ZeePedia

Size of the Organization and Information Requirements

<< Data vs. Information, Information Quality Checklist
Hierarchical organization, Organizational Structure, Culture of the Organization >>
img
VU
Information System (CS507)
LESSON 3
Organization & Information Requirements
Organizations have various attributes which distinguish them from each other. No two organizations are
similar in all respects. There have to have certain distinctive lines keeping them unique from each other.
Information requirements keep varying in accordance with
·  Size of organization
·  Its structure
·  The Culture it follows
·  Decision Making Structures
·  Interested parties both internal and external
An organization should consider the above mentioned requirements while devising a system which tailors
for specific information needs.
3.1 Size of the Organization and Information Requirements
3.1.1 Small Organizations
Small organizations usually have simple management structure. The need invariably grows from the limited
scope and operations of management. Since tasks to be handled are usually limited and manageable, hence
need for introducing more levels is not required. Since operations can be managed at the top level by one or
two members of the senior management, officers from the lower level of management are not usually
involved in decision making. Hence the final decisions are centrally taken.
Information flows and formats are easy to define and change. Since information requirements are not
extensive, number of documents prepared and generated will also be few in number. Mostly the interested
party itself is running the business, hence the management is centralised to few people.
Examples of Information requirements of Small Organizations
·
Day to day transactions
·
Daily Sale
·
Cash management
·
Receivables and Payables
3.1.2 Medium Sized Organizations
Medium Sized organizations are normally a family ownership run by brothers, father-son. There are many
organizations existing these days which are being run by the family members. The prime concern may be
the trust already fostered among the blood relations but this might give rise to informal relationship among
them. Since all critical managerial positions are usually controlled by the family members, information is
structured only to the extent of external reporting. The level of reporting that could meet the information
needs of the clients is best suited for such an organization.
Medium sized organizations are run under direct supervision of the family members which rarely extends to
segregation of duties and delegation of authority.
·
Centralized decision making
·
Above mentioned structure rarely changes with complexity and dynamism of environments.
7
img
VU
Information System (CS507)
Information Requirements of Medium Sized Organizations
As size of the organization increases, the importance of planning for information also increases. The
planning on long-term basis also helps in monitoring of information against planning
3.1.3 Large Organizations
Usually such organizations are characterized by large scale of operations. Various criteria can be used for
this purpose.
·
Number of employees
·
Amount of turnover
·
Number of branches
·
Profit size
·
Value of assets
·
Number of businesses the organization is working in
With such large size of organizations, management structure needs to be multi- tiered for efficient and
strong control. This leads to formulation of many departments, management levels, designations,
promotional opportunities and salary increments.
Example
Public companies
Information Requirements of Large Organizations
With such a large structure, it is inevitable that the detailed planning should be made for proper
management control, for both short term and long term.
Performance measurement against plans / targets
Nature of the Business and Information Requirements
·
Manufacturing Sector
·
Service Sector
·
Trading Sector
1. Manufacturing Sector
Manufacturing process involves more than one sub-processes, detailed information is required before
transferring materials for warehousing, manufacturing and sale to final consumer.
Information Requirements of Manufacturing Sector
Management is concerned with the day to day costs, production targets, quality of the product, delivery
schedules, etc.
2. Service Sector
Final product is intangible, so information is critical at various steps, e.g. preparation, delivery and customer
8
img
VU
Information System (CS507)
satisfaction. Quality maintenance is an issue which requires structured reporting.
Information requirements of Service Sector
·
Quality of service provided.
·
Mode of delivery
·
Customer Satisfaction
·
Time Scheduling
·
Resource Management
Trading Sector
Monitoring requires information for each product, e.g.
·
Customer profiles
·
Customer Comments
·
Volume of sales
·
Profitability
·
Stock movements Manufacturing/Procurement Cycle
·
Market needs
3.2 Nature of Business & Information Requirements
As the size of organization and scale of operations change, information requirements need to be adjusted
for better monitoring to keeping things in control.
