Strategic Information Systems Assignment Solution

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Strategic Information Systems

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Literature review

Introduction

The strategic information system is developed by an organisation in order to respond the corporate business creativity. They are planned to give the competitive advantage to the firm and deliver product and service with the lower price (Arvidsson, HolmstrÃ¶m and Lyytinen, 2014). The strategic information system is a relevant feature in the world of information technology. In a nutshell, it assists business and firm classify, store process and transfer information which is created and received. The present research is conducted on Mark and Spencer company who is operating its business in the retail sector. It sells the variety of products in different parts of the world such as clothes, luxury food products, home products etc. To sell the product in the different part geographical area it is important for the company to understand the information system strategy and implement it within the organization. In the present report current process and gap which Marks and Spencer should fill to carry out all business operation successfully. Apart from this different information system strategy that company should use will be discussed.

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Main body

At present Marks and Spencer is one of the fastest growing company and it has many competitors such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury etc. Therefore, the company is using Pest analyses for analysing the environment so that it can give tough competition to its competitor and survive in the competitive market. Marks and Spencer have great importance on analysing PEST for gaining the competitive advantages. According to the view of Boonstra, (2013) The political environment is different in all the country and its important for the company to obey all the rules and regulation of the particular country in which they are operating their business. Therefore, after analysing political environment it will become easy for the Marks and Spencer to make the strategy for selling the products. People of the different country has different cultural background and taste and preference, Marks and Spencer focus on delivering products and services according to the taste and preference of customers in order to make the profit. It is the process of the Marks and Spencer which currently is followed by them with respect to make the varied decision. It makes policy and procedure so that political environment does not get harm. Apart from this company is managing its all records and transaction with the use of old process which lead to delay in their work and charge high cost (Amrollahi, Ghapanchi and Talaei-Khoei, 2014). There are many information systems which company has still not adopted and it lead to impact the sales and profits.

Critics are of the view that strategic planning concept not always help the company in accomplishing the goals and objectives. It is because they do not particular adds skills to the employees but provide direction toward the goals. According to the view of Haux, Winter and Brigl, (2013). At firm strategic planning is done at the higher level and because of this there is lack the knowledge related to the ground issues and problems which resist the development process. It is possible that policy and procedure made my company do not meet the requirement of the company. (Wu, Cegielski and Hall, 2013) state that strategic planning which brings in the received policies target and objectives that increase the problem for employees in carrying out their work. As it leads to making tough for the company to manage its employeeâ€™s turnover. Marks and Spencer can use latest information technology which are available in the market. It is because advanced technology help company in improving customer services, increase the focus of products and services and reduce cost.

Company is using different types of strategy but still it enables to retain employees and increase customers base as because it has not yet used any advanced technology that help them gaining competitive advantage (Galliers, and Leidner, 2014). There are some specific issues which company is facing at present are such as related to customer relationship management. Further company is facing problem related to delivering services to customers. Marks and Spencer are one of the leading company and it is selling products in different countries. Therefore, company need to manage transaction process, product delivering etc. For this purpose, they need to keep record of their customers and it can be possible without implementing management information system. While company also need to provide training and development facility to employees so that they can easily use management information system effectively. Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos, (2014) analyzed that if employees are not well trained and face issues while using new information system strategy then it leads to demotivate them from their work. Therefore, employees switch to other brand or it can hamper the productivity. Through using PEST analysis can understand its external environment and can focus on adopting advance technology that help in making innovative products and services.

Constitutes an Information Systems (IS) Strategy and such strategy is needed as part of the overall organisational strategy

According to the view of (Placeholder1) information system is known as the system for processing and managing information basically it is a computer-based. There are some benefits of having information system strategy. In the organization there are three different levels on which different types of business activities are carried out. Peppard and Ward, (2016) state that operational level of the firm is basically concerned with the short-term activities and mostly those which occur immediately. Therefore, the effective transaction process is system needs to implement at this level as it helps in ensuring that employees perform effectively and in the appropriate manner. At operational level Marks and Spencer is using electronic data interchange in order to manage daily stock control, sales, and other activities. Transaction processing system is used for making sure that day to day transaction is performed effectively and on time. At Marks and Spencer, there is two main concern that is related to the transaction process and managing inventory. Therefore, the company needs to implement transaction processing system.

