Knowledge Information Systems Development -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Knowledge Information Systems Development? Answer: Introduction: It is very important to manage the system in order to access to a long list of benefits. The importance of a proper information system is much more important at the organizational level. Such strategy will allow an access to numerous of benefits like an organized database where every single activity is stored (Arvidsson, Holmstrm and Lyytinen 2014). Such database is not only important for a quick access to important information but this will also help to utilize the stored data for future needs. Moreover, such an arrangement of data in an organized database will also help to make strategic planning utilizing the required contents from the database (Arvidsson, Holmstrm and Lyytinen 2014). Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is one of such databases that can produce productive results to organizations or institutions if it is implemented in the system (Seethamraju 2015). This study is not only based on understanding the importance of enterprise resource planning (ERP), but this indeed tries to figure out the utilization of ERP in the chosen case study organization. The chosen case study organization is a new school which came into existence just a few years back in the New South Wales in Australia. The administration of the school is open to innovation which is quite evident from the school infrastructure. Additionally, the administration is also open to the master plan for coming years. There can be many plans included in the master plan; however, the administration should also consider implementing the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to improve its information management system (The Anglican School Googong 2018). The main purpose of this assignment is to understand the importance of information management system. It is also aimed at understanding the challenges that both the public and the private sectors face. Compare and contrast the issues and challenges that face strategic information systems planners. Your answer should clearly discuss the issues each sector (private or public) face when managing IT/IS strategically: There are ample of differences in between the public or the private sectors in regards to the implementation of the strategic information system. The organizational hierarchy and the governing bodies of both the kinds of sectors are different and therefore, they both experience a distinguished kind of challenges while implementing the strategic information system. Private companies face a comparatively lesser challenge while implementing the information management system. The differences can well be understood by discussing the differences between the challenges faced by the public or the private sectors. Public sectors- Public sector organizations need to undergo a long process to get an approval on any system related change (Johnson, Leenders and McCue 2017). For an example, if there is a need to implement the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in a public bank the process will actually take a longer than the anticipated time span. The implementation will not only be done on a particular bank but, will rather be made on its other branches also. This will probably require a huge investment and will also require an approval from the public body. In addition to this, the organizational culture in public sector is less flexible (De Vries, Bekkers and Tummers 2016). They take longer than a normal time span to decide whether the proposed system will be beneficial. Nevertheless, additional time is consumed in every single phase like discussing the proposed system, identifying the resources required, allocating the project to a client and others. Additionally, there are the number of such employees who do not want to change and wish to continue with the traditional format of system. They actually act as a resisting agent and at such places, implementation process gets delayed (De Vries, Bekkers and Tummers 2016). The management system in public sectors is notably ineffective than it is in the private sectors. The management team who are responsible to take care of the change process, they have to wait for an approval from the public government (Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). The approval itself gets delayed. Nevertheless, the management has to suffer at the different stages like waiting for the required resources to be available (Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). The whole environment is actually suffered from a comparatively less flexible and uncompetitive public government. Private sectors- Though at the private organization, approval process happens at a comparatively faster speed; however, it also faces various challenges or issues while implementing the strategic information system. One of the first issues is the leadership challenge which is really tasted during such times (Armenski, Dwyer and Pavlukovi? 2018). The implementation of a system requires a leader that can take quick and productive decisions. Additionally, its manager's responsibility to ensure that communication has been made in regards to the change process to its entire stakeholders. This is necessary to get the contributions from every eligible member of the organization or else the project could not be done within the deadline (Armenski, Dwyer and Pavlukovi? 