Managing Information and Technology

Managing Information and Technology

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Types of Information Systems.....................................................................................................4
ERP System in Business..............................................................................................................6
Benefits of ERP in Practical Scenario..........................................................................................7
Conclusion and Recommendations..................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
With the advent of computers business operations have become easier. Most of the key activities
are done by machines which have helped organisations to be error free and efficient. Information
is an important part of any activity without proper information nothing is possible hence, with
the increase in competition organisations have showed higher propensity to collect effective
information. With the business activities being computerised, information have played a key role
in the organisational operations and decision making which is why information systems had to be
designed so that these systems could work in collaboration with the human minds and other
software system to assist organisations to make decisions effectively and address the common
business issues. In the modern day business environment data processing and storage has become
highly important as business constantly need data not only decision making but also for market
analysis, internal and external understanding of the environment et cetera (Chang, 2016).
An information system could be defined as the set of components that work together to
effectively collect and store data in the best possible manner. An information system not only
helps to collect and store data but it also helps to ensure effective dissemination of information
for various organisational purposes. Companies use information system for record keeping, data
analysis and control of information and for making strategic decisions which helps to gain
competitive advantage in the market. There are different types of information systems available
in the market and used by organisations and ERP is one of the key information systems used by
many organisations for effective management of information and effective dissemination of
capabilities of business (Cassidy, 2016). The main objective of this study is to discuss about the
various information systems and ERP system. One of the main objectives of the study is to
discuss the benefits of ERP and will also recommend improving the use of ERP.

Discussion
Types of Information Systems
There are various types of information systems which have different functions in an organisation.
These information systems works together to allow the leaders and managers of the organisation
to get information and make decisions in an effective manner. The mechanisms of information
systems are complex in nature but they are built with the combination of different software,
hardware components and telecommunication systems. In modern operations Information
Systems have been categorised under different kinds of management. The upper management
mainly makes the strategies and decisions for an organisation hence, for strategic management
the “decision support system” is developed (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta, 2016). On the other
hand for tactical management the “Management Information System” is used. Operational
management is an extremely important system in an organisation hence, for this “Transaction
Processing System” is mainly implemented. One of the latest Information systems being used in
organisations is online analytical processing system which is used to set multi dimensional data
and produce it in various ways to make decisions (Bichler et al., 2016).
Fig 1: Information System Pyramid Model (Bichler et al., 2016)
As the name suggests the Decision Support System is an extremely important information
system for an organisation. It is mainly used for the strategic level decision making and hence
stands to be crucial in terms of rational thinking and provides all the required essential insights.
This system mainly uses information from the other internal information systems operating in an