Business Applications Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Business Applications Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay Introduction Information System handles the flow and maintenance of information that supports a business or some other operation. Information is derived from meaningful interpretation of data. Data consists of the raw facts representing events occurring in the environment. An Information System can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization. Using information systems effectively requires an understanding of the organization, management, and information technology shaping the systems. All information systems can be described as organizational and management solutions to challenges posed by the environment. An understanding of the effective and responsible use and management of information systems and technologies is important for managers, business professionals, and other knowledge workers in todays internetworked enterprises. Information systems play a vital role in the e-business and e-commerce operations, enterprise collaboration and management, and strategic success of businesses that must operate in an internetworked global environment. Thus, the field of information systems has become a major functional area of business administration. Business Applications of Information Systems Information systems perform three vital roles in business firms. Business applications of IS support an organizations business processes and operations, business decision-making, and strategic competitive advantage. Major application categories of information systems include operations support systems, such as transaction processing systems, process control systems, and enterprise collaboration systems, and management support systems, such as management information systems, decision support systems, and executive information systems. Other major categories are expert systems, knowledge management systems, strategic information systems, and functional business systems. However, in the real world most application categories are combined into cross-functional information systems that provide information and support for decision-making and also perform operational information processing activities. An information system (IS) can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, and data resources that collect, transforms, and disseminate information in an organization. Information Technologies:Business professionals rely on many types of information systems that use a variety of information technologies. For example: Types of IS- Manual (paper-and-pencil) information systems- Informal (word-of-mouth) information systems- Formal (written procedures) information systems- Computer-based information systems Computer-based information systems (IS) use hardware, software, the Internet, and other telecommunications networks, computer-based data resource management techniques, and other forms of information technologies (IT) to transform data resources into a variety of information products for consumers and business professionals. The role of Information System in an Organisation Information systems perform three vital roles in any type of organization. That is, they support an organizations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Business processes and operations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Decision making by employees and managers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Strategies for competitive advantage Analysing Royal Caribbean International We can learn a lot about the challenges of revitalizing and redirecting information technology in a company from the Real World Case of Royal Caribbean International. Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See Royal Caribbean International: Renewing and Realigning IT with Business in Section IX). The Major Roles of IS: Examples [Figure 1.9] Three major roles of the business applications of information systems include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Business Processes involves dealing with information systems that support the business processes and operations in a business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Decision Making help decision makers to make better decisions and attempt to gain a competitive advantage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Support Competitive Advantage help decision makers to gain a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative use of information technology. Information System Implementation New information technologies offer scholarly publishers an historic opportunity to increase speed and efficiency of production, add convenience for contributors, and enhance value for readers. The implementation of these systems, however, involves substantial risk. Information technology (IT) projects can and often do fall short of their objectives for a variety of reasons, including cost overruns, resistance from staff or external users, and failure of the technology to perform as expected Elements of complete IS implementation 1 . Development of computer applications for business transactions, such as production, marketing, selling, etc. 2 . Development of management information systems for effective business control 3 . Planned introduction and use of computers and telecommunications 4. Creation of an overall systems and standards architecture for technology, applications and data 5. Development of information systems for business planning 6. Improved productivity in information systems and computing 7. Development of appropriate staff resources 8. Development of internal support systems (payroll, personnel, pensions, etc.) Information System Implementation Success Implementing systems such as the electronic medical record and computerized physician order entry is a complex and difficult organizational undertaking. These implementations require political mobilization of the medical and nursing staffs, reengineering of clinical processes, significant capital commitments, management of large-scale projects and major changes to the IT infrastructure. The magnitude of this undertaking leads to a high failure rate, which some estimate to be as high as 50 percent. Still, some organizations have succeeded thanks to a combination of clear goals, partnership and implementation skills: Strong organizational vision and strategy. Successful organizations have developed a vision of patient care and a strategy to achieve that vision that is compelling, clear and understood by the members of the organization. This vision describes the critical need for excellence in care delivery and points to clinical systems as essential, strategic contributions to the vision. Most information systems initiatives do not require the bedrock of a compelling organizational vision, but clinical information system implementations do. These systems require the commitment and efforts of virtually all staff. They require deep change in operational and clinical processes. And, they require that other investment opportunities be put off, often for several years. For information system implementations of this significance to succeed, the organization must understand why it is doing so and believe