Functional Systems - Case Study Example

Functional Systems Functional Systems Affiliation This paper is based on scenario of The Lynx Company, “which makes use of a functional system for their sales system. It takes the orders from their salesman in the field, processes those orders in the office, sends the information to accounting, and distributes the pick orders to the warehouse for picking and delivery. Without a doubt, the system has been a great success for The Lynx Company.” As demonstrated in figure1, functional systems are used to support one functional area within a specific organization by increasing its internal efficiency and effectiveness.

Basically, the Lynx Company is using the sales information system. In this scenario, this system collects sales data to help the company monitor sale transactions and to help the management understand the status of their organizations, whether their business is running in profit or in loss (Shah, 2009; Beaubien, 2013). The system has been a great success for the company and some of the reasons behind this success are outlined below:1. The system is designed for a particular purpose (e.g. Sales system).

So it specifically deals with sales functions and minimizes confusions with other departments. It is easy for the sales department to understand the functions and carry put tasks effectively using this system.2. As discussed above, this system is an isolated system. In this scenario, it is not connected to any other system such as human resource system or decision support system. So it is much easier for staff members to operate it independently without requiring the data from other departments.3. This information system provides an easy to use interface.

So it is easy for the staff members use this system for carrying out business functions.4. It is further divided into different levels, such as for accounting and calculations. So different people are using it for different purpose while they belong to a same department. 5. This is a web based system. So this system allows staff members to send requests from remote locations. In this scenario, this system establishes an effective connection among all the stakeholders. Some of the disadvantages of the system are outlined below:1.

In view of the fact that this functional system is based on a particular function (e.g. sales system) so the flow of work and information between other departments can suffer. For instance, it can be difficult to connect this system with other systems such as decision support system or human resource systems. Or in some cases there can emerge various data integration issues (Beaubien, 2013).2. Since this functional system operates over the Internet so information security can be a serious challenge.

The system can face security attacks from hackers. In addition, the system can also face virus attacks which can destroy the entire data (Henderson, 2013).3. Cost can be a serious problem. These kinds of systems are very costly to implement (Henderson, 2013).4. In order to perform accurate working there would be need to train the staff members. Since this system deals with money matters so a small error can cause serious loss for the company. In this scenario, they must train their staff members so it is an extra burden on the company (Henderson, 2013).5. Since the working of the company heavily relies on this system so in case of this system failure or crash the business can stop (Henderson, 2013).

ReferencesBeaubien, L. (2013). Transaction Processing, Functional Applications & Integration. Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://wwwai.wu-wien.ac.at/~koch/courses/bogazici/archive/mis-fall-2012/3_tps.pdfComputer Notes. (2013). Different Functional Information Systems . Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://ecomputernotes.com/mis/structure-and-classification/explain-briefly-the-different-functional-information-systemsHenderson, K. (2013). The Disadvantages of Information Technology in Business.

Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-information-technology-business-4020.htmlShah, N. (2009, October 12). Functional Information System. Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/nikunj1986/functional-isFunctional Systems (Sales Information System)Figure 1Image Source: (Beaubien, 2013)