Business Driven Information Systems - Case Study Example

 Business Driven Information Systems Porter’s 5 Forces analysis: The University of La Verne The power of new entrants into the business is described by Porter as a threat to the competitiveness of a business (Roy, 2009). Since the University of La Verne is a private institution whose business is provision of higher education services and academic research, it is evident that the rise of higher institutions within California which offers these educational services are likely to pose a business threat. It is in this regard that the university is mandated to improve is business strategy within the education sector so that it becomes a leader in higher education and academic research within California. The power of the buyer is a business environmental force which must be highly regarded by the University of La Verne. This means that for the university to achieve its mission, it must provide the users of its educational and research services with the highest quality and effective delivery processes. Supplier power is another force within a competitive business environment which the management of the University of La Verne must consider significant for its success. This means that the vendors of its educational and research materials and equipment must be treated with utmost respect and professionalism so that they would remain loyal suppliers to the university. The threat of substitutes is described by Porter as the alternative services or products that would make an organization to fail achieving its competitive advantage and therefore its purpose (Roy, 2009). The substitutes to the educational services and research within California and other parts of the world are limited which means that the university will remain competitive in the higher education sector within California. Effectiveness of Technology in the University of La Verne The effectiveness of information and communication technology within the University of La Verne can be measured in terms of the acceptance of the users to various applications. In the adoption and implementation of technology, success is determined by the attitudes of the users to the technology which allow them to either reject or accept it (Rainer & Cegielski, 2011). Therefore students, administrators, the management and lecturers of the university must be content with the various IT applications as the most effective approach through which their work activities are improved for increased performance. This measurement can be achieved through surveys or interviews and questionnaires which are aimed at determining the user satisfaction of the IT applications. If the users or members of the university community demonstrate dissatisfaction with the IT applications, them it means that the adoption and implementation of technology within the university is not a success. The effectiveness and success of information and communication technology within the University of La Verne can also be assessed and evaluated in line with its compatibility with the educational pedagogy or approach that is used within the university. Information technology cannot be effective if it does not support the teaching methods and learning strategies of an institution (Alter, 2008). The University of La Verne employs a scientific pedagogy in training and research. This methodology in the university is demonstrated by the fact that the learning processes are aimed at allowing students to have a practical application of the skills and knowledge that they acquire in solving real life problems. In addition, the research within the university is designed to provide solutions to the problems that face various industry operations. This means that the technology and various software applications must support the scientific pedagogy of training for them to be defined as effective. The IT processes within the University of La Verne which needs to be enhanced include online communication through information technology within the institution and with the external academic community. This means that the university should improve the internet access that the students are offered in addition to teachers and administrators. This includes improving the signal strength of the wireless networks and attaching all computer terminals to the local area network within the university and the wide area network which represents the World Wide Web or the internet. Effective or successful information technology within an institution or organization must allow users to network effectively so that they can exchange ideas and information and engage in discussion forums both within the institution and the external community around the world (Stair, 2011). In order for the University of La Verne to achieve this, it must acquire new technology such as servers and internet applications and install this technology within the already implemented information system network. This will facilitate networking and online research by students and their lectures. Managerial Decision Making and Technology At the strategic level of management within the University of La Verne, executive support systems are the information systems that are used by senior managers to make strategic decisions which define the future of the university. The executive support systems are designed to reflect the key areas of the university and how they are likely to affect the implementation of the strategic plan of the university. Therefore these systems represent effective technology within the university which aids the top executives of the institution to make informed and accurate decisions which determine the direction of operations and academic processes. Executive support systems are types of technology of information systems which present the top management of an institution or organization with summaries of gathered and analyzed data for informed decision making on business strategy and planning on operations that affect the organization in the long run (Gupta, 2011). The employees and junior management within the University of La Verne gather data and information on the education and research activities within the university and its campuses. This data is then analyzed into meaning and presented in easily comprehensible formats so that it is presented to the executive management through the executive support systems for decision making. Through the executive support systems, top managers within the University of La Verne make strategic decisions such as funding educational and research projects, approval of budgets and changes to the educational programs within the university. The technology that is used in decision making within the middle level management of the University of La Verne are the management information systems (MIS). Management information systems are a collection of hardware and software applications which are used by the tactical managers to make decisions on organizational or institutional processes