that success is essential. Talented and committed leadership. Systems implementation and the related changes in the organization must be guided by senior leadership. This leadership must come from the board and all senior members of the administrative and medical staffs. These leaders must have the ability to inspire and mobilize others to get things done. They must actively engage in changing the organization, and once committed, they must have the strength to thoughtfully stay the course. These leaders must ask hard questions about the systems and their implementation. And they must be pragmaticsuperb practitioners of the art of the possible. A partnership between the clinical, administrative and information technology staffs. Across the strata of the organization, many effective, multidisciplinary teams will be needed. These teams will design information systems, develop new ways to do the work, revise policies and procedures, craft implementation steps, develop training materials and create approaches to resolving inevitable problems. Team members must view their efforts as a partnership. They must illustrate the attributes of high performance teams: skilled, honest, dedicated, willing to compromise and focused on the overall goal. Excellent implementation skills. The implementation of complex information systems requires deep skill. These skills need to occur in two critical areas: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Project management is needed to define, manage and monitor the large number of tasks, staff and resources that are being brought to the implementation. Good project management requires clear definitions of scope, well-reasoned delineation of tasks, astute assignment of accountability for task performance, flexibility in addressing problems and necessary changes in direction, and the ability to identify and resolve problems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Support is the set of activities that causes an application to stick, that is, to become an integral part of the fabric of practice. Support includes training, responsive enhancements, ongoing communication, discussion of status and problems, and crafting the evolution of clinical policies and procedures. Good to excellent IT. No information system is perfect, and users will find limitations in any clinical information system. Nonetheless, the applications need to be good enough to support the work that needs to be done. These systems must be able to handle critical changes in functionality that are required to address desired workflow and reporting needs. These systems should improve the work lives of providers rather than hinder them. Types of implementation plans Three general tactical implementation plans: The process of putting the new information system online and retiring the old system is known as system changeover. There are four changeover methods which are: > Direct cutover: The direct cutover approach causes the changeover from the old system to the new system to occur immediately when the new system becomes operational. It is the least expensive but involves more risks than other changeover methods. Advantage As we know health centre does not have enough funds for implementing the new system so it would be easier to implement direct cutover method in the health centre. Disadvantage This method of system changeover involves more risks of total system failure and it is preferred for commercial software packages. So if there is a system failure in health centre then it will be difficult to store information of child who visits health centre. And if there is no proper storage then there will be incorrect reports and monitoring of childs health will not be properly done. > Parallel operation: The parallel operation changeover method requires that both the old and the new information systems operate fully for a specified period. Data is input to both systems and output generated by the new system is compared with the equivalent output from the old system. When users, management, and IT group are satisfied that the new system operates correctly then the old system is terminated. It is the most costly changeover method and involves lower risks. Advantage The advantage of parallel system is lower risk of system failure so all the tasks can be done properly at health centre. If the new system does not work properly, the health centre can use the old manual system as a backup until appropriate changes are made. Disadvantage As we know parallel system is the most costly changeover method as both old and new systems operate fully for specified period and we also know that the budget of health centre is also low so it will be difficult for health centre to follow this changeover process. > Pilot operation: The pilot changeover method involves implementing the complete new system at a selected location of a company. Direct cutover method and operating both systems for only the pilot site. The group that uses the new system first is called the pilot site. By restricting the implementation to a pilot site reduces the risk of system failure as compared with is less expensive than a parallel system. Advantages Pilot operation is combination of both direct cutover and parallel operation, which restricts the implementation to a pilot site and reduces risk of system failure as compared with a direct cutover method. Operating system only at pilot site is less expensive than parallel operation for entire health centre and all health centers. If we use parallel approach to complete the implementation then the changeover period can be much shorter if system proves successful at the pilot site so a lot of time will be consumed at health centre in implementing the new system. Disadvantage This method is also costly as compared to the direct cutover. > Phased operation: The phased operation changeover method involves implementing the new system in stages, or modules. We can implement each subsystem by using any of the other three changeover methods. In this approach risk of errors or failures is limited to the implemented module only as well as it is less expensive than the full parallel operation. For implementing child health information system we can use above methods but there are some advantages as well disadvantages of using these systems, which are explained below: Advantages As we know in this method we have to implement the new system in stages, or modules, which is less prone to risk of system failure or errors at health centers, as failure is limited to the implemented module only. It is also less expensive than parallel system because we have to work only with one part of system at a time. Disadvantage As the system, which we are implementing, involves various phased operation like treatment, measuring weight, registration, vaccination etc so it can cost more than the pilot approach. Recommendation As we can determine from above information that pilot approach is the best approach where we can see the combination of less risks as well as less implementation cost because. There are many health centers so we can implement the new system only at any one of the health centers to check whether it is working appropriately or not. And this method is also cheaper than all other metho