The Top Shop Information System - Essay Example

? SYSTEM THINKING Lecturer: Address: System Thinking The Top Shop Information System needs five principal components to function. The five components are human resource, computer hardware, software, data and knowledge bases, as well as communications media and network support. From the company profile, the human resource is present, with a working capacity of employed personnel, who have been hindered by other elements of the IS. The other components of the IS need some improvement, although personnel may be subject to training courses for new developments in the IT sector. The company has challenges in productivity since the personnel is not adequately equipped to the development of widgets and operations and management of the IS. The input devices to the IS that will be included in the improvement include computers (workstations), software, and people resources. The company has a challenge in the number of computers it owns. The workers in the establishment have to share the available computers, which lowers the output and productivity. The establishment must facilitate productivity by offering the involved employees up to date computers, for even the existing computers need some upgrading of both software and hardware (Waring, 1996, p. 56). Input devices such as touchpads, keyboards, and mouse should be upgraded for functionality purposes. This is because the current standard devices are in a dilapidated state. The output devices involved in the organization should cater for different team strategies. Although the development of widgets takes on a personal approach, the teams working on various concepts such as the graphics of a product need brainstorming. The use of printers as output devices will be quite expensive. Since one of the aims of improving performance is reducing the costs of production, cheaper methods of sharing data have to be acquired. I recommend the use of projectors in group and board meetings over the use of printed material. This is so as to lower the costs of production and help in brainstorming. Storage of the establishment can be achieved in two main ways, which include the use of a localized server and the use of an online-based server. This will act as a backup as well as remotely accessed by authorized individuals. The operating system that is to be used in the organization has to meet all the needs of the market and development environment. There are numerous OS systems available in the market, but I recommend the use of Windows 7 Ultimate edition. The reasons behind the recommendation include stability of the OS and the availability of compatible software for the development of widgets. An example of the software that could be useful in the development of the widgets is the Adobe CS 5Master Suite. This is because it has some of its functions non-operable with the other OS platforms as well as a 32-bit system. The Windows 7 OS to be installed should, thus, incorporate the 64-bit system for maximum performance. The utility programs that will be used in the IS will help in management, maintenance, and protection of the company data and resources (Stair, Reynolds, & Reynolds, W. 2008, p. 138). Numerous utility programs should be used to ensure the safety and productivity of the computers. With the development of widgets, it is possible for developed codes to act as viruses; thus, the installation of a strong anti-virus in the network and computers is necessary. The anti-virus will also prevent the spread of viruses acquired from external sources and the network. Backup software will also be essential to the company since computers and networks may fail. System monitors will also be installed in the network to monitor the use of resource to determine when an upgrade of the current system is necessary. File managers are another type of utility program that should be incorporated in the IS to ensure the availability, management, and modification of data sets within the IS for easier information and knowledge base management. This may be of use if similar projects are proposed for development, as well as in case of upgrades to existing systems. The application software that will be involved in the development of widgets concentrates on the operations of the widgets. The widgets being developed by the company may fall under different market segments such as PC versions, or mobile applications. The application software useful in development of widgets incorporates the coding, graphics, simulation, and engineering concepts of development. Common applications to the development of the widgets include Java, Dreamweaver, Adobe CS Master Suite, SQL server applications, Microsoft office applications, and team viewer among other programs. Application software incorporates the management of resource, operations, and utilization of network. There are various needs for the company in communication and networking. The company may need the use of intranet, the internet and extranet for operations. The networking context to the establishment incorporates computers, communication processors and other I/O devices connected to the communications media, which is controlled via communication software. The communications and network needs are essential to the IS. The needs of the company are comprised of the communications media and network support systems. The communications media incorporates the physical systems that are necessary for the computers and communication media to interconnect. Components such as twisted pair wire, fiber optic cable, microwave systems, coaxial cable, and communications satellite systems are parts of the media needed for communication. The company will mostly use the twisted pair wire and coaxial cables to interconnect between computers and the output devices. The wires will be useful in the transmission of data and data packets back and forth in the internal network, as well as in the use of the internet (Stair and Reynolds, 2011, p. 89). The network support category of communications incorporates the personnel, hardware, software, and IS resources that influence of the operations of the network. The best example of the support, needed by the establishment, includes the network operating systems and internet packages. Applications such as browsers will be essential in the network and communications facilitation (Sterman, 2000, p. 90). With internal communication and networking being essential, applications such as chats within the organization will be essential as part of communication. Internal email is another example of networking resources in the business environment. The database management systems (DBMS) comprises of software that facilities the management of databases. The establishment is to consider the architecture, structure, and transaction mechanism in the database. The functionalities and capabilities of the taskforce involved comprise mostly of sharing of resources and management of the projects (widget development). The recommendation for this DBMS approach is the use of object oriented DBMS. This approach incorporates integrated DBMS approaches while incorporating the spatial language query functions, which will be involved in considering the structure, storage, and functionality of the database system. Developing the IS concentrates on two main aspects of developing the widgets. These include the internal personnel and the clients. The internal personnel, in the company, include the specialists who are involved in the development of the widgets. There are various stages of developing the widget such as the coding, graphical representation, and the quality assurance sector. The IS should be designed to facilitate the communication, connection and sharing of resources between the different departments involved in the product development process. In addition to development of the widgets, there are other responsibilities associated with the company such as financial support, marketing, distribution, and management who should be connected to the IS. The clients of the developed widgets are one of the important stakeholders to the company. Widgets developed by the company mostly rely on what the client demands. Developing a product for a client involves assessing the application, adhering to the customer needs, and demands of a product (O'Connor and McDermott, 1997, p. 78). The client-company relations, transactions, feedback, and alterations should be made to the development request. The management of client needs and the integration of the product to the client’s application will be incorporated in the IS. This is while considering that the clients require a demo on the product operations prior to completing the transaction. The integration of the IS into the establishment has market oriented reasoning. One of the concepts of a new IS is the marketing abilities of the Top Shop venture. One of the main aims of improving productivity in the organization is improving the market share associated with the organization. This incorporates the establishment of a front where the market can be informed, educated, and incorporated in the undertakings of the establishment (Gupta, 2011, p. 128). The IS must incorporate a medium of communication between the market and company. The target of the company may be a niche of producers or consumers. However, it needs an outlet by which data can be transmitted to and from the market place. References Gupta, H. (2011) Management Information System. New Delhi: HITESH GUPTA. O'Connor, J., and McDermott, I. (1997) The art of systems thinking: essential skills for creativity and problem solving. Wellingborough: Thorsons. Stair, R. M., Reynolds, G., and Reynolds, W. G. (2008) Fundamentals of Information Systems. New York: Cengage Learning. Stair, R., and Reynolds, G. (2011) Principles of Information Systems. New York: Cengage Learning. Sterman, J. (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. New Jersey: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Waring, A. (1996) Practical Systems Thinking. Oxford: Cengage Learning EMEA. Read More