Evaluation of Information Management Systems at Acer Incorporated Company - Assignment Example

Evaluation of Information Management/Systems at Acer Incorporated Company Introduction Acer incorporated company is a Taiwanese computer business. It was founded in 1976 by Stan Shih as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Currently Acer Incorporated Company leads in the manufacturer of tablets, notebooks, desktop and handheld computers from Taiwan. Recently, the company has shifted from being a dual OEM and brand company to being a company which deals with branding alone like the giant United States companies such as IBM. It now deals with marketing and distribution of its products and contracts other companies to manufacturers to do the production. The company deals in a wide range of selling services (Grimshaw, 2000). The main activities of the company include development, marketing, and selling of PC servers, business desktops, computer workstations, computer software and computer components. The company also provides other services like internet, repair of its products, electronic services, investing, construction and storage of information. The group operates in Taiwan, US and Europe and its products are exported to Africa, Europe, South and North America. Acer incorporated is part of the Acer group (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). This paper discusses the business information systems at Acer and how some of the systems have been used to resolve various problems at the company. In particular, the paper provides insights at how the company uses hardware technology and software for information technology, the knowledge management strategies at the company, risk management, systems development and change management at the Acer Company (Acer, 2010). The use of Business Information Management/Systems Management information systems are vital to an organization in the processes of tracking, storing, manipulation and distribution of information to the targeted people. It is essential in creation of functional units which are cohesive by streamlining the operations of a business. Management information system concept was conceptualized in the 1960s when managers of large businesses discovered that computerization of record keeping could result in an efficient process of running a business (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Data from management information systems are used by decision makers of the company to make sound decisions. In addition, management information systems reduce the costs of running a business through enhancing communication within and without the organization and reducing human labor. They also support business goals (both long term and short term) and are used in distribution of information which is complex. Computer hardware is an important part of a management information system in addition to the information to be tracked, entering and manipulation of data. Different aspects of business can be supported by the management information systems. These sectors include data storage, technology resources, human resources, accounting functions and financial functions (Acer, 2010). When internet is incorporated into these information management systems, more benefits are accrued. These include faster and wider marketing, innovative organization and outsourcing. Sellers using the internet reach many buyers within a short span of time. The internet makes the process of tracking and analyzing the needs of customers to be easier and on the other hand the buyers have a wide range of suppliers to choose from by easily comparing the services provided and their respective prices (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Organizational innovation is catalyzed by both intangible inputs like new software development and the intangible outputs like reduced time of delivery. These innovations in organization ultimately results in productivity growth through reduced coordination costs, communication costs and cost of processing. The changes also result in increased qualitative output by the company. It is easier to outsource using the internet since there are many companies that an organization can outsource from by comparing the services and goods they offer and respective prices (Grimshaw, 2000). a) The use of hardware technology and software for Information Management/Systems Computer networks allow linkage of PC based server to personal computers (Grimshaw, 2000). These networks are very flexible and perform better than mainframe systems and large minicomputers (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Acer created a client server network which allow client to act as servers and the servers can act as clients. Thus this design is highly adaptable. This client server network has enhanced autonomy among the Acer’s different units which makes them more competitive (Abramowicz, 2009). b) Knowledge Management Strategy Organizations use knowledge management for identification, representation, creation, enabling and distribution of experiences and insights. These experiences and insights constitute knowledge from individuals in an organization or from the practice and the processes of an organization. Knowledge management is used by companies for human resource management, as part of business strategy or in the information technology department (Abramowicz, 2009). Knowledge management is usually directed to improvement of performance of an organization, making a company have a competitive advantage over similar companies, encouraging innovation, experience sharing and for integration of the company (Acer, 2010). Knowledge management is vital in reducing levels of redundancy in an organization, saving the time that could otherwise be used in training employees, retention of intellectual and for quicker adaptation to the markets and environment which are continuously changing. In line with the company’s interest in people Acer developed ASPIRE program. The program is designed to train sales people (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). It is flexible and aimed at providing the company with competitive advantage over other companies dealing in computer branding in the changing markets. The program trains people in sales and marketing management, service management, supply chain management, organizational behavior, financial statements and finance (Grimshaw, 2000). This program was also devised as a retention strategy for the company, giving its employees knowledge advantage, attracting talented employees and having the best team in the computer branding industry. This knowledge management system helped the company to reduce costs and time of training of its employees. The program is customizable and is learners focused (Acer, 2010). The program was also tailored to meet the requirements of Acer Company. The program is both advantageous to the human resource management and for the organizational structure of the company. The program was developed in partnership with U21 Global. The program was launched in 2008 and the first batch of participants to graduate was in 2009 (Abramowicz, 2009). c) Risk management Risk management involves assessment of the risk, mitigation of the risk and evaluation and assessment. Many computer hardware industries are exposed to many risks apart from the hardware risks (Grimshaw, 2000). These include fluctuations in currency, political and economical instabilities in host countries, third