DS Systems

DS systems are critical in organizations today for they help make practical use of computers to help make important decisions. Computerized decision support systems became practical with the development of minicomputers, timeshare operating systems and distributed computing.[i] These systems cut away from the time it would take humans to make the decisions and also lets you analyze the data where there might be errors occurring. The Decision Support Systems has been evolving through out the decades and are not new to organizational use. The most recent evolutionary phase of DSS was when the internet came to be and web-based DSS were able to perform tasks for organizations. One example of a web-based DSS is Booz-Allens Purchasing Analysis Tool. This allows organizations to, “…analysis of historic purchasing data; predefined graphs and reports for performing analysis within and across business units; and a flexible Java-based OLAP tool for drill-down, pivot, filter, and selection on a purchasing database.”[ii] This type of software will let you save time from going over thousands of records and collecting data to make tables and analyze how your business is doing. You are able to get many reports that explain how a organization is performing without wasting the man power. You also are saving money by eliminating the people that have to analyze the data. This is a more cost efficient way of examining an organization. In the research I have been doing some think that Web-Based DSS are the future because, “…Web based decision services can support information exchange and knowledge, software and model sharing from different organizations through web.”[iii] This idea links DSS services through Web 2.0 and will allow organizations to expand, grow, and work more proficiently. When you start to dig deeper into the theoretical side of DSS it starts to get very confusing. Best way of putting it was by Hemant Bhargava, “… The emerging web-based collaborative decision support services (WCDSS) are driven by Practical necessity rather than by abstract theory.”[iv] The actual thought of what is needed is actually becoming a necessity in today’s business world.

[i] http://dssresources.com/history/dsshistory.html

[ii] http://www.taborcommunications.com/dsstar/98/0818/100261.html

[iii] http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXVI/part2/pdf/wang.pdf

[iv] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~compsim/articles/kri-joc-web.pdf
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Optimization Model

Decision making is defines as, " Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice.”[i] When making decisions it is very important that you think of first what you are trying to accomplish and second what is the best way to achieve the desired outcome. One approach that is used widely is the optimization model. This model is a process that helps organizations find the best solution by meeting the goals set out by the organization. The process is picked and reformed on a situational basis to pick the best solution out of a group of answers. Many times this model uses mathematical processes to help reach the end conclusion of which solution to use.

Companies use optimization software to help look at alternative solutions to problems faced. Optimization uses constraints to make sure that the solution is practical and actually fits the problem at hand. An example of optimization software is Lindo Systems. This company is in the business of, “…providing fast, easy to use tools for mathematical optimization. Day in and day out, LINDO Systems' optimizers provide critical answers to thousands of businesses around the world”[ii] It gives you the support you need to make tough business decisions and also supports different areas your business may be having problems. This approach can help take a failing Information System and help decide the corrective action needed to make things work. For example, Microsofts Optimization Model says, “Microsoft Optimization is a structured, systematic process for assessing infrastructure and platform maturity levels across IT capabilities in order to provide an Optimization road-map toward a Dynamic IT. The road-map helps companies to define and implement Optimization initiatives that will enable proactive, IT management and deliver cost and risk reductions across the IT organization.”[iii] This is one good way that a situation can be taken by the horns and used in a way that will optimize the resources for a company saving money. Many times humans are not able to figure out what is wrong or how to optimize what is happening in the workplace. This process allows you to prosper as a business and follow a path towards the best solution.

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_making

[ii] http://www.lindo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=2

[iii]http://microsoftio.partnersalesresources.com/content/overview/Microsoft_Optimization_Models_Foundation_Evolution_and_Validation.pdf

E-Commerce

E-Commerce is an interesting concept that involves people using the internet to perform business activities over computer networks. This allows people to exchange good and services without ever having to meet or even communicate at all. The luxury of being able to go cloths shopping in your pajamas while never leaving your couch is one many can not seem to pass up. According to some e-retail statistics, “E-commerce sales in the U.S. totaled $38.00 billion in the first three months of this year versus $33.98 billion in Q1 2010.” This is an astonishing number considering that many economists believe that we are in a double dip recession as of right now. The connivance that e-commerce gives to customers allows companies to be versatile within their sector and reach two markets with the same products. For example, you can go to a mall and go shopping the physical location such as Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret also has an e-store where you can get many of the same products maybe more, due to not having physical inventory; therefore, limiting the sale of some products. In an e-store you have to ability to sell more items because you don’t need a store front only a virtual front. The inventory can be held at any warehouse, that your item will be shipped from. This allows you to save room and be a player in the e-commerce business sector. Many companies have both a actual store and e-store to accommodate to e-consumers. The e-store has many advantages over a physical store for example, “Generally, online sellers features lower prices because they don't have the overhead of renting a pad in a strip mall, high electric bills, and a staff of sales people.” Another advantage of doing e-shopping is the advantage that you may not have to pay taxes on the items bought depending on where you live. This is a great incentive for shopping online and one reason, besides connivance, that I think e-commerce is on a steady incline in sales. There is one thing I don’t think a e-store can compare with and that is the human need to be around other people even though they may not know any of them. This interaction is very interesting and can be seen at the mall every day. People go to the mall and are able to be around other human beings and walk around and window shop. This sense of belonging to something is one big reason I think Malls are so popular. The modern day mall is now catering to everything from shopping to amusement parks. People wait hours to get a parking spot at the Garden State Plaza to do shopping and spend a day with other people doing the same thing. This could all be avoided if they were to just shop online and have the items delivered. E-commerce has changed the way our society does business and will continue to increase as we reach into the future. Jim Marks an e-commerce specialst said, “With e-commerce, the challenge is always converting people from lookers to bookers. But in general, people are becoming more comfortable online, as systems become easier and quicker to use.”

