Strategic Management and Information Systems Technologies and Communi

Question: *Discuss the effects of managing information resources, new technologies and communication networks on the business value and competitiveness of an organisation. * Analyse the effects of information systems on strategic decision-making. * Evaluate the importance of knowledge to the management of an organisation. * Analyse an organisations ability to implement Business Continuity Planning. * Evaluate the legal and ethical requirements of an organisation from an information systems perspective. Answer: Introduction Middletons is a chain of stationary outlets that is aimed at incorporating advanced ICT solutions within their organizational structure, so as to cater to the demands of their customers (Al-Zubi, Shaban and Alnaser 2014). Besides this, the management of the organization is well aware of the very fact that the implementation of modern internet technologies would not only facilitate the process of improving the operational functionalities of the organization, but would also help them to regain their foothold in the market (Chen, Chiang and Storey 2012). This particular report provides an in-depth discussion on the various ICT systems that should be implemented at Middletons so as to meet their business objectives. The efficiency of E-business ventures (in the retail sector) has also been discussed, along with the ethical and security considerations that have to be made during the implementation of the project. System Implementation In the last few years, the information technology industry has come up with several customized retail oriented systems, that are aimed at facilitating the management of the complex functionalities of the domain (Erl, Puttini and Mahmood 2013). In this section of the report, a detailed discussion of some such systems would be provided: the primary objective of the discussion being making the higher management Middletons aware of benefits off the inclusion of such systems within their organizational structure. Enterprise Systems (ES): Enterprise systems are defined as large scale software packages capable of supporting the business processes of a organization, controlling the flow of information through the organization, besides assisting in the process of data collection, analysis and reporting (Galliers and Leidner 2014). However, from the hardware perspective, the computing devices, servers and data bases used for maintaining organizational data are also considered to be integral part of the enterprise system. Enterprise systems are further classified as the following: Enterprise resource planning systems or ERP systems Enterprise planning systems Customer relationship management systems (Duan and Da Xu 2012) Enterprise resource planning systems: ERP and ERP2 Enterprise resource planning systems can be considered as customized software applications, developed for the management of those integrated business applications that facilitate the process of collection, storage, analysis and reporting of organizational data (Monk and Wagner 2012). ERP systems encourage the storage of the information generate from various operational activities of the organization, like that of the product planning, service delivery, manufacturing, inventory management , marketing and sales and so on and so forth, in a common database (Clarke 2012). The data stored in this common database can be accessed or tracked in real time, thus facilitating organizational decision making process. ERP2, on the other hand is defined as that particular software application that incorporates the functionalities of transaction based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and customer relationship planning management systems (Leon 2014). The implementation of standalone ERP systems in place of the insular systems would provide the following benefits to Middletons: Custom designed retail ERP systems are usually designed to be compatible with hardware devices like bar scanners, printers and various other hand-held devices that might be used at retail stores to maintain a record of the sales being made (Chang et al. 2014). Thus, the implementation of such an application would facilitate the process of maintaining the sales records at Middletons. The implementation of the ERP system would also facilitate the process of managing the stocks and inventories of the stationary chain (Galliers and Leidner 2014). The centralized database helps in maintaining a coherent workflow amongst the various departments, thus resulting in smooth transition of information and quicker completion of operational processes (Duan and Da Xu 2012). Last but not the least, the higher management would be able to better manage the resources located at various physical stores of the retail chain with the help of the standalone ERP system (Simmons 2016). Effective data management systems The following sections of the report contain discussions on several advanced methods of data management that could be utilized by the higher management of Middletons for the efficient storage of the organizational data Data Warehouse The Enterprise Data warehouse can be defined as repositories that contain integrated data from multiple sources, that repository being utilized for the analysis and reporting of organizational data (Belanger and Xu 2015). The implementation of data warehouses have been found to be significantly advantageous for retail organizations: such repositories help in analysis of sales reports and several other organizational data sets (Fafinski 2013). The analysis of the sales reports helps in determining the popularity of each product among the customers, the times during which the organization makes the maximum profit, the demographics of the loyal customers and so on and so forth. Such information, on the other hand, provides much assistance in the organizational decision making process. The major benefits that can be availed by the higher management of Middletons through the implementation of data warehouse systems have been enlisted in the following section: The availability of integrated data from various sources would be the primary benefit of implementing a data warehousing system in the organization: the managers would not be forced to base their decisions on limited data sources (Palmer et al. 2015). The Business intelligence modules inherent to data warehouses can also utilized by the higher management of Middletons to facilitate the management of the financial sectors of the organization, along with that of the market segmentation, the inventory and the sales of the organization (Galliers and Leidner 2014). The data warehouse would also facilitate the access to historical information based on which decisions could be taken (Wixom et al. 2014). Business Intelligence tools and analytical techniques The higher management of Middletons might also consider the implementation of the following business intelligence and analytical tools within their IT infrastructure: Data mining tools: Implementation of data mining tools within the existing