management-information-systems-63376.html Markgraf, B. (2017). Importance of Information Systems in an Organisation. Chron. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-information-systems-organization-69529.html Read More