http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/05/10/e-retail-sales-jump-12-q1
http://tv.about.com/od/learningcenter/a/onlinevsstoretv.htm

http://www.famousquotes.com/author/jim-marks/

Wimax/Clearwire

Telecommunications is an ever expanding branch of information systems. There are so many different networks that provide service for customers. Telecommunications deals not only with cellular phones but also the internet. These companies use different media form to transmit and receive information. These companies include but are not limited to Verizon, Sprint and many more. One in particular ia a company called Clearwire. Clearwire came up with a new fourth generation network systems called WiMAX. “In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire merged to develop Internet access to mobile devices using WiMAX, rather than the traditional CDMA and GSM cellular technologies. Google also invested in the venture.”[i] This was supposed to be the future in the short term because the LTE technology from Verizon was not to be able to reach its full potential for many years to come. This is proven by Apple being reluctant to pick this technology for the I-phone 5; “The company is typically reluctant to adopt technology that has not yet reached its full potential, and LTE would fall into that category.”[ii] The LTE techno logy is said to be able to care more data at higher speeds.

Clearwire was the innovator of this WiMAX technology and started a fourth generation telecommunication push that has spanned three years. They first opened markets in large cities like Philadelphia and Miami. The plan was to continue introducing and launching WiMAX. WiMAX is thought as, “Since WiMAX has such as large signal range, it will potentially be used to provide wireless Internet access to entire cities and other large areas. In fact, some proponents of WiMAX predict it will eventually spread Internet access to all parts of the globe.”[iii]The problem that we are seeing today is that Clearwire is running out of money and has not even finished launching all of its WiMAX sites. “Clearwire's management acknowledged that growing sentiment, which immediately raised the question of why the company had borrowed and spent billions of dollars in support of WiMAX.”[iv] Clearwire obviously bet on being able to make WiMAX he future and that LTE would take to long to develop, this obviously has back fired on Clearwire. Clearwire is now trying a new angle where they will incorporate LTE into their WiMAX technologies. It may be hard for Clearwire to avoid bankruptcy because it has lost many of its investors like Sprint and Google. In the end the next WiMAX may be the fourth generation winner but I believe with LTE not reaching its full potential that LTE is the future.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=WiMAX&i=54472,00.asp#fbid=fsXhvkvpAf6
http://www.mobiledia.com/news/102879.html
http://www.techterms.com/definition/wimax
http://seekingalpha.com/article/298942-clearwire-may-go-bankrupt-by-next-year

Stationery 2007

Hardware and Software

 

Hardware and software is a big component to information systems. It allows companies to perform at higher rates of efficiency. . A small business can use many avenues to broaden their companies’ horizons. One way to do this is by getting involved with the mobile aspect of hardware and software.

Intuit Go Payments- [i] This will allow you to attach a card swipe onto your cell phone so customers can pay you. This will give you flexibility to charge people where and whenever you need to. You can get rid of the bulky machines and all the equipment. The one drawback would be if someone wanted a paper receipt you would have to print it out for them.

Mobile Banking- Mobile banking allows you to check your bank statements and make payments over the internet. This would take away time and money spent on stamps, envelopes, and writing out the actual checks. You can set up for automatic payments to companies. This is a big time and money saver.

Mobile Email- Having your email account linked right to your phone gives you instant access to your email. This allows you to communicate via email while on the go. This allows you to save time behind the computer because you an answer any mail as it comes in.

Card Munch- [ii] This is a business card scanning system. It allows you to take pictures of business cards and file them without having to use a rolodex. This will help save time and space.

e-Mobile Call Manager-[iii] This software allows your to set up profiles for different callers and helps manage. This will make life a lot easier when at work. It will act as your secretary and put an end to calls that waste your time.