and transactions (Gupta, 2011). For example the middle management within the finance department of the University of La Verne employs financial information systems to analyze and present financial data for decision making. The financial information on students includes fee information which is used by the mangers within the finance department to make decisions such as the eligibility of the students to do exams and participate in other educational and research processes. Management information systems are used by middle level managers to produce reports on the business activities of an organization or company (Oz, 2009). Within the University of La Verne, various reports are required as a basis upon which decisions are made. For example reports on the attendance of students and lecturers in the educational activities are prepared through the management information system applications and presented to the relevant authorities for decision making. In addition, reports on employee appraisal and performance are produced through data analysis and presentation by the management information systems at the middle management level. These reports are used to make various decisions including recommendation of staff within the University La Verne for promotion or compensation and profits. Therefore management information systems are argued to have played a significant role within the middle management level of the University of La Verne as pertains to decision making. Knowledge management systems are used within the operational management level of the University of La Verne to promote sharing of information and exchange of concepts and ideas in education among students and lectures. Knowledge management systems within an organization promote the exchange of information through communication and also enhance interaction among individuals (Lucey, 2007). It is therefore through the knowledge management system that learners within the University of La Verne are allowed to enhance their learning experience. Through these systems, learners are able to effectively employ the scientific pedagogy to form teams and groups for their projects. In addition, these systems allow the students to contact their lectures on matters of education and in the implementation of their individual projects. The role of knowledge management systems in decision making within the operational management level of the University of La Verne is demonstrated by the importance of knowledge as a prerequisite to all forms of decision making. For example decisions on attendance to classes and seminars by students are achieved through the knowledge that they obtain within the knowledge management systems of the institution. The decisions that lecturers make on the learning processes are also motivated by the knowledge that they acquire on the students from the knowledge management systems within the institutions. These decisions include assessment of students and grading criteria. It is therefore notable that decision making within all levels of the education system of the University of La Verne has been motivated and enhanced through the use of technology. In this regard, the efficiency with which the university achieves its institutional goals and objectives on education and research is improved through the application of technology in all activities. Chief Information Officer Position In my career path and ambition, I have for a long time dreamt of becoming a chief information officer within a famous company or institution. This is because of the interest that I developed with technology as a child and the appreciation that I have now on the importance of inflammation and communication of this information within an organization as a factor which determines performance and success. However, there are several skills that I need to have in order for me to achieve my dream as a chief information officer. The most important of these skills is the ability to use and apply hardware and software within the communication process of an organization. This means that I require understanding and applying my abilities to enhance communication of information within the organization where I will work through the use of technology. Furthermore, I will be required to have skills of securing information systems. Information security which pertains with the issues of privacy and confidentiality is a major concern within organizations. This is because of the ethical, moral and legal aspects of the privacy and confidentiality of private data from unauthorized access and use (Stair & Reynolds, 2012). Therefore this skill will allow me to secure systems within the organization so that the private data of clients or customers is kept safe from unauthorized access. In return I will be able to help the organization to maintain the loyalty of its customers. In addition, I will employ this skill to train the members of the organization or employees on how they would secure the information systems of the organization through various approaches such as firewalls and cryptographic techniques. I will also be required to have communication skills both verbally and electronically. This skill will help me to have good relationship with my colleagues and subordinates. Furthermore, this skill will allow me to value the importance of communication within the organization in enhancing business activities and processes. Through this skill therefore I will be able to monitor and control the processes of communication via the information systems of the organizations such as the local area network and the communication of terminals with the external servers via the internet. More importantly, this skill will allow me to effectively articulate the information system needs of the organization to the top management for approval. In order for me to acquire these skills, I will need to be trained. This means that I will get admission to an IT program which will allow me to acquire adequate knowledge and skills in the area of information technology. More specifically, I will major in networking so that I will be able to have adequate skills in commutation within a networked environment. References Alter, S. (2008). Information systems: Foundation of e-business. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Gupta, H. (2011). Management information system: (an insight). New Delhi: International Book House Lucey, T. (2007). Management information systems. London: Thomson Learning. Oz, E. (2009). Management information systems. Boston, Mass: Thomson/Course Technology. Rainer, R. K., & Cegielski, C. G. (2011). Introduction to information systems. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Roy, D. (2009). Strategic foresight and Porter's five forces: Towards a synthesis. München: GRIN. Stair, R. M. (2011). Fundamentals of information systems. New York: Cengage Learning. Stair, R. M., & Reynolds, G. W. (2012). Principles of information systems. Australia: Course Technology Cengage Learning. Read More