Information Resource Management, New Technology and Information Networks - Assignment Example

EFFECTS OF INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NEW TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION NETWORKS IN THE SURVIVAL OF AN ORGANISATION Name Course Lecturer 25th April, 2012. Introduction Information resource is a wide term which consists of items such as the printed materials, information kept in electronic mode and microforms. Management of these resources revolves around managing the resources themselves, machines and technology used in manipulation and the manpower used to distribute the information. Management of information has effects on various sections of the organization. Technology will enhance an organizations ability to be creative and innovative in that new products may be introduced and this will lead to creation of new market opportunities which were not there before. This innovativeness will give an organization a competitive advantage over others in the market. There would be improvement in the services offered by the organization to its customers. This occurs from the fact that information will be relayed faster and by convenient means. New technology will enable the customers to access the organization’s information from anywhere anytime; this will ease the need of contacting the organization on certain accessible issues (Mouge & Contractor, 2003, pp. 78-90). Effect of information system on strategic decision making Information system allows those taking part in strategic decision making direct access to wide range of information from all over the world. They can get ideas from the publications and other materials from the world wide website that can aid in decision making. It also enables easy retrieval of all the materials stored and offers a better way of storing them. The introduction of expert systems has enabled creative ideas to be developed and solution to problems is effectively done by these expert systems relieving the strategic leader of this functions. Information system allows easy and efficient communication with other stakeholders in and outside the organization when gathering information for decision making. This is done through the internet and the intranet. Knowledge management is a tool which is used in by an organization to ensure better performance and efficient delivery of services. The benefits of knowledge include: Availability of vast knowledge in various fields enables the management to make informed decisions and the presentation of the same in a better way which will lead to better performance of the organization. Knowledge management enables quicker and efficient customer service since better way of communication will be devised. Knowledge management enables organized keeping of information for easy retrieval whenever needed this eliminates the delays in customer service (Sloan, 2012, pp. 87). Organization’s ability to implement business continuity planning Business continuity planning involves laying down strategies that help to restore the operations of the organization to normality when exposed to risk. An organization achieves this through. This entails ensuring that all organization’s assets are covered by an insurance cover to safeguard against misfortunes. An organization can also protect important records by employing relevant security measures and evaluating the impacts brought about by occurrence of certain events. By putting in place relevant risk management procedures, an organization is able to curb loss of data hence ensuring continuity in case of misfortunate events. Due to rising cases of data destroying agents, there arises a need to have data back up to enable continuity of an organization’s activities. Backup involves copying files to other destinations to be used in case of destruction of original copies. This is where the operations of a system are transferred to a subsidiary system due to detected failure. The possible failure of a system may be detected automatically by the system or a person in charge of the network. The transfer of operations to another system ensures continuity of operations in an organization and consequently satisfaction of the end user (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000. Pp, 473-492). Human resource management needs of an organization Human resource management is a process of watching over the human capital in the organization. Human resource management system aids in activities such as recruitment of staff, analysis of their performance in the organization and improving their ability to serve the customers. This will lead to reduction in hiring cost of staff and an increase in overall performance. Due to the organization’s need to carry out survey on its employees, human resource management information system is of great significance. This allows fast acquisition of information from the employees on policies that they feel should be implemented and therefore raising their morale since they’ll feel part of the organization due to their contribution. Human resource management system enhances the employee’s self dependency while working since he/she is able to acquire information needed by downloading whenever he/she requires it. This eliminates the need to make phone calls to people who knows the information thereby reducing interference hence faster performance of the employee is achieved (Fulk & Collins-Jarvis, 2001, pp, 127). Ethical needs of an organization Ethics in an organization depicts the code of conduct that should be followed by the members. The organization needs this for the following reasons. To explain it to the external stakeholders on what to expect of the organization and defend all the decisions they make. Also an organization based on good ethical behavior will be in a better position to resolve conflicts whenever they arise because they believe in a common way of handling matters. Information system helps in identification of the ethical risks that may occur during the operations in the organization and also in the analysis of the methods to be used in implementation of corrective measures (Griffin, 2000, pp. 65). Impact new system integration can bring to UNICOLXL’s Human resource management and health & safety All computer operations ought to be performed proficiently and those roles that seem to be incompatible should be distinguished from based on the extent of practicability required. The management team should aim at ensuring that all system operations are authorized to conduct the core business needs. Also based on the operations