An analysis of Palm Malls Management Information System - Term Paper Example

Information Systems in Business Semester: Fall 12/13 BIT245/BUS207/CST260/ISB201 Lecturer: Saju Mathew Assignment 2 Table of Contents Objective and Mission 3 Scope and Objectives 3 Benefits of the system 4 Infrastructure, Technology and Platforms 5 Infrastructure and Technology 5 User (Business User) Level Infrastructure Process 6 Platforms 7 Information System Used 8 Management Information System 8 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Proposed Organization This report presents an analysis of Palm Mall’s Management Information System. Palm Mall is presently under construction at Palm Jumeirah. It is expected that Palm Mall’s construction will be completed in 2012. We intend to implement a new technology known as MIS (Management Information System) for the overall service management at Palm Mall. Objective and Mission This basic purpose of this project is to develop an MIS for Palm Mall which will automate some of the important business functions. This system will be used for the management of Palm Mall’s working and operations. This application will make use of an automated BAR-Code detection system to detect the product details. At the cash counter the customer will take the shopping cart and cashier will scan each item to detect the products’ features such as price and other details. This system will also accept manual entries of products in case bar code reader fails to work properly. At the end of day system will offer the overall sales record with possible stock availability details. The objective of this implementation is to improve the efficiency and quality of business functions. Scope and Objectives The implementation of Palm Mall Management Information System is aimed at offering an excellent support for business management. In fact, the successful implementation of this technology based information system will improve the management capabilities of the business. Additionally, this system will offer an excellent support in the form of fast and error free business retail record management. The new system will improve the overall supply chain management through better record management of stock. This system will also offer a variety of features and functions for ensuring improved business decision support and performance. As a result, the overall corporate performance will improve and the business will be able to offer a great deal better service to its clients. In addition, this system will be implemented at various levels such as management level, stock and warehouse level and at sale person level. This system will not involve any customer input or intervention. This system will be completely under the control of business staff. Benefits of the system According to (Laudon and Laudon 7; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden 429), “an information system is a group of interrelated elements that work together, process, store, and distribute information to various departments with the purpose of supporting decision making and control in an organization”. In this scenario, “a management information system is one of the basic forms of information systems. Basically, an MIS is a purpose or particular use of information system that offers support for management oriented reporting.” In addition, these reports are usually produced or maintained on a given schedule as well as become manifest in a prearranged structure (Whitten, Bentley and Dittman 47). Palm Mall Management Information System will offer a number of advantages for the business. Given below are some of the major advantages of implementing a new management information system: Automation of process Error free working Simple management Fast receipt development for customer Digital record management of all business transactions Effective management of all business operations Simple management of complex processes Improved supply chain management Superior handling of all business operations Management support Better decision support for staff Enhanced management of all corporate operations with canalized business management solutions. Infrastructure, Technology and Platforms Infrastructure and Technology The system works with a Bar Code Reader that extracts the details of products by reading the bar code. Basically, “a bar code reader is also called a price scanner or point-of-sale (POS) scanner, is a stationary or handheld input device that is used to access and interpret information incorporated in a bar code” (Rouse; Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat). After that system adds the product details into a database. The database accumulates the overall details of products and shopping and develops the final bill. The system also adds each sale to daily sales list. This list offers a comprehensive overview of the daily sales of business. On the other hand the system product details are also entered at the back-end. Every product availability, items details, product prices, etc. are entered at the back end database. At the end of every day the system compares the sold and available stock of offer a comprehensive overview of product supply chains. User (Business User) Level Infrastructure Process Palm Mall’s management and staff members are the main users of the new management information system. In this scenario there are various information system level processes, which are listed below: Palm Mall’s system needs to ensure a high level security of customer information Palm Mall’s system needs to offer greater security to corporate dealing and product information A new system needs to offer an excellent support for decision making A new system needs to offer better accessibility A new system needs to contain simple user interface A new system needs to offer better usability for managing corporate operations A new system needs to offer high level accessibility A new system needs to offer superior management control over corporate operations A new system needs to offer effective support for daily transaction management A new system needs to offer effective support for staff members and CRM tasks A new system needs to offer effective support for management of supply chain management tasks Platforms For the successful implementation of Palm Mall management information system we will require following major platforms: New platform systems for sales persons New LAN network for communication and collaboration among staff members New routers for network connections Network data servers Network internet servers Printers for printing receipt Printers for staff reports Workstations for staff data entry Warehouse systems for data input Network collaboration systems for data management Staff communication arrangements Personal Computers for management teams Office applications for reports development OLAP systems for corporate decisions support Information System Used Management Information System As discussed above, the new system implementation at Palm Shopping mall will be based on a management information system. At the present, business organizations make use of overall customer, products and sales information in a number of ways. The overall sales and product information can be used for the business supply chain management operations. The business makes use of the information and data to maintain the stock at the shelves and also maintain the customer needs regarding rapid availability of stock. In addition, they also make use of such business information for sales management. The business can also make use of customers’ data for marketing purposes. A management information system offers an excellent support for dealing with such operations (Turban, Leidner and McLean; Boateng). Impact of Technology The project will become a backbone system for the Palm Shopping mall business. This system will offer a great deal of support for the business sales, marketing and also for decision making. The management can also use this system to make effective decisions by determining the customer shopping and sales trend. This business system will offer a capability for the management of corporate sales operations and product management. This project will play a significant role in the success of the business. This system reduces the need for resources to manage business operations. This system automates the stock management operations that are one important edge of this technology based system. Through this technology system will be able to save a lot of time and resources for the management of business operations. Conclusion This report has presented a solution for the Palm Mall that is the new shopping mall in Dubai. In this report, I have suggested the implementation of a technology based MIS system for the better management of the corporate operations and processes. This report has discussed various aspects related to this implementation. This report has discussed the technologies and requirements for the proposed system. This report has also outlined the advantages that will be achieved through the implementation of this technology. Works Cited Boateng, Richard. Management Information Systems. 2010. 22 November 2012 . Hoffer, Jeffrey A., Mary B. Prescott and Fred R. McFadden. Modern Database Management, Eighth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. Laudon, Kenneth. C. and Jane. P. Laudon. Management Information Systems, Sixth Edition. 6th. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. Rouse, Margaret. barcode reader (POS scanner, bar code reader, price scanner). March 2011. 26 November 2012 . Shelly, Cashman and Vermaat. Discovering Computers 2005. Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2005. Turban, Efraim, et al. Information Technoslogy for Management: Transforming Organizations in the Digital Economy. New York: Wiley, 2005. Whitten, Jeffrey L., Lonnie D. Bentley and Kevin C. Dittman. Systems Analysis and Design Methods 5th Edition. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2000. Read More