Information Technology Essay

Management is the backbone of an organization and information technology today is at heart of a business plan. Information technology has bridge the way between organizational operations with external environment. This process has facilitated the pace of activities and lessens the time needed to carry out these operations amplifying the revenues manifolds. The rise of information economies has boosted the global trade and fueled the need of new business processes and models which will be effective to manage information. IT is an important part of decision making process as available information is a base to decision making. Electronic enabling of information transfer has brought together the suppliers, intermediaries, retailers, customers and external groups which react to customer demands and change right away. (Martin, Silvia, Thomas , 2009) The integration of IT has reduced the business expenditure many times by reducing workforce and unnecessary activities of business. The IT has modified the firms in to digital instead of traditional firms. The complete digitalization of firms is still a vision still not obtained. These digital firms are quick in response and sense changes in environment faster. The flexibility to change has heated the level of competition and prosperity. Information systems are primary management tool. The management invests heavily in its information systems which are system of logistics which is supply chain management of products and service, system for customer relationship management, Executive support and knowledge management system. These systems provide integration digitally. The role of IT Manager in an Organization  The functions of management are planning, control, coordination, decision making which are immensely influenced by information technology. This paper determines that the processing of information is for sake of perking up an organizations overall performance and production of profits. It helps manager pinpoint problems and finds alternating solutions by automation of complex subjects, innovation and development of new products. Computer based information systems depend upon software and hardware technology for progression and circulation of information. Information produces business value that adds to strategic position of an organization. Information value chain is critical to every business for which it has managers who have task to plan, implement and monitor the flow of this value chain of information. It is of importance as the changes in technology are dynamic to react and workout the change is the responsibility of the managers. Managers must understand the dimensions of information technology as they are necessary for decision making. This paper discusses the perceived role of an information technology manager at Magnum Enterprise. The role of an IT manager at Magnum Enterprise is technically to supervise networking, training and maintenance, execution of internal systems, asset management and being a leader who believes in teamwork, innovation and management with communicative qualities to make things work internally and externally for an organization. He supports in the scheduling and execution of trimmings, removal and maintaining amendments to the sustaining infrastructure. He sees the execution of networks security, supervision of administration and maintenance of computer stations and software’s. He initiates business training programs and provides extra assistance if necessary. He supervises troubleshooting, system support, archiving, failure improvement and offer specialist support when required while also working with venture group to help employ Internal Systems. (Pearlson and Cash, October 18, 2004). Communication Management: Manager reacts to rising help desk concerns. He cooperates with in-house customers on all elevations to help resolve IT-related matters and present solutions in an opportune way. He also put together, keeps vendor association and controls the procurement of hardware and software items for consumption. He also guarantees that corporation possessions are consistently preserved; make possible group conference successfully and regularly holding status meetings with group. The group should be up to date on changes inside the organization. He successfully communicates significant IT information to directors with resolving issues with a sensible approach. He tactfully communicates delicate information, instigate and implement enhancement in all of IT tasks. He has the key role to motivate colleagues to achieve goals and track dissimilarity. A manager should be managing change and innovation. A manager identifies chance for enhancement and craft beneficial implication for change. He manages the course of innovative transformation successfully and is on the obverse of promising industry practices. He constantly recognizes all group member contributions and utilizing the prospective talents to full. He is able to diminish conflict and communication problems between group mates. He is able to measure performance, provide training and learning experience to subordinates. He follows standard operating procedures in conducting the operations. He focuses on minimizing cost and maximizing results. He keeps up with arising IT risks, challenges and provide alternative solutions. (Pearlson and Cash, October 18, 2004). Managers need to apt to different approaches to work out information system demands. These approaches are technical and behavioral that stimulates the IT infrastructure. There is always a need to upgrade the technologies by managers as these technologies are needed for global connectivity and collaboration. IT has somewhat flattened the organization levels which is changing management role and has almost alienated work from site. The utilization of networks like internet to help connect organization with World Wide Web, intranet which stimulates within organization operations and extranet which connects with other organization digitally by managers and taskforce has reorganized work flow creating more flexibility in organization. IT has flourished inter-organizational system for trading vast variety of goods and services. Managers at different levels use diverse kind of information systems to perform their daily tasks. There are six such information system which help keep up with global flow of information. These Information systems cater four managerial level systems which are operational, knowledge management and strategic level systems covering all functional areas of business which can be categorized as market and sale management, production and manufacturing management, management finance and accounts management, and human resource management. Managers at different levels in an organization use these systems for assistance. The five corresponding systems which may serve different levels of Magnum Enterprise are executive support system (ESS), management information system (MIS), decision support system (DSS), knowledge working system (KWS) at operational level and transaction processing system (TPS). These systems are essential to effective business management. Transactional processing system: It serves the operational level of organization. It records daily transaction necessary to conduct business activities. It may include payrolls and shipment transactions. Information System goals at this level are well structured already defined and result of repeated known procedures. The challenge related to TPS is that it is least supervised system but is core to business and any defaults in it may cause heavy losses to business in long term. This system generates information for other kind of systems as is exposed to external environment more than any other system. Knowledge work and office system: The role of this system is to assist knowledge or data workers. Its main aim is to create new knowledge and its expertise is well integrated in the system. This system communicates with external surroundings directly; for instance the customers are its direct interaction from where it collects information for internal use. Management information system: This system transforms data from TPS that is worth reporting to senior management. It is primarily internal to organization and is not flexible with modest diagnostic competence. It is used to summaries operational level activities and there relation to managerial goals. Decision support system: It is used to make unique decision on rapid change at managerial level. These are not structured and defined but depend