Integrated Information Systems

Introduction

An integrated information system is an important component in an organization. Any organization that embraces the information system is able to enjoy multifaceted benefits such as increase of efficiency and accuracy of various business processes among others. Moreover, organizations are able to use more sophisticated and enormous information as well as resources. The integrated information system has a tendency of growing freely from each other, and it is regularly a blend of manual, paper-based systems as well as electronic and PC based systems (Zha, 2007). Utilizing both components such as manual as well as electronic systems together will complicate the simplicity with which data can be recovered and limit the handling of the data.

Information Systems

Organizations have different information systems that they use in their daily operations in order to facilitate the manner in which communication of information and data are transferred. Some of the information systems include:

Client Information

Client information refers to the form of data that is gathered from each customer from the first appearance in an organization. Thereafter, more data regarding him/her is collected during the time of the service offering stage whereby insights about the number of clients are given out (Zha, 2007). Moreover, demographic information of the client, service to be offered, and span of the service offered, referrals, and so forth are also given out in more elaborate manner (Prakken, 2012). Mostly, this data is gathered manually on printed copy structures. Subsequently, it may be exchanged to an electronic database, thus utilizing a recommended database given by a financing body. Regular information about administration procurement, which refers to term and results of services, is gathered on a different framework from admission information that includes facets such as records.

Service Information

Service information refers to form of data that is gathered during the service process. For instance, sessions of direct administration such as telephone calls made, numbers of hours taken for administering advices, meals provided, and monetary assistance offered are examples of such data (Hevner & Chatterjee, 2010). Information about the nature of service given such as customer feedback, protestations, and discriminating occurrences is typically kept in particular printed version.

Staff Information

Staff information comprises of a few distinct systems, which are used to gather data pertaining to history of employment and work execution, staff records, staff training and development. Moreover, the system gathers information relating to hours spent at work and the way time is utilized, time sheets as well as occupational well-being and security information.

Finance Information

Finance information refers to monetary records that are an independent system, utilizing the electronic bookkeeping recording system. The financial recording systems are done by a clerk, and the director or organizer through utilizing a different spreadsheet system to keep up planning and analyzing data (Hevner & Chatterjee, 2010).

Plans and Decisions

Most of the choices that guide the exercises of the associations are created in planning and meeting sessions. The records of choices made are normally kept in documented plans or minutes of meetings (Prakken, 2012).

Operational and other Data Activity

The kind of data contained on general action inside a company differs. However, most companies keep records of correspondence, gatherings with outside offices and different activities of staff, which are normally recorded in reports of the staff, and databases or postings of different organizations and contacts (Hevner & Chatterjee, 2010). Furthermore, regular individual staff personnel or groups of staff keep their data systems with duplication happening over the association.

Records, Documents and Resources

Records, documents, and resources are considered archives or electronic and printed copy, which an association stores more often in a progression of printed copy file organizers for paper records and a PC recording system for electronic records. Frequently these do not coordinate with the classes utilized for documenting as a part of printed copy being distinctive to the classifications utilized for electronic recording (Ruckemann, 2013). However, the viability of information systems is determined by a number of aspects such as determining how simple it is to discover an item. Moreover, the viability of such information can be determined by the type of data that can be recovered and utilized as a part of accountability reporting, planning, and decision-making (Zha, 2007). However, separate unrelated information systems constrain the data that can be recovered. This is common especially where data is kept in manual or printed copy shape as opposed to an electronically stored data.

Data innovation as electronic databases empowers integration of information systems to give rise to related arrangements of data together so that data that is more complete can be retrieved. Integrating information systems and shifting to electronic systems can likewise decrease duplication of exertion and decrease time taken by the staff to enter and retrieve data (Kaschek, 2008). In order to a have a further explanation on whether information gathered relating to the proper use integrated information system, there is every need of studying specific countries on this topic. Two of the countries that will be used as real case studies are indicated below.