and maintenance of IS all data inputs ought to be valid, accurate as well as complete. The financial stationery ought to be stores in a secure place and a person who wants to use it should account for it. The outputs derived after input and processing should be precise, complete and it should be distributed to the intended recipients only. In case an individual wants to use the system backs he should account for its use and the backups ought to be readable. IS should provide services that are consistent with the core business needs of the organization (Sacca 2009, p. 40). Based on the operation and maintenance of all information systems there ought to be a central point for resolving, reporting and recording incidents as well as operational failure that may occur in the system. Since most data in information system are stored in multiple user databases, there ought to be reliability as well as availability of the data when required. Information security management Corporate data, networks as well as computer system seems to be important aspects of a business. These three aspects of security are vital in enabling the effective functioning of almost all departments in an organization. In essence information security encompasses all those controls that are put in place to make certain business continuity and diminish the impact of the risks to be business if they occur (Currie 1999, p. 45). Information security management aims at ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, availability and no repudiation of information. Failure of one of aims of the information security management can have an adverse effect on the other aims (see appendix fig 2). An organization information security policy is the main building block in creating a valuable information security management. The policy ought to be addressed and made available to all those who are tasked with the duties of information security. All operations that are contained in the system ought to be auditable. Information system controls ought to be auditable and they should also be developed in such a way that they are apposite to the type as well as the risk that it should manage (see appendix fig 7). Security within information systems ought to be given based on the whether an employee is on contract basis or permanent, the type of job one performs and the security measures should be addressed upon recruitment as well as during firing. Therefore security measures of all information system ought to be addressed at all stages even during the employment period of an employee. All ICT facilities ought to be based in secure areas within the organization so as to enhance their security. In addition to been placed in a secure place all ICT facilities should be guarded against environmental risks such as fire. The management team ought to implement measures to prevent as well as detect when new software have been introduced to the system. Access to computer as well as data stored in the computer ought to be controlled and they should only be used to perform the core business activities only. So as to enhance security there ought to be business continuity plans in place so as to guard the core business processes within the organization from interference failures as well as natural disasters. Information security in an organization ought to be reviewed on a regular basis so as to ensure that there is compliance and effectiveness (Pollack 2006, p. 70). 1) Rationale behind implementation of replacement integrated system Integrated system brings together all the components of the subsystem into one unit which can be managed from one location. This is where both the students and staff will be able to use the same data model. Implementation of this system allows easier monitoring since all the subsystems will be integrated in the sense that data entry in one component will be reflected throughout the whole system, this would curb wrong data input by those who want to defraud the college. The system would enhance faster service delivery since the whole system is interlinked which allows fast retrieval of information .in addition, adoption of the system reduces greatly the cost of administration in terms of staff for monitoring the system and facilities used. The driving force to the need of this system is the increasing amount of data that needs to be accommodated and processed. It is required to contain all the information about the students and staff and all the details of each category. This will eliminate the need to consult other departments since data will be easily available from one location ensuring faster delivery of services and eventually end user satisfaction. There is also need to eliminate errors that are associated with the current system. An integrated system ensures that minimal errors are made since this will be reflected throughout the system and can be easily detected. 2) Weaknesses of the existing website The current system is prone to hacking, this is evident in that students are able to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems, this calls for a system which allows students to do their research only and passwords requirement for all the sensitive sites for access. There are also several subsystems in the college which gives room for manipulation of the data for example, Students Result System since it is different from other systems can give way to student collusion with the staff administering it to manipulate the data and go unnoticed. There is also inefficient way of communication in that the decisions of the board regarding student results have to be recorded by the registrar and the administrator who writes a letter to the student. This is rather cumbersome since all the information can be uploaded in an integrated system and will be accessed easily. Introducing new technology such as face book will ensure that the information is passed fast since the students have access to mobile applications that support the same. Recommendations To ensure its information system security, UNICOLXL should carry out risk assessment to establish areas prone to interruption and use strong passwords that are not easily guessed by the users of the system; this may be done by combination of both numbers and letters in designing the password and all the sensitive systems should have the passwords which would ensure unauthorized access is denied. In addition data encryption can be done so that it appears in a way that can’t be interpreted therefore ensuring that those who access the data are entitled to do so by insertion of