Information Technology infrastructure would facilitate the process of discovering patterns in the information stored in the data warehouse (Borena, Belanger and Ejigu 2013). The identified patterns, in turn, would facilitate the process of designing marketing, sales and promotional strategies of Middletons. NoSQL: Database systems that allow the storage and retrieval of information using mechanisms other than that of tabular methods utilized in relational databases are commonly known as NoSQL database systems (Palmer et al. 2015). The implementation of NoSQL data bases would facilitate the process of storing several structured and non-structured data sets within a central database. Besides this, NoSQL databases are much easier to handle as compared to relational databases. OLAP: OLAP or Online Analytical Processing tools have recently become one of the most sought after processing techniques (Galliers and Leidner 2014). The growing popularity of this particular tool is due to the fact that it has the unique capability of retrieving data from several relational databases and facilitating multidimensional viewing and analysis of the retrieved data (Fafinski 2013). BI models within the Enterprise system: Business intelligence is one of primary techniques that are being widely used for analyzing the data generated from the operational activities of business modules (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). The objectives with which organizations implement BI modules include the intelligent exploration of enterprise data, the integration and aggregation of such data sets, along with the multidimensional analysis of information collected from several resources, both external and internal to the organization (Willcocks 2013). Thus, Business intelligence modules can optionally be incorporated within the enterprise system module to gain access to large volumes of analytical information that can in turn be utilized for making managerial decisions. The implementation of mentioned technologies within the organizational infrastructure of Middletons would provide much help in maintain and analyzing the enterprise data generated by through the operational activities of the organization. The access to these technologies would improve make it possible to take effective decisions based on concrete statistical figures. E-business E-business or electronic business can be considered as the act of conducting business operations over the internet (Bi, Da Xu and Wang 2014). Electronic business operations include purchase and sale of merchandise over the internet, making services (both pre-sales and post sales) available to the customers, managing the payment procedures, managing production controls and other similar other production activities, managing partnership collaborations, running recruitment processes and so on and so forth (Wixom et al. 2014). Strategic improvements within e-business: Secure portals The secure portals, using which electronic business processes are conducted, can be classified into the following sections: Intranet: Internet, as suggested by the term itself, is essentially a network that is managed solely by personnel internal to the organization (Motiwalla and Thompson 2012). Intranets can be defined as private and secured online portals that are accessible only for internal operations, like that of managing communications between employees and internal departments, to collaborate with the partner organizations, and to maintain the flow of data within the organization (Duan and Da Xu 2012). Along with the above mentioned operations, organizations utilize their internet platforms for running applications like Document Management System or DMS, Content Management Systems or CMS, Human Resource management functions like that of holiday management applications and staff directories (Borena, Belanger and Ejigu 2013). Extranet: Extranets can be defined as secured online portals that are accessible to personnel external to an organization (Niu et al. 2014). Needless to say, extranets are made open to the customers and suppliers of an organization, such that they are able to communicate directly with the representatives of the organization. The extranet facilitates the communication between the stakeholders internal and external to the organization, without disclosing the confidential information of the organization (Sasidharan et al. 2012). In the light of the discussion made in the above sections, it can thus be said that both intranet and extranet platforms are to be essentially implemented within the organizational structure of Middletons, such that the organization is capable of conducting electronic business operations with their suppliers and customers. b. E-Business Software Overview: The software modules that are utilized for conducting electronic business operations can be classified under the following heads: Supply chain management systems: Supply chain management systems can be considered as integration of information technology systems and business operations, that are aimed at maintaining efficient communication between the organizations or individuals who supply raw materials or components for manufacturing items, the individuals who manufacture the product or assemble all finished products and those organization who are responsible for making the finishes products available to the customers (Anandarajan, Anandarajan and Srinivasan 2012). The inclusion of an efficient supply chain management system is essential for conducting electronic business or commerce as it is the SCM module that maintains the follow of the finished goods or services in the market. Customer Relationship Management system: Customer relationship processes can be considered as the strategies or policies undertaken by organizations to understand the need or demands of the customers, within the aim of fulfilling them and retaining the loyal customer base (Al-Zubi, Shaban and Alnaser 2014). The primary objective behind including customer relationship management modules within electronic business systems is to provide services to the customers and keep them updated with the new products or services of the organization. The higher management of Middletons should consider the inclusion of customer relationship and supply chain management systems within their electronic business modules in order to assess the needs of the customers and cater to them, besides maintaining the flow of their products in the market. Social business or s-commerce' Social commerce can be defined as the process of conducting business activities while putting social platforms in to use (Chen, Chiang and Storey 2012). Social commerce or S-commerce activities are generally conducted using social media platforms and online media tools, thus facilitating the interaction with the target customers. This customer interaction in turn increases the number of sales that are conducted over the online portal s. The implementation of S-commerce strategies within the organizational structure of Middletons would provide the following benefits to the