Use of Integrated Information System in Sweden

Sweden is a country that has initiated a study to determine the effectiveness of having a computerized system in most of its organizations. The study was conducted by the Swedish administrative association (Zha, 2007). The study aimed to research how distinctive administrative divisions managed electronic data in both a long and a short run. The aspiration of numerous administrative offices is to make all services accessible all the time (Lundin, 2012). Some of the organizations that had the highest affinity for the integrated information system were in the e-service category whereby most of their services or products depended on the use of high-tech facilities (Zha, 2007). Nevertheless, some organizations were in the process of embracing use of e-services, intending to engage fully into the high-tech business in the near future. All the considered associations handle electronic records in the examined cases. They stored the electronic files in XML or different configurations that are said to be suitable for long-term conservation (Lundin, 2012). Likewise, the majority of them scanned paper records and utilized them as electronic data. Additionally, most of the data is saved in form of files (Prakken, 2012).

The dynamic time for the electronic data differs quite a lot, yet the data is active for a considerable duration of time, at times for a very long time. For instance, in most organizations, not all data is protected during that time (Kaschek, 2008). This may happen because the sorting process of the data is carried out diligently. Information like e-mails is deemed as one of the most important aspects during the whole process of devising an integrated information system (Ruckemann, 2013). As the amount of data is colossal, not all of it will be safeguarded. However, a few of the organizational associations decided to store more data than they expected to have amassed. A significant number of the associations decided to store all the database records and did not deal with any of them. Moreover, scanned files were taken to be the masterpiece, which made them protected. Furthermore, more other organizations decided to print out the data and protect paper reports (Ruckemann, 2013). Therefore, it should be noted that electronic records have not existed for quite a while, and an inclination of instability about how to manage was expressed (Prakken, 2012).

Use of Integrated Information System in the USA

In the USA, integration information systems have been greatly applied in different organization, where they were deemed important in many of areas. For instance, a clear evaluation of the United States’ security sector indicates that wider and deep organization change has been effected in relation to the use of the latest form of technology (Teuteberg & Gomez, 2010). In the past years, investigating criminal records of individuals has been a very difficult undertaking. It was very common for the authorized persons to spend a lot of time while trying to locate information they deemed important. However, the case is different in the contemporary world. Technology has made it very easy for the investigation departments to carry out thorough inspection of any information they consider important about a person (Kaschek, 2008). The move has been made feasible because all information relating to every individual in America is stored digitally in an electronic record file (Teuteberg & Gomez, 2010). Therefore, the process of retrieving such information has been made since it takes only a fraction of time to locate necessary information about a person.

For instance, when a person commits a crime and tries to escape during the time he/she serves in any public office or business, the CCTV cameras fixed in these areas will be able to identify such a person. This is possible because the high-tech CCTV cameras are able to detect the physical appearance as well as movement of the person under investigation (Teuteberg & Gomez, 2010).

Therefore, based on the previously mentioned assertion it is clear that there are certain outlined objectives of the research. They include giving an outline and explaining on the effectiveness of the integrated information system (Teuteberg & Gomez, 2010). Moreover, it is also important in establishing the nature of relationship that exists between society and the integrated information systems.

Literature Review

Importance of Applying Integrated Software in Companies

An integrated information system is very important especially in enhancing growth of a company. Thus, it is imperative to have application of business software that will have capability of integrating business process, codebase, and database together (Prakken, 2012). This helps to transform the organizational system by making it more efficient in improving productivity as well as enhancing its cost saving methods.

An integrated information system is important especially in improving efficiency in different organization. One is likely to encounter various processes during the whole process of controlling operation in an organization (Neuhold et al., 2005). People face challenges in different fields such as the management process, fulfillment of various goals, cash collection, invoicing, financial consolidation, and expense approval (Prakken, 2012). The simplest way of making these processes more efficient should be opting to automate them. Not only does automation of various business processes enhance efficiency in service delivery but it also enables the management to hire more people (Kaschek, 2008). Moreover, there is increased financial efficiency, increased productivity, increased sales and as the increase in the inventory.

Apart from that, an integrated information system is also important as it helps improve visibility during conduction of various activities in an organization. It is imperative especially in improving visibility with regard to real-time, as this helps an organization make informed decisions (Zha, 2007). Employees will use information better in case they are able to access adequate information and in the appropriate time (Prakken, 2012). There is increased visibility in terms of managing supply chain of different companies. Companies improve their efficiency in supply chain in terms of keeping real time as well as doubling their chances of making more profit.

Thirdly, an integrated information system has accelerated growth of organizations. Business organizations experience improved accounting management as well as data collection. Consequently, the working environment ends up expanded (Cruz-Cunha, 2010). The organizations gain multiple locations in addition to gaining more channels of selling their products. In addition to this, the improved working system leads to surge in total sales to an organization’s customer base (Zha, 2007).

