The Negative Effects of Poor IS Planning - Essay Example

Running Head: Q5 Topic: Q5 Lecturer: Presented What are some of the negative effects of poor IS planning based on your experience? Explain IS planning is the most significant step that determines the success of organizations in the application of IT to improve efficiency and productivity. Flaws in the planning process lead to Information Systems that lower the organization’s capacity to meet deadlines. This is one of the problems that have been identified through experience to cause enormous losses as clients cancel orders that have not been delivered on time. The information systems may be poorly planned, failing to cater for some of the operations that may require extra time to be completed. Poorly planned information systems also increase the costs of operation or else the customer requirements may not been met. This leads to dissatisfaction among clients and hence the organization can not maintain competitiveness in the market. Moreover, poor planning also leads to the existence of information systems in the organization that are not in use, not because they are spoiled but because the organization does not need them (Benaroch, 2002). Poor planning leads to failure especially when the organization does not have effective mechanisms for maintenance and supporting the information systems. Without the appropriate plans, the organization might not be capable of maintaining adequate support for consistent working with the system. It might result in to losses and misunderstanding among the MIS staff and the general organizational managers since blameworthiness is usually placed on those involved in the application of information systems rather than the planners. For example, the employees in charge of the control room are blamed for the poor performance of the information systems especially since they interact directly with the clients whose dissatisfaction is often attributed to incompetence among these staff. Such blames are mistaken and are all as a result of poor planning (Tipon et. Al 2001) References Benaroch, M., (2002). “Management Information Technology Investment Risk: A Real Options Perspective,” Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 19(2) pp.43-84 Tipon, H., Krause, H., & Ozier, W. (2001). Risk analysis and assessment. Information Security Management Handbook, Newport Beach: Auerbach Publication 2- Should an organization build its critical DSS in house versus purchase it from vendors? What are the pros and cons? The choice of the source of decision support systems in an organization is significant to their effectiveness in enhancing organizational performance. The pros of purchasing the DSS from vendors are many. First, the cost of purchasing the DSS is far much lower than in-house development especially due to the fact that the organization does not have to employ experts to develop the systems. The costs that could otherwise be incurred in the organization for developing the systems can be used for other purposes in the organization. On the other hand, outsourcing presents the organization with a wide range of DSS developers applying various technologies, which presents an opportunity to choose the most recent and appropriate technology for the organization. Purchasing DSS also facilitates quick implementation of DSS activities especially when the organization’s staffs are not adequately equipped with knowledge regarding DSS development (Sliwa, 2004). On the other hand, there are certain disadvantages associated with purchasing the DSS, which make in-house development more desirable. For example, the sellers of the DSS may not be punctual in delivering the systems, which may have adverse effects on the functioning of the organization’s information processes. On the other hand, they might not be functioning properly leading to losses to the organization. Another disadvantage that makes in-house development of DSS is that the organization surrenders an important responsibility to another organization, which may expose it to competitors especially through exposing its decision making strategies. Further on, an organization that purchases the DSS from another company needs its services for a longer period in terms of maintenance, customization and other processes that lock it to that particular company. This means that the organization’s freedom in terms of purchasing from providers offering better services is limited. These problems can be resolved through in-house development of DSS, which also helps in the maintenance of privacy in the organization. Competitors can not acquire private information by knowing the internal decision making strategies (Power, 2004). References Sliwa, C. (2004). “Best Buy to Outsource IT to Accenture”. Computerworld, Vol. 38(16) pp. 1 14. Power, D. (2004). “Is it advantageous to outsource development and operation of Decision Support Systems?” DSS News, Vol. 5(9). 3- What are the major causes for failures of business process redesign? One of the significant issues that lead to failure in business process redesigning is the case whereby the management fixes the process rather than completely changing it. This means that the faulty aspects of the process are maintained and hence the objectives of redesigning can not be accomplished. On the other hand, the management fails to concentrate on the business processes thereby lacking focus in the entire process. It also becomes a problem when those involved in the process re-designing become ignorant as regards important aspects of the process such as performance and reward systems employment relationships, changes in the organizational structures as well as re-defining roles and authority in the organization. The process may also fail when the management restructuring process fails to take in to consideration the values and beliefs of staff. If the redesigning strategies fail to reward actions that demonstrate adoption of new behaviors, beliefs and values, the business process re-design might fail (Tipon et. al. 2001). The fact that minor results may occur requires the willingness of those involved in the process re-design to settle for them, otherwise failures may arise. Moreover, the staff involved in the process re-designing may quit earlier than expected, making it difficult to accomplish the objectives of the process. Corporate culture may largely affect the manner in which the re-designing process is accomplished. If the management allows the corporate cultures to hamper the progress of re-designing, the entire process may fail. The reengineering process may fail if it is undertaken by non-professionals in the field. On the other hand, it may also fail if the people involved are among the aging workforce that is about to retire from the organization (Hatchell, 2001). References Tipon, H., Krause, H., & Ozier, W. (2001). Risk analysis and assessment. Information Security Management Handbook, Newport Beach: Auerbach Publication Hatchell, A. (2001). “Why B2C Web access-management solutions do not work for B2B”. Communications News, 38(10), 30 4- Whats your favorite method for evaluating IT investment? Explain the advantages of that method  The value analysis technique is a significant method of evaluating contemporary investments in IT. It is advantageous in the sense that it can be used to evaluate the intangible gains on a pilot basis prior to organizations sacrificing resources to develop a complete system. This is important since it allows the management to make an outlay for development of systems that have been approved after a careful analysis of their applicability. This means that losses associated with adoption of inappropriate systems can be avoided. It is an appropriate method for evaluating decision support systems, which were the main focus as the method was developed by Keen (1981). The business benefits from making better decisions. It also generates better perception of the business processes as well as the various situations that are encountered. The method generates better communication in the organization, which makes it possible to assess the IT investments in greater detail. The value analysis technique is accurate since it involves 8 steps in the evaluation process. The trial products that are of low cost are analyzed in the first four steps. The result may be positive or negative and the next step requires a decision to be made based on the results of the first phase. If positive, a full scale information system is undertaken in the next phase involving another four steps. Generally, this process tends to be accurate as a result of applying the many steps in the evaluation process. It is possible to make accurate estimations of the cost of the end product (Benaroch, 2002).   References Keen, P. G. W., (1981).“Value Analysis: Justifying DSS,” Management Information Systems Quarterly, March 1981 Benaroch, M., (2002). “Management Information Technology Investment Risk: A Real Options Perspective,” Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 19(2) pp.43-84   Read More