5.4 Strategies used within Management Information Systems

5.4 Strategies used within Management Information Systems

An organisation does not implement an MIS and leave it running to chance. The MIS is part of overall business strategy and is maintained as such. The overall way a business operates influences how the MIS is used and, ultimately, its success or failure.

In this section we consider the internal and external factors that influence a business and consequently the factors that influence the MIS

5.4.2 External Factors that influence a business

No business exists in a static environment. It is continually influenced by a number of internal and external factors. These factors change in the size and scale of influence over time. Some can be ignored without having a significant effect on the business, while others can cripple the business if ignored.

External factors can arise suddenly, such as a supplier failing to deliver goods. This may be due to a failure on the supplier’s part, or on the part of the couriers. The latter can be seen in instances such as the postal strike in 2003, which affected even UK businesses that were situated far away from striking sorting offices. A failure of supply can affect an organisation’s production or sales.

External factors may also arise over time, and these can be more readily planned for. Examples include the growth of ICT within a business or changes in legislation that are publicised well in advance of becoming law. Nevertheless, an organisation should have a written plan that anticipates as many unexpected problems as possible, together with what to do if they arise. If problems are thought through in advance, there is less chance of panic when something does go wrong. This gives an advantage to established firms who often know their market and can anticipate problems that are likely to occur better than a new company. In either case, business can be affected when a company is caught unprepared when problems strike.

Some examples of external factors are:

- Communication Links
A generation ago, any business that wanted to be taken seriously on a ‘big scale’ had to be located in a major city. This was to facilitate meeting customers and suppliers alike (who were in the same major city). Because of the growth of ICT, much of this face-to-face communication can be replaced with video conferencing, e-mail or phone calls. A positive effect of this is that companies can be located outside cities, where overheads such as rent and rates are often much less. This does, however, mean an increased reliance on communication links which must be of a high standard and highly reliable. Because it is inefficient for many firms to employ their own telecommunications staff may hire telecoms specialists tot maintain communication links who invest heavily in preventing problems, installing backups and providing alternative services when required.

- Suppliers of goods
Firms often depend on other firms to provide goods for sale or as components in manufacturing. Suppliers may fail for a variety of reasons and so firms must have written action plans to either avoid being affected, or to know how to react, when problems occur. This may include sourcing the same item from different places or purposely keeping a large supply in case of supply failure

- Suppliers of computer systems
Just as suppliers of goods may fail, so suppliers of hardware and software may fail. Companies must have their response to such a situation planned before it happens. For example if a company developing software goes out of business with a system partially implemented, the client does not want to find out at the last minute that their business will be crippled. Rather management should be in a position to act calmly according to a pre-defined plan, such as keeping the old system or re-advertising the development contract.

- Faulty software
It is virtually impossible to guarantee that a software system has no ‘bugs’. Companies must take adequate measures to ensure that operations and data are not compromised even if errors manifest themselves. This includes making multiple backups of data and using redundant systems that duplicate everything the main system does.

- Changes in legislation
Changes in legislation are often announced well in advance so that companies have time to plan. A new system may even have potential new legislation included in its design. For example, if a company commissioned a new finance system in 2004 for use in the UK, it may well have had Euro capability included, because of the possibility that the UK would adopt the euro. This is easier to put into the system at the design stage than as adaptive maintenance.

- Changes in work practice
Companies may change their work practices are many reasons. These changes can be small, or in the case of being taken over by another huge firm. Such changes affects ICT, whether it is only to change a few procedures or the more complex problem of merging the entire systems from two companies.

- Forced upgrades in software/hardware
Some off-the-shelf software is regularly upgraded. This may be to improve security or add new features. The release of new software will impact on companies using old versions of the software.

5.4.3 Internal factors that influence a business
Some of the most powerful influences on a business can come from the inside rather than the outside. For example, all it takes is for a managing director to make a negative comment about their goods for the business to suffer major damage from a poor public perception. At the lower levels of the firm, poor morale in stores or in factories can lead to a lack of productivity.

Some examples of internal factors are listed below:
Company Structure – The structure of a company has a bearing on how effective internal communications is. A company may have too many levels of management, which can lead to complaints of over-bureaucracy, or a company may have too little management that can lead to a lack of organisation and direction.

