Global Executive Information Systems: Key Issues and Trends - Case Study Example

Running Heading: Information System Information System Information System Introduction Information is the utmost need of today's world and since organizations are expanding their vision and they are opting newer methods to progress in this competitive world the word information is gaining importance. Conventional methods are getting obsolete and managers are opting for new and modernized methods in order to work effectively and efficiently (Effy, 2006). Informational needs of every organization are increasing with the time. In this paper we will discuss the importance of information system and its scope in today's world. Moreover, we will highlight the fact that information systems present in the organizations provide data to managers in a formalized manner and they help them a lot in the decision making process. We will focus on how information system works in a dynamic and turbulent environment and how it helps in the development of strategic, tactical and operation system of organizations. Moreover, we will give a glimpse of different information systems that are used like executive information systems, management information systems, risk management systems etc. In modern organizations it is very important that technology works according to the needs of the people and it works on continuous basis ensuring reliability and effectiveness. Information systems collaborate with the managers and play an important role in implementing proper technology in the organizations (Ralf, 2009). Information systems help in every aspect like creating a business plan, generation of formal reports, maintaining databases, preparing accounts etc. Decision making is the utmost task of every manager and the information system helps a lot in developing a proper and a formal decision making process (Alter, 2002). Usually the information flow from top to bottom or from bottom to top and in most of the organizations the information is managed by information management systems. Since, the decision making process is an important practice in every organization and information system provides with the decision makers with information in the form of reports, researches and huge amounts of data is compressed into shorter forms and this helps the mangers to take decisions. System generated reports are widely used by all departments and it makes the work easier for managers. The flow of information is used by managers for the decision making process and the information systems mentors the information and make sure that it will flow smoothly and will not affect the decision making process. Managers on the other hand higher professionals that can manage the flow of information and they must know that how the information in flowing in the organization. Usually the information flows from the top management to the down line workers, but in certain organization the flow of information is from down line workers to the top management and actually the flow of information varies from organization to organization. Managers of information system and the computers plan research and coordinate the computer related activities of the organization. They coordinate with each other and determine technical and organizational goals. Although this requires a proper and strong understanding of the computer systems and the technology but formal reports and detailed information can be stored and developed and can easily be presented to the top management for the purpose of decision making. Information systems are also related to the hardware and the networking side but the core purpose is related to the management side only. The needs of the organization are identified at all levels and utmost importance is given to operational and strategic perspective. Competition is also kept in mind and that's why information systems are equipped with the state of the art technology to ensure that the organization won't lag behind its competitors. An information system continuously coordinates with the managers and works according to their assigned tasks. Flow of information for strategic, tactical and operational system The working conditions of organizations change continuously and organizations usually experience dynamic or turbulent behavior in their operations. MIS (Management information system) is terminology that helps each and every individual in the element of internal reporting and it has created a revolution in information by producing computer generated reports. These reports helps a lot in the decision making process. Strategic Systems Strategic information system are used in the decision making process and it's a system that is used to manage information. This system is aligned with the overall business strategy of the organization and supports its structure. This alignment helps a lot is gaining the competitive advantage (Ward, 2002). Although it differs from organization to organization but strategic systems are usually controlled by the top hierarchy of the organization. Information system helps the management in creating reports and on the strategic level it generates reports like financial reports, forecasting reports etc. Senior managers and the decision makers can obtain information from these reports and then can frame their decisions on them (Ward, 2002). In dynamic environment these reports can help more in achieving the targets of the organization and since the people are motivated in such an environment then the flow of information would be smooth and strategic management can be practiced in an efficient and an effective manner. In turbulent organizational environment information systems may work properly and can generate proper reports but these reports might not be utilized properly as the environment isn't stable. But information system can give a formal touch to the situation and the people can benefit from it if they want to. In charismatic organizations information systems can do wonders and organizations can gain competitive advantage through the effective use of information systems. For example Dell computers are considered to be