Business Information Systems of Bognor Marine Watercraft Company - Term Paper Example

?Running Head: Business Information Systems Business Information Systems [Institute’s BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS IntroductionIn this 21st century, notion of free market economies has resulted in creation of a highly competitive environment for business organisations around the globe. As the result, the organisations are now confronting intense competition due to globalisation of business where customers are no longer bounded to their regional locations and business has become an international entity. In this regard, businesses are now going through the process of transformation from local to international organisations; however, in this process, many factors play a crucial role and it is very imperative that decision-makers in such organisations should consider them to achieve and maintain their organisational success in the market. One such factor that is very essential for success of any business, especially in present era of huge competition, is processing and dissemination of information in and out of the organisation. Nowadays, accurate and rapid management of information has become an essential and imperative task for business organisations since besides product quality, it has been an observation that service delivery now plays an important role in deciding future orders, and for this reason, a company can make or lose business just by focusing on its information management and systems. Although management of information was essential in the past as well; however, volume of such information was not so huge that it needed systems and thus, humans were performing the task efficiently (Martin, 1973, pp. 255-257). However, nowadays, due to huge number of customers, suppliers, vendors, etc, the need of business information systems has become inevitable, especially for companies that are dealing with suppliers and customers on national and international levels. One such company under consideration in this paper is Bognor Marine Watercraft (BMW) Company. In the last few years, BMW Company has witnessed an amazing progress in its business of watercraft and ancillaries that was limited to the UK market. Now, the decision-makers are now thinking about expanding the business due to increase in demand from the customers, especially for specialised high-end luxury watercrafts that has been the reason of their presence in the media lately. As the result, the notion of a ‘global village’ (Avgerou, 2003, pp. 97-99) is becoming a reality for the owners of BMW Company who now wants to become a market leader in their particular industry, not only in the UK market but internationally as well. Although the company was aware of the importance of information technology and therefore, it did invested in different information management systems and databases, however, it is an observation that the company did not give consideration to various aspects that are very essential before setting up of any IT structures and systems (Lan, 2005, pp. 130-134). In this regard, this paper will include understanding of different aspects related to IT systems that will potentially assist BMW Company in making the best use of its IT systems. Business Information Systems It will not be wrong to declare 21st century as the era of science and technology since even in the business market, the flow of information from one source to another has now become a decisive factor of success or failure of a company (Laudon & Laudon, 2007, pp. 101-103). As the result, nowadays, business information systems have taken place of humans and performing their tasks of processing and storing information while holding records and data related to different processes of an organisation. Companies have now installed information systems that are capable of comparing and relating past and present data to provide statistics that enable owners to take crucial decisions in an efficient manner. Moreover, in bigger organisations such as BMW Company where there are different and various departments, information systems help in easy transmission and sharing of data from one department to another. This results in effective collaboration that reduces the level of uncertainty in the decisions, which has often been one of the major reasons of longer lead-time for supply and delivery of products, subsequently, resulting in reduction in the number of future orders. This lack of collaboration also causes ‘surprise’ situation in different departments, which can be sorted out by the installation of a centralized database system that may keep managers of all departments in loop during initiation of each and every order. For instance, manager of the manufacturing department will then be aware of the date and time of arrival of raw materials from the supplier in Far East or South America. This will surely result in faster lead-time and will resolve the issue of lack of direction and/or collaboration in the company. As discussed earlier, business information systems (Delone & Mclean, 2003, pp. 237-242) are not only capable of displaying data but they are now proficient enough to analyse the data and facilitate managers of departments in making effective and efficient decisions related to different process of the company. For instance, it was observed during the inspection of BMW Company that dispatch often hires vehicles and drivers at short notice, which is expensive and stressful, when a longer lease is arranged, vehicles and drivers can sit around waiting for jobs or carry small payloads. Prior reminders in the system will resolve