Management Information System in Hewlett Packard - Essay Example

Management Information System in Hewlett Packard Introduction Management Information System (MIS) is a procedure which provides the much needed information for managing an organization in an effective and efficient way. Management information system can be considered as a subset of internal control process. Management information system generates information which is essential in order to have reasonable and wise business decisions. Management information system is used at various stages by management of an organization. It should be used as a supportive element for long term organizational strategic objectives and goals (Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks, 1995). Role of Project Management Hewlett Packard is a leading information technology company. It has opted for transition in its business activities from its existing single SAP (System Analysis und Program Development) program to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in May, 2004. The transition required because of several information technology related matter. Project management is an extremely important aspect in the implementation of management information system. In the given case, there were a number of mistakes committed in the planning phase of the entire project management. Project management plays a vital role as can be observed from the statistics which shows that throughout the year of 2010 investment in information technology project on a global basis will be over $ 1 trillion, of which failure of the majority of these projects (around 70%) will be due to implementing errors of proper project management. This results in damage of brand name as well lower morale, loss of goodwill, loss of investment prospects, and termination of partnerships. The planning aspect let down the entire project given in the case. The project was prepared as a combined effort between the existing SAP program of Compaq and Hewlett Packard’s enterprise resource network. Project management is comprised of three constraints like time, cost, and scope. The quality of the entire project depends upon these three aspects. In general information technology related projects fail or fall behind the required schedule due to reasons like poor planning in project management, change of business related goals at some stage in the project schedule, deficiency in support from management, lack of resources, lack of collaboration from the information technology management, and change in the existing technology during the period of the project (Baltzan & Phillips, 2009). Project management plays several roles in various aspects of the business process like organizational change, technological change, industry change, communication, expectations, system development life cycle, methodologies and tools, resources both in-sourced and outsourced. In the given case, project management played several roles like the role of organizational change, outsourcing as well as change in technology. Hewlett Packard was facing difficulties in their existing technological process of SAP. Therefore, by implementing management information system along with the use of project management there was a look out from the company’s side to eradicate the existing issues. Project management implementation is conducted keeping in mind the requirement of downtime. In the given case, the project manager with his previous experience of similar project related tasks had permitted for three to four weeks period of the downtime because of certain technical reasons. The project of transition required a greater room for error and also much more care to complete it correctly due to its complexity. Due to this transition and downtime period, the company had to separate one of their $ 7.5 billion dollar annual revenue divisions. To continue with their manufacturing division for customized servers and for the end users, the company had to make an arrangement for a contingency preparation to continue fulfilling their obligations towards their users. Primary Activity Areas of Project Management Project management comprises of four primary activities like choosing strategic projects, understanding project planning, managing projects, and outsourcing projects. In the given case, the activity of choosing a strategic project is quite evident. Hewlett Packard was facing a problem regarding their existing information technology related arrangements. Therefore, the management went in for a change to their existing procedure. From this scenario, it can be seen that three aspects of selecting a project like focus on the goals of an organizations, categorization of projects and performing a financial analysis were looked after. The segment of business which was undergoing a transition from SAP to ERP was a $7.5 billion dollar worth division. Therefore, it was prudent decision making on the part of the management to rectify the existing process and go in for selecting this strategic project. The project planning aspect was mishandled by project manger in the given case. It is quite evident that planning aspect is the most important part of project management to successfully complete a project (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). In the given case, the planning aspect lacked the due attention that it should have been given. The project manager also made a misjudgment in the allocation of the required amount of time for completing the downtime from the existing process to the enterprise resources planning process. The manager had to keep a greater amount of room for error for the complex transition scenario in the entire project management schedule. The outsourcing activity of projects was also evident in the case. The company had decided that outsourcing of the project would have been an improper decision for a leading information technology company like Hewlett Packard. They also thought the assigned project manager was experienced enough to handle the entire process of transition. But due to the mishandling of the project by the project manager, there was a chaotic situation during the transition. The outsourcing of the project on the other hand would have allowed the company to release the burden of completing the entire project on their own. Also, the contracted outsourced company would have focused entirely on the project which would have resulted in completion of the project within the given timeframe. It would have resulted in avoiding the scenario of loss of consumers and backordered products. The Role of Change and Risk Management Change and risk management are vital component in successful completion of a project. In a project, there might arise certain scenarios and stages which call for certain changes in the existing process of operation. For successfully achieving the desired result, the project manager and the management need to remain ready to cope with any kind of change which may affect the project schedule. In the given case, the proper management of the timeline was critical in the project planning aspect. The project manager also had to keep in mind the enormity of the entire transition for successfully completing the entire process. The downtime for transition from the existing SAP to enterprise resource planning process was the most important aspect of the entire project schedule. A proper risk management by the project manager should have meant for allowing more downtime for the transition. It would have resulted in greater expense on the part of the management but could have reduced the risk of failure of the project. Also, it would have resulted in much better planning in terms of preparing a contingency plan for the manufacturing of the servers. It also could have minimized the fear of loss of consumers for the company. Change management impacted upon the management shifting from their existing process of using SAP to enterprise resource planning. But if the risk possibilities were looked after by the project manager more prudently in the given case, then it would have meant more success in terms of completing the project in the allocated timeframe. The Potential Role that Outsourcing Would Have Played Outsourcing can be stated as an arrangement in which one organization provides service or services for another organization in a location outside of the organization. Outsourcing has achieved rapid growth due to several reasons like financial savings, usage of internet, changes in the industry, globalization, and wide variation of core competencies. Outsourcing, in general, results in good quality work with less expense. Information technology the most utilized option in terms of outsourcing ventures by the companies in global context. The main reasons behind outsourcing are tapping of the outside sources of expertise, reducing costs, increased focus on the core businesses, eliminating the need for reinvesting in a new technology, proper management of internal processes, and also reducing the head count and related expenses of a company. Outsourcing can provide certain benefits to a company like increase in efficiency and quality, reduction in the operational expenses, increase in flexibility, scope for avoiding non core activities and focusing on the core competencies as well as reduction in the risk which may arise due to large capital investment. In the case of Hewlett Packard, the management avoided the opportunity of going for outsourcing. The outsourcing could have resulted in the company being able to focus on their core business activities. Also, the outsourced company would have emphasized entirely on doing the needful for completing the project within the timeframe. This would have resulted in lowering the risk of failure of the project along with avoiding the scenario of loss of consumers and backordered products. For the project, Hewlett Packard had planned for delay due to technical reasons for three to four weeks but the resulting delay turned out to be of several months. This scenario of improper judgment could have been avoided by going for outsourcing alternative. Conclusion Hewlett Packard had taken a wise decision by shifting from their existing procedure of SAP to enterprise resource planning (ERP). Implementation of the entire project required a proper project planning and assessment by the project manager. The project implementation could have been performed much better if the management had looked for outsourcing option for completing the project and it could have freed them to concentrate on their core competencies. References Baltzan, P. & Phillips, A. (2009). Business Driven Information Systems. McGraw-Hill. Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks, (1995). Management Information Systems. Comptroller’s Handbook. Retrieved Online on June 25, 2010 from http://www.occ.treas.gov/handbook/mis.pdf U.S Department of Health and Human Services, (2005), Project Management Activities. National Human Services IT Resource Center. Retrieved Online on June 25, 2010 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/nhsitrc/it_planning/fabrication_projects/man_proj.html Bibliography Miller, M. L., (2004). MIS cases: MIS cases. Prentice Hall. Read More