The Nature and Characteristics of Business Information Systems Problems
Discuss about the Operating Systems Course In Business Information Systems Curriculum.
Information systems scholars have been making significant research and contribution in the field of management, governance, modeling and integration. There has been a wide and extensive use of complex quantities of data in a diverse world. This is an area of research that encompasses design and system approach and different developing methodologies for the adoption of technology in an organization. There are several critical success factors that have contributed to the success stories of systems technology. Information technology business focuses on enhancing and studying the worth of business information systems from the application of systems technology. This involves analysis of business design and IT governance, investments on business performance and so on.
The purpose behind business information system is simply referred to as the help provided to executives for taking effective decisions that can enhance the company’s objectives and vision. An effective business information system assembles the data that are available in the company and inputs the past activities and shows what the enterprise has achieved in different areas of interest and which information is required for making advancements (Bajgoric, 2015). Some of the important characteristics of business information systems provide confidence to decision makers to achieve the desired consequences. The information that is received by the manager must be related to the managerial decisions. An effective business information system will input the data through the different activity areas through which data can be organized into different forms of meaningful decisions. The nature and characteristics of business information systems can be summarized as follows (Guo, 2007)-
- Accuracy-This is one of the effective measures of business information systems. The data accuracy determines the calculation and that is applicable to the effectiveness of different information used by the company. For instance-payroll information must be precise and must be calculated on hours’ spent and reasonable estimates (Winter and Baskerville, 2010).
- Timeliness- The business information system must be current and management must be able to make decisions regarding the future prospects based on the data available in the present. When collection of data is delayed due to availability, the business information systems must take into account all the potential inaccuracies. This is mainly due to resulting information available with error.
- Usefulness- The information received through the manager must be accurate and relevant and this will be useful for making the particular decisions. For instance- Manager must make decisions on employees cut that takes place due to the staff reduction, information available because of cost savings. The information must be useful and easily accessible (Neumann, Sobernig and Aram, 2014).
- Completeness- The effective business information systems must present all the useful and relevant for taking decisions. If any information is not available due to inappropriate data, the gaps must be highlighted and possible effected scenarios must be presented (Damjanovi?, 2010).
Business information systems are powerful applications through which company takes valid decisions and find about trends in available data. Some of the common issues that can enhance the performance of any enterprise have been summarized below.
- Maintenance-One of the biggest problems experienced by the business information systems users is the provision of raw data and the maintenance of current information. The company generates data on revenue, payments, sales and principle business information. Marketing departments have their own databases. The right business information system must be used to input the data in a standard format. Through this way, the data stored in the company will always be available in the working level. In case, business information system must require the extra processing and data is valuable.
- Use-Usability is one of the major concerns for business information systems. A strong system gets wasted, if employees of the company are not making use of it. Business information systems fail because the user interface is highly complicated. Before making the final selection of business information system, check for the different issues. The reports must be clearly understood and should have relevance to the enterprise. Users must be able to generate the report with little effort and minimum training (Gessner and Scott, 2009).
- Changes in the needs of clients-The business information systems must have ability to adapt to changes in the company. The available data may get changed and reports can vary and this requires revisions for inputs as well as output.
A methodology is regarded as a holistic approach. It is more than a method and based on a given process model. It encompasses the analytical framework that has representative practices and it is operated through the analytical techniques and methods. Underlying the framework of a given process model that indicates the relative development duration activities. These methodologies can be classified as follows (Mohaghar 2013)-
- Soft Systems Approach- In this approach, organizational problems are not defined accurately. The philosophy behind the soft systems approach is to understand the organization problem holistically and complete analysis of structural organization has to be performed (Siriram, 2011)
Strengths-
- This approach addresses the systems objectives and requirements analysis.
- The definition of organizational problem has been addressed.
Weakness
- This approach neglects the different stages of the systems development life cycle.
- Planning Approach-This information system must be aligned with the needs of strategic business.
Strength-
- Pre-planning is involved in the development of information systems.
Weakness-
- This approach neglects the operational needs of any development project.
- Hard Systems Approach-This is an effective approach and based on the anticipated changes in the organization (Herawan and Deris, 2011).
Strengths-
- This approach addresses, user appreciation.
- Determination of system operations is possible (Torres, 2018).
Weakness-
- This approach neglects the wider organizational implications like structural changes.
- Prototyping approaches- This approach can be used for the anticipatory, technical and experimental purposes. This purpose can be evolutionary or one-off.
Strengths-
- The approach addresses the developer appreciation of system and technical aspects.
Weaknesses-
- This approach concentrates on neglecting the organizational implications like structural changes and on local systems.
- Automated Approach-This approach has an imprecise technical system definition and lacks the accuracy in the documentation.