passwords. Proper back up mechanisms should be put in place to ensure restoration of the functionality of the system in case of sudden failures. Back up can be in form of a hard drive to be installed in case of failure or an alternative system which performs the same task. Thorough monitoring of the system should be done regularly to ensure that all the information getting in and out of the system is valid. This can be aided by use of firewall protection which would require authentication to access some sites. Furthermore staff training and education will come in handy in helping them monitoring the system and quick delivery of services eliminating curiosity of seeking a shortcut to lengthy processes. The college may also establish physical security measures such as controlling the physical entry of unauthorized people into system administration rooms. Alarm systems and surveillance cameras should be used to monitor who enters the systems rooms without authority. Virus infected computers malfunctions and can lead to distribution of information to unintended parties which can be risky since confidential information can leak out this can be avoided by use of antivirus (Giddens, 2005, pp. 32-56). 3 Advice to UNICOLXL"s management Among the policies that UNCOLXL should put in place include involvement of every user of the system. Every student and staff should be made aware of the system protection procedures and stringent penalties put in place to for those who violate the rules. Managers and other heads of the school should ensure adherence accordingly. There should be proper segregation of duties among the staff. More so, UNCOLXL should put in place passwords to the systems which are able to check networking that will safeguard organizations data. Natural calamities may strike such as tsunami, earthquakes, cyclones and floods and can cause major disruptions and damage to networks and power supplies this causes a major threat to any organization. UNCOLXL also need to put in place systems that can run on different infrastructures regardless of whether they are private or public. They need to employ various infrastructural users that can withstand business robustness such as Netflix so that the operations run smoothly at all times. Also, the organization should ensure that laws are enforced to govern company IT properties by not ejecting items like flash disks or installing things that might crash the system. This can be done by assigning different responsibilities to each member which will eliminate the risk of collusion since the process is broken down to smaller units handled by different people. UNCOLXL should realize that cloud computing systems are also prone risks that faced earlier data centers. To ensure business continuity, the college must ensure put in place back up facilities for retrieval of information (Desanctis & Poole, 1994, pp. 143-145). Corporate data, networks as well as computer system seems to be important aspects of a business. These three aspects of security are vital in enabling the effective functioning of almost all departments in an organization. In essence information security encompasses all those controls that are put in place to make certain business continuity and diminish the impact of the risks to be business if they occur (Currie 1999, p. 45). Information security management aims at ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, availability and no repudiation of information. Failure of one of aims of the information security management can have an adverse effect on the other aims Figure 2: Rich picture of the problem scenario An organization information security policy is the main building block in creating a valuable information security management. The policy ought to be addressed and made available to all those who are tasked with the duties of information security. All operations that are contained in the system ought to be auditable. Information system controls ought to be auditable and they should also be developed in such a way that they are apposite to the type as well as the risk that it should manage. Figure 7: Secondary level system: Planning relevant computerized information and human activity systems http://www.spw-law.co.uk/blog-posts/copyright-in-photographs-new-case-law.htm The management team ought to implement measures to prevent as well as detect when new software have been introduced to the system. Access to computer as well as data stored in the computer ought to be controlled and they should only be used to perform the core business activities only. So as to enhance security there ought to be business continuity plans in place so as to guard the core business processes within the organization from interference failures as well as natural disasters. Information security in an organization ought to be reviewed on a regular basis so as to ensure that there is compliance and effectiveness (Pollack 2006, p. 70). The current system is prone to hacking, this is evident in that students are able to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems, this calls for a system which allows students to do their research only and passwords requirement for all the sensitive sites for access. There are also several subsystems in the college which gives room for manipulation of the data for example, Students Result System since it is different from other systems can give way to student collusion with the staff administering it to manipulate the data and go unnoticed. There is also inefficient way of communication in that the decisions of the board regarding student results have to be recorded by the registrar and the administrator who writes a letter to the student. This is rather cumbersome since all the information can be uploaded in an integrated system and will be accessed easily. Introducing new technology such as face book will ensure that the information is passed fast since the students have access to mobile applications that support the same (Fulk & Collins-Jarvis 2001, pp, 87-123). To ensure its information system security, UNICOLXL should carry out risk assessment to establish areas prone to interruption and use strong passwords that are not easily guessed by the users of the system; this may be done by combination of both numbers and letters in designing the password and all the sensitive systems should have the passwords which would ensure unauthorized access is denied. In addition data encryption can be done so that it appears in a way that can’t be interpreted therefore ensuring that those who access the data are entitled to do so by insertion