Widespread Implementation of Information Systems within Business - Research Paper Example

To What Extent has Process Managemant Facilitated the more Widespread Implementation of Information Systems within Business Introduction The rapid growth of information technologies, cooperation and integration activities have caused significant changes in process management at the beginning of 1990s. The present day models and theories of process management differ from those, which were in use two decades ago. The study of process management is made all the more complex and thought provoking because of the competition of ideas between different academic and political standpoints. Added to this is the input from those who actually practice administration or management, giving us a "real world" perspective. Today, process management more and more relies on a considerable extent on achieving success through the development of new IS. Process management facilitated implementation of IS within business to ensure that the processes generated by such developments is spread around the business as widely as possible to those who might put it to good use. The research paper is aimed to investigate the main driven theories, values and assumptions that are shaping a usage of IS in process management from 1990s to present, and examine the influence of process management on the degree of IS implementation within business. Context "Process management is the ensemble of activities of planning and monitoring the performance of a process, especially in the sense of business process, often confused with reengineering. Process Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and systems to define, visualize, measure, control, report and improve processes with the goal to meet customers requirements profitably" (Wikipedia, 2005). Recent years process management implement Information Systems in order to improve quality of the processes and speed. With the changing economic environment, factors such as globalization of markets, international economic integration, removal of barriers to business and trade and increased competition have enhanced the need of high standards in process management. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirements, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities which plays an important role in making or breaking the competitive positioning, and recent development in information technologies and software opens new opportunities for global organizations. Technology may be central to companies adopting a global strategy. "Information systems can be defined as" a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization. In addition to supporting decision making, coordination, and control, information systems may also help managers and workers analyze problems, visualize complex subjects, and create new products" (Boar, 1994). From process management perspective, an information system is an organizational and management solution, based on information technology, to a challenge posed by the environment. Examine this definition closely because it emphasizes the organizational and management nature of information systems: To understand information systems-to be information systems literate as opposed to computer literate-a manager must understand the broader organization, management, and information technology dimensions of systems and their power to provide solutions to challenges and problems in the business environment. With the development of technology and software in particular, IS allows to solve a wider range of problems and tasks by means of computers. In this case, process management software developed at the middle of 1990s helps to connect people in global organization who operate in a distance, and has no opportunity to use printed matters or other sources. That is why it has become an important area for process managers, who are in a strong position to exert influence in this aspect of people management. The popularity of Information Systems in process management can be explained by the fact that it benefits any process or practice concerning performance in organizations. On the other hand, the widespread implementation of IS is caused by computerization and automation of all the processes within business. If process management cannot follow the rapidly changing environment it will be unnecessary in many business fields. Accordingly it is necessary to consider these inter-relationships otherwise the system or organisation as a whole will not function efficiently and will be slower to adapt to changing conditions, which is a primary requisite to survival. A simple organisational example of this would be if a stock control system in a firm was to be analysed in order to make it more efficient and it was decided that no attempt was to be made to consider the linkages which exist between the production control system, the replenishment system and the stock control system itself. In such circumstances even if the stock control system operated at peak efficiency, the overall effect would be less than optimal and a condition of sub-optimality would occur (Hammer, 1997). Process management is artificially contrived structures with procedures and objectives which should, and usually do, adapt to changes in the environment. In this case IS support process management in order to help it achieve objectives, to plan and control the processes and operations, to help deal with uncertainty and to help in adapting to change or, indeed, initiating change. Accordingly it is important for information system designers to be aware of the various influences on organisation design. These range from earlier mechanistic concepts, largely stemming from the 'scientific management' movement in the early part of this century, to more modern ideas which recognise the social and behavioural characteristics of the members of the organisation and the need for adaptation and change to deal with ever more rapidly changing conditions. On the other hand, IS serves to reduce at least the appearance of risk associated with time-space distanciation and the opacity of the expert system. In the light of this IS is viewed as a means of communication and as a means of storing knowledge. A preoccupation with technology may mean that too little attention is paid to the processes (social, technological and organizational) through which processes combines and interacts in different ways. Information systems can promote various degrees of process management. Implementation of IS can deals with automation, rationalization, reengineering, and paradigm shifts. Each carries different rewards and risks. The most common form is automation (Herder, Weijnen, 1999). The first applications of information technology involved assisting employees perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively. Calculating paychecks and payroll registers, giving bank tellers instant access to customer deposit records, and developing a nationwide network of airline reservation terminals for airline reservation