2 Information Systems in the Enterprise - Main Web

28 Part II ❙ INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
unique, rapidly changing, and not specified easily in
advance. They have more advanced analytical models and
data analysis capabilities than MIS and often draw on information
from external as well as internal sources.
Executive support systems (ESS) support the strategic level
by providing a generalized computing and communications
environment to assist senior management’s decision making.
They have limited analytical capabilities but can draw
on sophisticated graphics software and many sources of
internal and external information.
The various types of systems in the organization exchange
data with one another. TPS are a major source of data for
other systems, especially MIS and DSS. ESS primarily
receive data from lower-level systems. The different systems
in an organization have traditionally been loosely integrated.
2. Describe the types of information systems supporting the major
functional areas of the business. At each level of the organization
there are information systems supporting the major
functional areas of the business. Sales and marketing systems
help the firm identify customers for the firm’s products
or services, develop products and services to meet customer’s
needs, promote products and services, sell the
products and services, and provide ongoing customer support.
Manufacturing and production systems deal with the
planning, development, and production of products and
services, and control the flow of production. Finance and
accounting systems keep track of the firm’s financial assets
and fund flows. Human resources systems maintain
employee records, track employee skills, job performance,
and training; and support planning for employee compensation
and career development.
3. Assess the relationship between organizations, information systems
and business processes, including the processes for customer
relationship management and supply chain management.
Business processes refer to the manner in which work is
organized, coordinated, and focused to produce a valuable
product or service. Business processes are concrete workflows
of material, information, and knowledge, and they
also represent unique ways in which organizations coordinate
work, information, and knowledge, and the ways in
which management chooses to coordinate work. Although
each of the major business functions has its own set of business
processes, many other business processes are crossfunctional,
such as fulfilling an order. Information systems
can help organizations achieve great efficiencies by
Key Terms
Customer relationship
management, 00
Decision-support systems
(DSS), 00
Desktop publishing, 00
Document imaging systems, 00
Enterprise systems, 00
Executive support systems
(ESS), 00
Finance and accounting
information systems, 00
automating parts of these processes or by helping organizations
rethink and streamline these processes, especially
those for customer relationship management and supply
chain management. Customer relationship management
uses information systems to coordinate all of the business
processes surrounding a firm’s interactions with its customers.
Supply chain management is the close linkage of
activities involved in buying, making, and moving a product.
Information systems make supply chain management
more efficient by helping companies coordinate, schedule,
and control procurement, production, inventory management,
and delivery of products and services to customers.
4. Explain how enterprise systems and industrial networks create
new efficiencies for businesses. Enterprise systems integrate
the key business processes of a firm into a single software
system so that information can flow throughout the organization,
improving coordination, efficiency, and decision
making. Industrial networks link other organizations in the
same industry in a single industry-wide system. Vertical
industrial networks consist of an organization and its suppliers,
whereas horizontal industrial networks consist of
competitors in the same industry.
5. Evaluate the benefits and limitations of enterprise systems and
industrial networks. Enterprise systems and industrial networks
promise efficiencies from better coordination of both
internal and external business processes. Enterprise systems
can help create a uniform organization in which everyone
uses similar processes and information, and measures their
work in terms of organization-wide performance standards.
An enterprise system could supply management with better
data about business processes and overall organizational
performance. Enterprise systems feature a single information
technology platform where data definitions are standardized
across the organization. The coordination of sales,
production, finance, and logistics processes provided by
enterprise systems helps organizations respond rapidly to
customer demands.
The reality is that firm- and industry-wide systems are very
difficult to implement successfully. They require extensive
organizational change, use complicated technologies, and
require large up-front costs for long-term benefits that are
difficult to quantify. Once implemented, enterprise systems
are very difficult to change. Management vision and foresight
is required to take a firm- and industry-wide view of
problems and to find solutions that realize strategic value
from the investment.
Horizontal industrial
networks, 00
Human resources information
systems, 00
Industrial networks, 00
Knowledge-level systems, 00
Knowledge work systems
(KWS), 00
Management information
systems (MIS), 00
Management-level systems, 00