Strengths-
- This approach takes into account the rapid design, production and has been implemented through specific requirements.
Weaknesses-
- This approach neglects the social, human and organizational system impacts.
- Structured Approach-This approach takes into account the well-defined problems of organizations and also forms the basis for a new system.
Strengths-
- This approach addresses early system requirements, coordination and standardization of various developmental tasks.
Weakness-
- This approach neglects the social, human and organizational system impacts.
- Data approaches-This approach of organization is understood through the information analysis (Bednar, 2018)
Strengths-
- The approach addresses the technological usage and supports existing and required transactions and data flow.
Weakness-
- This approach neglects the social, human and organizational system impacts.
The methodologies can be classified through four variables.
- The system strategy.
- The linear or mixed methodology and also through the prototyping.
- Software tools development and third generation language of programming.
- The formality of system development methodology.
- The planning levels and also management control of enterprise project.
The designer’s perspective of value systems has been formed through the particular methodology. There can be wide developmental changes in the culture and practices and this depends on the methodology.
Problems in Business Information Systems
For Instance-The development of information system has been viewed primarily within the pro health care clinical enterprise will be supported through clinical information as the technical problems and has been approached as the function and technical approaches. These findings on the methodologies reflect the value systems on the methodology selected (Waukesha, 2018).
Point of view
The methodology classification is useful doing the detailed analysis of various approaches. It concentrates on the different management of methodologies that have a different perspective for understanding on how the different methodologies can be sued. This is a useful perspective where the approaches can be classified through the different objectives. This has been concentrated upon the development strategies and used for supporting individual tasks.
All the present barriers have been classified into organizational, humanistic and environmental factors. There are major reasons and drawbacks of failure and these has been summarized as follows
- The lack of available information for the managers and they have less awareness of what the information needs.
- The lack of indulgence the user’s needs and their accurate definition.
- The lack of information that has been provided to the mangers and their collaboration method (Kamal and Bandyopadhyay, 2014).
- The lack of manager’s participation, and users in the enterprise design.
- The lack of information provided to most of the programmers and analysts.
- The lack of system acceptance and resistance against change.
- The lack of data accuracy in collecting the organizational factors.
- The lack of conditions for the collaboration and participation of systems and users and directors.
- The lack of consistency as well as complexity of existing IT systems.
- The lack of evaluation with existing power.
- The absence of quality criteria with existing information systems.
- The absence of well-qualified consultants for designing of software.
- The shortage of different methodologies and procedures in various stages of system creation.
- The absence of environmental aspects of different business information systems.
- The absence of suitable and well defined usage of mass media in the development of culture using information system (Dos Santos and Bazzan, 2012).
- The shortages of training courses and lack of education courses with this regard.
- The absence of well-defined rules in parliament and considerable problem handling.
- The absence of serious consideration and investments with this regard.
The development of business information system has caused the bureaucratic nature of different administrative management has been reduced to a significant level. Most of the scholars believe that IT decisions are technocratic and not democratic (Kuo and Huang, 2011). There are people who believe in democratic believes like freedom of speech and pluralism. In a communication enterprise, direct control is being replaced by the indirect tools like education and standardization. Information forms the basis for power and this has negative outcomes as well. One of the reasons that have been experienced through enterprise, with respect to business information systems has not been successful (Kowalski, Bednar and Bider, 2015). In order to eliminate some of the problems, these must be presented to the managers, directors and must be considered through executive managers. Business information systems have been playing the crucial role that provides the streamlined options through which decision makers can make the preferred choices. This ensures that choices made through the decision makers can become positive. One of the guaranteed concepts is that decision choices are viable in the business. There are certain recommendations in this regard-
- The determination of a suitable policy for the development of a business information system.
- The communication, information ministry and informatics must take certain measurements.
- The public organizations must manage the planning organization and defined study plans for the identification of existing barriers in different organization for using the business information system and execute the projects.
- The conferences must be held at significant national and international levels for the development of informational culture.
- The formation of business information system is important from the perspective of administrative organizations and determination of institutions.
Managers have an important role in business information systems when compared with enterprise directors. In order to achieve this, the organizations managers need an attitude change and establishment of application procedures.
Conclusion
The foundation of business information systems is based on the transaction and active computer systems in an enterprise. This requires implementation of business information systems and it is necessary to implement the comprehensive plan for determining the information systems in different organizations. Absorbing the skillful and effective employees and creation of suitable motivations for exciting employees is necessary. Huge consideration has to be given to the private companies and government firms for using the employees in establishment and design of business information systems. This helps in reducing the privatization policy as well as elimination of problems of various companies. It is necessary to form the business information system council directing committee that can direct the implementation plan from the initial establishment stages in organization.
References
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