Faculty of Business, Finance, and Hospitality

BUSINESS INFORMATICS
MBA 6043

Lesson 1 : Organizations, Management, and the Networked

Enterprise

Prepared by: Mrs. JANAGI THAMBIRAJA

If its important to you, you will find a way. If its not, you’ll find an excuse.
Copyright© 2019 MAHSA UNIVERSITY 1
 Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to understand on:
After completing this
lesson you will be
 Describe Information Systems in Global Business Today
able to:
 Explain Global E-Business and Collaboration
 Distinguish Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy
 Impact of IT towards current business processes

Copyright© 2018 MAHSA UNIVERSITY 2

INTRODUCTION
• The increment in the job of data frameworks in business and industry recently turned into an indistinguishable
piece of business and industrial organization that involved all sectors such as government, health care, and
education.

• Information systems conveys an important value to the CEO and IT managers in numerous business firms and
industrial organizations today.

• Numerous organizations are remodeling their organizations and data frameworks with the help of the Internet.

• Technology works not just for current usage but for future advancement that will affect the work life.
Information Systems in Global Business Today
• As managers, majority will manage for firms that use information systems intensively and make big
investments in Information Technology.
 i.e. Your company can outperform rivals if you make wise decisions. You're going to waste valuable capital, if
you make bad decisions.
• Today, information systems are the basis for company to run their business. Without comprehensive use of
information technology, the company will face a tough challenge without widespread use of information
technology.
• Living in diverse society, we are depending in extensive use of appliances
 i.e. smartphones, handhelds and other devices.
• Communicating and managing the business is carried out via email, international teleconferencing and online
conferencing. Internet technologies have developed as an essential business tool.
There are three interrelated changes involved worldwide:

1. The mobile digital platform

• The emergence of mobile digital platform has swept

the entire world (whether it is on social media or
doing business).

• The technology has soared to heights that most

companies are finding it hard to catch up. Companies
such as Apple, Google and Microsoft are coming up
with new ways to communicating and storing of
information in such rapid pace. Companies such as
Tesla (founded by Elon Musk) are riding on these
technology for their new and innovative inventions.
2. “Big data,” including the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Nowadays data and information flow in huge deluge that conventional data processing software will not be
able to handle. Big data require different methods of transmitting, processing, receiving and storage.

• Not only that, now we need ways to visualize, share, analyze as well as to develop new methodologies to
secure the data.
3. “Cloud computing”
• The “in-thing” that is very prevalent. Organizations
and individuals are storing an eclectic of information
in the cloud.
• From picture and video files to sensitive information
such as personal details.
• The benefit of cloud computing is that it is scalable
in usage, easy communication and accessibility,
mobility, ability to accept big data and so forth.
• E.g. Micosoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Apple
iCloud and Digital Ocean are a few popular cloud
computing services. Normally, these companies will
offer a certain minimum storage for free and for extra
storage space, users have to pay a tiered premium
sum of money.
Global E-Business and Collaboration
• In any firm, it must deal with its suppliers, customers and employees. It is also involved with business
transaction that involved invoices and payments, own products and services.

Six(6) strategic business objectives are:

1. Operational excellence
• Using IT can elevate organizations to execute its business strategies in a more consistent manner and having an
edge over their competition.
E.g. Toyota is the leader in operational excellence with its Kaizen method of lean manufacturing, while Amazon
has a dynamic business model many companies (even from different industries) refer to.
2. New products, services, and business models
• A growth strategy for businesses whereby for every new product or services assisted by IT, the company will
have a steady stream of business turnover and possibly a new business model will be developed.
E.g. Zappos (an e-commerce leader in sale of shoes) sets the ultimate standard for excellence online customer
service along with its astronomic digital strategy.

3. Customer and supplier intimacy

• Getting a good rapport and relationship with the customers and suppliers are pivotal in every business
venture. With IT support, companies has no excuse for not communicating with customers, vendors and
suppliers on a regular basis to improve its supply chain management.
E.g. e-mail broadcasts, website updates and customer helpdesk.
4. Improved decision making
• Decisions can be made with the aid of technology at the precise time to the right person with detailed and
accurate information. This will aid in any business strategy development.

5. Competitive advantage and Survival

• Let’s face it, building up a company is never an easy task. Therefore, the sustainability of the company and its
growth is supreme (from planning, market research, comprehension of market dynamics, diversification, and
so forth). In the end, these will affect the company’s overall survival as well as how it will be a market leader in
its industry.
E.g. Toyota is leader of the pack when it comes car manufacturing surviving 82 years and still going strong.
Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy
There is a difference between IS and IT.
• Information Systems can be described as a set of procedures and processes that collects/retrieves, processes,
store and distributes information in order to support the decision making process in an organization.
• Information Technology is the driver for Information Systems. It includes computer hardware,
software/application, various telecommunication networks and infrastructures, microchips, storage facilities
and workstations.
Source: Laudon & Laudon, 2018
• The Management Information Systems (MIS) field deals with behavioral issues as well as technical issues
related to the growth, use and effect of the managers and employees.
• As such, MIS is described as the study of company and management-focused information systems.
Source: Laudon & Laudon, 2018
Organizations, Management and Technology
The key elements of an organization, Management and Tecnology are its:
• People – a resource by means of manpower and skill sets to operate and maintain the company’s technology
(from technology support to program coding and development).
• Structure – The organizational structure of the firm that dictates the usage of the technology.
E.g. car manufacturing companies such as Proton, Nissan and Toyota uses many different types of technology
(from design stage (CAD) to robotic arms to assemble the cars).
• Business processes – The processes that require automation such as online customer service, trend analysis
and forecasts, expert systems for decision making.
• Politics – An external factor that could affect the company as a whole. If the economy of the world is affected
(such as Brexit or the trade war between American and China), many other countries will be affected too.
• Culture – Whether the Management has a sense of urgency in technological emergence and change. How does
the top brass (Managing Director, CEO, Board of Directors) take into consideration of the wave of technological
changes and how do they embrace the change?
Impact of IT towards current business processes
• Integration of business processes are of utmost importance in all organizations today.

• Individualism is not an option, rather companies are focusing on merging and assimilation of business
processes to increase productivity, efficiency, reducing cost as well as resources.

• Hence, IT plays a crucial role in this aspect.

• Through Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), company processes are re-designed and re-configured,
taking advantage of new technological platforms and systems infrastructure tools.

• This transition may not be overnight but a long period as the exercise includes a massive overhaul of the
processes.

For example, some manual or old processes could be automated and reduced to reflect the changes and
integration process.
• Many companies such as Coca Cola, Dell and Amazon have successfully applied BPR in their improvement of
business processes.

• These companies are able to pushed the ideas of integration further into the current wave of e-business
transformation to gain competitive advantage.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
 Do you agree that information systems are too important to be left to computer specialists? Why and why
not?
 Describe how IS and IT can be integrated?
 What are the business processes that subscribe to IT the most?
Activity 1.1
 How do the new technologies change way companies do business?
 Describe the kind of new technologies that your organization have adopted.
 What are the security issues that may arise from these new technologies (such cloud computing)?
Activity 1.2
 Evaluate the strategic business objectives: operational excellence; new products, services, and business
models; customer and supplier intimacy; improved decision making; competitive advantage; and survival.
 How will IT play its role on these five business strategies?
 Identify some of these technologies that will emerge as a tool to assist the strategies.