organization: First and foremost, the strategy would provide a platform using which the loyal customers would be able to discuss about the products sold at Middletons, besides providing reviews of the said products (Davenport 2012). The very same platform would also allow the representatives of the organization to cater to the complaints or concerns raised by the customers (Sauter 2014). Mobile business or 'm-commerce': Mobile commerce can be defined as the process of conducting business operations on such platforms that are accessible by hand held smart phone devices (Tanev, Liotta and Kleismantas 2015). With the advancement of mobile technologies, the inclusion of mobile commerce strategies has become essential for all those organizations that conduct electronic commerce (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). The higher management of Middletons could invest in the incorporation of the following technologies within the organizational structure: Purchase and payment: Mobile applications could be developed so as to allow the customers to buy products using smart phone devices (Chmiel et al. 2015). Such applications should also be equipped with electronic payment methods using which the customers would be able to make online payments. Location based services: The customers who use m-commerce platforms can be provided with location based services like that of region based discount coupons, providing the information regarding the status of the orders placed using the m-commerce platforms, provide the location of the nearest physical store and so on and so forth (Wixom et al. 2014). Information services: The customers of Middletons could be provided with the information regarding new schemes or products and services launched by the organization, over the m-commerce platforms (Belanger and Xu 2015). Such information would encourage the customers to avail the offers that are being provided, which in turn would increase the sales revenue of the organization. Ethics, Security and Control: The guidelines for management of IS The following sections of the report provide a detailed description of ethics and privacy guidelines that the higher management of Middletons should abide by to maintain the security of the enterprise information that remains stored in their computer network. Weaknesses in current security strategy At present, the information system of the organization is not well maintained each of the retail stores of this chain maintains an independent computer system for keeping records of the daily business operations (Leon 2014). Each of these systems is then linked with the computer system that is located at the main office. Thus, it can be assumed that the records that have been stored by each of the retail stores can easily be accessed from the main office (Borena, Belanger and Ejigu 2013). Thus, the weaknesses of the existing IT strategy of the organization can be listed as: Information privacy: At present, each of the physical stores store information in computer devices and these data sets are available to anyone who has the access to computer system located at the main office (Fafinski 2013). Thus, it is evident that the data sets are neither being stored in secured databases, not are the records protected from external access. Hence, the privacy of the enterprise information is not being maintained (Borena, Belanger and Ejigu 2013). Besides this, such dataset sets might also become the targets of unauthorized access and other similar privacy attacks, as launched by attackers. Computer misuse issues: It has already been mentioned that computer systems installed at the Middletons stores are standalone networks and since the organization does not maintain a centralized protected system, it can only be assumed that the security levels used for protecting the data sets stored in these machines are not at par to those that are used in protected data bases (Palmer et al. 2015). Such being the case, personnel who do not have the authority to access such data can access the data stored in these networks (Motiwalla and Thompson 2012). Thus, data loss and misuse of the information stored in these computer networks are some of the issues that are associated with the information system currently being used by the organization. Recommendations for security and control In order to overcome the weaknesses that have mentioned in the sections above, the following sets of recommendations are being made to the higher management of Middletons. Disaster Recovery Planning: At present, the enterprise information of Middletons is not being stored in protected databases. Thus, loss of enterprise data is one of the possible risks associated with the current system (Erl, Puttini and Mahmood 2013). The higher management of Middletons is thus being recommended to implement efficient disaster recovery strategies such that information or data sets can be recovered in case of data loss (Simmons 2016). Moreover, the disaster management policies should be incorporated in a manner such that actions to be taken previous, during and after disaster are defined well within the said strategies. Cloud Computing. Cloud computing is defined as the computing practice that encourages the utilization of remote computer networks for the storage, management and processing of data, instead of utilizing local networks for doing the same (Palmer et al. 2015). Since all the chain stores of Middletons maintain their own computer networks, cloud computing should be considered as an effective method of data storage and management (Erl, Puttini and Mahmood 2013).Thus, the higher management of Middletons is being recommended to incorporate cloud-computing platforms for the storage and management of enterprise data. Conclusion Advancements in the field of information technology resulted in the implementation of several innovative strategic solutions in the retail industry, most of these solutions being aimed at increasing the efficiency of the departmental activities of the retail sector. This, in turn, has made it possible for the retail organizations to serve their customers better and remain one-step ahead in the market competition. This particular report provides an insight to the various information technology solution systems that the higher management of Middletons must incorporate within their organization so as to stay ahead in the competitive market. The discussions made in the report indicate that the incorporation of enterprise systems and e-commerce techniques is essential for the organization at this point in time. Besides this, the report also contains certain recommendations made to the higher management of the organization: the incorporation of the recommended systems is expected to enhanc e the security of the existing computer network. References Al-Zubi, Z., Shaban, O.S. and Alnaser, N., 2014. The effect of Business Intelligence Tools on Raising the Efficiency of Modern Management Accounting.International Review of Management and Business Research,3(1), p.68. 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