this issue easily, as managers will be aware of the need of vehicles and drivers in the coming week or coming month that will result in savings of huge amount indicating direct impact of efficient usage of business information systems on profitability of the organisation. However, decision-makers should be aware of the fact that computers cannot make the decisions on their own due to absence of any human brain in their systems, and thus, the owners will have to play a bigger role by deciding the best-fit information systems according to company’s needs, requirements, and aspirations. In other words, besides looking at features of the business information systems, more important is to look at infrastructure facilities and resources since companies often install IT softwares overlooking their capacities and resources, subsequently resulting in inefficiency and failure of IT systems. In this regard, inappropriate selection and installation of an information system will result in erroneous flow of information (Laudon & Laudon, 2007, pg 103); however, one should understand that it would not be the error in systems but the error in decisions of the management. In other words, the management should always consider requirements of the task to avoid any inadequate outcomes. Particularly, “management information systems are systems that express the combined relationship of information technology, people, and systems” (Delone & McClean, 2003, pp. 242-243). A company can utilize MIS softwares to create a database that may link up human resource of all departments under one platform (Lucy, 2004, pp. 230-235), which will enable BMW’s management to identify skill sets of its employees, as well as their availability and commitments that often conflict during different tasks and assignments causing delay in meeting deadlines. In this regard, installation of a proper management information system will facilitate management of the BMW Company in understanding the exact number of human resource that will be required at the time of expansion of the company. At the same time, similar type of database software will allow the company to maintain data related to available materials and needed materials that will be helpful for purchasing, manufacturing, as well as designing department to take practical decisions. In the case of BMW Company, communication of one department with another within the company is as imperative as communication of dealers with the warehouse and sales departments. In this regard, the BMW Company can resolve a number of communication-related issues by installing an intranet that will act as an internal network of communication within the organisation (Lucy, 2004, p. 240). On the other hand, extranet will work as an external platform for communication with suppliers, vendors, dealers, and even customers. Recent studies (Lucy, 2004, p. 240) have indicated that communication with customer has become an imperative part of service delivery, and successful companies are now relying heavily on feedback from the customers. In this regard, an extranet along with online ERP software will help the management to make crucial changes in manufacturing and designing process of its products, which will consequently be an effective way of marketing new products to the existing, as well as potential customers. Key Issues linked with BIS/MIS Before taking any decision, it is very important for decision-makers to put more efforts during the process planning that resolves a number of issues. In this regard, before expanding its business, BMW Company should endeavor to plan the process of integrating business information systems within its organisation. Primarily, an organisation should always focus on two aspects before making selection of any IT or MIS/BIS systems that are ‘fit’ and ‘linkage’ where “the former aspect focuses on external and internal environments and the later one focuses mainly on alignment of BIS with needs and aspirations of the organisation” (Oz, 2008, pp. 74-76). Besides, experts have indicated that any organisation that intends to install business information systems should go through a sequential process that will ensure efficiency in functioning and success of those systems. The paper includes a flow chart that indicates the similar process: According to experts, abovementioned “five aspects of ‘strategic information systems planning efficiency’ play a crucial role in allowing the organisation to install the most relevant and most efficient information systems” (Hirsschheim et al, 2009, p. 222). Particularly, configuration refers to the phase when the technicians configure existing computers with the information systems’ softwares and databases followed by the phase of testing where technicians do not integrate all computers but test the software with few systems. This initiates the phase of collaboration with different departments to analyse the efficacy and applicability of the software in a particular setting. Consequently, the fourth phase (Hirsschheim et al, 2009, p. 222) requires the organisation to enhance capability of existing computer systems in case of any deficiency. At the same time, it involves training of existing employees that will then initiate fifth phase of the process by involving all members of the organisation that will be required to work with specific BIS. In the year 2011, Stair and Reynolds (p. 198-199) indicated another model that can be utilized to evaluate efficiency of business information systems: BMW Company can also identify its requirements related to the information based on Enterprise model that is also known as ‘information