Communication between ICT and Non-ICT staff. IT staff are often though to speak a different language to other employees and are sometimes critisced for an unsympathetic attitude towards non-technical colleagues. If this perception is allowed to persist, ICT problems will not be dealt with because people are afraid to ask for help.

Company Culture – In some companies or industries, it is normal to work ten or more hours per day and to work weekends. In such companies, those who arrive 8am are ‘late’ and those who go home before 6pm are considered to be ‘lazy’. This is considered by some to improve productivity but the reality is that a prolonged lack of rest can lead to physical and mental health problems and can actually reduce productivity.

Teleworking – Many companies allow employees to work at home. This is useful for those whose entire day at work would be spent in front of a computer and whose presence in the office may not always be required. This may benefit those employees with young families. However those who telework may feel like ‘outsiders’ when they return to the office, having missed much of the social dimension of work.

Poor Management – A lack of leadership can cause employees to lose focus, simply because they do not know what they are supposed to be doing.

Individualism – The world would be boring if everybody acted the same but it can be a major problem if people within an organisation insist on following their own agendas. When a few people ignore a company’s way of working there can be serious knock-on effects for others. For example, if one person ignores timekeeping other people may be held up in their work, or if one person insisted on running their favourite software, the overall stability of a company’s systems may be affected.

Departments allowed to exist as ‘independent states’ – Many companies face the problem of the management in a single department refusing to integrate with the rest of the company. This may rise because of a well intentioned ambition which causes them to work around the confines of the company structure, or simply because they are being awkward. Such a culture will lead to that department having separate work policies (including ict policy) from the rest of the organisation and this will lead to difficulties sharing data between departments and have further adverse affects on the business as a whole.

User Training – If employees are improperly trained, information systems will not be used to their full potential and much time can be wasted. A survey in 2003 estimated that 1 in 7 ICT workers in the UK requested help for turning on a computer and 1 in 5 called a helpline for simple tasks, such as saving or printing.

Over-Confident Users – In constrast to those who ask for help too often, are users who do not ask for help when they really need it. This can, in fact be the bigger headache for ICT staff. Users who think they know what they are doing can destroy data without realising it, A well designed system should have a series of checks and backups to prevent such users causing irreparable hardm

Teamwork – It has been said that while one man cannot lift half a pool table because of its size and weight, two men are able to lift an entire pool table. That is, their strength is multiplied when combined. In a similar way, in any organisation more can be done when people work together to an agreed plan, doing agreed jobs to agreed schedules. This comes about as a result of good planning and good working relationships.

Morale – All of the above factors influence morale. Regardless of the cause, if morale is low, productivity drops due to increased absenteeism or unmotivated employees.

5.4.4 – The structure of a management information system
A companys MIS should be implemented through good planning and research and not left to chance. At the time of analysis, the structure of the company and its mission should be thoroughly documentated to ensure that the MIS reflects these. However, it is also true that no company is static, and neither should the MIS be. Over time, the company focus may change and the MIS should be adapted to cope with this. As with many other software projects the MIS will enter a period of continual maintenance and evolution and procedures should be followed to ensure that changes are made only after careful consideration.

To maximise the effectiveness of the MIS, the following principles should be followed:
- The MIS should be used as a company wide resource
- The MIS should be thoroughly planned and documented.
- As far as possible, all factors that influence the company should be taken into account.
- In each part of the organisation, the MIS should be supplying all the data that users need. Users should not have to look outside the MIS for data needed for their job.
- While departments may get on with their jobs in isolation from each other, there is a continual flow of data between them managed by the MIS. Therefore the various parts of the MIS must effectively work together.
- No department should be allowed to implement its own ICT policy without integrating with the existing systems. This should only be done following discussion with ICT staff, to ensure incompatibilities are avoided.


5.4.5 The need for a considered information system strategy

We have seen that a company wide information system will meet the needs of all users, presenting information to them in a useful form. Such a system is constructed of several modules, purposely designed to work together.
We have also seen that creating an ICT management layer to be in charge of all ICT policies allows a company wide strategy to be mapped out, and that this must be adhered to. Doing so will avoid the problem of departments investing in their own systems and thus causing instability or loss of function when integrated with company wide systems. A carefully considered, company wide, ICT strategy therefore leads to better training of staff and a better overall use of resources.5.4 Strategies used within Management Information Systems

An organisation does not implement an MIS and leave it running to chance. The MIS is part of overall business strategy and is maintained as such. The overall way a business operates influences how the MIS is used and, ultimately, its success or failure.

