Fifth Assignment:
Based on your adopted organization(s), identify and discuss barriers in their IS/IT implementation. (2000words)
Before I go on with my adopted organization(s), I would like to discuss and identify first what are the things that can be considered as barriers in a company’s Information System or Information Technology implementation. I am quite confused with this topic so I search the internet first to have some ideas about the different obstacles in IS/IT implementation. And I admit that I had a hard time looking for a reliable resources or references. And I guess I found some sites that can be appropriate enough to answer this assignment.
Let me define first the meaning of barriers. In my own definition, barriers for me simply mean something that separates one thing from another or something that’s in between. It could be considered as hindrance that an individual may face while he/she is trying to gain entrance into something that may sometimes complicates the situation. So when we say barriers in a company’s information system or information technology implementation, those are obstacles that stand in the way of implementing an IS/IT in a certain organization which may complicates the situation. These barriers are hindrance that the company may face when they try to implement an Information System or Information Technology.
I have read an article about implementing a new Information System, published on June 9, 2008 by Lasan in Management; it talks about the different ideas and questions that would be asked if we will implement a new complex Information System within a company. Doing such big project usually entails a lot of problems that must be solved and a lot of barriers to be crossed, so it gives interest and a challenging road toward completion. As what I have understand, if a certain company wants to have a new IS they must consider a lot of things because getting a new “IS” is a strategic decision, where functionality, applicability, and adaptability play the main role. Some of the things that can be a problem or hindrance in having a new IS are the difficulty in choosing a system, the feedback of the end-users and the cost. Choosing a new system is not a simple one because it will depend on what the company wants and how big the organization is. If you are the owner of a company, it would be incorrect if you say “We want a new system that would work in exactly the same way as the previous one”. Why? Well, in this case you don’t need a new system. When changing the IS, you have the opportunity to review your current businesses, make some improvements, modify them, and make them better than the old one. Next is the end-users feedback. If you are the programmer, you should be patient and aware of the users’ response. It would either be positive or negative. The type of user who would probably have a positive response is those innovators, good and hard workers. On the other hand, the regular workers and complainers usually have a negative feedback. They may have a bad response maybe because the users don’t want to spend extra time thinking about their job or reading the manual, they are quick with complains but are not willing to read the manuals or search the web, or they are satisfied with the old one and they are uncomfortable with the new system. Last is the cost. Of course, it could be an obstacle because we have to consider how much money the company is willing to spend to implement a new IS solution.
As I go on searching the net, I have gathered some information that would help me identify the barriers in an organizations IS/IT implementation. Barriers in information technology in a company are inevitable and actually, there are a lot of it. It could be a technical, physical, human resource, communication, financial, operation or psychological problems. But I would like to point out and discuss about the technical problems, financial problems and the operation problems.
From the word information system, itself, it deals with information and how to manage it. So, it is essential to know how information is transmitted and shared by the company. For the first obstacle, which is the technical problems, some of the problems mentioned that would be classified as a problem in technical are the following: data processing difficulties, time factor in the collection and updating of information, a need for new and modern information system resources, and the need for fund for the processing and printing of information. Based on what I have read and as what I have observed, one thing that conflicts the implementation is the difficulty on data collection and management. Why? It is simply because data collection is a tedious yet a very important part of the whole system. It is referred to us as the hardest and complex part of the whole process so we have to look after it.
For financial problems, an information system needs a sufficient fund for the compensation of the information. The company’s financial state could be a big factor in case the company is in need to improve the information system. It could be an obstacle because if we want to acquire certain resources that soothe the company’s needs it gives as passage to have sufficient resources.
The third obstacle mentioned above is the operation problem. Some of the problems in operations of IS are the need for coordination between the professionals and the educational institutions and the need for full support on the new breakthroughs or technology presented by the programmers or any person concern. If the higher rank lacks the support, this is the hindrance that we are talking about in implementing an Information System/Information Technology in an organization. Why? Well, for me, because you are blocking the company to be updated with the new trends of gadgets that would be useful to improve the performance and speed of your systems.
Now, let’s proceed with my adopted companies. Based from the previous assignments, I have two companies the GH Office Depot, located at 88A Monteverde Avenue, Davao City, and the Lapanday Foods Corporation at Maryknoll Drive, Lanang Davao City. Based from the ideas that I have gathered from the net, I tried to recall all the things that we have discuss on our interview that would fit to answer this assignment.