agents are all examples of early automation. Automation is akin to putting a larger motor in an existing automobile. It is evident that without IS implementation process management would not be able to satisfy the changing business needs (Herder, Weijnen, 1999). For instance, rationalization of procedures, proposed by IS is a vivid example of such type of IS implementation. Automation frequently reveals new bottlenecks in production, and makes the existing arrangement of procedures and structures painfully cumbersome. Rationalization of procedures is the streamlining of standard operating procedures, eliminating obvious bottlenecks so that automation can make operating procedures more efficient. For example, Toshiba's new global infrastructure is effective not only because it utilizes state-of-the-art computer technology but also because its design allows Toshiba operating units, no matter where they are located, to operate more efficiently. To achieve this result, Toshiba had to first rationalize its business procedures down to the level of installation manuals and software instruction before it could reap the benefits of the technology. The company had to create standard names and formats for the data items in its global data warehouse. The procedures of Toshiba or of any organization must be rationally structured to achieve this result. Without a large amount of business process rationalization at Toshiba, its computer technology would have been useless. A more powerful type of process management which facilitated widespread implementation of IS is business reengineering, in which business processes are analyzed, simplified, and redesigned. Reengineering involves radically rethinking the flow of work and the business processes used to produce products and services with a mind to radically reduce the costs of business. Using information technology, organizations can rethink and streamline their business processes to improve speed, service, and quality. Business reengineering reorganizes work flows, combining steps to cut waste and eliminating repetitive, paper-intensive tasks (Harmon, 2002). It is much more ambitious than rationalization of procedures, requiring a new vision of how the process is to be organized. Business reengineering entails developing a business process model of how activities function, analyzing relationships among business units, and implementing changes that would eliminate redundant processes and make business units more effective. It should be mentioned that process management facilitated implementation of IS with the development of the Internet and WWW. Form 1990s the nature of relations between process management and IS has been changed. Today, there is a growing interdependence between business strategy, rules, and procedures on the one hand, and information systems software, hardware, data-bases, and telecommunications on the other. A change in any of these components often requires changes in other components. This relationship becomes critical when management plans for the future. What a business would like to do in five years is often dependent on what its systems will be able to do. Increasing market share, becoming the high-quality or low-cost producer, developing new products, and increasing employee productivity depend more and more on the kinds and quality of information systems in the organization. Managers perceive business challenges in the environment; they set the organizational strategy for responding and they allocate the human and financial resources to achieve the strategy and coordinate the work. Information systems technology is one of many tools available to managers for coping with change. A CBIS uses computer hardware, software, storage, and telecommunications technologies. Computer hardware is the physical equipment used for input, processing, and output activities in an information system. It consists of the following: the computer processing unit; various input, output, and storage devices; and physical media to link these devices Computer software consists of the detailed preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system (Scheer, 1999). Views on resource allocation during systems development have changed significantly over the 1990s. Resource allocation determines the way the costs, time, and personnel are assigned to different phases of the project. In earlier times, developers focused on programming, with only about 1 percent of the time and costs of a project being devoted to systems analysis (determining specifications) (Scheer, 1999). IS that is now being used for systems development forces expenditures in analysis and design work to expand. Consequently, significant project resources are being shifted to earlier stages in the project cycle. More time is being spent in specifications and systems analysis, decreasing the proportion of programming time, and reducing the need for so much maintenance time. Research Methods Academic research has two primary objectives; firstly, to build new knowledge, and secondly, to disseminate that knowledge and raise awareness of its potential applications. Knowledge created but not shared has no value. Ultimately, Academic research should lead to practical outcomes that are useful to the profession (Harcourt, 1994). For this research quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. If quantitative research is carried out correctly, both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques can be used to analyze data and draw conclusions. Because a quality system must achieve the business goals established by the user, it stands to reason that system quality begins with complete, detailed, accurate specifications documented in a form that users can understand. Some methodologies document specifications using flowcharts and diagrams, others use verbal descriptions. Specifications must also include agreed-upon measures of system quality so that the system can be evaluated objectively while it is being developed and once it is completed. Data collection will involve: following the defined sampling process; keeping the data in time order; noting comments and other contextual events; recording non-responses. After sampling, a review should be held of the exact process followed in sampling, rather than that intended, in order to study any effects that any divergences might have on subsequent analysis. In random sampling every combination of items from the frame, or stratum, has a known probability of occurring, but these probabilities are not necessarily equal. It guarantees that the sample is representative of the frame but is infeasible in many practical situations. With simple random sampling, each item in a population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample. If the sample size is to include 1000 organizations, then 1,000 numbers could be randomly generated by computer or numbers could be picked out of a hat. These numbers could then be matched to names in the telephone book, thereby providing a list of 1,000 organizations. The quantitative