W4-Policy, Team, and Information Technology Differences - Essay Example

W4-Policy, Team, and Information Technology Differences INTRODUCTION Designing a new set of information systems for an organization is a real challenge in today’s highly complex and diverse manner in which most companies operate, trying to maximize on customer satisfaction and enhancing profits with a simultaneous effort towards driving down costs. In trying to achieve this, companies constantly lay emphasis on smoothing several areas of work and emphasize the need to streamline organizational policies and procedures such that every individual responsibility within an organization can be performed in a clear and concise fashion using the least possible resources, effort and time. Information systems are used as a means to automate much of an organization’s information needs and provide a means to automate most of the repetitive tasks that are required to be performed by the organization (John G. Burch, 2001). Consider a modern organization such as an airline company, whose entire operations are managed through information systems and is used by every individual department and employee for performing their respective tasks. The sales department ensures that individual and corporate customers can check the various flight offers provided by the company and be able to book their flights in the easiest manner, which is often done online. This requires the maintenance of a website that can contain all the required information about flight offers apart from allowing customers to book flights, thereby registering all bookings in relevant data records. These bookings are then used the attendant at the check in counter to verify the customer’s details and enable them to board the flight. Additionally, the ground staff is aware of the baggage needs depending on the information stored in the system. also, the finance department analyzes the performance of the company by using the same information, albeit with a few modifications and analyses as required. The IT department of the company further ensures the smooth operation of the data needs of the various departments of the airline company and manages all requests from them for enhancements and issues. in this era of airline alliances and code sharing, companies have extended their information systems to communicate with one another so as to allow the customer to travel in a hassle free manner. The smooth performance of such complex systems that transcend across several departmental and organizational boundaries is an extremely complex scenario that requires a structured approach at all levels of operation within companies. This requires the formulation of suitable policies that can handle current requirements and ensure further enhancement to existing procedures. However, such policies also have to work towards resolving all possible discrepancies and issues that occur between personnel, departments as well on an enterprise level. The current paper is an attempt towards providing a few insights into ways in which such differences at various levels of IS (Information Systems) can be resolved in various suitable ways. ISSUES Information Systems have been around since the past 4 decades and their use has come to encompass increasing organizational tasks as their ease of use apart from the complexity of responsibilities that they could handle and automate enhanced in successive periods. The growth of the Internet over the past decade has spurred an active inclination towards web based operation wherein entire operations of the company are handled through web based application that interface with databases for maintain data records and handling all kinds of transactions. However, given the relatively new nature of corporate IS solutions, they are required to follow the same development path that other technologies such as Television or playback devices have undergone over several decades to reach the stage they are in today reaching billions of people across the world. As such, to dream of enabling IT systems to assist companies and their departments to assist in every possible task thus eliminating their dependence on paper based work requires an effort towards constant enhancement (Gary Grudnitski, 2004). Information systems were initially devised as tools that would help companies and individuals benefit from the capabilities that they could offer if used as part of daily tasks. Employees could enter all information they had to keep a record of in computer systems and could retrieve them at a later date. Additionally, as requirements grew and departments saw ways to which additional tasks could be performed, they wanted the systems to do more for them. People wanted the systems to possess additional features that would help them make analytical calculations and present the results. In recent years, things have become so advanced that such results are directly embedded into reports that reach straight into the reach of the management (Chris Mader, 2005). However, there have been several key issues with regards to using these systems. Issues arise right from the moment when companies begin to estimate the various needs of the information systems. As the solution begins to be implemented and various departments test the system to make it user friendly and acceptable, issues arise over storing data, conversions, calculations, data security, user access to various modules within the system, data transport between various departments etc. as the system begins to be implemented, people realize ways in which they can derive more from the system and work towards implementing them (Steven Alter, 1999). Finally, with the new system in full use, departments and companies are at loggerheads over errors in data, issues with data