Amalgamated Landscaping and Garden Care - Business Information System - Case Study Example

Title: Business information system: Developing business information solutions: Amalgamated Landscaping and Garden Care Student name: Student ID: Institution: Date: 31/05/2013 Introduction Information is data that has been processed so as to be meaningful (Oz and Jones, 2008). This requires a process that is used to produce information which involves collecting data and then subjecting them to a transformation process in order to create information. A system can be defined as a collection of components that work together towards a common goal. The objective of a system is to receive inputs and transform these into outputs. The role of the information systems is to provide information to management which will enable them to make decisions which ensure that the organization is controlled. The organization will be in control if it is meeting the needs of the environment. In relation to control systems can be classified into open-loop and closed-loop (Bocij, Greasley & Hickie 2008). A business information system is a group of interrelated components that work collectively to carry out input, processing, output, storage and control actions in order to convert data into information products (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). These are then used to support forecasting, planning, control, coordination, decision making and operational activities in an organization (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). Information systems may be divided into two categories of systems that support an organization’s day-to-day business activities and systems that support managerial decision making. Operations Information Systems (OIS) are generally concerned with process control, transaction processing and communications while Management Information Systems (MIS) are concerned with providing support to managerial decision making. Description of the Business A landscaping and garden maintenance business can be very successful and also profitable since there are plenty of homeowners who don't have the time, energy or skills to take care of their yards and design garden features. The business can invest in the basic gardening services like mowing, weeding and fertilizer application as well as the work of a landscaping designer, do advanced installations and planting1. The new business will also be successful since there is previous experience and skills from the previous two businesses i.e. the contract landscaping and Tina’s garden care. Landscaping and garden care services provide similar but distinct services (Martin 1989). According to Martin (1989), the two differ, however, in terms of the individual expertise necessary to enter each industry and in the means by which the services are marketed. With some companies, combining both services capitalizes the professional skills of the business personnel and better serves the business's targeted markets. The business will have to find out the target market to help it stand out in the competition, be ready to work in extreme conditions especially on landscaping which requires a bit of hard physical work, purchase the necessary equipment like mowers, trimmers and other manual tools needed, advertise to get customers, contact relevant government office to acquire a license, insurance cover for vehicles and hiring personnel for the office work which include accounting and finance. Landscaping firms are often involved in contrasting but related services. The landscaping and garden care firms deal primarily with the care and maintenance of lawns, trees, and shrubs that are in place. Both garden care and landscaping services are seasonal in nature (Martin 1989). The Key Information Required to Successfully Operate the Business Market Before starting a landscaping and garden service business, it is important to develop a marketing plan. This basically represents an outline of possible customers of the business and should also include the information on the venture2. The area selected should support the proposed venture; existing market niche which is yet to be identified but can be exploited; the level of competition; the trend of income and growth; pricing strategies that are competitive and the population of the current customer base. Market data such as household income, the number of household in the area, and number of similar businesses or competitors can be obtained from the county government offices or public libraries (Dignum 1997). The existing competitors should be contacted to find out the services they offer and the price charged for the services. Landscapes and gardeners that provide similar services will offer competition to the Amalgamated landscaping and garden services business. The customers who will prefer to do the landscaping and gardening on their own in order to save money are the other people who will offer competition (Lundeberg, Goldkuhl & Nilsson 1981). Lundeberg, Goldkuhl & Nilsson (1981) further argues that, in order to compete successfully with similar service providers in the market, the business must invest in additional services such as: rubbish removal, fertilizer application to plants and lawns, cutting and removing trees and shrubs and basic landscaping. At first the competition for the services that the business will offer will be driven by price. It will therefore be important to give great service at a low service in order to establish a customer base (Lundeberg, Goldkuhl & Nilsson 1981). After they become loyal to the business, they will then recommend friends and relatives to the services and with time increase in price for the services will still maintain customers. Organization A business that is well run should have an organization structure that is well defined (Oz & Jones 2008). There should be personnel working in various departments such as engineering, management, finance/accounting etc. Customer Relations All employees with a landscape and garden service business should practice courtesy to the clients. This is the most critical factor for the success of the business. Maintaining a courteous relationship with the clients leads to success of the business (Dignum 1997). Employee Training The landscaping and garden services business should hire employees who have the ability to follow instructions, be able to operate the farm machinery like lawn mowers, have the knowledge to apply the farm inputs like fertilizers and chemicals and should able to handle landscape design (Oz & Jones 2008). This therefore calls for training the employees to make them competent in the industry. Employee Relations How the employees relate plays a great role for the success of the business (Dignum 1997). According to Dignum (1997), poor morale for the employees impacts on their performance which impacts on the customer relations and ultimately on the business performance. It is advisable to have friendly and open relationships with employees at all times and in addition pay their wages fairly as well as other benefits like leave and health care coverage. Advertising This is creating awareness to customers to find a way to let the public know that the firm is doing business (Kroenke 2011). According to Kroenke (2011) it will be advisable for the business to use a vehicle which bears the business logo