2018). Another challenge in private organization is the organizational environment which needs to be very flexible to change (Roehrich, Lewis and George 2014). The level of severity is less than in the public sectors; however, the private organizations also face the distinguished beliefs of different generations. Millennials are very flexible and are quite friendly to technology as well. On the other hand, the older employees have a resistance to change in them. They have the tendency to be in the comfort zone which is in most cases continuing with the traditional system (Roehrich, Lewis and George 2014). The technical issue is one of the kinds of the issues that the private organizations face. A particular organization cannot use all the technologies (Acharya and Xu 2017). They rather can use the technologies which are affordable to them and are also compatible with the old system of information management. Compatibility is a major issue that may prevent the implementation of a very productive system also (Acharya and Xu 2017). Critically evaluate whether or not an IS Strategy may help an organisation to achieve a competitive advantage. If an IS Strategy can help an organisation achieve a competitive advantage how might an organisation sustain such an advantage: According to the authors Altamony et al. (2016), enterprise resource planning (ERP) can add values to the organizational practices by making things visible in terms of accessing to the data of various fields like the sales marketing, accounts, human resource and much others. In the light of the above-said facts, this can be assumed that enterprise resource planning (ERP) can be very beneficial in maintaining a database that has all the information stored at just one place. This provides a platform where the professionals, in particular, the senior managers will be able to cross verify the errors in any of the department if there is any. If there is a mismatch between the sales figure and the relevant account details then the professionals or the senior managers will be able to trace out the gaps. The platform offers a very smooth transition from one function to another. It means that the system does not lag in terms of multitasking. Such a smooth transition will enable to take the full advantage of the platform that it provides in terms of access to the different set of data of distinguished department (Altamony et al. 2016). This is cost effective also. The fact can very well be understood from the saying of the authors Altamony et al. (2016) which states that since the enterprise resource planning (ERP) offers a multidimensional function of the different departments at the just one platform, therefore, the organization will no longer have the necessity to purchase more software to support the functions of different other departments. There are certain Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors that also provide Business Intelligence. Business intelligence can help to go much insight the business process and can also enable to find the business problems or the improvements (Altamony et al. 2016). One of the biggest advantages of using ERP is the advanced e-commerce integration. The integration will enable a web-based order processing or tracking (Altamony et al. 2016). Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) offers an implementation of a diverse range of modules; however, it is entirely on the client that what numbers of the module it wishes to have (Altamony et al. 2016). The security level of the ERP system is also very high. This is due to a fact that it is a centralized platform which can be managed or secured by applying a centralized security policy (Altamony et al. 2016). In addition to the above-mentioned facts, ERP can also provide an easier inventory tracking, order tracking, sales forecasting, revenue tracking and related activities (Altamony et al. 2016). Ways to sustain the advantage- It has already been discussed that there are ample of benefits of using the enterprise resource planning (ERP); however, it is also necessary to understand that sustenance of the system is more important to keep on getting the benefits for a long-term. For a client to get the sustained values of the ERP system, it is important to consider the following discussed points: ERP should not be made over occupied or less occupied. Over occupying will slow down the software. On the other hand, less occupying will not let the integration happen at the full-flow (Chofreh et al. 2014). Users participation is important for a productive use of ERP. This can be done by enabling a continuous training program to rain the professionals on how to use the ERP platform. This is also necessary to make a simpler user interface (Chofreh et al. 2014). Evaluation is required before implementing the ERP system. If one of the steps is not managed properly then this may behave like irresponsive or faulty (Chofreh et al. 2014). What approaches could an organisation adopt when attempting to develop innovative uses of strategic IS: The organization can utilize enterprise resource planning (ERP) to improve its business performance; however, it entirely depends on the approaches that the organization adapt to utilize the benefits of the ERP system. In this regards, organizations can follow the examples of other organizations that have successfully utilized the ERP to better causes. One of such examples can be found form the Nestle Company. Nestle which is known as candy making giant is headquartered in Switzerland (Uwosh.edu 2018). The company had needed to integrate the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with its supply chain operation. However, at the initial phases, it has to face the certain bumps. The bumps have now been forgotten as the implemented ERP system is now producing the productive results. In the year 2002, the company had claimed a savings of more than $325 million (Uwosh.edu 2018). Interestingly, most of the savings have come from an improved operation of the supply chain. The improvement s have particularly happened to the demand forecasting (Uwosh.edu 2018). The old process had involved a sales guy reporting about the sales figure or the other things and reporting all to the demand planner. This was a kind of manual entry. Moreover, the tracking of the relevant facts of the data was much moir complicated. The Nestle Company in the USA has then made a drastic change in the supply chain operation by facilitating the operation with the help of SAP, business processes and the common databases (Uwosh.edu 2018). With the changed system, the company was able to get a more trusted demand forecast for many of the products of the Nestle. In addition to this, since all the Nestle branches in the USA had used the same data, the company was able to forecast down the distribution center level (Uwosh.edu 2018). In addition to cost-effectiveness, the Nestle Company was also able to run together as one organization. The common database has allowed the different brands of the company to utilize the same manner as used by one of the brands of the same product like the Vanilla (Uwosh.edu 2018). It has also allowed using common processes that enabled a common training module for the different branches (Uwosh.edu 2018). In addition to this, the employee from the same site of Nestle could