processes not being performed in a satisfactory manner as well as requests for several modifications to existing implementations. All these issues need to be resolved in a constructive manner right from the time when the idea to implement the system has been conceived. RESOLVING ISSUES Developing IS in an effective manner using the least effort required effective planning and control in several areas. One such requirement is in bringing cohesion between the Information technology skills required and the creative ability with which the system can be brought to use for a maximum user base. This is important as quite often, there tends to be a constant disconnect between the team building the system and the user base that would be using it. Lack of concurrency between both these groups early on leads to a buildup of gradual tension, which can be identified early on and resolved effectively, which is possible if both these groups are allowed to communicate and be a part of the planning and construction phases (Gene Dippel, William C. House, 2006). Secondly, the development needs to have knowledge of similar efforts undertaken by others and devote time to understand the efforts faced by them during the process. gaining a clear idea and in-depth knowledge over the issues faced must be discussed thoroughly with all the stakeholders. Apart from enabling everyone to provide effective solutions to prevent a recurrence of similar problems, it will also go a long way towards enabling everyone to understand the effort and planning it required to build such systems, thereby preventing departments and groups from accusing and finding fault with one another. Therefore, constant reviews and feedback need to be a part of the policy framework when developing IS solutions. The above aspect is further strengthened from the fact that the development team does not usually have the entire overview over the ways in which a certain department or enterprise would go about its tasks and responsibilities. Even when several meetings have taken place to educate the development team on the various tasks done, there are several instances where processes and procedures are perceived in an entirely different manner. lack of proper clarification often results in the development team assuring itself that it knows enough of what needs to be achieved and implements the solution according to perceived workflows, which eventually turns out to be a complete or partial disconnect from what was originally required by the users (Joaquim Filipe, 2000). Depending on the extent of work that needs to be done to correct the workflows, conflicts result. In case where attempts are made to change existing workflows in the name of improving them, lack of bringing all related departments that are influenced by such changes often leads to issues and conflicts arise. Additionally, in the quest to resolve issues, several solutions are proposed and things are not always agreed upon in entirety by every department. To resolve such problems, the development effort must spend a considerable amount of time initially to understand how every department or enterprise works. Thereupon, any proposed workflows must be clearly discussed before they are implemented. All along budget and expenditures must also be clearly analyzed. The groups that will eventually use the system must be allowed to debate the pros and cons of the proposed solution. This needs to be done individually as well as in a collective manner, wherein the time between these two approaches must be used to devise strategies that fulfill the needs of all stakeholders and no overhead is supposed to be added to their existing workload (Bernd Carsten Stahl, 2008). With a clear understanding as a result of this approach, the development effort will be in a clear frame of mind over the actual requirements and be in a position to deliver a better solution. In this modern age of information security, protecting the integrity of data is a very important issue. IS allow data to be secured by granting several levels of user and data access to individuals, departments and enterprises depending on predetermined requirements. Additionally, protecting data stored in data warehouses as well as securing data in transit across networks is also another area that IS developers have to deal with. Organizations’ increasing requirements to rely on wireless technologies and enabling mobile access to corporate data are adding to the existing vulnerability and the increasing need to protect data across these frontiers. Several protocols such as the WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) have been developed to provide all the requirements for mobile and wireless security (Gene Dippel, William C. House, 2006). in order to prevent and compromising or loss of data, systems should be checked thoroughly for compliance with modern security protocols and standards and steps must be taken to ensure that they fully adhere to all stipulated guidelines. Only then can organizations be in a real position to ensure the effective use of Information systems in the corporate world. REFERENCES 1. John G. Burch (2001), Information systems: theory and practice. University of California. 2. Gary Grudnitski (2004), Information systems. University of Michigan. 3. Chris Mader (2005), Information systems: technology, economics, applications, management. University of Michigan. 4. Steven Alter (1999), Information Systems: A Management Perspective. London: Addison Wesley. 5. Gene Dippel, William C. House (2006), Information systems: data processing and evaluation. University of Michigan. 6. Joaquim Filipe (2000), Enterprise information systems. New York: kluwer. 7. Bernd Carsten Stahl (2008), Information systems: critical perspectives. London: Routledge. Read More