with a brief description of the services offered and the contacts. This provides information to many users with little effort put in by the business. Other methods of creating awareness to customers on their services are billboards, offering a special price during high demand seasons, giving discounts on loyal customers and those who contract year-long services, newspapers, and flyers. The business should also take advantage of the social media which will target a large number of users and at the same time it s cost effective (Kroenke 2011). Season The landscaping and garden services business is sometimes seasonal. This implies that there is increased demand for gardening services during spring and autumn season Laudon & Laudon 2007). The management should therefore consider expanding their business at these times to take advantage of the increased demand. For those who are starting the business, these seasons are still the best to start up. Maintaining the landscaping and garden services business successfully requires other considerations such as: offering a range of goods and services at one-stop shop; developing a loyal customer base; use special equipment or facilities to attract more clients; have good communication and negotiating skills; always making sure the services are promoted to the right market and maintaining high quality of services (Laudon & Laudon 2007). Business Information System Requirements All activities conducted in the business should contribute to adding value to the customer and the business information system should include these activities to add value to the customer. The information system will be used to expose the capacity and the business products; making offers; giving and governing deliveries to customers; invoicing and reclaiming payments. In such cases, the business will use the information system to perform its actions. The information system will work with the help of an agent from the business. The information system should also have usability which is the ability to support and perform actions. The business information system will include hardware, software and database systems. The different requirements will depend on the amount of data that will be processed by the business (Lundeberg, Goldkuhl & Nilsson 1981). The hardware components include the input devices like mouse and keyboard, central processing unit, internal and external memory, output devices like monitor and printer. Software components include operating system and utility programs. The purpose of database is to keep track of things (Kroenke 2007). According to Kroenke (2007), databases can exist either on paper or electronic. Paper databases are inefficient and more costly to maintain as compared to electronic database. A computer-based database for this business will offer an advantage of powerful search facilities which can be used to retrieve information many times as compared to the paper database. The database will also enable the users to add, amend or delete information as they require and also organize information as needed (Kroenke 2007). The databases will be accessed by different users across a network system within the business. This approach minimizes unnecessary duplication of information, maintains consistency by ensuring changes made are reflected to all users and provides flexibility to meet needs of individual users as well as the business itself (Oz & Jones 2008). A business intelligence system will be necessary to accommodate the vast amounts of data in the business information system (Turban, Sharda & Delen 2010). According to Turban, Sharda & Delen (2010), use of a business intelligence system in this business will also help in presenting the information in a way that is understandable to decision makers. The business intelligence system focuses on providing timely information at a strategic level in the business. They also provide indirect support for particular decisions in the business support system (Turban, Sharda & Delen 2010). Recommended Information Systems and How these Will Meet Business Requirements Networking A network is used to link many computers which are sharing data or resources (Laudan & Laudan 2007). This enhances collaboration and sharing of devices for cost effectiveness. Use of networks by the landscaping and garden services business will help it to connect with its customers, suppliers and collaborators. The business will therefore be in a position to order new raw materials more rapidly and cheaply. It will also help the business to get in touch with its customers’ needs. Other benefits will include cost reduction through use of facilities like email, time reduction in information flow, ability to share information through the use of network system, sharing of hardware devices is also enhanced (Lundeberg, Goldkuhl & Nilsson 1981). The internet and World Wide Web The internet is a vast network of computers connected across the globe and can share information and processing (Oz & Jones 2008). The landscaping and garden services business can also use web-enabled business to do their transactions. These transactions can either be business to customer where the business uses the internet to transact with its customers or business to business where it uses the internet to transact with other businesses (Oz & Jones 2008). Oz & Jones (2008) further argues that, the opportunities that the internet can afford can greatly influence the relationship that the business has with its suppliers, customers and other businesses. The business will therefore make the information available to its customers through the internet so long as they can access it. The World Wide Web provides a standard method for exchanging and publishing information on the internet. Use of World Wide Web has proved successful in business establishment by use of internet. It can also be used as a medium for advertising the business to users and the end the business will reach a wide range of customers at a reduced cost (Laudon & Laudon 2007). References Bocij P, Greasley A & Hickie S 2008, Business Information Systems, 4th edn, Pearson Education, Harlow. Dignum F J 1997, Communication modelling - the Language Action Perspective. Proceedings of the 2nd International workshop on Communication modelling, Computer science Reports, Eindhoven University of Tecnology, http://www.win.tue.nl/win/cs Kroenke DM 2011, using MIS 4th edition Pearson Education, New Jersey Laudon K C & Laudon J P 2007, Essentials of Business Information Systems, 7th edn, Pearson Education, New Jersey. Lundeberg M, Goldkuhl G & Nilsson A G 1981, Information systems development: A systematic approach. Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Yersey. Martin J 1989, Information engineering-Introduction. Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Yersey. Oz E & Jones A 2008, Management Information Systems, Cengage Learning, London. Queensland government: Business and industry portal. Getting into garden maintenance industry. Retrieved from http://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/service-industries/repair-and-maintenance/starting-a-garden-maintenance-business/getting-into-the-garden-maintenance-industry, on 30/05/2013. Turban E, Sharda R & Delen D 2010, decision support and business intelligence systems, 9th edition, Pearson education, New Jersy Read More