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Summary and Reflection: Chapters Three and Four

Business Management, Northern Caribbean University

MGMT485: Management Information Systems (A)

February XX, 202X

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Summary and Reflection: Chapters Three and Four

In Chapters Three and Four of the book Management Information Systems: Managing the

Digital Firm, written by Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, in the primary chapter, we

review means in which Managers utilize information gathered within organizations, in order to

develop proper functioning information systems. After which, in the subsequent chapter we look

into various ethical, social and political issues which may arise when handling data that is

gathered and utilized within an information system.

“Which features of organizations do managers need to know about to build and use

information systems successfully?”. We see a perfect display of Managers utilizing these

features, within Insurance Companies, as there are many sub-departments within insurance

companies – home insurance, vehicle insurance, health insurance etc. For example. A staff

recently hired and is unfamiliar with the insurance codes of the company, over time we see the

Routine and Business Process taking effect, shortening the time taken to process claims. As the

departments vary in an insurance company Organizational Politics and Organizational Culture is

almost inevitable, for example, staff within a medical claims department see it beneficial for the

company to go completely green, and go away from paper printing, however, staff within the

accounting the department believe that having a physical paper trail is still beneficial to the

company. Whereas the Organizational Environment of Insurance companies have remained the

same for the past century, managers have utilized various technologies to aid in staying ahead of

the competition, utilizing technologies such as dashcams. Whereas information gathered by the

Vehicle department may reflect a clients age, date of birth and gender, this information in a

Professional Bureaucracy will only be accessible by the said department. Utilizing the
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information gathered above, Managers continually tweak information systems, attempting to

ensure they stay ahead of the game.

As we are aware that Managers utilize the information gathered to better an organization,

we also see ethical, social, and political issues being raised by information systems gathering

data and selling such information to third-party companies without the knowledge of the primary

customer. Making the matter a little more modern, with the medical information being collected

due to the Covid-19 pandemic swarming the world, with all the data gathered, can we state what

is stopping our information from falling into the wrong hands? In this chapter we see that, Ethics

are defined as the morals of an individual, used when making decisions in a final

action[CITATION Lau18 \p 154 \l 1033 ]. With the increasing reach of technology, can we truly

say ethics and moral are the basis on which we want our information to be governed? Five

Factors which were mentioned in chapter four, which I’ve considered when utilizing the social

media Facebook, are the ‘Five Moral Dimension of the Information Age’. These include,

Information rights and obligations, Property rights and obligations, Accountability and control,

System quality, and Quality of life[CITATION Lau18 \p 156 \l 1033 ]. Initially, one may stop

and say the information gathered above, is simply being utilize to benefit the customer, hence,

‘no harm, no foul’. However, if the information is being gathered without one’s primary

knowledge and also distributed, in the client’s “benefit”. Can we truly confirm that the inform

isn’t also being used against the said user?

In conclusion, while I am aware that we are living in a technological-era and companies

do benefit from utilizing this information, I am also aware that some of the companies take

advantage of the information provided. The question is left to ask, ‘where do we draw the line?’.
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Yes, we do want to stay UpToDate, but is it worth sacrificing our lives for? The answer to this

question, will vary based on the right.

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References

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2018). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital

Firm (15 ed.). New York: Pearson Education Limited. Retrieved January 2021