Case Study of Windermere College Assignment
Added on 2021-02-20
21 Pages6152 Words288 Views
Information Systems Theory & PracticeUnit 4.53
TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1ACTIVITY 1...................................................................................................................................2Comparative analysis of information system used by Windermere College...............................2Effectiveness of existing system..................................................................................................2Need of information systems in different functional areas of business.......................................3ACTIVITY 2...................................................................................................................................6Assessment of project feasibility of MIS.....................................................................................6Project plan for the development of new information system.....................................................7ACTIVITY 3.................................................................................................................................11Benefits in review of the performance of the Information System...........................................11Provide the information on which criteria the information system performance is beingreviewed.....................................................................................................................................12Different methods used in review of the information system....................................................13CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16
INTRODUCTIONInformation system is defined as the integrated network of hardware, software and peoplewhich contributes towards the conversion of data into information. The different components ofinformation system work in collaboration so that input can be processed and output & feedbackcan be controlled. With the business expansion and the need of accurate data, informationsystems are becoming an integral part of the business processes. The functional and structuralattributes of information system play a significant role in improving business operations and tomake better decisions. Along with the computer network information systems also consist ofhuman resources, technology and data (Cassidy, 2016). Within organisations it is very essentialthat companies implement suitable information system which can meet their business andfunctional needs effectively in terms of performance and cost. In order to sustain the quality &performance, companies are required to regularly conduct audit of their information system sothat its efficiency can be sustained. The report will analyse the case study of Windermere College which is experiencing theineffective performance and output of its information system. The study will compare themanagement information system (MIS) of this college with the other organisations so that itseffectiveness can be measured. It will also discuss the functional requirements of the informationsystem so that errors and drawbacks can be addressed. The report will also provide an analysis ofproject management tools so that new information system can be developed. Further, the studywill be helpful in analysing various performance measurement techniques and their significance. 1
ACTIVITY 1Comparative analysis of information system used by Windermere College Windermere College's management information system (MIS) needs improvements andadvancements so that it can provide quality services to its students and staff members. MIS isused for making decisions, analysis, coordination, visualisation and control within the college. Inaddition to this, the proposed changes will also help college to sustain the competitive advantageincluding create an ability for better cost control which has become a necessity. In WindermereCollege, there are no such restrictions on users to use the system. Each of the system in collegelacks the required security support in terms of accessibility and accountability. Thus, whenunauthenticated information sharing occurs then it becomes very difficult for the college toidentify the responsible person. The users who are not trained or authorised can also access theinformation system. Contrary to this, the information system of Imperial College follows strictpolicies for the data access and sharing (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). The Imperial College allowsaccess to only those users who have valid passwords and authority to use the system. As a resultof this for each and every activity on the system is tracked by management and it is impossible toaccess the information without permission or the authority. Since information system of Windermere College is used by all the staff members, there islimited privacy and accuracy of the data. On the other hand, Imperial College considers theprivacy as the first priority. Another significant feature of the Imperial College system is that itsweb sources and applications are effectively integrated with real time data. Thus, there are noissues related to delay in record updates. Effectiveness of existing system The current system which is used by the Windermere College needs improvement invarious aspects. The existing MIS system is used by several numbers of employees. There areindividuals who are not trained enough to use the existing information system and thus there arehigher vulnerabilities due to the operational errors (Dwivedi and et.al., 2015). The existingsystem has easy interface thus, staff members of the college find it easy to use. The regularoperations such as report generation, performance monitoring and evaluation are effectivelyperformed by the system. However, one of the limitations associated with the system usage isthat it does not have strict privacy settings. Thus, for generating reports and accessing data, even2
the users who do not have sufficient knowledge to use the system, are also involved. As a resultmany times the reports are not accurate and unauthorised access often increases the chances ofdata breach. To facilitate the easy communication and services for the student's, college has launchedthe mobile application, but it has several limitations. The mobile app of the college does not havean effective interface. It also has poor integration with the regular information system used bythe college. For example, even if students make any registrations via mobile application then thesame changes are not reflected on information system. Students have to apply in person so thatthe central data system can be updated. The lack of integration between central system andmobile applications often creates the data issues between its users (Campbell-Kelly, 2018). Thus,incomplete and inaccurate results are processed due to inability of system to automaticallyupdate the information. One of the aspect in which system can be said to be effective is in terms of informationexchange. The current MIS system used by college allows users to share the information withboth internal and external users. For example, the principal and other management authoritiesuse information system to monitor the information sharing and to evaluate the performance ofdifferent departments. Similarly, the information is also shared with the external authorities forthe audit purpose and for inspection. In terms of storage capacity and processing speed, existingsystem is effective (Walsham, 2015). When funding claims are produced for the external agencies of the organisation then thesystem is also used to produce evidence from the stored records. The records that are stored bythe system safely can be easily retrieved by the users. The major drawback of the existing MIS isassociated with the data inaccuracy which happens as a result of few untrained individual users.Further, processing delay, due to no real time update from mobile application serves as the majorreason for causing functional errors on recorded data impacting the evidence generated for thefunding claims. The various decisions of college are based upon the computer generated reports withoutmanual intervention. Thus, it is important that the system must be capable to process and workon real time data so that controlled procedures can be accomplished (Paré and et.al., 2015).However, due to ineffective integration with the mobile application there are regular issues withthe real time data available in the system.3
Need of information systems in different functional areas of business The extent and role of MIS varies according to the requirement and infrastructure ofdifferent departments. The scope and functionality of the information system must be designed inaccordance with the various departments. In Windermere College, information system is used byhuman resource department, accounting department and operational department, management,staff members as well as students. In human resource department, the data is mainly used tomaintain the necessary records of students and employees of the college. Thus, MIS needs to behighly secure so that the personal and confidential records of the individuals are maintained andcan be accessed authentically. Unlike the human resource department, the accounting department of the college needsinformation system with a good statistical processing capabilities so that financial operations andtransactions can be performed (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta, 2016). The information systemmust be highly secure as it contains sensitive information related to transactions. The accountingfunction requires the system to be compliant to the current tax laws to administer the tax policiessuch as VAT computation etc. With the advancements in the online payment methods andincreasing vulnerabilities of cyber attacks, the accounting department also requires highlysensitive biometric or two factor based authentication security features so that information can beprotected and the transactions prevent frauds. In addition to this, the accounting departmentrequires the monitoring and controlling tools so that the information flow and transactions can beeasily tracked and monitored. For the performance evaluation of the college, these monitoringtools are very beneficial. The operational department serves as the communication bridge between students andcollege management. Thus, for any kind of interaction and information exchange betweenstudent and the college, operational department uses the information system for each interactionFor example a student may query his hostel dues or fees status etc. A student may request for achange in hostel room or may apply for studying additional electives. From the perspective ofoperational department, all such interactions must happen in real time to allow for a greatexperience to the students. This implies that one of the most essential requirement for theoperational department is to have an easy user interface over & above the real time query &4
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