Types of Organization

LESSON 2 ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS An introductory topic on focusing Information System Organizations be formal social units given to the attainment of specific goals. The success of any ecesiss is premise on the cost-efficient use and way of resources which traditionally comprises merciful, financial, and material resources. Information is now acknowledge as a crucial resource of an organization. Examples of organizations be moving in inviolables, banks, presidential term agencies, hospitals, educational institutions, insurance companies, airlines, and utilities.Organizations and selective tuition systems have a mutual capture on individually former(a). The training deals of an organization affect the initiation of information systems and an organization must be open itself to the sets of information systems in evidence to to a greater extent fully benefit from novel technologies. pic This complex two-part relationship is mediated by many factors, not the least of which atomic number 18 the decisions madeor not madeby managers. Other factors mediating the relationship atomic number 18 the organizational culture, bureaucracy, politics, bank line personal manner, and pure chance. 1. Organizations and environments Organizations reside in environments from which they beat resources and to which they supply goods and die hard. Organizations and environments have a reciprocal relationship. Organizations atomic number 18 open to, and capable on, the social and physical environment that surrounds them. With push through financial and tender-hearted resourcespeople involuntary to work reliably and consistently for a set wage or revenue from nodesorganizations could not personify. Organizations must respond to legislative and separate requirements impose by governance, as well as the actions of guests and competitors. On the other hand, organizations dirty dog influence their environments. Organizations form alliances with others to influence the semipolitical process they advertise to influence customer acceptance of their products. Information systems be key instruments for environmental s fuelning, aid managers identify external changes that might require an organizational response. New technologies, refreshing products, and changing public tastes and values (many of which result in new government regulations) put strains on any organizations culture, politics, and people. 2. Standard run procedures (SOPs) Precise rules, procedures, and practices cultivateed by organizations to cope with virtually all expect situations. These standard operating procedures have a immense deal to do with the efficiency that modern organizations attain. 3. Organizational Politics People in organizations matter to divergent positions with incompatible specialties, concerns, and perspectives.As a result, they naturally have divergent viewpoints about(predicate) how resources, rewards, and punishments should be distributed. These differences matter to twain managers and employees, and they result in political struggle, competition, and action within every organization. Political resistance is one of the great difficulties of speech about organizational changeespecially the organizement of new information systems. Virtually all information systems that bring about signifi throw outt changes in goals, procedures, productivity, and personnel are politically charged and elicit serious political opposition. . Organizational culture Organizational culture describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the means they interact with from each one other and with stakeholders outside the organization. It is the set of shopamental assumptions about what products the organiz ation should formulate, how and where it should produce them, and for whom they should be produced. It is a powerful unifying force that restrains political contradict and promotes common understanding, agreement on procedures, and common practices organizational culture is a powerful restraint on change, especially technological change. Most organizations lead do almost anything to avoid making changes in basic assumptions. every technological change that threatens commonly held cultural assumptions usually meets a great deal of resistance.However, there are magazines when the only sensible way for a firm to move forward is to employ a new technology that directly opposes an existing organizational culture. Types of Organizational Information systems finality making is often a managers most dispute role. Information systems have athletic sustainered managers communicate and distribute information and provide avail for trouble decision making. No single system provides all the information needed by the divergent organizational aims, functions and business processes.Organizations can be divided into strategic, care, and working(a) levels. 1. Operational-level systems underpin available managers needs for received, accurate and considerably chafeible information in general used to keep track of the innocent activities and transactions of the organization. closing making for operational control determines how to carry out the specific tasks set forth by strategic and middle management decisions. 2. Management-level systems are designed to officiate the monitoring, imperative, decision-making, and administrative activities of middle managers.Decision making for management control focuses on efficiency and effective use of resources. It requires knowledge of operational decision making and task completion. 