In this section we consider the internal and external factors that influence a business and consequently the factors that influence the MIS

5.4.2 External Factors that influence a business

No business exists in a static environment. It is continually influenced by a number of internal and external factors. These factors change in the size and scale of influence over time. Some can be ignored without having a significant effect on the business, while others can cripple the business if ignored.

External factors can arise suddenly, such as a supplier failing to deliver goods. This may be due to a failure on the supplier’s part, or on the part of the couriers. The latter can be seen in instances such as the postal strike in 2003, which affected even UK businesses that were situated far away from striking sorting offices. A failure of supply can affect an organisation’s production or sales.

External factors may also arise over time, and these can be more readily planned for. Examples include the growth of ICT within a business or changes in legislation that are publicised well in advance of becoming law. Nevertheless, an organisation should have a written plan that anticipates as many unexpected problems as possible, together with what to do if they arise. If problems are thought through in advance, there is less chance of panic when something does go wrong. This gives an advantage to established firms who often know their market and can anticipate problems that are likely to occur better than a new company. In either case, business can be affected when a company is caught unprepared when problems strike.

Some examples of external factors are:

- Communication Links
A generation ago, any business that wanted to be taken seriously on a ‘big scale’ had to be located in a major city. This was to facilitate meeting customers and suppliers alike (who were in the same major city). Because of the growth of ICT, much of this face-to-face communication can be replaced with video conferencing, e-mail or phone calls. A positive effect of this is that companies can be located outside cities, where overheads such as rent and rates are often much less. This does, however, mean an increased reliance on communication links which must be of a high standard and highly reliable. Because it is inefficient for many firms to employ their own telecommunications staff may hire telecoms specialists tot maintain communication links who invest heavily in preventing problems, installing backups and providing alternative services when required.

- Suppliers of goods
Firms often depend on other firms to provide goods for sale or as components in manufacturing. Suppliers may fail for a variety of reasons and so firms must have written action plans to either avoid being affected, or to know how to react, when problems occur. This may include sourcing the same item from different places or purposely keeping a large supply in case of supply failure

- Suppliers of computer systems
Just as suppliers of goods may fail, so suppliers of hardware and software may fail. Companies must have their response to such a situation planned before it happens. For example if a company developing software goes out of business with a system partially implemented, the client does not want to find out at the last minute that their business will be crippled. Rather management should be in a position to act calmly according to a pre-defined plan, such as keeping the old system or re-advertising the development contract.

- Faulty software
It is virtually impossible to guarantee that a software system has no ‘bugs’. Companies must take adequate measures to ensure that operations and data are not compromised even if errors manifest themselves. This includes making multiple backups of data and using redundant systems that duplicate everything the main system does.

- Changes in legislation
Changes in legislation are often announced well in advance so that companies have time to plan. A new system may even have potential new legislation included in its design. For example, if a company commissioned a new finance system in 2004 for use in the UK, it may well have had Euro capability included, because of the possibility that the UK would adopt the euro. This is easier to put into the system at the design stage than as adaptive maintenance.

- Changes in work practice
Companies may change their work practices are many reasons. These changes can be small, or in the case of being taken over by another huge firm. Such changes affects ICT, whether it is only to change a few procedures or the more complex problem of merging the entire systems from two companies.

- Forced upgrades in software/hardware
Some off-the-shelf software is regularly upgraded. This may be to improve security or add new features. The release of new software will impact on companies using old versions of the software.

5.4.3 Internal factors that influence a business
Some of the most powerful influences on a business can come from the inside rather than the outside. For example, all it takes is for a managing director to make a negative comment about their goods for the business to suffer major damage from a poor public perception. At the lower levels of the firm, poor morale in stores or in factories can lead to a lack of productivity.

Some examples of internal factors are listed below:
Company Structure – The structure of a company has a bearing on how effective internal communications is. A company may have too many levels of management, which can lead to complaints of over-bureaucracy, or a company may have too little management that can lead to a lack of organisation and direction.

