Introduction to Information Systems

This report provides a complete analysis of the G-Trains HAS and suggests measures for improvement. It covers topics such as the G: Link network, strategies, and value chain using Porter's model.

Introduction to Information Systems
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Gokulnath Govindaraj
S5159856
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to give a complete analysis of the G-Trains
HAS that is existing within the G: links comprehensive business that
currently suffers from escalations and requires some measures to
improve. This report suggests a new Information System for the purpose
of overcoming issues and better performances, the strategies for better
HAS and diagrams that explain the same.
Keywords: Human Activity System, G: Link, Information System.
1. Introduction
G: Link forms a part of Trans Links Southeast Queensland and has a network that
reaches far and wide. The main objective of the analysis of the HAS is to observe and
make changes to the complex structure. This paper examines the human activity system
and what are the changes that need to be addressed so as to get rid of a complex socio-
technical system. For the growth of the G:Link there is a need to implement a HAS that
not only focuses on the socio-economic/technical systems but also on the cultural and
environmental factors. This includes a lot of domains, but the report focuses on the two
primary management systems namely, Operational management and functional
management.
Part 1: Business analyzation of G-Link
2.1 Part 1- question a: Information about the train, about the
strategies, followed, its competition in the market place and
Operations.
G: Link can also be referred to as Gold Coast Light Rail. It is a rail system which serves
Queensland, Gold Coast in Australia. It forms the public network of transport that is
known as the Translink's South-East and has 19 stations of a single 20 km line (12 mi).
There is two termini of this railway system namely northern terminus (Helensvale
railway station) and southern terminus (Broad beach south). G:Link opened on the year
2014 on 20 July, and it extended on the northwest. On December 17, 2017 this line was
expanded towards northwest towards Helensvale from Gold Coast University Hospital.
Strategies: Delivering transportation is a very important task and requires precise
planning and investment, which would result in a safe, timely, comfortable and in an
efficient manner. There is a public domain transport that has the responsibility of
Assignment Report – 1803ICT or 7610ICT (omit one)
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delivering domains of public transport along with the infrastructure and systems. This
works in partnership with the City Gold Coast (the City), and this strategy is followed to
get a coordinated outcome. There are certain transport objectives guided by the
strategies, and these are as follows:
 A transport experience that is positive for all
 Safety and Efficiency of the individuals using the transportation
 Balancing the targeted investment with the existing transport capacity in an
infrastructure that is new and
 Sustainable transportation in terms of legacy.
OPERATION:
Operation Began on: 20 July 2014
Operator: Keolis Downer
Number of Vehicles: 2 trams 18 flexibly
Length of train: 143 ft (43.5m)
Advances: 7-30 minutes
2.2 Part 1- question b: Description of the form of organisation of G:
link using classification Mintzberg’s.
Any organisations structure makes a great deal of difference in the way it functions. It is
necessary to have an understanding of how the structure relates to the different types
of functions that are appropriate in situations that vary in nature. When considering an
organisational form there are certain things that need to be kept in mind and these are
analysing the environment, capacity and internal need assessing the capacity and needs
with regards to the same and making sure of the strategy that is fit for the current
situation at hand. The organizational form of G:link in accordance to the Mintzberg’s
Classification structuring is The Machine Organization also known as bureaucracy is an
appropriate structuring for the G:link , this is because this organization form is defined
by its standardization. In this methodology used the work is done in a very formal
manner with numerous procedures and routines to be followed. The tasks are divided
based on their functionality and has a very centralized decision-making. Machine
organization follows a vertical structure that is tight. The top managers maintain all the
tasks because there is a functional line that goes to the top. The organizations that
follow the bureaucracy are efficient and for the success these rely on the sales
economies. However, there can be conflicting goals from functional units which is led
from the formalization. Since there are various functional units there might be a dispute
between the units which could spoil the overall goal of the organization. Machine
organization usually consists of large companies or maybe agencies owned by
government that provide services in a routine task. Bureaucracy is suitable for G:Link
because of its routine processes and specific requirements that can be met.