3. Strategic- level systems help senior managers with long preparedness needed to meet changes in the external and internal business environment. Strategic decision determines the long-term objectives, resources and policies of the organization. Decisions at every level of the organization can overly be classified as unstructured, structured and semi-structured. unorganized decisions involve judgment, evaluation, and insight into the problem definition. They are novel, important, and non deed. Structured decisions are routine Semi-structured decisions involve cases where only part of the problem can be answered by an accepted procedure. Modern information systems have been most successful with structured, operational and management control decisions. But now most of the exciting applications are occurring at the management knowledge and strategic levels where problems are either semi-structured or unstructured.TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM Following are the different types on information systems that support the needs of the organization Executive information systems (EIS), Decision support syste ms (DSS), Management Information Systems(MIS), and Transaction Processing Systems (TPS). A. Executive information systems (EIS) provide top management with ready access to a innovation of summarized company entropy against a background of general information on the industry and the economy at large.ESS provides a generalized computing and communications environment for senior managers at the strategic level of the organization. Top management of any organization need to be able to track the implementation of their company and of its different units, assess the opportunities and threats, and develop strategic directions for the companys future. Executive information systems have these characteristics 1. EIS provide immediate and well-to-do access to information reflecting the key success factors of the company and of its units. 2. User-seductive embrasures, such as simulation graphics and video, allow the EIS user to grasp trends at a glance. Users term is at a high premium h ere. 3. EIS provide access to a variety of informationbases, both internal and external, through a uniform interface the fact that the system consults multiple databases should be transparent to the users. 4. Both current status and projections should be available from EIS. It is frequently desirable to investigate different projections in particular, planned projections may be compared with the projections derived from actual results. . An EIS should allow easy tailoring to the prefaces of the particular user or group of users (such as the political boss decision makers cabinet or the corporate board). 6. EIS should offer the efficiency to drill down into the data it should be possible to see increasingly detailed the summaries. Critical Success factors for achieving a successful EIS 1. A move and informed executive sponsor. A top level executive, preferably the CEO, should table service as the executive sponsor of the EIS by encouraging its implementation. 2. An operating sponsor.The executive sponsor will most likely be too bad-tempered to devote lots time to implementation. That task should be given to more(prenominal) or less other top-level executive, such as the executive vice-president. The operating sponsor works with both the user executives and the information specialists to ensure that the work gets done. 3. abstract information services staff. Information specialists should be available who understand not only the information technology but also how the executive will use the system. 4. Appropriate information technology.EIS implementers should not get carried away and incorporate unnecessary ironware or software. The system must be kept as simple as possible and should give the executive exactly what him or her wants-nothing more and nothing less. 5. Data Management. It is not sufficient to simply display data or information. The executive should have some idea of how current the data is. This can be accomplished by identifying the day and ideally the time of the day the data was entered. The executive should be able to follow data analysis. . A clear link to business objectives. Most successful EISs are designed to solve specific problems or meet needs that can be addressed with information technology. 7. Management of organizational resistance. When an executive resists the EIS, efforts should be taken to gain support. A good strategy is to identify a single problem that the executive faces and then quickly implement an EIS, utilize prototyping to address that problem. Care must be taken to select a problem that will enable the EIS to make a good showing. . Management of the spread and evolution of the system. Experience has shown that when upper-level management begins receiving information from the EIS, cut back level managers want to receive the same output. Care must be taken to add users only when they can be given the concern they need. B. Management information systems (MIS) serve the management l evel of the organization, providing managers with reports and, in some cases, with online access to the organizations current performance and historical records.Typically, they are oriented almost exclusively to internal, not environmental or external, events. MIS primarily serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making at the management level. Generally, they depend on underlying transaction processing systems for their data C. Decision support systems (DSS), is a type of MIS expressly developed to support the decision-making process in non-routine task. DSS assist middle managers with analytical decisions, and able to address semistructured problems drawing on both internal and external sources of data 1.It is an interactive computer-based system intended to help managers retrieve, summarize, analyze decision relevant data and make decisions. 2. DSS facilitate a dialogue mingled with the user, who is considering alternative problem solutions, and the system, wi th its built-in models and access to the database. 3. DSS are interactive, and in a typical session, the manager using a DSS can evaluate a number of possible what if scenarios by using a model or a simulation of a real deportment system. Two study categories of DSS 1. Enterprise-wide DSS are linked to large, data warehouse and serve many managers in a company.Enterprise wide DSS can range from slightly simple systems to complex data intensive and analytically sophisticated executive information system. 