the manufacturing leaders in the computers business and they use the information systems a lot to achieve efficiency in their planning and management. They manufacture a complete computer system in 24 hrs after the time of ordering and this is just because of strategic planning they have used and combined it with the information systems. This step must be initiated when the research analysts have given them reports about the customer preferences that the customer wants computer system to be assembled fast and it must be delivered quickly to them. This information must have forwarded in the form of reports and information system must be used in that generation and then the reports would be forwarded to the decision makers. Thus, information system provides formal reports that are used in the decision making process. Executive Information System It's actually a type of Management information system that is used to cater the needs of senior managers and this information system facilitates the decision making needs of the senior executives in the organizations (Business Dictionary, 2008). It generates formalized reports that are used in the decision making process and these reports are generated by user defined data. These formalized reports of executive information system are used in manufacturing, financial analysis, financial reporting, marketing management etc (Ahmed, 2008). Executive information systems are mostly implemented in a dynamic and a formalized environment and in a chaotic environment it usually doesn't exist. Usually the flow of information and the reporting process is from seniors to subordinates that is the information flow from top to bottom. But it's considered to be an important system that's used in the decision making process. Tactical systems Usually the flow of information for tactical information system is from down the line workers to managers and senior managers. Middle level management is most used in the tactical system. The middle level management passes on the information to the decision makers of the organization that is the senior management which include the CEO's and the CFO's. Information system formally generates reports like customer ascendency reports, research findings and information system actually uses specific software's for developing reports and then these reports are forwarded to the decision makers in order to make the decision(Kumar,1999).This flow of information is for dynamic and motivated organizations. In turbulent environments usually the information flow in the haphazard way and it's quite difficult to manage and control the flow of information. Operational systems The operational systems is the down line workers in the organization and those who are directly involved in the operating process. In centralized environment the information flows from the top management to the down the line workers. Information system helps a lot in this aspect too and the workers get proper specifications through prepared reports that are computer generated and that's because of the effective use of information system. This approach is mostly followed in the manufacturing sector where operations are dealt from the scratch. The effects of information system can be felt more in the manufacturing sector and in the production areas where huge amount of communication takes place between managers and down the line workers. Human Resource Information System It's basically a procedure for storing, collecting, retrieving and validation the data that is needed by an organization for its human resources. A human resource information system can be of formal and informal nature. It can be as informal as payroll system and can formal up to generating financial reports for government, banks and other important organizations. Usually, the information systems that are used in human resource information systems generate reports related to timings of employees, pay roles etc (Cathcart and Charles,1999). Information system is used effectively in this approach and the flow of information can be upward and downward. This system provides necessary reports for the decision making process and this information cater to the human resource therefore it is suitable for both dynamic and turbulent environment. Risk Management Systems Risk management systems are used widely in today's world and it's basically a process that allows mangers of information system to protect the IT systems and valuable data that actually support their organizational mission. Besides the IT arena these systems are also used in financial corporations (Crouhy,2005). Risk management supports the theory of contingency planning and these systems generates reports that are very useful in events that are labeled as emergency situations. Usually the flow of information depends from organization to organization and it varies with the complexities of the organization. Moreover risk management systems generates electronic reports that are used in merging property claims, values, and provide the reporting capabilities for management in order to control the overall cost of risk. Risk management programs can reduce the factor of controllable risk and formal risk management programs are used by major insurance underwriters (All business, 2009). Risk management systems are used by nearly all the organizations and its basic purpose is to assure system compliance however, banks, insurance companies, investment banks, security and mutual funds organizations widely used these systems and generate useful reports in order to take decisions. Management Information Systems In the early stages of computing information systems were used to generate payroll systems and they were used in basic calculations and maintaining simple databases. But, as the flow of information increases and people became familiar with more and more information the advent of MIS (Management Information systems) were indispensible. A management information system is a process that allows necessary information to be managed effectively. In order to take sensible business decisions the information generated by MIS is considered to be an important source (OCC, 1995). An MIS generates a number of reports for the organization and these reports facilitate the decision making process. An MIS is used at many levels in an organization and it is aligned with the long term objectives of the firm. The strategic and operational vision is also managed by the management information system. Besides maintaining the information technology needs it is also used for financial systems and generate reports that are used by the decision makers related to the field of finance and accountancy. It contains elements like general entries, reconciliation of financial systems etc. An MIS must be developed to achieve certain goals and its must increase the communication pattern among employees, efficiently deliver complex material to the employees, it reduces the expense of labor intensive operations and generated system generated procedures and methods (OCC, 1995). Similarly, management information system must consider the direction of the organization and the strategic goals of the organization. As far as duties of information system are concerned there are numerous duties of computer and information system and it varies a lot. Individuals those are responsible to control the flow of information are usually the CTO, MIS and IT directors etc. The CTO (Chief technology officer) is responsible to check the latest technology available and to evaluate them in determining that how these technologies can help the organization. The CTO usually reports to the CEO and other senior managers and present them the reports that are related to the technological aspect. The CTO is continuously involved in searching the best alternative as far as technology is concerned and then he/she develops a strategy and then sells it to the higher management. Another important person in the information arena is the director of MIS and he/she is responsible manage the information system (Laudon, 2008).These individuals are solely responsible for management of information system and they present and maintain a formal structure of information within the organization. An MIS is responsible for data secrecy and it's an important component for the overall risk management of the company. The important use of management information system should be both operational and informational as well. Similarly, an MIS helps the organization to comply with regulatory requirements. Besides generating reports an MIS is also used as a feedback tool and it provides feedback to all the related stake holders in the organization. Therefore, we can say that MIS is an important tool in the decision making process of the organization and it is nearly used by every forward looking organization. The use of information system is increasing and with the revolution of technology and the advent of management information system the decision making process is becoming simpler and easier. Contingency Planning systems Since all the information systems are an essential source of information and they meet the informational needs of the organization therefore they must be kept secret and privacy issues must be dealt with care with respect to information systems. In case of a data lost or system failure this valuable information might be tampered or it might be damaged. Therefore, a proper back up systems and contingent planning systems must be maintained by an organization is order to secure the data. Back up systems although are quite expensive in nature but they serve an important aspect of saving important data for long lasting using. Conclusion Thus we can conclude that information needs of organizations are increasing day by day and technology is becoming an integral part of every organization. An information system is definitely a formalized system and it supports the management a lot in a number of matters. Gathering of information, searching important information and then guarantying the proper flow of information within the departments is actual work of information systems. When a proper flow of information is used in an organization and the information flows from top to bottom that is from managerial level to operational level or from operational level to the managerial level that is bottom to top. Then this information flow is used in the decision making process and proper formalized reports are generated by the information systems that actually helps the management in the decision making process. If an information systems works in a turbulent environment and the flow of information is not clear then it might be possible that it might hurt the overall mission and vision of the organization as the reports generated by the information might not be accurate and since information system is implement in a chaotic environment then its possible that the informational flow at all levels might be hap hazard. However, in a dynamic environment a proper formalized approach is used and the information flow is either from top to bottom or bottom to top depending on the environment but it's highly possible that information needs of all the departments are met efficiently and effectively. Competition in today's world is increasing and people are changing their methodology to work and effective use of information systems is becoming a prudent technique in gaining competitive advantage. Moreover, the entire decision making process is based on the reports that are generated by the information system. Management demands reports on different aspects and the information system fulfills their needs by sending them formalized reports. The finance department is catered with reports on financial statements like balance sheets, income statements, cash flows etc (Okonkwo,2004). Similarly, the marketing departments needs information regarding buying patterns, researches etc. Thus, an information system sends formalized reports to all the departments. Bibliography Ahmed, N. (2008). Executive Information Systems: A Guide for Senior Manager and MIS Professionals [Internet]. Available from http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states/386257-1.html. [Accessed 5January 2009]. 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