Management Information Systems and Enterprise Resource Planning System - Essay Example

Management Information Systems Management Information Systems In a knowledge economy dominated by knowledge workers, management information systems have aided the informational needs of the workers. Furthermore, the digitalization of the workspace and the increasing popularity of telecommuting, remote or virtual workers has raised the demand for collaborative spaces supported by the right tools and platforms. Collaborative tools such as Google Docs, One Drive, and so on, aid file sharing while portals and other knowledge base wikis provide information to knowledge workers. As workspaces go virtual, knowledge workers will rely extensively on online and web-based tools for their data-centered projects and tasks. 1 (1) What is meant by collaboration among knowledge workers? Knowledge workers are important for an organization for two reasons: innovation and growth (Davenport, 2005). Their jobs involve complex tasks and even more complex decisions. With the advent of new technologies, knowledge workers have become quite independent in the sense that they may not see other team members regularly. This presents various challenges regarding seamless communication. Online collaboration tools counter the challenges by enabling timely decision making, quick answers to knowledge worker questions, and uninterrupted communication (Power, 2013). Knowledge workers are especially involved in collaboration due to the nature of their jobs that require quick clarifications, decision making, communication, and finally, completion. Thus, collaboration in simple terms refers to a task which requires collective and coordinated effort for completion and in the case of knowledge workers, data, analytics, and consultation. 1 (2) How might knowledge workers collaborate to support management decision-making? Knowledge workers work with terabytes of digital data in an increasingly knowledge-centered environment. The emergence of collaboration tools have allowed knowledge workers to be assisted and supported by managers virtually. Groupwares are collaboration tools that are specifically suited for team based collaborators (McNurlin, Sprague, and Bui, 2009). Collaboration tools include online cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Docs, and Sky Drive, video calling services like Skype, Facetime, and Google Hangouts, desktop virtualization services, and so on (Kroenke, 2011). Collaboration involves the use of file sharing, instant voice over and text chat, video calling, and other utilities so as to communicate, share, and discuss about a particular subject. Managers may communicate to their knowledge workers about the required tasks using these channels. They may also comment on their existing work such as files while knowledge workers may clarify any ambiguities and ask questions regarding current projects. 2. Many firms use an integrated enterprise resource planning system. 2 (1) Is such a system of collaboration system for knowledge workers? Knowledge workers are involved in different kinds of jobs and all of them may not require the same technologies (Davenport, 2005). The type of technology they require is dependent upon two variables, according to Davenport (2005), which includes the degree of interdependence and work complexity. Those knowledge workers that work essentially in collaborative groups and require the completion of less complex tasks can benefit from the usage of an integrated model. Integrated enterprise resource planning systems enable enterprises to manage knowledge and information (Matthes and Neubert, 2014). Similar models of enterprise integration include knowledge base and wikis. Hence, such collaborative systems are appropriate for knowledge workers because they promote a joint and integrated system which is specifically useful for team based knowledge workers requiring less complex tasks. 2 (2) Why? The jobs of knowledge workers are centered about information. Hence, knowledge base systems and wikis as examples of integrated enterprise resource planning systems are central to knowledge workers due to their involvement with information. Knowledge base and wikis act as knowledge centers. In particular, hybrid wikis structurally allow content based collaboration among knowledge workers (Matthes and Neubert, 2014). All the metadata and content can be structurally arranged with all the relevant content pages classified. This helps knowledge workers identify information for their usage. In short, integrated enterprise systems allow for knowledge management for efficient decision making. Various organizations have started using wikis in order to assist workers with their knowledge based endeavors. These include universities as well as other commercial organizations. 2 (3) Can one improve on this basis? There is room for improvements into the existing system of collaborative management information systems. The jobs of knowledge workers are diverse and involve several complexities absent in other jobs. While the disjointed systems have been integrated to eliminate the isolated structure, there is still a gap between unstructured and structured information as identified by Matthes and Neubert (2014). Unstructured information comprises of all information such as text, images, emails, and essentially those data used in software packages such as Microsoft Office. One of the challenges is to connect unstructured data with structured data so as to allow uniform management if information. Hence, an improvement could allow integrated enterprise collaborative systems to bridge the gap between the various kinds of information present in order to aid knowledge workers. 3. The Davenport text discusses the concept of portals. 3 (2) What is a portal? A portal is defined as an online “information delivery application” which serves as a one stop place for information and knowledge. A portal or for that matter a role specific portal functions as a midway between a repository and a knowledge based application. Portals can be broad or narrow. A role specific portal funnels down the information to include only narrow categories of information related to a particular job thus getting the name role specific portal. Portals are used at universities as well as organizations as intranet portals that act as a platform for knowledge required by knowledge based information. Portals allow knowledge base workers to find relevant information by making a few searches that yield specific information thereby helping them sort the right information. 3 (3) How might it be used with mobile and remote workers?  Mobile and remote workers especially those who are telecommuting could use portals. Many organizations have implemented portals for their employees that manage their tasks. Every telecommuting worker is given a unique username and password. Such employee portals are broadly enterprise portals normally operating on network technologies. Hence, they can help workers, who are remotely located and geographically dispersed, to connect with the portal and find relevant information. Mobile and remote workers who are telecommuting complete most of their work virtually and portals provide a great way for them to work remotely having access to all the necessary information. Portals provide a way of accessing information and knowledge virtually thereby enabling completion of work in an automated fashion. Hence, organizations implement networked portals so as to manage tasks carried out by remote workers. Conclusion In conclusion, there are a wide variety of tools present to aid knowledge workers in an increasingly data driven world. Portals, wikis, integrated enterprise resource planning systems, and other tools provide a useful way of collaboration for knowledge workers who constantly work with great volumes of data. References Davenport, T. H. (2005). Thinking for a living: How to get better performance and results from knowledge workers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kroenke, D. (2011). Using MIS (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Matthes, F., & Neubert, C. (2014). Enabling Knowledge Workers to Collaboratively Add Structure to Enterprise Wikis. Technische Universität München. Retrieved from https://wwwmatthes.in.tum.de/file/pmtnw2iscc09/Sebis-Public-Website/-/Ma11b-Enabling-Knowledge-Workers-to-Collaboratively-Add-Structure-to.../Ma11b.pdf McNurlin, B. C., Sprague, R. H., Jr., & Bui, T. X. (Eds.). (2009). Information systems management in practice (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Power, B. (2013). How Collaboration Tools Can Improve Knowledge Work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 26 September 2014, from http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/01/how-collaboration-tools-can-im/ Read More