Arvidsson, HolmstrÃ¶m and Lyytinen, (2014) state that to develop a IS strategy is not an easy process because it company need to focus on its different aspects so that it can easily accomplish the goals and objectives. Galliers and Leidner, (2014) outline different steps in the development of the IT strategy which can be used by the company for achieving organisational goals. The first step in the establishment of the strategy is the initiation of the strategy process. Top management in this stage set its goals and objectives and identifying the area for which strategy is needed to establish.

Understanding the present situation and identifying the business needs is the second step in which company develop understanding related to the business environment and ascertain the potential needs of the business. It can be done with the use of SWOT and PESTLES analysis which can be used for identifying company strength and weakness and impact of the external environment (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). This step help in measuring information system services, resources and capabilities with respect to establish different change which is needed. Therefore, after understanding the current needs company need to determine the information system strategy which helps the business in reshaping its IS demand in the proposal form and distributing of the same in the organisations.

Li and Liu, (2014) state that there are some benefits for the company of having an IS strategy such as it helps in procuring competitive advantage and it is aligned with the business objectives. IS strategy is needed as part of the overall organisational strategy as because at the strategic level it assists Marks and Spencer in improving the outbound logistics process and helps in collecting, and controlling the outbound logistic systems. Further, it also includes the reviewing of the physical distribution channels which help in delivering the order on time without any wastage. According to the view of Peppard, Galliers and Thorogood, (2014) with the use of decision support system company can integrate logistic activities which help the company in making the cost-effective and strategical decision which can be taken with the help of decision support system. Apart from this at the tactical level information system help Mark and Spencer in making easy the procurement process which helps different department with respect to sending direct quotation to the supplier and make the best deal. Along with this with the use of employee resources planning system company can easily evaluate the requirement of human resources. Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta, (2016) argued that with the use of customer relationship management it become easy for the firm to maintain strong relations with customer and take their review related to the products and services which they deliver. Along with this, it helps in stay connected with the regular customer for the longer period of time and resolve their issues on time.

Organisation may experience difficulties in developing an Information Systems Strategy and solution to the difficulties

According to the views of Peppard and Ward (2016) information systems imply for corporate business initiatives that is undertaken by the firm for gaining competitive advantage. The main motive of firm behind developing information system strategy is to enhance operational excellence and decision making. The main difficulty which is facing by the business unit in developing information system strategy is high time intensity. Moreover, for the development of competent information system strategy manager has to devote high level of time. Along with this, San-Miguel-Ayanz (2016) stated in their study that competent and strategic planning is required for developing as well as executing information system strategy. As, business entity needs to undertake Porter and Millar framework for planning and developing strategy. On the other side, Dumais and et.al., (2016) presented that investment associated with the planning and implementation of information system strategy is very high. Hence, it is one of the main aspects which in turn create difficulty in front of management. Further, Pan and et.al., (2017) argued that at the time of developing information system strategy firm may experience issues or difficulties in gaining employee support. The rationale behind this, implementation of IS requires or demand for extensive change.

For coping up with the difficulties related to the implementation of information system strategy business organization needs to undertake strategic measure or action. Falkenberg, Hesse and OlivÃ© (2016) found that by preparing timeline and following the same management team of firm can develop information system strategy within the suitable time frame. Besides this, Peppard and Ward (2016) entailed that by communicating the benefits of information system strategy to the employees management can encourage them in relation to giving support in the development of appropriate framework. In addition to this, for dealing with the issue of high investment firm needs to make focus on undertaking budgeting tools and techniques. By preparing budget firm can determine the funding requirements and become able to take significant measure for improvement for fulfilling the same

Typical problems in information system projects by making use of relevant examples and ways to resolve these problems

In order to implement information system project in an organisation, there are some problems that are entailed to address. Some of the major challenges that Marks and Spencer will have to face while developing information system involves low productivity, a large number of failures and an inadequate alignment of information system with business needs. It has been observed that the first problem that is low productivity has been raised after the software crisis. According to the views of Laudon and Laudon, (2016), this crisis simply demands for the development of a brand new or an improved type of information system. For instance: the major reasons cover the increased cost of software development, reduced supply of personnel and funds, etc.

