Information System in Business - Essay Example

Exam Section Part Reflect briefly on the role of the user in successful deployment of an information system. What actions are required by the developers to engage with users? The actions are mentioned below: The developer can utilize users for beta testing The developer can perform installation testing by the users The developer can perform support services by the users. Distinguish between “e-Business” and “e-commerce.” Generally, ecommerce is defined by the following factors: Selling and Purchasing on the Internet Consumer retail purchases from different e-commerce based web sites However, e commerce can be categorized in to the following types of business that are conducted via Internet. This includes (Define E-business and E-commerce (what is difference between ebusiness and ecommerce?): DaveChaffey.com ): E commerce transactional Websites Relationship and service oriented websites Brand Building Website Portal Website E- Business is defined, as the processing of core business process via Internet is known as E- business. This concludes that the contribution of any core business process, whether it includes e commerce functions, referred as E- business (Define E-business and E-commerce (what is difference between ebusiness and ecommerce?): DaveChaffey.com ). i) Sketch out the system development life-cycle, and describe briefly what is done in any four of its key stages and Show the main stages of the system development life cycle. ii) It is said that 70% of Information System projects fail to deliver the expected benefits. Propose some actions that can be taken during development and deployment of systems to improve delivery of benefits, explaining what each action aims to achieve. iii) Explain what is meant by tacit knowledge, and suggest some ways that it can be exploited by an organization. The Data Protection Acts constrain what an organization may do with personal data that can be traced back to an individual. Choose four principles behind the Acts, and describe the rights and duties they give rise to. 2 Exam Section Part 2 Information Systems are usually categorized either by what they do (TPS, MIS, DSS and EIS), or by the level at which they fit into the organization (Operational, Management, Strategic). Giving examples, evaluate the role of the various categories in providing a business with competitive advantage. Explain how each category contributes to the company’s success, and how it relates to the other categories. The transaction processing system (TPS) is categorized at the operational level of the organization. In order to contribute with the organization’s competitive advantage a common example in a typical operational accounting system would be a payroll system and an entry order system. Moreover, for e-commerce functions, transactions processing system cal be referred as online transaction processing system and can contribute to the organization’s competitive advantage by data entry , transaction processing, maintaining a database, report generation and inquiry processing. The Management information system (MIS) is tailored for management functions as it demonstrates clear objectives to make sure that the MIS prioritize its focus on the core business process of an organization. The system focuses on the goals and objectives of the organization and at the same time, it detects factors and reasons for failures. Unique from other systems, MIS recognize human interactions and consider the human behavior factors in the processes of management. Moreover, the system identifies information coming from different sources along with objectives, enabling the system to categorize the information for efficient use. The user- friendly interface provides an easy user interface for employees, increasing efficiency of management process. Furthermore, the MIS contribute for organization’s critical success factors by creating information support to the managers. The priority is the mission critical application that facilitates the requirements of top management. Decision support system (DSS) facilitates a decision making process related to business managers and business analyst. As the managers and business analyst, need adequate data on a regular basis in order to make every day business decision, DSS can enhance and speed up this process of decision-making, resulting in overall efficiency in terms of organization’s performance. The DSS provides the required information for decision making to the employees. For instance, for a process of ordering inventory, an employee receives a report that demonstrates the items and those items as well that are at the re order level. DSS facilitates this process by signifying a re-order level quantity meeting demands based on the history of sales. These factors provide a competitive advantage Executive information system (EIS) support business with competitive advantages due to the following factors: Advanced Communication within the organizational structure Ability to specify historic trends related to decisions Enhances executive processes and efficiency Less time required for meetings Improved mental models for executives Imagine you are a manager in the HQ of a Home Improvement retail chain. You have noticed that one of its brands of taps is not selling nearly as well as anticipated. Which of the business’s information systems would you use to determine the reason for the poor sales? Discuss what information you will retrieve from which system. Which of the information systems will be most important for your analysis? Which of the systems will be least important? Evaluate a range of security and integrity threats that must be considered when designing and managing a business-critical Information System. Your answer should address considerations covered in the study based on the Information Security Breaches Survey 2008, but extra credit will be given for going beyond those. Choose two exposures that are specifically relevant, explaining their nature and analysing the risks they pose. Propose ways these can be countered, evaluating these ways to take account of the costs of protection as well as the value of what is being protected. Security and Integrity threats that are considered when designing and managing a business critical information system: Analyzing the security threats that are encountered by drawing on the adequate information assets of an organization. Frequent risk assessment analysis will test the integrity and security measures of the critical information assets. By conducting staff training, the integration of security measures in to normal business process is essential. Regularly update the firmware of security appliances as well as aware scan critical workstations for possible threats and vulnerabilities on regular basis. Creation of an Incident response team for recovering information systems from critical security breaches at a timely manner. Unauthorized access is essential for protecting the critical information assets from within the organization’s environment. The cost for protecting the assets from unauthorized access is a CCTC camera or biometric identification devices on the entrance of the rooms where the servers are located. Moreover, access policies can also be implemented for only authorizing concerned employees for accessing the critical server. For protecting from viruses, hardware or software based security appliances can be implemented within the network. Both of these types serve the main purpose of detecting threats and vulnerabilities. However, hardware based security appliances are expensive as they have an advantage of having no dependency on the workstations. References , Define E-business and E-commerce (what is difference between Ebusiness and Ecommerce?) : DaveChaffey.com . Available: http://www.davechaffey.com/E-business/C1-Introduction/E-business-E-commerce-defined [6/7/2011, 2011]. Read More