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2.3 Part 1- question c: The value chain of G:train using Porter’s
Value Chain Model. Description of primary and support train
activities.
Value chain is used to analyze the firm that can generate advantage that is competitive
and has value. In 1998 porter made interconnected activities that were generic in the
firms. The value chain comprises of the primary activities and activities that support the
primary and these are as follows:
Figure: Using Porters Value Chain Model the G:Links value chain looks like the above.
Primary Value Chain Activities:
There are five main activities which describes the Primary Value Chain Activities and
these as mentioned in the diagram above are as follows:
 Inbound Logistics: Purchased inputs are taken care of which enables inbound
logistics to be in communication with the suppliers. Activities that an inbound
logistic comprises of inputs with regards to storing, receiving the products.
Example: material handling
 Operations: Requirement gatherings when done internally it is required by
operations to convert these collected data into the product that is desired.
Operations phase consists of activity that converts the requirements into the
product that is final. Example: Machining
 Outbound Logistics: The final product after its completion still needs to reach the
market where people can use it so the activities or phases related to the
outbound logistics are collecting these finished products and delivering it to the
buyers. Example: Operations related to delivery of vehicle operations.
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Inbound
Logistics
Operations Outbound
Logistics
Marketing
and Sales
Service
SUPPORT
ACTIVITIES
PRIMARY VALUE CHAIN
ACTIVITIES
Firm Infrastructure
Human Resource Management
Technology Development
Procurement

 Sales and Marketing: Sales and marketing is required because a developed
product is necessarily not a required product. The marketing and sales people
need to make sure that the products advertisements reaches the potential
customers so that the product can be sold. A tool that is used to go ahead with
the task is known as a Marketing Funnel. Example: Advertisements and
endorsements.
 Services: Having customer services in an orderly manner after the consumer
buys the product is as important as the promotions itself because in this vast era
of internet reviews spread very fast. Hence providing after-sales service is a very
important part. Example: parts supply and adjustments.
Support Value Chain Activities:
These activities can also be termed as the functions supporting activities and are
divided into four categories and are as follows:
 Procurement: Inputs that are purchased from the value chain of the firm that is
required for every activity that is a value activity which constitutes the support
activities too. It is required to perform activities and support their functions.
 Technology Development: Activities that requires complete improvements in the
fallbacks of the processes and the products and also includes departments like
development and research.
 Human Resource Management: Activities that involves people and their hiring,
development and training. HRM exists to train and recruit individuals that are
exceptionally skilled and can give productive results to the firm.
 Firm Infrastructure: Comprises of different activities that performs as the
backbone of the whole value chain and supports all the activities. Firm
infrastructure has strategic management which engages the whole project from
since the start and can impact all the other value chain functions.
2.4 Part 1- question d: Analysis on strategies as accordance to porters
forces
Porter’s Five Forces Model is a tool that is used to analyze and it focuses on the 5
competitive forces. This Five Forces Model of porter enables the company to analyze
the competitiveness of the G-Train: These five forces are as follows:
1. New entries threat
2. Buyers bargaining power
3. Substitute products and services threat
4. Suppliers bargaining powerirms exixting rivals
5.
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Figure: Porter’s Five Forces Model and their interactions among each other.
The level of competition and the development of strategies related to the business is the
analysis method in Porter’s Five Forces Model. The strategies are developed after
forces that shape the industry competition is recognized. Industry profitability is
determined using the five forces which integrates the strategies of the industry
conditions. This has a tendency to reflect on the most notable aspects of the
environment that is competitive and gives a full understanding of the structure of the
firm that emphasizes the strategic possibilities that provides guide to compete with the
forces that is the profitability of the industry. There are clusters in regards with the five
forces and these are attractive forces and unattractive forces, the attractive forces
increases the profitability whereas the unattractive forces degrades the profitability.
Impact of Forces:
Forces: High: Medium: Low:
Threat Of New
Entrants: NA NA
Threat of new entry
is low because there
is a huge amount of
capital
requirements, few
barriers that are
legal protect the firm
from new entrants,
and products
differentiation is
based on the quality
of engineering and
design.