relocate to its other branches in the USA without ever thinking of adjusting to the local culture (Uwosh.edu 2018). Apart from the improvement of the supply chain, enterprise resource planning (ERP) can also help to make the training process easier. The fact has already been understood from the example of the Nestle in the USA. The use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system does provide a common platform to all the branches of the same company which means that the employees will be required to follow a common set of training modules. The training module will be common as common set processes are being implemented on all the sites. Additionally, employees are also not required to worry about the local culture of the other branches as a common set of practices are conducted at the different branches (Uwosh.edu 2018). The integration of different modules at the ERP system can help the training process to become much smoother. Therefore, the chances of productiveness will increase and the employee will face less challenge to integrate their understanding with the training module. Choose either Outsourcing or End User Computing, as a strategic option. Critically discuss how the Director of IT/IS of the chosen organisation would manage the strategic option you have chosen: The chosen organization is a school namely The Anglican School Googong based in New South Wales Australia. It is the first ever school in the Googong area. The school looks very promising as well which is evident from the innovative design of the school campus (The Anglican School Googong 2018). The administration of the school is keen to develop it into a community and to become a widely popular name by bringing to introduction a master plan. The school administration is open to use the master plan which means if considered the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will be a good tool to support the master plan and also will promote a further growth. The question was asked to select one of the strategic options which are suitable to the organization needs. End User Computing is one such strategic application that will immensely help the school in progressing ahead in terms of technology (Ismail and King 2014). The technological advancement will enhance the experience of ERP that was already being suggested for the school. Nevertheless, ERP will help the administration to centralize the data of their core sections like the financial, the human resource and the managing sections (Ismail and King 2014). The advancement in ERP experience is being suggested with the use of the End User Computing. The use will help the administration to improve the user interface which is necessary to make the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system an easy to use the platform. However, managing the end user computing is itself a challenge (Ismail and King 2014). The administration of the school or the IT department will be required to consider the following steps in order to successfully manage the end user computing: Moving apps to the data center- This helps to deliver the apps from any other device. Moving the app to the data center will enable the end users to easily access the data. It indeed lessens the amount of work needed to access the data. Moreover, moving app to the data center will also allow the users to remotely access the system (Park and Lee 2014). Understanding the team roles- In many IT organizations, they might have one person especially dedicated to managing the apps, another person to take care of the desktops and the others. However as according to Kamariotou and Kitsios (2016), end-user computing will require taking the ownership for each task which may also be termed like taking the ownership of the aligned task. The school administration should allocate the different works to different expertise like a support specialist to oversee the user issues and resolve the same as well. Finding the relevant cars for users- The school administration should gain the insights of what customers need. If few people like an app, the app can be replaced with a comparatively more popular app. If the app is popular, it should be made virtual, so as to assign it to a specific group of people (Park and Lee 2014). Running a test pilot- As opined by Kamariotou and Kitsios (2016), the Test pilot is like analyzing the data by testing it to make it sure which set of data or the platform is much more relevant to the end-user. Once the recommendations have been made after running a test pilot, this will be a lot easier to design a user interface to help them take the benefits from the enterprise resource planning (ERP). Taking a holistic approach to end-user computing- Integrating the end-user computing into the enterprise management strategy can help the business of the chosen school in future. In the opinion of Kamariotou and Kitsios (2016), the end-user computing will help to build a much secured, user-friendly and agile virtual infrastructure. The infrastructure will help to enhance the customer and the employee loyalty and will also increase the end-user productivity as well. Evaluate the statement that: Strategic Information Systems can add business value to an organisation through IT/IS. Your answer should include relevant case evidence that supports your arguments: Strategic Information Systems can add value to the business of an organization. The strategic information system is not an ordinary form of information system as it really helps to raise the business standard provide that, if it is implemented and executed properly. Following points will help to understand the different ways through which the IS can add values to the business of an organization: Acting as a barrier to competitors entry- As stated by Peppard, Galliers, and Thorogood (2014), organizations do use or can use the strategy to enhance its competitiveness through the introduction of a product which is hard to duplicate or it has been targeted on a specialized market that is rare to many competitors. The competitors find this really difficult to duplicate or target the same market as the cost of adopting is usually very higher which to such competitors is not valid. This further means that the barriers can become bigger if an organization uses the strategic information system to produce unique products or to target a pretty specialized market. Preparing database