A Review On Information Systems Management Information Technology Essay

Kindly answer the following questions, posting your answers to your assignments folder.  Include your name within your file, which per our syllabus, should be in pdf format.

1.     Your ISM experience

a.     I have prior experience in information systems management. Yes/No

b. I have managed information systems managers. Yes/No

NO

c. I have used ISM software. Yes/No

NO

2.     The primary role of information systems management in the organization is to secure the strategy of the organization.

 3.   ISM is implemented through information and telecommunications technology.

4.     An information system generally consists of people, hardware and software. 

5.  Short-answer: Java is a computer programming language that is said to be object-oriented.  What does “object-oriented” mean in the sense of computer programming?

Java is a programming language that uses objects instead of actions.

6.  Besides Windows, two other computer software operating systems are:

     a. Snow Leopard.

     b. Linux.

7.  Besides Firefox, two other Internet browsers are:

     a. Internet explorer

     b. Google Chrome.

8.  Three features said to distinguish “smart” phones from earlier mobile/cell phones are:

     a. An Operating System/platform

     b. Ability to send and receive E-mails.

     c. Ability to access the Internet.

9.  An enterprise’s chief information officer needs, first and foremost, superior computer technical skills.  True/False/Don’t Know

TRUE

10.  Ideally, ISM provides not only a c________ center but also a p________ center in the organization, along with conveying a s____________ c___________ a_____________e to it.

Part 2

ABSTRACT

A management information system is a process that provides information needed to effectively manage organizations. Management information systems are considered to be a subset of the overall procedures in a business. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization (O’Brien, 1999, pp41).

The Pappillion Beach hotel is a 4 star hotel located at the Kenyan coast. It can hold up to 300 guests and hire up to 115 employees. It has an effective system that keeps track of hotel guests, hotel bills and the bookings. The hotel manages all this by using information system management software and limiting its usage to the hotel managers only. The hotel also has a website that illustrates the services and products available to its clients and also offers online booking. The main goal in using the information management system is to help the hotel keep track of its 500 guests and 112 employees. It does this by creating a database of all the hotel guests and workers in the computer software which is then updated and changed by the managers.

The hotel’s mission is to be able to perfectly maintain each guest’s bill on all his purchases and also keep a detailed record of all its workers. At the moment the hotel can keep its guests records in a semi-detailed system by storing the names, room numbers and country of origin. With this basic information the hotel can keep an up to date bill of any guest in the hotel and also be prepared by training its staff to speak foreign languages and change foreign currency. In effect, information system management soft wares must not only indicate how things are going, but why they are not going as well as planned.

The hotel’s information is very important and essential for the hotel to be able to run its day to day activities. Guest laundry has to be delivered to the right room, messages and phone calls have to be passed to the right guest and the employees’ duties are systematically arranged to maximize time usage and work efficiency.

Document and record management may well be the most crucial aspect of the information system. Information maintained in this system is accounting, financial information and human resources. An information system can also serve as a library if properly organized. Management of knowledge can be explained as a technological technique to assist in the coordination of activities in an organization. A small enterprise is capable of sharing information among employees thus developing the organization’s database showing the possessor of knowledge and by what level. Larger companies, as David Coleman wrote in Computer Reseller News (2006), can implement KM systems through targeted pilot projects or through a broader strategy involving the firm’s technical infrastructure. Many companies have installed intranets with databases all employees can access as a form of KM. A number of software programs exist to facilitate KM efforts (Lane & Kotler, 2006, pp45). A significant cause of that inability can be the communication difficulties between a management information systems department and the system users.

Pairing the information systems department with a training department can create a synergistic solution to the problem of how to get non-technical staff to perform technical tasks (Allen, 2001, pp56). More often than not, the individuals staffing an information systems department will be as technical in their orientation as the operative staff is non-technical in theirs. If a company does not have a formal training department, the presence of staff members with a natural inclination to demonstrate and teach could mitigate a potentially disastrous situation (Allen, 2001, pp61).