upon information analysis. It is interactive, analytically powerful system which uses information provided by TPS and MIS. Executive support system: It’s a senior management level decision making system. It’s utilization is non routine decisions of assessment, judgment and greater sensitivity. It also input data from MIS and DSS. The system is to design new set of procedures, policies and driving solutions for variety of problems. All these systems are interlinked to each other, support each other for input and decision making process of managers. It is important for organization to effectively use them in a right set to get results and obtain better performance. The enterprise resource planning (ERP) is used to combine all systems as one but it has a short coming that’s difficult to build. This system brings the flow of information which will be available to all; its integration of all internal functional business processes system links which are complex and expensive. It has ability to give the whole picture of the organization. This system is also enhanced to link to the systems of vendors, supplier and retailers. Managers use it in management of their supply chain and managing value relation with customer. Management of supply chain: Supply chain management is effective to management of supply chain is valuable to lessen the warehouse or storage need. There must be no requirement to maintain stock in bulk as an automated system will itself record the need of supply of inventory and availability of the product to the end user. It lessens the burden of complicated steps; delays involved along the way and decrease the expenses. It manages the upstream to downstream. The problem it has is the bullwhip effect which alters the supply process. It uses systems for supply chain execution and planning. On other hand mangers must make use of collaborative commerce in which multiple organization work together towards attainment of goals throughout product lifecycles. Customer relationship Management: Customer relationship management is related to achieving strategic plans by merging all information available to the business processes. It tells how loyal is the customer and what value the customer has to the business. Knowledge management system creates value which is indefinable. Knowledge management system is used to discover, distribute, share and create knowledge to integrate in organization. All systems facilitate virtual movement of goods and services. There are ten essential grounds that will decide Magnum Enterprise organization success. Prior to getting to the five chief challenges in front of managers. When there is a concern, trouble, and collapse anywhere in the organization; the whole thing that arises might not have direct link with a firm’s culture but more significantly depends upon behavioral rewarding. Successful management is not about the newest trend. It is about a primary expectation, high opinion for public and treats them accordingly. Reliability and moral values should be basis of decisions. Valuable and dynamic employees must be seen as development of human reserve which should be considered as investment not an expense. It’s the duty of the administration to create encouraging environment where people are willing to take responsibility for what they do. The five major challenges are all cultural and political within the hierarchy of a firm. The policies and standard operating procedures affect the way everyone performs. It’s essential that managers know that the performance indicators will reflect the firms incentive granting measures. Managerial behavioral management most likely affirms that the behavior is tolerable. There is need to monitor the culture that is making the behavior rewarding as must be aspired. Communicative technique which is buzz, word of mouth, memorandum, emails, conference, character analysis sessions and official statement boards all commune information efficiently and appropriately. When contact is of vertical nature in the firm, it is definite that you are not even near to certainty of your organization, market, consumers or dealers. One of the key challenges is to communicate all the strategic plans and decisions into workable operations of the firm. The firm must conduct undisclosed surveys to assess the views of employees of the firm. Decisions made devoid of bottom-up response will have less than expected outcome. A feedback mechanism in which Employees would like to identify how they are performing. Failure to give them the response will keep them in shadow concerning the measurement of performance. The circumstances that impact the function of manager are unique age groups, cultural diversity, and technology, international market, ethical principles, stress, autonomy, choice of consumption goods, unskilled human resource and making swift changes. Challenges of Information Technology Management: The information systems for managerial end consumer represent Promotion of efficient choice is essential for developing viable products to have edge over competitors in market. It also helps in cost of sustaining business with available resources. Misleading or unsorted information determine success and loss factor creating inappropriate functioning of information technology and overall business. The success factors could be involvement of the user, senior management support, clear goals and mission with strategic plan having attainable expectations. On the other hand reason of failure can be insufficient input, no specified roles, change, no support role of senior management and at large technological ineffectiveness Developing unbeaten information decision to business query is test to managers. – (Pour, 2003) Managers are responsible for recommending, mounting innovative or enhanced exercise of information systems for company. Information system supported by computer use virtually executed and planned development process. Foremost actions must be expertise of staff in IS development. The information system should be financially and technologically viable when in planning stage of users and experts developing it. It’s of utmost importance to the managers that the system they employ, improve and maintain business value while application of little software’s in the system. The main challenges of IT is maintaining ethical goodness while use of technology around the globe. The IT uses that might look inappropriate and negligent are following- what is the use of information resources, protection from cyber crime and other defaults of IT. The goal of international information society is the profitable use of managed information reserves while achieving strategic goals of organizations. Information systems are used to find more competent, cost-effective and socially liable tricks to utilize world’s scarce economic resources. In line with other challenges one of the major challenges is career growth when there is an attractive job market for technology employment but most surveys show that many individuals are incompetent. Still there is a boom in IT staff hiring market as the firms have increased the use of information manifolds. Information systems function represents: functional area of business that is as important to business success as the functions of market and sale management, production and manufacturing management, finance and accounts management, and managing human resource. It’s an important contribution to operational competence, employee productivity and morale, and customer service. It’s a major source of information and support needed to promote effective decision making by managers and business professionals. It’s a component in developing competitive products and services that provides organization a strategic gain in the international market. It is also worthwhile and difficult career chance for millions. It is of utmost importance to see systems from functional prospective as it serves all organizational levels and impact the e- business. Pour, 2003) The sales and marketing evaluate the trend analysis, judge competitor’s performance and support market analysis through research. All this is monitored through the information systems described above. In a same way accounting and finance systems provide a right mix of tools that can be used to maximize wealth. It also enables to track flow of funds using knowledge base information system. We see that supply chain management system helps to continue product operations smoothly. It’s possible as the deficiency of goods and raw inventory is tracked and is efficiently met.