An integrated information system also increases chances of having a user-driven innovation system. Employees in an organization are offered a chance to display as well as improve various business applications. Consequently, there is an overall improvement in terms of performance. IT is purely designed to concentrate on improving various strategic initiatives as soon as they are identified in an organization (Neuhold et al., 2005). Apart from that, IT is able to prevent an organization from wasting time in addition to cautioning it against spending a lot in a given activity. Use of IT eliminates various procedures and aspects that are deemed unimportant. For instance, installation, procurement as well as maintenance of multiple systems during a certain business processes are foregone in case there are identified not to be very important (Prakken, 2012). Moreover, if an integration process is identified not to be fit either, it is eliminated. Thus, there is plummeting level of the organizational operation cost as well as the time spent during the operation improvement.

Challenges That Are Associated with the Integrated Information System

In as much as the sector has its own advantages, the IT sector is perceived to have its own share of challenges. They include factors such as low productivity, inadequate alignment of various organizational processes, huge number relating to failure of different projects, and lack of commitment among different organizations (Neuhold et al., 2005). In the recent past, there has been surge in number of failures of different projects that are conducted relating to the use of integrated information system in order to increase efficiency in production.

Nonetheless, it is worth concluding that companies see the need in making use of sophisticated software in order to induce further growth and development. Despite this, there is a big challenge that makes many of them remain in a struggling mode. They struggle to maintain a positive growth as well as manage various costs they incur effectively. This happens because there is a lot of mess mainly due to various functional systems that remain disconnected (Neuhold et al., 2005). Consequently, the process of improving level of service delivery within an organization faces various bottlenecks, thus, undermining important aspects such as employee’s productivity. It is, therefore, imperative to create a good integrated management system that would erase such bottlenecks, transforming the manner in which organizations are run. As a result, there would be a creation of an environment that would enable the organizational setup transcend its growth path by making it realize higher profitability growth and level. Thus, it is clear that a considerable number of organizations have not been able to create a conducive environment that can enable thriving of the IT sector. There needs to be creation of strategies that would mend this gap in order to realize higher growth, effective services delivering, and better running of organizations.

Application, Statistics and Results of Integrated Information Systems

How Integrated Information System Is Used by Companies to Improve Their Efficiency

Different companies use integrated information systems in order to improve the level of their service delivery. This is especially common among the multinational companies that are interested in increasing the level of their production technologies. A good example of a company that uses integrated information systems is referred to as Canon. This multinational company deals with production of high-tech products such as cameras. The company has been, continuously improving its level of production (Cruz-Cunha, 2010). It has continued using more sophisticated methods of production whenever possible in order to make them swifter in terms of service delivery. Some of the technologies that the company has embraced include the use of photocopying services. The company went ahead to produce laser printers.

This innovation went ahead to change the phase of production by ensuring that the systems of production became more computerized, sophisticated, and more digitalized (“Canon Camera Story”, n.d.). Today, the company has switched to more environmentally friendly ways of production. Moreover, it produces high-tech products that are friendlier to the environment as most of them are recyclable (Canon, 2015).

Integration of technology in the production system of Canon is a clear indication of how companies have opted for changing their methods of production. Currently, many corporation businesses use integrated information systems in order to expand their production. Many have a seen the need of expanding their operation and the only aspect that can enable them to attain that is embracing an integrated and management system of production (Zha, 2007). Normally, many organizations use integrated software system that is capable of enhancing realization of both its short-term and long-term goals. One of them is accelerating level of growth of its revenue. As a result, diverse disparate functions are erected at varying points and in different functional areas of the business. This is important as it helps to improve inefficiencies in various business processes and helps solve issues related to software integration (Prakken, 2012). Almost all organizations have adopted the integrated communication system whenever they find it efficient and cost saving. For instance, use of accounting software system is on the surge. Companies have resulted to using software systems like QuickBooks in order to enable them manage various organizational processes such as bookkeeping more efficiently (Cruz-Cunha, 2010). Inventory management is another organizational area that uses IT solution in order to improve efficiency. Here, fulfillment and order management are addressed with some form of improved spreadsheet and disparate software. In order to increase their sales, organizations have opted to use improved integrated communication systems such as integrating ecommerce, financial consolidation, recurring of bills, and so on.

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