to improve the marketing strategies- According to Peppard, Galliers, and Thorogood (2014), companies can use the strategic information system to enhance its marketing and sales strategies. This is indeed a very good way to get an edge over the competitors. This can well be understood from few examples like the organization can track the purchasing behavior of customers by accessing to the database on sales marketing. In a similar way, product reputation can also be identified by cross verifying the sales figure in the database available in the strategic information system or the enterprise resource planning (ERP). Locking in suppliers and customers- As opined by Peppard, Galliers and Thorogood (2014), locking in is a good way to gain the competitive advantage. Using this concept the strategic information system can be used to provide such advantages to the customers or the suppliers that it becomes difficult to either of them to look for a switch over to other customers or the suppliers. For example, an organization may design the strategic information system in such a way that it provides ample of benefits to customers like the reduced transaction costs, a reliable order filling, a faster delivery service and the increased management support. Reducing the products cost- According to the authors Peppard, Galliers and Thorogood (2014), strategic information systems may also contribute to the lowering of prices of products which is like a competitive edge in most of the markets. It is usually challenging for the competitors to copy the reduced pricing strategy which is easily possible through the IS. Nevertheless, such strategy can also contribute to the survival and the growth of the organization. For example, airline companies use the information systems to offer the customers a reduced cost so that they could outplace the competitors strategy for discounted fares. Incepting technology in the value chain operation- In the opinion of Peppard, Galliers, and Thorogood (2014), strategic information systems can best be utilized to improve the value chain operation. The technological advancement of the value chain operation will indeed yield a much better result by identifying the critical and the specific leverage points. Critically discuss what constitutes having a good internal control in a contemporary and complex business world. Your answer should cover how organisations could develop an internal control strategy so that they are not exposed to excessive risks or behaviours that could harm their reputation for honesty and integrity of their staff: A good internal control can be designed based on the risk assessment process. According to Helbing et al. (2015), the use of strategic information systems can help to facilitate an effective internal control as viewed from the perspectives of auditors. The audit technique can now be added to the strategic information systems to review and manage the financial and the operational controls. However, the control will be done by using the technological platform that the strategic information systems can provide (Helbing et al. 2015). As opined by Dutot, Bergeron and Raymond (2014), the controls or an understanding of the technology will directly impact the overall reliability of the financial statements. In the light of the above-mentioned facts, this can be said that a financial expert is also required to have a little knowledge of the IT/IS system. In addition to the controls on the financial statements, the strategic information systems can also be used for general control purpose. Such purpose includes but is not limited to like the employee access, IT governance, disaster recovery plans, network configuration, policies, logical and physical controls (Gorla and Somers 2014). The internal control in an organization can be managed appropriately by adhering to the following mentioned facts: Using this concept, the strategic information systems can be used to secure the confidential data from unauthorized users. The internal control in this regard can be enhanced by facilitating an authorization gateway where the end users will be required to make them identified by the system. If they are the authorized users and have been allowed to access to the system, the authorization will be successful and hence, the user will be able to access to the required data (Lesca et al. 2015). On the other hand, if any suspects are identified the system will simply block the user from access to the data (Lesca et al. 2015). In this way, the strategic information systems can help to enhance the internal control and thereby, will reduce the risks related to companys reputation, employees integrity and will also enhance the market reputation (Lesca et al. 2015). This is another very important concept and can be used to protect the important assets. The internal process is needed to be designed, tested and documented in order to test its reliability which is necessary to ensure a robust security of the important organizational assets (Lesca et al. 2015). Providing password protection system to confidential data will also be one of the key points to improve the internal control system. In addition to this, all users or the employees should be trained on security-related awareness (Lesca et al. 2015). Most importantly, an auditable authorization process is needed to be implemented, so that, auditing of access could become easier (Lesca et al. 2015). A review will be needed to check whether the information systems is actively working. Best practices of such task will include ensuring the data integrity by validating this from Data Warehouse, reporting models and FinancialLink tools (Lesca et al. 2015). This is also advisable to follow the data retention requirements and the retention schedules (Lesca et al. 2015). In addition to this, a periodic review of the information stored in the paper or the electronic format is also required (Lesca et al. 2015). Conclusion: To conclude, this can be said that the strategic information systems or the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can help the The Anglican School Googong in establishing a robust future. The master plan that the school administration has proposed should also include the ERP system in the module. This will as stated in this paper make different things act as a centralized activity. 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