Information Technology for Business - Research Proposal Example

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS By (Name) Name of Class (Course) Professor (Tutor) Name of Institution (University) City and State The Date Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Assumptions and Methods 4 Discussion 5 Recommendations and Conclusions 8 Reference List 9 Executive Summary Information Technology has affected almost every aspect of human life and business to a great extent. It has had a significant impact on organizational flexibility and enhance the business processes (Dangolania, 2011). Information Technology changes the scope of company boundaries, time efficiency and ensure companies conform to the changes occurring in the market. Information Technology has been of further importance in banking systems. This paper aims to illustrate how Information Technology has impacted the organizational processes and outcomes of MyState Bank in Hobart, Tasmania. The paper will outline the importance of Information Technology on the banking business, the requirements for its application to the business such as costs, planning, equipment, designing, training installation and training. It will further outline how MyState utilizes information technology in its processes. This will be followed by the advantages and benefits of incorporating information technology in their process and eventually give recommendations on how the company can monitor and maintain Information Technology for continued success. This was done by acquiring data from both the employees and the customers of the bank through questionnaires. The findings of this study indicated that the use of information technology in the company impacted MyState Bank in a number of ways, these include: Cutting down the operational costs and expenditures, it simplifies the network transactions and evidently saves time for the employees, customers and the business in general, and as a common saying goes, time is money. There are however some improvements that can be done on the existing information technology system which will be further discussed in the recommendations. Introduction MyState Limited, formed after the merger of MyState Financial and Tasmanian Perpetual trustees in 2009, is an Australian financial group located in Hobart, Tasmania (MyState Limited, 2017). The banking company later purchased the Rock Building Society based in Queensland in 2011 and later got the authorization to rename itself to MyState Bank (MyState Limited, 2017). In order to maintain its status and a successful business, the bank had to incorporate Information Technology in its processes and systems. Information technology is perceived as a supporting factor in the overall strategy of the company and a guiding function for the organization. Information technology has taken up significant roles in the operational processes of the bank such as coming up with new needs resulting in product innovations or new markets which require new processes. It acts as a bridge between business cultures and in the process aids in breaking down the conventional social and economic barriers. The banking sector has been the most profoundly affected by the developments in information technology making it susceptible to failure in the absence of information technology. The revolution in information technology has set the pace for the ever increasing financial activities throughout the world. Without information technology, the banking process would be a tedious and time consuming process which further emphasizes the importance of its implementation in banking processes. In the same respect, this paper therefore aims to study the effects of these developments in information technology on the business operations of MyState Bank. Assumptions and Methods The main questions asked in this paper are whether MyState Bank needs information technology in its processes, why IT is important for the business, the requirements for it application, its utilization, and the benefits of using IT in the business and finally its monitoring and maintenance. The objective of the study was accomplished by using both descriptive and exploratory research. Questionnaires were used to carry out the primary research after which the responses were scored, tallied and tabulated. The survey was carried out personally by the researcher and more research was done through magazines, journals, books and online materials including the company website. Discussion Information technology is very important for any banking business. There are significant benefits from investing in Information Technology for these businesses (Wickham, 2004). Banks are now equipped with the latest technology and business process re-engineering has been introduced to further enhance delivery efficiency and speed. From the research carried out, for MyState Bank to attain an efficient information technology system, a number of process and requirements had to be done and obtained. MyState Bank, just like most successful banks, had a strategy when incorporating information technology into their business processes. The company was started during the digital era and it therefore did not have to use the exhaustive manual methods of recording and storing data. There were existing methods and these had to change with the ever transforming technology. When MyState Bank decides to purchase new technological equipment, a lot of prior research and planning in order to determine whether the new system would allow for the expansion of the systems that are already in existence like better computing capabilities and more efficient use of critical manpower. The company further creates operational layouts that are flexible and encourage experiments between the technological and physical worlds. When incorporating new technologies, MyState engages all the stakeholders including customers, employees and partners which includes management platforms for ideas in order to scale and realize existing opportunities (Shu & Strassmann, 2005). The costs off applying IT into MyState Bank vary with the type of technology to be incorporated. Some of the systems require royalty payments and ongoing maintenance costs and these are highly considered when choosing a system to be implemented. There are also licensing costs that are put into consideration. Extensive employee training is usually done to ensure the employees are familiar with the new technology. The training is done with all the employees that will use the technology are present ensuring they have a comfortable knowledge of working with the new system (Powell & Micallef, 2014). Recurring training is done to