party outsourcing, and lack of strong intellectual property rights laws. Acer’s operations in china are under several risks. The unresolved issues and politics between china and Taiwan present risks to Acer Incorporated Company (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Companies in Taiwan have been asked by the government to improve their corporate governance in order to save guard the interests and rights of shareholders in addition to enhancing development (Abramowicz, 2009). This follows the scandals that have rocked many companies in Taiwan recently. Strategies of managing risks at the company targets international supply chain and logistics involved. The flexibility in the control of inventory by the company has drastically lowered the risks of the company. The flexibility was achieved by abandoning the single vendor policy and shifting to outsourcing of its production sector to many different suppliers and vendors (Acer, 2010). There is a crisis mechanism at the company which was set up by the risk management team of the company which is charged with minimizing damages in case of occurrence of a crisis. This minimization of risks is aimed at ensuring continued management of the company during and after potential crisis. In addition, the company’s operations are in line with the policy between Taiwan and china. d) System Development Acer values its customers highly. To this end they developed a system called InstantSupport that has increased customer satisfaction and at the same time cutting the support costs for the company. The system is expected to help the company provide support services to its customers through the Web. The system is interactive and diagnostic and does not require a person to intervene in the process of resolving customer support issues (Abramowicz, 2009). The system offers Acer a competitive advantage over other related companies in the customer support services. By developing this system, Acer resolved the low resolution rates which characterized the previous self service systems which lacked diagnostic and interactive services (Bocij, Chaffey, Hickie & Greasley, 2006). The system also takes advantage of cross selling opportunities which was missing in the previous self service systems. The IstantSupport system is able to capture customer behavior matrix which can be acted upon during research and development and during marketing. This part was also missing in the self service systems which were previously used by the company. InstantSupport system also allows creation of new knowledge to be based on meaningful statistical feedback from the customers rather using intuition which characterized the previously self service systems. The system was instrumental in provision of customer insight and increasing online sales. The insights from customers are vital to the company in developing competitive products and strategizing on marketing (Acer, 2010). This system is more advantageous than the search engines, chat bots and menu driven systems. Search engines are usually able to handle a single query at a time as opposed to InstantSupport which is both interactive and diagnostic. Chat bots on the4 other hand lack the diagnostic ability and are limited to question and answer. The menu driven systems’ interactivity is minimal and are inflexible even though they offer diagnostic services. InstantSupport deployment resulted in 55% deflection in support contract, 584% returns on investment and identification, resolution and communication of issues related to customers are effectively handled using the information gotten from customer behavior metrics in addition to reducing customer support costs. Therefore, the system has been of great advantage to Acer Incorporated Company. InstantSupport was developed for Acer by noHold which develops sophisticated systems related to virtual agent technology (Bocij, Chaffey, Hickie & Greasley, 2006). e) Change Management Acer was very slow in realizing the benefits of information management systems as a way of increasing efficiency in its operations. In the 1990s Acer established a flexible and a low cost approach in the development of its global production networks (GPN). Their decentralized client server model was flexible and responded faster to the changes which were taking place in technology and markets. Up to late 1990s, Acer’s external communication still relied on informal information systems. The firm was forced to reorganize into different product lines which saw it begin to invest in formal information systems. These investments in information technology networks were to be used to resolve the weaknesses in the supply chain management and the control of inventory (Acer, 2010). The decentralized model of business at Acer was used in the development of information systems where each business unit developed its own information system that was fit for its operations. This made the problems at the firm even worse since the top management could not tell what was happening at the individual business units. Exchange of information was also difficult between different business units. Thus inventory was increased and it was difficult to resolve the problems quickly (Curtis & Cobham, 2008). Strategic management and financial monitoring was difficult and since there was no sharing of resources among the units the costs of running the business was heightened. Acer begun introducing internet based information systems in 1998 to its business of PC. The introduction of internet based management systems have been focused on the relations with customers, supply chain management Acer’s GPN rationalization. To improve the supply chain management Acer has decided to put in place an i2 supply chain management. To implement these changes, Acer restructured its organization to establish to establish Acer digital Services Group. The company adapted a new channel business model in early 2000s which enables the company to outsource and encourages the joining of other suppliers and partners to Acer. This model has increased the profitability of the company. Conclusion The success of Acer Incorporated Company is credited to various business information systems at the company. Of much help have been systems designed to provide customer support services such as InstantSupport and the knowledge management systems such as the ASPIRE program. For instance the InstantSupport has greatly increased sales returns for the company due to customer satisfaction provided by this system. Thus for any company intending to go into global business it has to learn from Acer Incorporated company and embrace the use of business information systems especially those using the internet. References Abramowicz, W. 2009. Business Information Systems: 12th International Conference, BIS 2009, Poznan, Poland, April 27-29, 2009, Proceedings. New York: Springer Publishers. Acer. 2010. Home. Retrieved 16th May 2010 from http://www.acer.com/worldwide/selection.html Bocij, P., Chaffey, D., Hickie, S. & Greasley, A. 2006. Business information systems: technology, development and management for the e-business, 3rd Ed. New York: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Curtis, G. & Cobham, D. 2008. Business information systems: analysis, design and practice, 6th Ed. New York: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Grimshaw, D. 2000. Bringing geographical information systems into business, 2nd Ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Read More