Management Information System Project - Coursework Example

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM PROJECT Company Websites Efficiency Evaluation School: Introduction There exist various definitionsfor the phrase management information systems. The concept of MIS is a dynamic one that keeps changing with time and technological advancement. MIS as a subject involves designing appropriate and efficient ways and systems of communication to aid in managements decision-making. Different companies have different systems for gathering information depending on their objectives, size and technology available. At the onset of the computer, wealthy businesses and organizations used the computation technique for complicated tasks that involved intensive calculations. However, the progress in technology has lead to computers being used for virtually every task in offices, organizations, business, and even homes. The introduction of the World Wide Web enabled companies to start communications over the internet, but the use of internet has since progressed, and it is now within the affordability of almost every business. Most enterprises create websites for different purposes. The main purpose these days, however, is for marketing and advertisements. Every business sites attempt to communicate best with its customers or fans in a language best understood by them. Using different kinds of content to pass information to clients and followers has been the objective of creating a website for many businesses. So what are the components of an excellent and efficient website? Probably the quality of its content, the structure, the imaging and colors used, among other considerations all make up for the website quality. According to Goel (2014), the most important feature of any business website is its first impression and its ability to capture and maintain the attention of web servers. To attract the attention, the structure, the color and the arrangement of modules in the website has to be attractive and appealing. Color should be used sparingly though depending upon the kind of readers one intends to attract to their site. The only way to maintaining the attention, however, is always the quality of the content. The web audience surf the internet looking for information about the product they want to buy. For the website to be useful to its visitors it must offer them the kind of information they need, support and guidance through the web pages and making transactions online if the business involves such. The website display counts as much as quality content and useful live links to complete the requirements of an excellent website. There are numerous examples of good quality sites. Drinking water companies are known to advertise heavily on such sites; this is according to a closer evaluation of some well known enterprises and an assessment of each of their websites. Rayyan Mineral Water Co. Rayyan Mineral Water Company is one of the most famous bottled water companies in Qatar. According to the business website, Rayyan Mineral Water Company was established in the year 1984. Rayyan Mineral Water Company is a member of the Al Rabban group that have interests in different industries both in Qatar and abroad. Among the companies under Al Rabban umbrella includes; Rabban Readymix, Al Sarh Real Estate, Rabban Contracting and trading company, Rabban services company among others. The larger Rabban group was established in 1964 by well-established family businesses. Hailing from such a stable capital base ,Rayyan is undoubtedly a well-financed enterprise run by experienced and qualified business people. It is possible, therefore, that a lot, in terms of capital; experience and competence have been employed in the construction of the business websites. This can be seen from how the sites are displayed and their effectiveness to communicate the message to its customers. So, what makes the Al Rayyan Mineral Water Companys sites effective? For a detailed evaluation, this study looks at various components of one of the websites. The Title The company runs a series of websites some with informative content, but others are purely for marketing purposes. http://www.rayyanwater.com/en/natural-mineral-water is one of the purely marketing sites for the business. The title of the website reads "Rayyan Natural Mineral Water, Natural water bottled at source." Though very little truth can be validated from such statements, the title is attractively displayed in blue, and it reaches out site visitors in an appealing way. The essence of the websites appeal is marketing and not informing. Therefore, the title cannot be considered as passing any message that is informative because the purpose is not to inform but to attract web visitors to use Al Rayyan mineral water. Content Most of the content is images with the intent of luring the visitors to the charm of a bottle of cold water on a hot day in the desert. The pictures of beautiful pictures in calm, soothing colors gives the visitor an appeal to think about water, and the strategy is known to work effectively with marketing. The structure of the site is divided into sections containing different information. The home section just tells about the existence of the company. Other sections of the main menu include the environment, health and hydration, partnership, products and sports activity. While it is true that the website is not all informative by content, it gives sufficient info for the visitor to make a decision of placing orders (Drell, 2012). The impressive language and the images all work to convince the visitors and guide them towards making a purchase which is usually the main idea of all marketing sites. Navigation through the site is quite easy since there are no modules or categories on the main menu which save on visitors time and makes it faster for them to make purchases. The clarity of the writing in blue font color and large enough fonts to be read adds to the sites simplicity hence its ability to capture and maintain the contact with customers and web visitors. It is, therefore, appropriate to conclude that the website serves its purpose conveniently and it is effective. Evian Water Company Evian is a brand name for a one of the worlds most popular bottled water famous with Hollywood celebrities and international professional sportsmen. According to one of the many company’s websites, http://www.evian.com, the brand name is derived from a history relevant place in the French apps. Evian is owned by a French multinational billionaire Danone, the founder of luxury products the Danone Group. The groups investments include organic skin care products and luxury resort in France. Evian bottled water, however, is consumed throughout the world, from Europe, America, Canada, Asia to Australia. Using the rich history of the French Evian springs in marketing and engagement in sporting and environmental conservation awareness are some of the activities that the company has used to draw loyalty of its customers. So far, the strategy has worked well, and the company has remarkable influence in the bottled water industry. Being a frontrunner and leader in the industry, Evian Water Company uses its websites to market, inform and interact with its clients. With an impressive background financial experience and stability, the water bottling company has made a tremendous investment in the technology that is evidenced by the display of their numerous websites. The web pages are characterized by high technology content such as videos and 3D images which showcase sophistication and modernity just as its target market. So what