for the complete integration and implementation of the new information technology system. Updates are done regularly which also come at a cost but are inevitable as outdated systems can be costly to a business. For the maintenance of the system, scheduled inspections are carried out and worn equipment are replaced and the systems are updated and checked for any problems. The company believes in preventing problems rather than looking for solutions after the problem has occurred. The effectiveness of the system is then evaluated every two months and it is tweaked once in a while to ensure it is being used to its maximum potential (Hillman, 2013). Information technology has positively affected business for MyState Bank to a great extent. It has led to the creation of new markets which have influenced the creation of new products and services and better channels of delivery for the banking business. A few examples include mobile banking, internet banking and online electronics banking (Shu & Strassmann, 2005). With new innovative technological systems, MyState is able to deal with the challenges posed by the new economy. The incorporation of information technology was the basis for the financial sector reforms that recently took place whose purpose was to increase the reliability and speed of financial operations and the initiatives to strengthen the banking business. There has been a significant increase in financial activities in the bank due to the revolution in Information Technology. The technological progress and development of networks between banks both nationally and internationally have reduced the cost of global funds transfer to a great extent. With information technology, MyState Bank is able to deal with and meet the high expectations of the more demanding customers, especially those with instant and random banking requirements. Apart from these, information technology also provides the bank with solutions to take care of their back office and accounting requirements. Due to information technology, there are better and faster delivery systems in the form of, Mobile Banking, Net Banking and Automated Teller Machines for the Bank. The bank is able to interconnect its computer systems across branches in almost all geographical locations with the high-speed system framework information technology provides (Powell & Micallef, 2014). Information technology also aids the decision making process of the senior management. This is facilitated through researching online and other technological tools used to analyze data; these ensure accuracy of data by reducing the risk of human errors and also provide real time responses from and to the appropriate parties (Abid, 2015). Information technology has also increased the level of customer satisfaction for MyState Bank through customer feedback platforms facilitated by technology where the customers can post their problems, demands and recommendations for better service. Information technology has further enabled the business to advertise itself and gain a larger customer base. It is clear that banks have been greatly affected by developments and innovations in information technology. It has become a crucial business resource whose absence would translates to poor decisions, slow processes, and too much work for employees and problems with customers (Kozak, 2005). Without information technology, banks can barely survive business in this digital world and MyState Bank is no exception. From the research carried out using questionnaires, almost all employees could not imagine working without information technology and some thought it was impossible for banks to work without it. Recommendations and Conclusions According to this research it is clear that information technology has had a great impact of MyState Bank. They reveal that the utilization of information technology saves time for both employees and customers, cuts down the costs of operations for the bank and reduces expenses for customers and further facilitates the network transactions. It is also clear that technological advancements is a necessity in the current times especially for banks. Banks have to embrace and adopt new technologies in order to provide the best business services and products for their customers. MyState Bank is no exception to this; it needs to spend more on information technology and use better applications of it in order to improve its customer services, its operations and its products. It should dedicate more resources to the development and acquisition of better and more secure information technology systems, products and services. It is not possible for any business to be successful for a long period of time without leveraging the advantages of information technology in the current era. Banks and other businesses in general have to take up reasonable costs in order to achieve their success since using innovative approaches in operational strategies, making right decisions when required to and employing highly skilled professionals in information technology are the essential requirements for a successful business. For as long as technological solutions keep increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of communication and banking operations, banks will keep relying on information technology for their success. Reference List Abid, A., B., 2013. Role of Information Technology in Business Success. [Online]. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-information-technology-business-success-abid- afzal-butt [Accessed 20 May 2017] Dangolania, S., K., 2011. The Impact of Information Technology in Banking System: A Case Study in Bank Keshavarzi IRAN. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30 (11) pp 13 – 16 Hillman, H., 2013. Steps To Successfully Integrate New Technology Into Your Practice. [Online]. Available at: https://opedge.com/Articles/ViewArticle/2013-02_08 [Accessed 20 May 2017]. Kozak, S., 2005. The role of information technology in the profit and cost efficiency improvements of the banking sector, Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, 21(8), pp 342-388. MyState Limited, 2017. About us. [Online] Available at: https://www.mystatelimited.com.au/Home/?page=about-us [Accessed 20 Mar 2017]. Powell, T.C. & Micallef A. D, 2014. Technology as competitive advantage: The role of human, business, and technology resources. Strategic Management Journal, 18(5), pp 375 –400. Shu, W. & Strassmann, P. A., 2005. Does information technology provide banks with profit?, Information and Management Journal, 42 (5), 781-787 Wickham, V., 2004. Strategic Entrepreneurship. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Read More