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[i] http://www.intuit.com/

[ii] http://www.labnol.org/software/scan-business-cards-on-mobile/19792/

[iii] http://www.pocketmedialive.com/e-mobilesoft/html/Categories/backberry.html

Value Chain

Recently I opened up a business buying and selling used CD’s to other students.  The upstream management part includes obtaining raw materials, inbound logistics and ware house storage and inventory systems. The first part of the value chain would include obtaining the CD’s. This would have to be done in person for inspection of used goods would be essential as well as cash payment could be made on site(Raw Materials). I would have to catalog all of my purchases. I would do this by music genre and the alphabetical name of the group in that specific genre.(Inbound Logistics) The inventory would be placed on CD racks or shelves so that if anyone wanted to come in and purchase anything in person this would be an available option.(Warehouse Inventory/Control System). As our product, we are using old CDs; therefore, I do not believe we have a Production element to our operation. The next step in our business is the start of the downstream management aspect. In the finished product storage stage, I would love to have a computerized information system which tracks our inventory and duplications of CDs. Our out bound logistics would be mostly via mail and pick up. Our marketing scheme would be to primarily flyers around school and mass emails. This would allow us to cut back on some of the opening cost. The final step of customer service, tracking and control systems would be done by me and my friend. As stated before I would love to have a system that tracked all inventory, transaction and set up some kind of e-commerce exchanges. A good site for this is paypal.

Value in a System

  The value in a system completely depends on how your business is set up, the products that you deal with and you clientele. For example, ancestory.com which is in the business of giving out family tree information, would find more value in a knowledge based information system compared to a robotic information system. The e-commerce aspect of Business Information Systems has changed the way many companies exchange currencies. E-commerce has allowed business to expand and connect with customers that would have never been in there demographic due to the internet. This has allowed companies to be very competitive in pricing and have instant payment procedures as one aspect of e-commerce. When you look at ancestory.com, they gather, process and discriminate information to their clients about their family going back hundreds of years. If they do not have a strong knowledge based information system, then their whole company’s integrity would be in jeopardy. Their business comes solely from giving information to their customers via information systems on the internet and receiving payment via e-commerce. I believe ancestory.com shows a great example of how an information system has to work. First you give the company money through e-commerce. The company then does research and gathers data about your family. This is the input process. Ancestory.com then goes into the processing phase making sure the information it is giving the customer is correct, reliable, verifiable and relevant. Once this process is complete then the output is given to the customer, which is the ancestral information obtained during the company’s research. These knowledge based and e-commerce systems are the most important because if they were not around then neither would the company. If you wanted ancestral information you would have to hire a private investigator to dig up information on your family. The investigator then would have to put in the actual man hours of digging through hundreds of papers and then typing up a family tree. I can imagine with the man hours needed this could cost a pretty penny. This is why e-commerce and knowledge based systems have such a high value to ancestory.com.

Systems Theory and Competitive Advantage.

Information systems are not a brand new concept that came with the recent technological boost during the Twenty First century.  The idea of systems is that every successful system has the same qualities no matter what the systems are or how they are .  Ludwig von Bertalanffy is a biologist who first proposed the General Systems Theory. He stated, “real systems are open to, and interact with, their environments…resulting in continual evolution. Rather than reducing an entity (e.g. the human body) to the properties of its parts or elements (e.g. organs or cells), systems theory focuses on the arrangement of and relations between the parts which connect them into a whole (cf. holism)”[i] This definition explains that everything has its place and for all to be fully functional they work in unison.  This creates wholeness and allows the system to adapt and change resulting in success.  Systems Theory is a guideline of how, if looked at closely, you can see that everything is a system and generally has the same characteristics.

            In business, there are many different types of systems.  You have your information systems, you have management systems, and when all these systems run as a cohesive unit you get a successful business.  This can allow you to obtain a strategic advantage over your competitors creating value to your systems and company.  In Michael porters “Potters Strategic theory”, competitive advantage can be obtained by effectively implementing Information Systems and Technology. [ii] He also states,” The primary, value-adding activities include those involved in the production, marketing delivery, and servicing of the product. They are linked, generally in a chain. Support activities include those providing purchased inputs, technology, human resources, or overall infrastructure functions to support the primary activities[iii]   The adaptation and change described by Bertanlanffy is implemented by Porter allowing businesses to adapt and evolve.

             

One of the requirements for Porters value chain is an investment in information system technologies. This shows that with out the right information systems you can never fully gain a competitive advantage over your competition.  Information can be turned valuable by doing the following applications,”…Assess existing and potential information intensity of product and process, Evaluate the likely impact of IT on their industry structure Identify the rank of activities that information first affects, quantify how information technology brings new business and generate a plan of action for taking advantage of IT”[iv]  Porter concludes that by implementing sound information systems you can add value to your company.  In adding value to your systems, you add a competitive advantage.

The competitive nature of our economy, especially in these hard times, makes information systems that more important.  When new technology comes out it is essential that a business plan is used to invest and obtain all this information because if you do not you will be left behind. This shows that General Tnformation Theory can be applied to any type of situation, as it was the basis of Michaels Porters, Strategic IS Theory.   We can now say we can judge the value of information and technology by seeing how efficiently our systems we have in place are running.

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[i] http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSTHEOR.html

[ii] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Value_chain

[iii] http://www.rogerclarke.com/SOS/StratISTh.html

[iv] http://mrnair.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/information-technology-and-sustained-competitive-advantage-925286.html#ixzz1XxUyfoqp

I Want to See first if My Stars are Working

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