2. Desk-top DSS such as spreadsheets, accounting and financial models can be implemented in Microsoft Excel. Another DSS tool, simulation, is usually implemented in background signal packages. D. Transaction processing systems (TPS) is the core of IT applications in business since it serves the operational level of the organization by recording the daily transactions postulate to withdraw business.Most mission- critical information systems for both large and small organizations are essentially transaction processing systems for operational data processing that is needed, for example, to register customer orders and to produce invoices and payroll checks. This system keeps track of money paid to employees, generating employee paychecks and other reports. A symbolic representation for a payroll TPS Typical applications of TPS there are five useable categories of TPS sales/marketing, manufacturing/production, finance/accounting, human resources, and other types of systems specific to a particular industry.Within each of these major functions are subfunctions. For each of these subfunctions (e. g. , sales management) there is a major application system. pic The various types of systems in the organization exchange data with one another. TPS are a major source of data for other systems, especially MIS and DSS. ESS is primarily a telephone receiver of data from lower-level systems. Systems from a Functional Perspective There are foursome major functional ar eas in an organization sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, and human resources. . Sales and Marketing Systems The sales and marketing function is responsible for merchandising the organizations product or service. Sales function is have-to doe with with contacting customers, selling the products and services, taking orders, and following up on sales. Marketing is concerned with identifying the customers for the firms products or services, determining what customers need or want, planning and developing products and services to meet their needs, and advertising and promoting these products and services.Sales and marketing information systems support these activities and help the firm identify customers for the firms products or services, develop products and services to meet customers needs, promote these products and services, sell the products and services, and provide ongoing customer support. Examples of Sales and Marketing information sys tems are Order processing, pricing synopsis and sales Trend Forecasting. 2. Manufacturing and Production Systems The manufacturing and production function is responsible for genuinely producing the firms goods and services.Manufacturing and production systems deal with the planning, development, and maintenance of production facilities the brass instrument of production goals the acquisition, storage, and availability of production materials and the scheduling of equipment, facilities, materials, and labor required to fashion finished products. Manufacturing and production information systems support these activities, it deal with the planning, development, and production of products and services, and with controlling the combine of production. 3. Finance and Accounting SystemsThe finance function is responsible for managing the firms financial assets, such as cash, stocks, bonds, and other investments, in order to maximize the return on these financial assets. The finance funct ion is also in charge of managing the capitalization of the firm (finding new financial assets in stocks, bonds, or other forms of debt). In order to determine whether the firm is getting the best return on its investments, the finance function must earn a considerable amount of information from sources external to the firm.The accounting function is responsible for maintaining and managing the firms financial recordsreceipts, disbursements, depreciation, payrollto account for the flow of funds in a firm. Finance and accounting share colligate problemshow to keep track of a firms financial assets and fund flows. They provide answers to questions such as these What is the current inventory of financial assets? What records exist for disbursements, receipts, payroll, and other fund flows? Examples of Finance and Accounting Systems Accounts receivable, Budgeting, Profit Planning. 4. Human Resources SystemsThe human resources function is responsible for attracting, developing, and m aintaining the firms workforce. Human resources information systems support activities, such as identifying potential employees, maintaining complete records on existing employees, and creating programs to develop employees talents and skills Examples of Human resources information systems training and development, compensation analysis, and Human Resources Planning. Management Challenges Businesses need different types of information systems to support decision making and work activities for various organizational levels and functions.Well-conceived systems linking the entire enterprise typically require a probative amount of organizational and management change and raise the following management challenges 1. Integration. Although it is necessary to design different systems serving different levels and functions in the firm, more and more firms are finding advantages in integrating systems. However, integrating systems for different organizational levels and functions to freely e xchange information can be technologically difficult and costly.Managers need to determine what level of system integration is required and how much it is worth in dollars. 2. Enlarging the scope of management thinking. Most managers are trained to manage a product line, a division, or an office. They are rarely trained to optimize the performance of the organization as a whole and often are not given the means to do so. But enterprise systems and industrial networks require managers to take a much larger view of their own behavior, including other products, divisions, departments, and even outside business firms. - Objectives At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to Illustrate the relationship between organizations and information systems Explain the factors mediating the relationship between organizations and information systems Discuss the different types of information systems in the organization. Explain how information supports the different levels of an o rganization harbour examples of the information systems that are being used to support business functional areas