9
Table of Contents:
  1. Need for information, Sources of Information: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Sources
  2. Data vs. Information, Information Quality Checklist
  3. Size of the Organization and Information Requirements
  4. Hierarchical organization, Organizational Structure, Culture of the Organization
  5. Elements of Environment: Legal, Economic, Social, Technological, Corporate social responsibility, Ethics
  6. Manual Vs Computerised Information Systems, Emerging Digital Firms
  7. Open-Loop System, Closed Loop System, Open Systems, Closed Systems, Level of Planning
  8. Components of a system, Types of Systems, Attributes of an IS/CBIS
  9. Infrastructure: Transaction Processing System, Management Information System
  10. Support Systems: Office Automation Systems, Decision Support Systems, Types of DSS
  11. Data Mart: Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), Types of Models Used in DSS
  12. Organizational Information Systems, Marketing Information Systems, Key CRM Tasks
  13. Manufacturing Information System, Inventory Sub System, Production Sub System, Quality Sub system
  14. Accounting & Financial Information Systems, Human Resource Information Systems
  15. Decision Making: Types of Problems, Type of Decisions
  16. Phases of decision-making: Intelligence Phase, Design Phase, Choice Phase, Implementation Phase
  17. Planning for System Development: Models Used for and Types of System Development Life-Cycle
  18. Project lifecycle vs. SDLC, Costs of Proposed System, Classic lifecycle Model
  19. Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), Design of the information flow, data base, User Interface
  20. Incremental Model: Evaluation, Incremental vs. Iterative
  21. Spiral Model: Determine Objectives, Alternatives and Constraints, Prototyping
  22. System Analysis: Systems Analyst, System Design, Designing user interface
  23. System Analysis & Design Methods, Structured Analysis and Design, Flow Chart
  24. Symbols used for flow charts: Good Practices, Data Flow Diagram
  25. Rules for DFD’s: Entity Relationship Diagram
  26. Symbols: Object-Orientation, Object Oriented Analysis
  27. Object Oriented Analysis and Design: Object, Classes, Inheritance, Encapsulation, Polymorphism
  28. Critical Success Factors (CSF): CSF vs. Key Performance Indicator, Centralized vs. Distributed Processing
  29. Security of Information System: Security Issues, Objective, Scope, Policy, Program
  30. Threat Identification: Types of Threats, Control Analysis, Impact analysis, Occurrence of threat
  31. Control Adjustment: cost effective Security, Roles & Responsibility, Report Preparation
  32. Physical vs. Logical access, Viruses, Sources of Transmissions, Technical controls
  33. Antivirus software: Scanners, Active monitors, Behavior blockers, Logical intrusion, Best Password practices, Firewall
  34. Types of Controls: Access Controls, Cryptography, Biometrics
  35. Audit trails and logs: Audit trails and types of errors, IS audit, Parameters of IS audit
  36. Risk Management: Phases, focal Point, System Characterization, Vulnerability Assessment
  37. Control Analysis: Likelihood Determination, Impact Analysis, Risk Determination, Results Documentation
  38. Risk Management: Business Continuity Planning, Components, Phases of BCP, Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
  39. Web Security: Passive attacks, Active Attacks, Methods to avoid internet attacks
  40. Internet Security Controls, Firewall Security SystemsIntrusion Detection Systems, Components of IDS, Digital Certificates
  41. Commerce vs. E-Business, Business to Consumer (B2C), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), E-Government
  42. Supply Chain Management: Integrating systems, Methods, Using SCM Software
  43. Using ERP Software, Evolution of ERP, Business Objectives and IT
  44. ERP & E-commerce, ERP & CRM, ERP– Ownership and sponsor ship
  45. Ethics in IS: Threats to Privacy, Electronic Surveillance, Data Profiling, TRIPS, Workplace Monitoring