Communication between ICT and Non-ICT staff. IT staff are often though to speak a different language to other employees and are sometimes critisced for an unsympathetic attitude towards non-technical colleagues. If this perception is allowed to persist, ICT problems will not be dealt with because people are afraid to ask for help.

Company Culture – In some companies or industries, it is normal to work ten or more hours per day and to work weekends. In such companies, those who arrive 8am are ‘late’ and those who go home before 6pm are considered to be ‘lazy’. This is considered by some to improve productivity but the reality is that a prolonged lack of rest can lead to physical and mental health problems and can actually reduce productivity.

Teleworking – Many companies allow employees to work at home. This is useful for those whose entire day at work would be spent in front of a computer and whose presence in the office may not always be required. This may benefit those employees with young families. However those who telework may feel like ‘outsiders’ when they return to the office, having missed much of the social dimension of work.

Poor Management – A lack of leadership can cause employees to lose focus, simply because they do not know what they are supposed to be doing.

Individualism – The world would be boring if everybody acted the same but it can be a major problem if people within an organisation insist on following their own agendas. When a few people ignore a company’s way of working there can be serious knock-on effects for others. For example, if one person ignores timekeeping other people may be held up in their work, or if one person insisted on running their favourite software, the overall stability of a company’s systems may be affected.

Departments allowed to exist as ‘independent states’ – Many companies face the problem of the management in a single department refusing to integrate with the rest of the company. This may rise because of a well intentioned ambition which causes them to work around the confines of the company structure, or simply because they are being awkward. Such a culture will lead to that department having separate work policies (including ict policy) from the rest of the organisation and this will lead to difficulties sharing data between departments and have further adverse affects on the business as a whole.

User Training – If employees are improperly trained, information systems will not be used to their full potential and much time can be wasted. A survey in 2003 estimated that 1 in 7 ICT workers in the UK requested help for turning on a computer and 1 in 5 called a helpline for simple tasks, such as saving or printing.

Over-Confident Users – In constrast to those who ask for help too often, are users who do not ask for help when they really need it. This can, in fact be the bigger headache for ICT staff. Users who think they know what they are doing can destroy data without realising it, A well designed system should have a series of checks and backups to prevent such users causing irreparable hardm

Teamwork – It has been said that while one man cannot lift half a pool table because of its size and weight, two men are able to lift an entire pool table. That is, their strength is multiplied when combined. In a similar way, in any organisation more can be done when people work together to an agreed plan, doing agreed jobs to agreed schedules. This comes about as a result of good planning and good working relationships.

Morale – All of the above factors influence morale. Regardless of the cause, if morale is low, productivity drops due to increased absenteeism or unmotivated employees.

5.4.4 – The structure of a management information system
A companys MIS should be implemented through good planning and research and not left to chance. At the time of analysis, the structure of the company and its mission should be thoroughly documentated to ensure that the MIS reflects these. However, it is also true that no company is static, and neither should the MIS be. Over time, the company focus may change and the MIS should be adapted to cope with this. As with many other software projects the MIS will enter a period of continual maintenance and evolution and procedures should be followed to ensure that changes are made only after careful consideration.

To maximise the effectiveness of the MIS, the following principles should be followed:
- The MIS should be used as a company wide resource
- The MIS should be thoroughly planned and documented.
- As far as possible, all factors that influence the company should be taken into account.
- In each part of the organisation, the MIS should be supplying all the data that users need. Users should not have to look outside the MIS for data needed for their job.
- While departments may get on with their jobs in isolation from each other, there is a continual flow of data between them managed by the MIS. Therefore the various parts of the MIS must effectively work together.
- No department should be allowed to implement its own ICT policy without integrating with the existing systems. This should only be done following discussion with ICT staff, to ensure incompatibilities are avoided.


5.4.5 The need for a considered information system strategy

We have seen that a company wide information system will meet the needs of all users, presenting information to them in a useful form. Such a system is constructed of several modules, purposely designed to work together.
We have also seen that creating an ICT management layer to be in charge of all ICT policies allows a company wide strategy to be mapped out, and that this must be adhered to. Doing so will avoid the problem of departments investing in their own systems and thus causing instability or loss of function when integrated with company wide systems. A carefully considered, company wide, ICT strategy therefore leads to better training of staff and a better overall use of resources.