Power of
Supplier: NA NA
Supplier power is
weak/ low because
there are large
number of suppliers
and the required
materials are always
widely available
hence suppliers
poses no threat.
Power of Power of buyer is high
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Buyer: because there are
numerous buyers and
doesn’t cost much for
the buyers to switch to
another way of
transportation because
buyers are sensitive to
costs and prefer cost
effective methods.
NA NA
Substitute
Threats:
NA
Threat of
substitute is
moderate because
there are
alternatives for
transportation
systems and
substitutes can
barely provide the
same service with
similar
convenience and
alternate
transportations
are sometimes
more
environmental
friendly.
NA
Rivalry based
on
competiveness:
Competitive rivalry is
high because there are
competitors rising
every day, and the
customers are loyal to
the brands they use.
Competing firms are of
various types but all
compete for a certain
type of customer base.
NA NA
2. Answer to Part 2: Analyzing human activity system which
is problematic and existing
Problem Statement: Detecting the defects related to G:Train showed some issues
related to inspections on the accuracy and efficiency of the network. The travel distance
of G:Train is short as compared to other railway lines. G-Train has a low passenger
count since it doesn’t cover a major area and needs an extension which would require a
major change in the infrastructure of the system as well as some additions to the
existing Human Activity System.
A HAS is a congregation of individuals with resources that are organized in order to
attain a possibility. The people in HAS are system dependent that is they are affected by
the system and they can also affect the system and these individuals select and do
activities which might be in a group or individually. This whole process enables them to
gain an identified common purpose. A systems model of the HAS describes:
 The purpose formulated by people in the system and interactions that formulates
the environment.
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 Functions that needs to be selected to carry out the components of HAS which is
structured in the system.
 Sustainable relations among the components by processes that regulates the
system for attaining the purpose.
 HAS is a whole set of functions and components integrated.
 The rules that sustain the system are relationships between the processes.
FFIGYRE
Figure: Issues related to G:Train
3.1 Part 2- question a: HAS identification with respect to stakeholders
and role definition of these stakeholders
To identify the problems of G-Train in accordance to Human Activity System, mapping is
done in which causes of problems are looked upon from different perspectives. HAS
factors are referenced using prompts and is traced in flows to see what causes are
involved and their interactions and how it affects the outcomes.
Human Activity System has the ability to identify immediate issues for improvement as
well as underlying key issues relevant for significant sustainable changes.
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Referential
Level
Values, assumptions and beliefs that
cause appreciation of priorities.
Governance
Level
Transactional
Level
Outcomes
How are things organized, directed,
structured plans, organizational
structures and accountability
reporting?
Social relations and material (people,
processes and physical environment
interaction)
Consequential Outcomes
FLOW DIRECTION
PURPOSE
ISSUE
S
INSPECTION
Technolo
gical
Limitatio
ns
Conditions
Traffic
Managemen
t
Individual
skill level of
employees

Figure: HAS mapping the flow of direction of factors caused by different perspective
levels.
Stakeholder’s analysis ensures that all the relevant stakeholders are considered while
making decisions and evaluation of existing system is done to evaluate the earlier
version or a competitor system to check the usability problems and gain the usability
measurements.
The stakeholder’s analysis is done using soft systems methodology for both profit and
non-profit. This methodology involves the key activities breakthrough which is analyzed
from top-level objectives of G-train and developed through discussion and debate. The
work is broken down into key activities to better achieve them.
Figure: Human Activity System, activities structure.
Stakeholders of HAS and their responsibilities:
Stakeholders are divided into two parts, namely Internal Stakeholders and External
Stakeholders, The internal stakeholders are Employees, Manager and Owners and the
External Stakeholders constitutes the Suppliers, the society, Government, Creditors,
Shareholders and the customers. The stakeholder’s role is mostly the investments of the
G-train and their actions decide the business decision outcomes. The stakeholders can
also be employees, business partners who rely on the success to keep the supply chain
going.
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Reducing risks
associated to
time deadlines.
