Clarion School for Boys - Case Study Example

Clarion School for Boys: Case Study Clarion School for Boys: Case Study Clarion School for Boys isfacing numerous issues and challenges related to its information system. These issues include lack of effective implementation of the system, limited employee skills, high maintenance costs and lack of congruency of the system to the goals and objectives of the institution. It is therefore recommended for the board to approve training programs for the organization to ensure that employees are equipped with adequate skills and knowledge.

Through these recommendations the institution will make effective use of the information system for achievement of its goals and objectives. IT issues Clarion School for Boys is apparently facing several issues with its information system. The major issue in this case study is the effectiveness in the adoption and implementation of the information system. Even through the school’s information system is being used for various functionalities, it is evident from the case that employees are lacking adequate skills and knowledge in the use of the information system.

The main functions that the information system within the school is serving are enhancement and facilitation communication and exchange of data on students and staff within the school’s departments. Nonetheless, without adequate skills, the employees within the school are not likely to effectively and efficiently utilize the advantages of the information system. It is argued that it is through adequate knowledge and skills on information and communication systems that employees within organizations and institutions are able to make maximal use of information system (Davison & Deeks, 2007).

Within Clarion School for Boys, the IT plan does not match with the goals and objectives of the school. This is the reason why the board of directors is worried about the effectiveness of the information system and requires that an evaluation is conducted to determine the level into which it is beneficial to the school. An information system must be able to provide solutions which are worthy the investment that is put on the purchase of hardware and software in addition to the costs of implementing the system within an organization (Wilson, 2008).

Because a lot of financial resources have been invested into Clarion School for Boys, it is evident that the benefits are not congruent with this investment. This is because the goals and objectives that the schools aim at achieving are not being facilitated effectively by the information system. More significantly is the fact that the school is spending a lot of money in the maintenance of the information system. This discloses that the benefits that the school is attaining form the information system are less than the costs that it is incurring in the system.

This issue of high maintenance costs would have emanated from poor implementation of the system and lack of vendor support. IT Priorities The IT priorities within Clarion School for Boys include evaluating the information system to determine if it is advantageous to the school and whether it meets the initial expectations. This seems to be a move through which the board of directors will be able to make decisions on the need for replacing the information system with a new one. In addition, the school has prioritized the need for reducing the costs that are associated with the information system such as maintenance costs.

It is argued that the IT priorities of organizations, agencies and institutions should prioritize on goals and objectives (Wilson, 2008). This means that the application of the system must be able to meet the needs of the organization and hence drive it into achieving its mission (Law & Perez, 2009). Clarion School for Boys should prioritize on the need for improving the skills and knowledge of its employees in the use of the information system. This will help the organization to effectively use the information system to meet its goals and objective and hence make the system worthy the investment that was input on it.

Young’s Letter Young’s letter reflects upon the challenges that the school is facing in the implementation and application of the information system to meet goals and objectives. This is demonstrated by the concerns that are highlighted on the letter including the role of the information system in meeting both the short term and long term objectives and goals of the institution. The letter also represents a genuine concern about the gains that the organization is achieving from the information system.

Nonetheless the letter fails to highlight on all the problems, challenges and constraints that the school is facing. For example the issue of employee skills has not been highlighted within the agenda in Young’s letter. Recommendations for the Board It is recommended for the board to utilize the evaluation report for the information system effectively for making choices or decisions. It is explained that evaluation of an information system should be based on its ability to effectively facilitate achievement of organizational or institutional needs.

This evaluation should be used by managers and executives in making informed decisions for improvements (Davison & Deeks, 2007). It is also recommended for the board of directors to approve training programs for employees. This will provide them with adequate skills for effective use of the information system. In addition, the board should base its decisions on the various constraints that the school is facing. For example the advantages and disadvantages of the information system should be used to determine the prioritization in investment of the institution’s resources on IT.

Conclusion In the light of the above analysis of the case study, it is conclusive that Clarion School for Boys is facing numerous issues and challenges related to its information system. These issues include lack of effective implementation of the system, limited employee skills, high maintenance costs and lack of congruency of the system to the goals and objectives of the institution. It is therefore recommended for the board to approve training programs for the organization to ensure that employees are equipped with adequate skills and knowledge to promote the use of the information system for achievement of goals and objectives.

References Davison, J., & Deeks, D. (2007). Measuring the potential success of information system implementation. Measuring Business Excellence, 11(4), 75-81. Law, W. K., & Perez, K. (2009). Cross-cultural implementation of information system. Hershey, United States, Hershey Wilson, T. (2008). Overcoming the barriers to the implementation of information system strategies. Journal of Information Technology, 6(1), 39-44