Study In Australia – Australian Education Recruitment Firm
Background
The introduction of information systems in business operations helps in enhancing competitive edge of company in market as information system helps in taking effective business decisions and improves business operations. Hence, business organization should select ideal information system based on their requirements and priorities. Business organizations should also focus on sourcing the appropriate key information which are required by the company in order to make business decisions from credible sources, in order to ensure the reliability of the information.This report focuses on identification of business requirements and priorities of Study in Australia and accordingly recommends ideal information system to fulfil their requirements and also helps in the identification and addressing of the various security and ethical issues which are associated with the implementation of information systems in the organization.
- The main role of information system in business is to collect, store and analyse data so that it can be relevant to an organization. Information system is a supportive network of hardware and software system that are used by enterprises and people to filter, process and disseminate data as useful piece of information. An information system makes use of hardware, software, data and networking as components that are utilised primarily in enterprise setting for improving business processes through distribution of useful data and hence Information system even helps in enhancing competitive advantage of firms in market by assisting them in taking effective decisions through gathering and interpretation of useful data. Further Information systems are interconnected elements that function together to gather, process, store and distribute useful information which help to support not only decision making but also improves collaboration, control, evaluation and visualisation within a firm. Hence, Information system helps firms by focusing on two distinct manners which directs information systems i.e. focus on components that build up the information system and the role that these components contribute into the firm.
Information systems are significant for future operation at SIA as it will help them leverage most advantage from their resources through use of information systems that will help to exploit and explore all of their capacities through processing of useful data or inputs to create useful information that will be useful for administering the operations at SIA. Through use of information system at SIA operation management can be improved as operations heavily depends on correct information so implementation of information system at SIA will help them offer more authentic and holistic as well as updated information that will allow them to operate more proficiently. Also information system will help them leverage cost advantage over other rivals in industry and will help them distinguish themselves by offering of more better information and service offerings to their student audiences which will altogether improve their customer service. Further sales information can be used in information system to get insight on what target segments are inclined to purchase and this will help in making appropriate changes in offerings that will directs more sales in future with guidance from information system that will help to streamline the operations at SIA.
The future operations of SIA need to take into consideration economic importance, decision making and organizational behaviour change regarding information systems. The economic advantage for SIA in future lies in the fact that though the implementation costs regarding information systems in SIA might seem bigat the initial level but the benefits which are associated with such expenses is bound to exceed the costs related to implementation. As opined by Karpovsky (2015) performance of management information system should be effective and efficient in its different processes accompanied by high speed and low load time. The availability of real time information is one of top most priorities for SIA as it greatly reduces scope of error and in turn makes information more credible, real and trust worthy in nature. The presence of transaction processing system in SIA will help in making prompt and effective decision which will contribute to their success. Various business tools which are used by organizations such as financial projections, return on investment, expenses, prompt demand and supply can be enhanced by introduction of information system in the operations of SIA.
- The first priority for SIA is effective management and handling of student data so that they can be retrieved in short time and also ensuring safety of student files and information duringtransfer from one site to another. In order to address this concern SIA should focus on implementing an information system which is effective in storing and managing student information and files so that they can be retrieved and located in very short span of time and also ensure their security.
Challenges Faced
The second priority for SIA is to handle payroll, leave requests and timesheets of employees working in different locations from single system and platform in effective and secured manner so that all data and details regarding employees are centralized in nature.
The third priority for SIA is to develop an online presence to communicate their offerings to students and provide more satisfaction to their target segment. SIA needs to develop intranet and extranet system to effectively communicate with all their stakeholders and employees regarding the day to day operations.
- The key information requirements of SIA are as follows:
Student data- The student data is main information requirement for SIA as based on student data, SIA will recruit candidates to various educational service providers which will help in attraction of more students and thus will help in enhancing their competiveness in industry.
Student requirement- The requirements of students from their future education providers is another key information required by SIA, as based onstudents requirements, SIA can recommend ideal educational provider to the students, which will help in increasing their popularity and will even increase competitiveness.
Market Trends- As stated by Van Outvorst, De Vries and De Waal (2016) current market trends is vital information which is required by SIA, as based on trends of market and opportunities available in market, SIA accordingly can develop their business strategy which will help in increasing their competitive position.
Technological advancements- The information regarding various technological advancements is other key information which is required by SIA, as by gaining awareness about various technological advancements in market, SIA can make plans to implement updated technological advancements in their operations to enhance competitive advantage.
- The specific information systems which can help SIA in managing their business requirements, making effective business decision and fulfilling their information requirements are as follows:
Management Information System- As stated by MehmanNavaz (2013) Management information system is defined as use of information technology, people and processes for recording, storing and processing of data which helps in producing information that assists decision makers in taking effective decision in an organization. The implementation of management information system will enable SIA to store student data and information in their system and retrieve them in quick span of time and this will contribute to effective decision making in SIA. The introduction of MIS will also help them to enhance internal communication between employees.
Leave management system- The leave management system helps a company to enhance leave management process. The leave management system is a useful all in one platform which handles the vacation requests of all the employees of the company while ensuring the smooth functioning of their operations. As opined by Bajdor, P. and Grabara, I., (2014) the implementation of leave management system in SIA will enable them to manage the leave of the employees working in various locations easily and quickly under a single process. The implementation of leave management system will help in maintaining workforce efficiency and productivity in SIA and will also help in optimizing staff scheduling during absences. The leave management system will also help SIA to keep a track of all the scheduled time offs of the employees of the company and keeps business operations running smoothly in the company.