architecture’ (Hunter & Tan, 2006, p. 77), which enables an organisation to expand its applications and enhance efficiency of its databases. One of the basic characteristics of enterprise model is that it considers all the major entities of information that exists in an organisation and then connects these bodies of information with different processes, which is very beneficial in terms of coordination of different departments in an organisation. IT Outsourcing Over the last few years, there have been huge advancements in the field of information and technology not only in the developed world but in developing countries as well. This advancement has altered the way businesses use to carry out their business processes. One benefit of this globalisation has been the introduction of outsourcing that has become very popular in this era. In IT industry, outsourcing has been able to acquire a significant niche due to availability of huge number of IT experts from around the globe. As the result, companies are now outsourcing creation of their BIS and MIS systems that results in financial benefits, as well as management related advantages. In this regard, BMW Company can also consider outsourcing their IT expansion plans, which will eliminate the need of complex infrastructure that will be required if the company will be hiring IT experts for systems’ development and management. Nowadays, technologies are available that allow IT experts and technicians to manage the MIS and BIS systems while sitting in some other part of the world and so, IT sourcing will be very beneficial for BMW Company as the company will then have resources to put on some other processes (Tho, 2005, pp. 23-36). However, besides advantages of outsourcing, it also indicates some threats due to its highly competitive nature (Vahidov, 2012). For instance, companies often lose skilled workforce due to offering of high stakes from some other companies, which can pause the flow of skilled workers temporarily. In addition, sometimes, companies also face problems during the process of implementation due to unavailability of trained staff in IT in the company (Koumpis, 2012, pp. 10-13). In brief, it is apparent that IT outsourcing has many benefits; however, it also poses some threats and risks but BMW Company can come up with a better strategy to make efficient use of this facility by not outsourcing everything and maintaining a physical pool of trained human resource that will balance the risks associated with it. Conclusion In conclusion, the paper will refer to an example of a management information system that has been very successful in many international companies. Particularly, the BMW Company can create “its own online ERP software using Oracle 10g. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an integrated computer-based application used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources, its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders” (Wilde & Pautasso, pp. 340, 2011). The central database system will allow the company to link together all the business processes and procedures under one platform for efficient management. This system will distribute and circulate relevant and accurate date related to manufacturing, purchases, sales, marketing, finance, etc in different departments of the company, and the data will remain available at different dealers and branches of the BMW Company. This system is not very expensive; however, the company will have to create a pool of trained staff that will maintain and sustain the business information system. Conclusively, the company may follow the five phases discussed earlier in the paper that will enable it to resolve all the issues identified earlier, and will be successful in expanding its businesses internationally. References Avgerou, C. 2003. Information Systems and Global Diversity. Oxford: OUP. Delone, W. & Mclean, E. 2003. “The Delone and Mclean Model of Information Systems Success: A 10 yr Model.” Journal of Management Information Systems. Volume 19, Issue 4, pp. 234-250. Hirsschheim, R., Heinzl, A. and Dibbern, J. 2009. Information Systems Outsourcing: Enduring Themes, Global Challenges, and Process Opportunities. London: Springer. Hunter, G., and Tan, F. B. 2006. Advanced Topics in Global Information Management. London: Idea Group Publishing. Koumpis, A. 2012. Management Information Systems for Enterprise Applications: Business Issues, Research, and Solutions. New York: IGI Global. Lan, Y. 2005. Global Information Society: Operating Information Systems in a Dynamic Global Business Environment. London: Idea Group Publishing. Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. 2007. “Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm.” International Journal of Computers, Communication, and Control. Volume 2, Issue 1, pp. 103-105. Lucy, T. 2004. Management Information Systems. New York: This One Companies. Martin, J. 1973. Security, Accuracy, and Privacy in Computer Systems. California: Prentice Hall. Oz, E. 2008. Management Information Systems. New York: Course Technology. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G. 2011. Principles of Information Systems. London: Course Technology. Tho, Ian. 2005. Managing risks of IT sourcing. Oxford: Oxford Publishers. Vahidov, B. 2012. Design-Type Research in Information Systems: Findings and Practices. New York: IGI Global. Valverde, R., and Talla, M. R. 2012. Information Systems Reengineering for Modern Business Systems: ERP, Supply Chain, and E-Commerce Management Solutions. New York: IGI Global. Wilde, Erik and Pautasso, Cesare. 2011. REST. London: Springer. Read More