of passwords. Proper back up mechanisms should be put in place to ensure restoration of the functionality of the system in case of sudden failures. Back up can be in form of a hard drive to be installed in case of failure or an alternative system which performs the same task. Thorough monitoring of the system should be done regularly to ensure that all the information getting in and out of the system is valid. This can be aided by use of firewall protection which would require authentication to access some sites. Furthermore staff training and education will come in handy in helping them monitoring the system and quick delivery of services eliminating curiosity of seeking a shortcut to lengthy processes. The college may also establish physical security measures such as controlling the physical entry of unauthorized people into system administration rooms. Alarm systems and surveillance cameras should be used to monitor who enters the systems rooms without authority. Virus infected computers malfunctions and can lead to distribution of information to unintended parties which can be risky since confidential information can leak out this can be avoided by use of antivirus. 4). Impact new system integration can bring to UNICOLXL’s Human resource management and health & safety The establishment of New system integration in UNCOLXL will help in creating HRM activities for instance strategies as job analysis, team building, work redesign and change management. These aspects will serve the principle of enhancing the quality of performance and capacity of the company and its workforce which will further ensure that HR personnel are proactively meeting the organizations needs and requirements. Since HR is increasingly becoming a very essential objective of executive actions and planning, it also acts as an integral option of management than ever. Nonetheless, in health and safety, the major benefit of maintaining a safe working environment is very considerable and essential. From saving potential injuries from occurring to the staff, government compliance, cost and efficiency implications UNCOLXL organization will improve its occupational health and safety. The aspects arising from comprehensive incident maintenance, reduced risk, reduced costs and improved productivity will enable the organization to finally meet its goals and objectives. All computer operations ought to be performed proficiently and those roles that seem to be incompatible should be distinguished from based on the extent of practicability required. The management team should aim at ensuring that all system operations are authorized to conduct the core business needs. Also based on the operations and maintenance of IS all data inputs ought to be valid, accurate as well as complete. The financial stationery ought to be stores in a secure place and a person who wants to use it should account for it. The outputs derived after input and processing should be precise, complete and it should be distributed to the intended recipients only. In case an individual wants to use the system backs he should account for its use and the backups ought to be readable. IS should provide services that are consistent with the core business needs of the organization (Sacca 2009, p. 40). Based on the operation and maintenance of all information systems there ought to be a central point for resolving, reporting and recording incidents as well as operational failure that may occur in the system. Since most data in information system are stored in multiple user databases, there ought to be reliability as well as availability of the data when required. Conclusion In conclusion, planning being a very crucial element of an organization, the establishment of effective information management will help in an organized and well structured planning process since the information will be available at the right time and in the required form. This will facilitate faster decision making and planning which in effect lead to success in the organization. On the other hand, information resources which are not which are not well organized will lead to difficult retrieval causing delays in planning. Information systems will help in monitoring the performance of other resources in an organization. Considering the human resource aspect, information system avails the staff turnover rate which will indicate the management of human resource in the organization whereby corrective measures can be taken incase high rate to make sure that the organization increases its output. Finally, managing information resources will enable the implementation of the relevant protection measures to safeguard against damages this includes controlling access to organization’s records and also information retrieval techniques that will ensure continuity if business in case of risk events. An organization with good management of information resources has the ability to lay down the rules and regulation to govern the information systems including penalties for non compliance thereof. References Buckland, M., 1991, Information and Information Systems, London: Greenwood Publishing, pp. 23-45 Caroll J.M. 1999, Scenario-based Design: Envisioning Work and Technology in System Development, NY: Wiley, pp, 69-80 Currie, W., 1999, Rethinking Management Information Systems: Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp, 43-83 Desanctis, G. & Poole, M. S. 1994. Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory: Organization Science. Volume 5, pp. 121-147 Fulk, J. & Collins-Jarvis, L. 2001, Wired meetings: Technological mediation of organizational gatherings. In L.L. Putnam & F.M. Jablins (Eds.), New handbook of organizational communication (2nd ed., pp 624-703). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Pp, 87-123 Giddens, A. 2005, The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. University of, Berkeley, CA: California Press, pp. 32-56 Griffin, E. 2000, A first look at communication theory (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, pp. 209-210, pp, 65-78 Maznevski, M. L. & Chudoba, K. M. 2000, Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness, Organization Science. 11, 473-492 Mouge, P. & Contractor, N. 2003, Theories of Communication Networks, Cambridge: Oxford University Press, pp, 78-90 Sloan Plumb Wood 2012, Patents County Court gives non-binding opinion, 20th April 2012, Tanis, M. 2003, Cues to Identity in CMC. The impact on Person Perception and Subsequent Interaction Outcomes: Thesis University of Amsterdam. Enschede: Print Partners Ipskamp, pp, 89-100 Read More