The second issue that the efforts made for the information system has resulted in a large number of failures. These lags are due to inaccuracy in the financial data such as budgets, overruns, etc. Galliers and Leidner, (2014) stated that the poor management of the system is also a major cause in it. For instance: as per the data by surveys conducted by Laudon and Laudon, (2016), it has been analysed that approximately 75% of the undertaken information system developments are not accomplished effectively. On the other hand, Schwalbe, (2015) stated that the third problem that is ineffective alignment of information system with the business is the biggest problem that further impacts the work. A growing criticism is stating that the poor alignment of IS with business needs are distracting the various operations of an organisation such as recording, searching, refining and evaluating the information. Taken for instance: There exist a large number of managers and leaders who are still confused of implementing a system that runs effectively as per the organisational needs and goals.

First problem which is identified is related to the low productivity has been raised after the software crisis. For resolving this issue, it is suggested that company can firstly focus on identifying the needs and requirement of the information system which is required for carrying put business activities in an effective manner. After determining the requirement company can choose reliable, suitable and cost-effective software which can help in meeting the needs and demand of customer and avoid wastage of time. The second problem which is identified is related to the efforts made for the information system has resulted in a large number of failures. It is important for Marks and Spencer to put effort into implementing information system which is effective and can be used by employees easily so that chances of getting failure can be reduced. For this purpose, the company can also provide training facility to its employees so that they can use new information system in an effective manner. Along with this company need to make sure that uses of new technology should be according to the requirement as wasting cost on purchasing different types of software can impact the profit of the firm and its results in the failure. The last problem which is recognized is an ineffective alignment of the information system with the business is the biggest problem that further impacts the work. The company needs to use its information system effectively and make sure that employees who can easily use it should be assigned. Employees should be aware of new technology and management should communicate it effectively with them.

Conclusion

From the above report it is concluded that company that in order to accomplish goals and objective company can focus on implementing the information system strategy. The main motive of firm behind developing information system strategy is to enhance operational excellence and decision making. Further with the use of customer relationship management company can easily retain its customers for longer period of time. Along with this management information system help company in keeping record of its regular customers. Further it can be used for decision support and executive information system and transaction processing system.

References

Books and Journals

Amrollahi, A., Ghapanchi, A.H. and Talaei-Khoei, A., 2014. Three Decades of Research on Strategic Information System Plan Development. CAIS, 34, p.84.

Arvidsson, V., HolmstrÃ¶m, J. and Lyytinen, K., 2014. Information systems use as strategy practice: A multi-dimensional view of strategic information system implementation and use. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(1), pp.45-61.

Boonstra, A., 2013. How do top managers support strategic information system projects and why do they sometimes withhold this support?. International Journal of Project Management, 31(4), pp.498-512.

Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.

Dumais, S. and et.al., 2016. Stuff I've seen: a system for personal information retrieval and re-use. InÂ ACM SIGIR ForumÂ (Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 28-35). ACM.

Falkenberg, E. D., Hesse, W. and OlivÃ©, A. eds., 2016.Â Information System Concepts: Towards a consolidation of views. Springer.

Galliers, R. D. and Leidner, D. E. eds., 2014.Â Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge.

Haux, R., Winter, A., Ammenwerth, E. and Brigl, B., 2013. Strategic information management in hospitals: an introduction to hospital information systems. Springer Science & Business Media.

Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.

Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P., 2016.Â Management information system. Pearson Education India.

Li, D.Y. and Liu, J., 2014. Dynamic capabilities, environmental dynamism, and competitive advantage: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 67(1), pp.2793-2799.

Pan, S. and et.al., 2017. A combination replication strategy for data-intensive services in distributed geographic information system.Â International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks.Â 13(5). p.1550147717707112.

Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016.Â The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.

Peppard, J., Galliers, R.D. and Thorogood, A., 2014. Information systems strategy as practice: Micro strategy and strategizing for IS. J. Strategic Inf. Sys., 23(1), pp.1-10.

Sakas, D., Vlachos, D. and Nasiopoulos, D., 2014. Modelling strategic management for the development of competitive advantage, based on technology. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 16(3), pp.187-209.

San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., 2016. The European Union Forest Strategy and the Forest Information System for Europe.Â European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. Publ. Off. EU, Luxembourg, pp. e012228.

Wu, Y., Cegielski, C.G., Hazen, B.T. and Hall, D.J., 2013. Cloud computing in support of supply chain information system infrastructure: understanding when to go to the cloud. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 49(3), pp.25-41.