Standard Army Maintenance System-Enhanced - Assignment Example

Computer Sciences And Information Technology Computer Sciences And Information Technology Brief Introduction Of The System The information system that I am working on is the Standard Army Maintenance System-Enhanced (SAMS-E). This is a management information system for the US Army that ensures sustainable management of Army supplies, logistics, combat services, army equipment, as well as field and sustainment. This system is useful for enterprise resource planning in the US Army and helps the Army to manage over one million American soldiers around the world on various missions. The SAMS-E system works efficiently on Windows 7 platform and uses an Oracle database. Some of the hardware equipment associated with the system includes AIT equipment, host, printer, and COTS Notebooks. The main goal of the SAMS-E system is to automate processes such as unit level reporting, unit level maintenance supply, and issuing reports on field and sustainment support. The system supports different elements of unit level maintenance as well as shop production roles of sustainment and Field maintenance. Advantages And Disadvantages Of SAMS-E The SAMS-E system has various benefits and disadvantages like any other information system. One of the most significant benefits of the system is decentralization of management processes I the US Army. The system allows for top management to exercise their managerial responsibilities and monitor army operations at lower levels of the structure. With the system, the army is able to manage various units scattered around the world from one central place. This has come with various other benefits to the army because it ensures accountability of leaders in the army. The system is able to provide timely delivery of information and reports on various issues thus facilitating management processes. Another advantage emerging from the system is facilitating coordination of various specialized army projects and decision-making. The system ensures efficiency and consistency of decision-making processes regarding management to of army equipment. With this system in place, the top leadership of the army will be aware of emerging problems and issues in various departments and units in various regions, in the world and be in a position to make appropriate and relevant decisions using the information available in the system. One other advantage of the SAMS-E system is integration of various units and processes in the army. This system will greatly enhance the organizational structure of the army by integrating management of various resources such as the army equipment, facilities, funds, and personnel. The system will also integrate planning processes, coordination and execution of different logistics in the army, in a single system. This integration process is very instrumental in improving managerial processes and facilitating interaction of various army units and departments for the benefit of the entire organization. SAMS-E has various drawbacks. One such demerit of the system is the deployment costs (Johnson, Libicki, & Treverton, 2003). The SAMS-E is a very expensive system that has taken up many resources in the development process in terms of time and finances. The system is very large, complicated and will require highly skilled people to operate and manage it efficiently. This implies that the army will incur additional costs in training users of the system. The system will also make it necessary for the army to change its operations and structure in order to accommodate the system. This is likely to be uncomfortable for some leaders in the army and may be inclined towards resisting the new changes that may come along with the system. Some department heads, for instance, may be required to submit their data to the system for integration with data from other departments. This may imply that some of the responsibilities of lower level managers is taken off from them. The other demerit of the system is dependency (Oz, 2009). One the system is installed, it takes over most of the military leadership functions and management responsibilities. The system is very dependable and functional, and this is likely to lead to high dependency on the system. Dependency in the system can lead to serious problems in case of system failures. System failures are likely to occur due to data overload, system attack by viruses, internet problems among other threats to information systems. Overdependence on the system is will be problematic in such situations because there will be total failure of management functions. Another drawback of the system is redundancy or duplication of roles. Once the system is implemented, it will either lead to redundancy or job losses (Oz, 2009). This is because the system will take up most of the responsibilities of junior managers in the organization. Responsibilities such as coordination and decision-making will be left entirely for the system and senior leaders in the organization. Such junior managers who had significant power prior to implementing the system will be forces to leave their jobs, or continue occupying their positions, hence redundancy. Recommendations The SAMS-E system is very functional and reliable. There are however several recommendations that can be implemented to enhance system functionality. One useful recommendation, for instance is to improve compatibility of the system with other Operating Systems (OS). The system is currently compatible with Windows 7 operating system. While Windows 7 is the most popular operating system in the market, it has its demerits such as vulnerability to virus attack, which may compromise the system (Heijden, 2009). Enhancing compatibility with other operating systems such as Apple’s Mac OS and Linux operating system can go a long way in safeguarding system maintenance. With this kind of compatibility, some of the most important elements of the system can be installed on dependable Operating systems like Linux and Mac OS, while the rest of the system functionality can be run on windows OS. Another significant recommendation that can improve the system is making it user friendly by enhancing the Graphical User Interface. The system is currently complicated thus requiring more time spent on training users to manage the system. This can be improved by making the interface more accessible, friendly and easier to understand (Heijden, 2009). This will require streamlining the records in the system with manual records in place in use prior to implementing the system. This will make the system more familiar to the users because it will have a similar look to the manual records they have been used to keeping in the organization. Finally, the system can also be improved by making it more secure. Security is very important in order to secure data and information stored in the system. Security in the system can be implemented by introducing various levels of users who have limits of access restricted only to their roles. Passwords and a biometric system can also be introduced in the system to authorize access to specific functions. References Heijden, J. G. M. (2009). Designing management information systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Johnson, S. E., Libicki, M. C., & Treverton, G. F. (2003). New Challenges, New Tools for Defense Decisionmaking. Santa Monica: RAND. Oz, E. (2009). Management information systems. 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