Technology used
for the inspection
and
maintainence/
Skills of
personnels
Achieving cost
effectiveless in
grinding of the
G:Link
Infrastructure.
Availability of
traffic
information at all
times to control
the traffic delay

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Figure: An Information system proposed as accordance to the Human Activity System of
the G:Train.
3.2 Part 2- question b: A picture that is rich that shows issues and the
concerns of the stakeholders you have identified.
External Stakeholders Responsibilities:
-Actions to improve
-Complex Situation Inspection
-Systematically desirable and culturally feasible techniques implementations
-Expressing systems that are messy.
Internal Stakeholders Responsibilities:
-Building the root system of the relevant Human Activity System
-Formulating Conceptual Models
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UPWARD EXTERNAL
PROGRAM INWARD
AUDIENCES
The Board
Senior
Executives
Executive
Sponsor
Senior
Manager
Process
Owners
External
Customers
Stockholder
s
Government
Broader
Community
Line
Managers
Internal
Customers
Resource
Providers
Staff
Functions
Challenges
related to
Inspection
and
Maintainence
Challenges
related to
Logistics.
Reliability and
safety of the
operations of
G:Train.
Inhousing and
outsourcing of
the maintainance
of the G:Train.
Frequency of the
G:Train
inspection, and
replacements.
Conditions
related to
Natural
Disasters/weathe
r issues.

3.3 Part 2- question c: a process model using the BPMn notation for the
process of the existing human activity system you have identified
Figure: BPMn process model of the existing identified HAS.
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Program
Leadership
Project
Teams
Supporting
Teams
Clients

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3.4 Part 2- question d: Use the DeLone-McLean Model of Information
System Success to describe the areas in which the existing human
activity system is not successful
Figure: DeLone-McLean Model of Information System in which HAS is not successful
The earlier IS success was not defined well because the complexity, interdependency
and the quality of the Information System success was multi-dimensional. The
interdependent technology that was based on the computer system was an entity that
was purposeful and this design was conjoined to fulfill objectives. IS success tool is
evaluated based on the effectiveness of its achievements to meet the organizational or
individual goals.
3.5 Part 2- question e: Description of measures of success
Figure: Updated DeLone-McLean Model of Information System
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The connection of the model of conceptualized Information Systems success is
restricted to the necessities. To achieve the correlation there was sufficiency added to
the system. There is an efficiency that is logical that is attainable once sufficiency is
included. This is the adjudicator among one or more suffiency but conditions of desired
effect.
3. Answer to Part 3: Suggestion for a new IS system to
support HAS
The new Information System to support the Human Activity System of the G:Train
should be a combination of the software and specific analysis tasks to support a
particular task with the help of HAS. There is also a need of the Geographic Information
System that should be included so that it can manage all the geographical data the train
reaches up to. There are various components to be kept in mind while designing the
new IS and these are, Procedures and processes that define the specifications of the
processed and analyzed data to achieve the goals, hardware’s for computer-based IS,
Software’s like tools and programs that will enable the users to organize and analyze
data, database that will enable the system to maintain everything into structured folders
and tables and a Network that will connect different departments into one Information
Systems.
4.1 Part 3- question a: Identification of new IS using Porter's Value
Model (stakeholders listing and goals creation)
Using the Porter’s Value Chain Model the new Information system will identify the
measures that can be cost effective to the organization with opportunities listed. The
model enables the organization to recognize goals that can economics of sales, learning
methodologies, utilization of capacities of the network, linking Human Activity System
with the value chain, Interconnections between the units the business follows,
Geographical location and many more activities. The IS will represent all the interlinked
activities with a weight that is equalized in every task and procedures. This also enables
the firm to changes. There is an advantage to the IS if integrated with the Porter’s
Value model because it can influence the competitive advantage to the firm and the
HAS. These benefits can be , cost reduction, differentiation in the competition with new
measures, increased business success and profitability, Increase in the efficiency,
decreased degradation of resources and waste, higher value to the organization.