features distinguish Evian sites as world class and active? Two Evian most prominent sites are http://www.danone.com, and http://www.evian.com. Title The http://www.evian.com site has an impressive title with images and colors that are both visible and compelling. The title “evian. Live young” is short and conspicuous giving its complete message at a glance. The pink color surrounding the title makes it more visible and attractive to the web visitors and also keeps them interested for long enough to get the message and make a decision. Like all other business sites, the goal is to initiate an interaction leading to a sale. The title, therefore, productively catches the attention and directs it to the content where the marketer intends to cut the deal. Content Like mentioned earlier in this study, the text content in the websites is minimum. Simple, appealing and convincing style of writing is utilized to keep the readers relaxed and enables them to get the message promptly. The images, photos of ideal personality aimed at luring the audience are displayed at strategic focal points on the site. The graphics are impressive and the incredible slides give an illusion of good feeling and thoughts of a good drink tempting the viewer to reach out for a bottle. The company also utilizes videos to tell about the quality and the value of the water sources. The arrangement of menus and modules is simple thus keeping the website clean and uncluttered with details of categories and sections. On the main menu, the site information is divided into a number of parts mainly to talk about the company, its engagements and interaction with the visitors and the product availability from different locations. The idea is to serve clients with enough information to decide on purchasing or to initiate interaction hoped to end up with a purchase. The efficiency of the site is, however, likely to be compromised by the inadequate information and overly promotional content. Visitors seeking to compare the product information are likely to find other more reliable sources. Gulf Mineral Water Company Perhaps one of the bottled water companies most identified with the Middle East and the Gulf region is the Gulf Mineral water company. The company started its operation in 1975 in the United Arabs Emirates, and according to its website, http://www.gulfa.ae/about/history.htm, it was the first brand of bottled mineral water in the entire Gulf region. The product is sold in many countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordon, and Qatar. Gulfa water is, therefore, an internationally recognized brand that has been successfully marketed and attracts millions of consumers. Following the success, Gulfa Water Company enlisted in the Dubai financial market in 2007 and has since performed relatively well compared to several other bottled water companies. It has a large team of professional staff and judging by its financial stability, the marketing of the brand has effectively delivered its objective. The Gulf water company has one of the best organized website with more informative and rich quality content than any other site in the industry. It gives in the site a brief history of the company, how it came to be, and details regarding its management and operations clear with a concrete vision and mission statement of the enterprise. That kind of information is indispensable to not just customers, but also to prospective investors or other interested parties. It takes formidable skill and competence to communicate effectively to several groups of interest through the site, and Gulf Water Companys website has achieved that exemplary. Title The site runs a bold red "gulfa" with a line below it reading pure natural spring water as its title. Below it, the words “First in the gulf, first in purity” run below what appears like two streams. The message of the title is crystal clear. It informs about the source of water, which consumers might be interested, a hint of the product history and a quality assurance line. For web visitors who come across this title, curiosity develops, and the urge to know more about the product may grow leading the client to the content below it. It is one of the most active web titles since it is clear, informative, attractive and captivating. Content Perhaps it can be said that among all websites by water companies on the internet, the best organized and efficient one, in terms of product description, product knowledge and investors interest is http://www.gulfa.ae, belonging to the Gulf water company. The use of graphic images is minimum, and although the text content is more compared to other sites, it is used effectively to enhance information. The rich quality of content makes the site a resourceful site for web visitors seeking information about bottled drinking water. Information is distributed evenly in separate pages each addressing an independent aspect of the company. The main menu has links to every relevant section of the site that include; about us, our products, investors and the contact page. The ‘about us’ section of the site gives the visitors information about the company. It gives the details of the enterprise objectives and its values in the running of the business. Also provided is information about the management of the company with a statement from the managing director addressing visitors. This kind of openness in the company policy is useful to potential investors who would like to know more about the firm to make informed decisions. A considerable amount of information is also provided concerning the processes of water treatment and packaging before it is delivered to the consumers. The consumer would be interested in such information because it acts as an assurance for the safety of the water they consume. The site is entirely effective and resourceful for information about the company policies, values and management, as well as the product, perhaps the most active in the industry. Conclusion While different enterprises set up websites for varying objectives and purposes, the most common are marketing and advertisement purposes. As observed in the Gulf water company site, information about the product is also an important component to add to the web page. For the site to be effective, pass the message and interact with visitors, quality content is critical. The material comes in varieties including text, graphic photographs, and videos. The text should be visible and clear, so it is important to pay consideration to font color and size. Visual images are mostly used to compliment the text and should be consistent with the site objectives. To draw attention to the content of web page, it is imperative to devise a captivating title for the site. The site should also be consistent with the message in the overall content giving insight to the nature of the business. Business websites are sometimes different from other sites in that communication aims at initiating interaction that is inclined to lead to a sale and therefore, most of the communication is purchase-oriented. References Drell, L. (2012). 20 features of an effective website. Mashable, Feb.9.2012. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/02/09/website-must-haves/ Evian water company. (n.d)[Retrieved from http://www.evian.com/regions/ Goel, R. (2014). Top 10 characteristics and qualities of a Good Website. Webinfozone June 23 2014. Retrieved from http://www.webinfozone.com/articles Gulfa water company. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.gulfa.ae/ Rayyan water company. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.rayyanwater.com Read More