Strategic Information Systems for Business | Study

Running head: STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
Strategic Information Systems for Business and
Enterprise
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note:

STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE1
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of Physical Internal Control Weaknesses:........................................................................2
Description of IT Controls That Should Be In Place:......................................................................5
Data Flow Diagram:........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................9
References:....................................................................................................................................10

STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE2
Introduction:
An information system developed to monitor and control corporate business initiative is
generally called strategic information system. Strategic information system provides great
benefits to organization in terms of competition. Currently, many organizations are
implementing strategic information system for delivering services and products at lower cost.
Main purpose of strategic information system is focusing on demanding market segments. The
higher level processes of strategic information system is allocating, storing, processing and
moving data. Strategic information system bridges gap of business requirements and IT
requirements.
The report is done based on the case study of Giant Eggplant. It is a fruit and vegetable
market in Rowville, Victoria. This market offers various diary, agriculture and bakery products
from local bakeries and farms. Currently, it is facing issues regarding sales and profit. This report
consist of evaluation of Giant Eggplant’s revenue and expenditure cycles. Data flow diagrams
will be provided to show input and output of each process within.
Analysis of Physical Internal Control Weaknesses:
There are total six control weaknesses present in both revenue and expenditure cycles of
Giant Eggplant. These control weaknesses have been described in detail at below section.
i. Improper Documentation: Documentation is a crucial factor in any business. It
records evidence of transactions done in a business. Warehouse staff of Giant
Eggplant does not have any documentation for products and shelves. Warehouse
staff only maintains one day inventory. Without any documentation, management
of Giant Eggplant does not have any historical record of product import and

STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE3
export from warehouse. The quality of documentation at finance department is
also very poor. Without any proper documentation, management cannot acquire
enough data to analyze business processes and identify the gaps. The effect of
lack of proper documentation can be seen in sales process also. Often, customers
complain about incorrect product purchase or superficial amendments in invoice.
The organization is having rough time to properly evaluate the product quality
delivered from suppliers.
ii. Improper Definition of Key Business Cycles: Complication in the business
processes creates the inefficiency of business cycles. In order to operate the sales
process smoothly, Giant Eggplant need dedicated sales person. As the internal
sales cycle is not defined properly, the sales person have to complete a lot of work
other than selling products. This is creating delays in the business process. The
sales process is not transparent. This restricts the organization to put every
process like importing, sales, warehouse management in synchronization. Both
the revenue and expenditure cycles have many loop holes and improper
definition.
iii. Lack of Transaction and Authorization Control: Before commitment of
resources authorization of purchases is essential for Giant Eggplant to implement
better control in sales. Preventing inadequate spending can be achieved through
implementation of level of authorities. Giant Eggplant do not register the
customer before sales. It creates a huge gap in customer relationship management
process. Understanding customer psychology and sales patterns is very crucial for
the organization. In order to achieve better results in sales, Giant Eggplant must