Stakeholders listing: Goals:
1. Executives Executive Information’s Systems
2. Senior Management Decisions Support Systems
3. Middle Managers Management Information Systems
4. Workers Transmission Processing Systems
4.2 Part 3- question b: Data and Information of the new system (type
of knowledge creation and decision making information)
The strategies of the firms decision making and knowledge creation is the way the
organization runs through the organizing processes. This done with respect to the
resolving issues in an environment that is enacted with the means of behaviors of
processes related to each other. It can also be termed as processing of information
to remove the equivocality from the informational inputs. This is done looking at the
views of the information gathered in the IS with an insight that is creative and with
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the help of which the organization creates new innovation and processes to mitigate
existing problems from the existing system.
4.3 Part 3- question c: Process model diagram using BPMn notation for
new IS
Figure: Process model diagram using BPMn notation for new IS.
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4.4 Part 3- question d: Classification of new IS within G-train (front-end,
back-end, customer facing) and explaining why it is being used
The new Information system within G-train is classified based on the information use
hence can be divided into two modules namely, Management supporting system and
Operations Supporting system. The main objective of developing an operations
supporting system is to ease the business negotiation, production controlling, upgrade
the database that is central and support communication that is both external and
internal. On the other hand the Management supporting system comprises of other
subsystems that can be categorized as Information system related to accounting,
management IS, decisions supporting system and systems for experts. This system gives
the higher authorities access to the routine decision making procedures which
facilitates specific solutions related to issues at hand. The frontend is the operations
supporting system that the user sees while the backend is the infrastructure supporting
this system that is management supporting systems.
4.5 Part 3- question e: Dimensions of impact of proposed new IS for
(identification of intended and positive effects and describe a new
system)
The new proposed IS can have a very significant impact on the G:train industry. It can
restructure the organizational activities in an efficient manner and can help the firm to
strengthen the position of competition and to change the process of the business and
how it functions. The IS should be able to track the communications generated from all
the departments including HAS. There is a necessity to have a reporting and tracking of
data from the initial phase of the new implementation to facilitate the employees and
management departments. The formulation to a successful IS and stakeholder
management is to follow a constant set of protocols.
4.6 Part 3- question f: Measures of success (Triple E- Efficiency, Efficacy
and effectiveness of new proposed IS)
The measures of success when it comes to the proposed Information System with
regards to Efficiency, Efficacy and Effectiveness are, Efficiency shows the performance
level with the least amount of inputs and produces highest amount of output. Efficiency
enables restructuring of resources and removal of unnecessary resources so as to
increase the production which can save personal time and energy. Efficiency can be
measured using the ratio of input and total output. This helps the reduction of waste
such as resources, energy and time while getting the desirable outcome. Effectiveness
of the proposed IS bridges the gap between the literature conceptualization and
fulfillment of the variables of the earlier discussed models Delone and Mclean. This
effectiveness assesses the performance between the traditional IS and the new IS
proposed and it reveals the classification of the working environment. Measuring the
success with regards to the efficacy of the IS revealed the impact of the context and
conceptualization of the cultures decentralization of the IS. The efficacy reinforces the
bridge between the operational systems and the detriment of system of IS.
4. Answer to Part 4: Synthesizing the outcomes of part 1, 2
and 3
After synthesizing the outcomes from part 1,2,3 it is clear the new proposed IS activities
has substantial history researched starting from the views of management systems and
development units and also sourcing of technology. The opportunities for future has
been highlighted and revealed. The patterns gathered from the literature study a
framework that is very comprehensive is being presented. The study found out the
opportunities, methodologies and an expansion in the control level of the management
procedures.
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5. Conclusion
From the above cited discussion it is clear that the G-train provides stable services and
operations. The existing IS with regards to the Human Activity System needed to be
updated with the growing requirements. There were considerate amount of changes to
be made in the Information System as well as the Human Activity System. The rapid
transport system had a significant impact in the business of the firm and workload
increased with the increase in possibilities and opportunities. To bridge the gap
between the operations a new system of IS needed to be created and implemented. This
paper discusses the same.
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