Case Study Questions
Process Control System- A process control system helps in controlling and monitoring all the hardware and software equipment’s of a company. In this case, a process control system will help in controlling and monitoring all the hardware and software which are being used by the company. The process control system of SIA will be designed in such a way that wherever there will be any input of information, the system will be able to process the information automatically without any human intervention. The process control system will help in addressing issues such as payroll processing in SIA. Also accounting software can be installed for the payroll with various basic information required such as basic pay, overtime wages, superannuation charges and penalties regarding all the employees of the company. When the timesheets will be submitted by the staffs of the company, the payroll software will help in determining the number of hours the employees of the company have worked and conduct calculations accordingly on its own, and when the appropriate time for the payroll arrives, the payroll advice is automatically processed by the system which is then forwarded for payment.
Enterprise Collaboration System- The Enterprise Collaboration System, is a very popular information system which is currently used in business organizations in order to facilitate the process of share and communication of data between various types of uses. The Enterprise Collaboration System can be used in various levels of an organization and it helps the managers of an organization control the flow of information in the organization. The Enterprise Collaboration System will help SIA to manage all their work locations in a centralized manner. Various important meetings of the company can be conducted from a single location of SIA by video conferencing without travelling to different locations of the company. The Enterprise Collaboration System also facilitates the use of e-mail in order to keep instant communication. One of the main benefits which are associated with the system is that it is cost and time effective in nature.
- Technological tools such as internet, intranet and extranet has become a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and belonging to any sector and therefore are used extensively by business organizations. The internet facility can be used by Study in Australia for advertising services which are offered to their target segments. By using internet Study in Australia can advertise its services through various social networking platforms and other platforms to reach to maximum number of students round the world and inform them regarding their offerings. As opined by Tredinnick (2014) the intranet facility will help in business expansion as by using intranet facility, Study in Australia will be able to communicate effectively with all its offices which are based in different locations at the same time which will not only help their business to function in an effective manner but will also enable SIA to save lot of time and costs. The extranet facility can also be considered as an effective system which can be used by Study in Australia as it will provide access to agents through a system which will enable employees of Study in Australia to lodge online application and perform their day to day activities effectively. The extranet network will also facilitate employees of SIA to use common network which will help in streamlining flow of effective information between various employees.
- The information system of an organization requires to be continuously updated in order to ensure that information which is provided to employees and other stakeholders are updated and reliable in nature. According to Rosenbaum, More and Steane (2018) there is certain risk which is observed during change process of an organization such as whether changes to information system are accordingly implemented or not as without proper implementation security risks may occur and this can also lead to incorrect processing of information. Therefore an organization must ensure that changes are implemented in an appropriate manner.
As stated by Ward (2016) process of change management in organization requires teamwork and involvement from various levels and it should be communicated to all staffs. As opined by Hayes (2014)Study in Australia can follow the below mentioned steps regarding change management to manage organisational change:
- Identifying requirement of change
- Preparing for change
- Evolving of business justification
- Authorising request of change
- Scheduling, co-ordinating and implementing changes in an effective manner
- Reviewing changes made
- Backing out from unsuccessful changes
The most important part of change management process is implementation of change process. Ronak should ensure that all employees of SIA are well informed about change which is taking place. The change from manual activities of documentation to using management information system is a huge change and therefore Ronak should ensure that all employees of SIA are well trained regarding handling of management information system as introduction of MIS will enable Study in Australia become competitive in market.
- There are possible security and ethical issues which could arise during implementation of management information system in SIA. As opined by Michelberger and Dombora (2016) possible security issues which can arise in this case are hacking and theft of student data present in MIS system, cyber-theft and threats from various types of computer viruses which can disrupt data available in system. As stated by PN (2014) possible ethical issues which can arise at SIA regarding the implementation of information system are using confidential data for personal benefits by some employees, using data for performing illegal activities and providing the confidential data of SIA to other third parties for sake of financial benefits.
Business Requirements and Priorities
As stated by Cram, Proudfoot and John D’Arcy (2017) in order to resolve various security and ethical issues which can arise from implementation of information system, SIA needs to focus on using encryption in effective manner in order to protect their data and network resources. As stated by Sindhuja and Kunnathur (2015) SIA should also develop a firewall to protect their information system from attack of computer viruses. Further as stated by Zafar, Ko and Osei-bryson (2016) SIA can also resolve security and ethical issues by frequently monitoring security of their system, by using security codes and by keeping backup files to protect vital files of the system.
From above discussion it is evident that introduction of information system will help in enhancing competitiveness of the Study in Australia as it will help in improving speed and efficiency of their internal business operations and will also help in developing their internal communication process. There is various type of information requirement for SIA which can help in making effective decisions regarding the company such as student data, student requirement, market trend information, technological advancements information etc. In order to address the priorities of the organization SIA should focus on the introduction of management information system, leave management system, process control system and enterprise collaboration system. Moreover introduction of management information system, leave management system, enterprise collaboration system and process control system will help in addressing priorities of SIA. The first and foremost recommendation to SIA is to train their employees regarding use of information system to ensure that they do not face any issues in adopting the new system. Another recommendation is to take necessary steps regarding prevention of ethical and security issues which are associated with implementation of information system through robust encryption and monitoring system.
References
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Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management (Fourth ed).
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