data will include the number of processes existing in an organization within process management field and a number of processes supported by IS. This will help to identify the main areas of analysis. To extend the research it is possible to compare the results obtained in 1995 and 2005 in order to examine the difference between implementation of IS within business during this period of time. Object-oriented approach will be used for qualitative data analysis. It differs from traditional methodologies in the way it handles the issue of process versus data. Traditional structured analysis and design put procedures first. They first view a system in terms of what it is intended to do and then develop models of procedures and data. Object-oriented approach deemphasizes procedures. The focus shifts from modeling business processes and data to combining data and procedures into objects. The system is viewed as a collection of classes and objects and the relationships among them. The objects are defined, programmed, documented, and saved for use with future applications. The primary data analysis will be used to analysis the present day situation, and the method of secondary data analysis could be used to analysis the situation and data for 1995. Of course, this limits the value of results, but allows compare both quantitative so qualitative data in time frame in order to prove and examine to what extent process management facilitated the widespread implementation of IS within Business. And the second limitation is the level of reliability. Test-retest reliability checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated under similar circumstances. Stability over repeated measures is assessed with the Pearson coefficient. Alternative forms reliability checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated using different forms. Internal consistency reliability checks how well the individual measures included in the research are converted into a composite measure. Internal consistency may be assessed by correlating performance on two halves of a test. The research will be based on a particular business field in order to maximize the value of the results obtained. For instance, it can be car manufacturing or public sector organizations. Literature Review It is possible to singled out two main directions in the research literature dealing with process management and Business IS. Process management literature pays more attention to the possible benefits of implementation of new IS and new directions in order to support the decision making process, manufacturing process, etc. Research studies concern management IS examine the role of IS in all the spheres of business treating process management as a part of this process. The main areas of studies are the role of data and the level of technology development to meet the needs of a particular task within business. Up-to-date scholarship on both of these themes is reflected in recent researches of B. Boar (1994) Practical Steps for Aligning Information Technology with Business Strategies, P. Harmon (2002) Who's Profiting from Business Process Redesign, A.W. Scheer, (1999) ARIS - Business Process Modeling, etc. Also, the problem of implementation of IS within business is debated by many management and scientific journals like Computers & Industrial Engineering, etc. Research Design Research design will include the following steps. Procedure: The first step will consists of: choice of design (qualitative or quantitative); choice of elements; elaboration of questionnaire in accordance with the type of sampling and questions' types; choice of place and conditions. The second step is data collection The third step is data analysis (including null hypothesis) The forth steps evaluation of the results (The Research Process, n.d.). Once data has been collected, it needs to be "cleaned" which involves editing, coding and the tabulating results. I consider these steps as the most useful because they help to express personal vision and analysis of the problem based on reliable statistical data. All the steps and techniques discussed above can be effectively applied to business writing helping to organize and business research process. Explanations will include a researcher's point of view on the problem examined. IT can be used to support the has many advantages in academic research. It helps to collect and analyze data from different sources. The main advantage of IT compared with any other generators is, that IT is much more generalized. It is designed to generate any kind of text. IT can be executed independently from client requests, and its output can be directed to any target. Any number and any kind of objects can be provided by the programming experts. Conclusion It is possible to conclude that the relationship of information systems and organizations results from the growing complexity and scope of system projects and applications. Building systems today involves a much larger part of the organization than it did in the past. contemporary systems bring about managerial changes (who has what information about whom, when, and how often) and institutional "core" changes (what products and services are produced, under what conditions, and by whom). Today's integrated human resources system (which includes payroll processing) may involve all major corporate divisions, the human resources department, dozens full-time programmers, a flock of external consultants, multiple machines (or remote computers linked by communications networks), and perhaps hundreds of end users in the organization who use payroll data to make calculations about benefits and pensions and to answer a host of other questions. The data, instead of being located in and controlled by the treasurer's office, are now available to hundreds of employees via desktop computers. Contemporary process management embodies both managerial and institutional changes. Reference 1. Boar, Bernard H. 1994, Practical Steps for Aligning Information Technology with Business Strategies. Wiley, 2. Process management definition. Wikipedia. Available from: http://www.answers.com/main/ntquerymethod=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Process+management&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1s 3. Hammer, M. 1997, Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization Is Changing Our Work and Our Lives. HarperBusiness. 4. Harmon, P. 2002, Who's Profiting from Business Process Redesign. Cutter Consortium. 5. Harcourt C. A. 1994. Writing the Research Paper. Winkler, Brace College Publishers. 6. Herder, P.M. and Weijnen, M.P.C. 1999. Assessment of the quality of the design process and the design of chemical plants with Piquar, Computers & Industrial Engineering, Vol. 37, No. 1-2, October, 1999, pp. 125-128. 7. The Research Process. Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center (n.d.). Available from: http://libweb.sonoma.edu/assistance/research/default.html 8. Scheer, A.W. 1999. ARIS - Business Process Modeling. 3rd Ed. Springer. Read More