First, we have the GH Office Depot and we are fortunate to interview their IT Personnel.Recalling our discussion with the company’s IT Personnel and in my own observation, one of the problems that I discover is the lock of more personnel on their IT department. As I remember, Mr. HP (the IT Personnel) is the only person on the IT Department. So he is the only person responsible on the maintenance and repair of the hardware components and the installations of software. That’s really a tough job for him but if he had some people that can help him, well, definitely it will lessen the burden and if problems may occur, he have some bodies who can help him. Another burden would be in their technical resources. As what I have observed, their IT department has fewer computers than I thought. They only use a laptop and one old personal computer (I guess). Though, there computers are still working, there is still a need for upgrade for a better performance. And whenever they purchase a new hardware or change into a new system, the budget and cost is always think of before they decide. Based on your adopted organization(s), identify and discuss barriers in their IS/IT implementation. (2000words)
Before I go on with my adopted organization(s), I would like to discuss and identify first what are the things that can be considered as barriers in a company’s Information System or Information Technology implementation. I am quite confused with this topic so I search the internet first to have some ideas about the different obstacles in IS/IT implementation. And I admit that I had a hard time looking for a reliable resources or references. And I guess I found some sites that can be appropriate enough to answer this assignment.
Let me define first the meaning of barriers. In my own definition, barriers for me simply mean something that separates one thing from another or something that’s in between. It could be considered as hindrance that an individual may face while he/she is trying to gain entrance into something that may sometimes complicates the situation. So when we say barriers in a company’s information system or information technology implementation, those are obstacles that stand in the way of implementing an IS/IT in a certain organization which may complicates the situation. These barriers are hindrance that the company may face when they try to implement an Information System or Information Technology.
I have read an article about implementing a new Information System, published on June 9, 2008 by Lasan in Management; it talks about the different ideas and questions that would be asked if we will implement a new complex Information System within a company. Doing such big project usually entails a lot of problems that must be solved and a lot of barriers to be crossed, so it gives interest and a challenging road toward completion. As what I have understand, if a certain company wants to have a new IS they must consider a lot of things because getting a new “IS” is a strategic decision, where functionality, applicability, and adaptability play the main role. Some of the things that can be a problem or hindrance in having a new IS are the difficulty in choosing a system, the feedback of the end-users and the cost. Choosing a new system is not a simple one because it will depend on what the company wants and how big the organization is. If you are the owner of a company, it would be incorrect if you say “We want a new system that would work in exactly the same way as the previous one”. Why? Well, in this case you don’t need a new system. When changing the IS, you have the opportunity to review your current businesses, make some improvements, modify them, and make them better than the old one. Next is the end-users feedback. If you are the programmer, you should be patient and aware of the users’ response. It would either be positive or negative. The type of user who would probably have a positive response is those innovators, good and hard workers. On the other hand, the regular workers and complainers usually have a negative feedback. They may have a bad response maybe because the users don’t want to spend extra time thinking about their job or reading the manual, they are quick with complains but are not willing to read the manuals or search the web, or they are satisfied with the old one and they are uncomfortable with the new system. Last is the cost. Of course, it could be an obstacle because we have to consider how much money the company is willing to spend to implement a new IS solution.
As I go on searching the net, I have gathered some information that would help me identify the barriers in an organizations IS/IT implementation. Barriers in information technology in a company are inevitable and actually, there are a lot of it. It could be a technical, physical, human resource, communication, financial, operation or psychological problems. But I would like to point out and discuss about the technical problems, financial problems and the operation problems.
From the word information system, itself, it deals with information and how to manage it. So, it is essential to know how information is transmitted and shared by the company. For the first obstacle, which is the technical problems, some of the problems mentioned that would be classified as a problem in technical are the following: data processing difficulties, time factor in the collection and updating of information, a need for new and modern information system resources, and the need for fund for the processing and printing of information. Based on what I have read and as what I have observed, one thing that conflicts the implementation is the difficulty on data collection and management. Why? It is simply because data collection is a tedious yet a very important part of the whole system. It is referred to us as the hardest and complex part of the whole process so we have to look after it.
For financial problems, an information system needs a sufficient fund for the compensation of the information. The company’s financial state could be a big factor in case the company is in need to improve the information system. It could be an obstacle because if we want to acquire certain resources that soothe the company’s needs it gives as passage to have sufficient resources.
The third obstacle mentioned above is the operation problem. Some of the problems in operations of IS are the need for coordination between the professionals and the educational institutions and the need for full support on the new breakthroughs or technology presented by the programmers or any person concern. If the higher rank lacks the support, this is the hindrance that we are talking about in implementing an Information System/Information Technology in an organization. Why? Well, for me, because you are blocking the company to be updated with the new trends of gadgets that would be useful to improve the performance and speed of your systems.
Now, let’s proceed with my adopted companies. Based from the previous assignments, I have two companies the GH Office Depot, located at 88A Monteverde Avenue, Davao City, and the Lapanday Foods Corporation at Maryknoll Drive, Lanang Davao City. Based from the ideas that I have gathered from the net, I tried to recall all the things that we have discuss on our interview that would fit to answer this assignment.
Next we have the Lapanday Foods Corporation. After interviewing there MIS manager and toured in some part of there company, I would probably say that there is no problem in there implementation on there IS/IT. In terms of technical, they always make sure that they properly upgraded there computers to have a faster data processing and a better hardware performance. If ever they want to acquire a new IT/IS for the company, they always make sure that they have a proper budget and effectively choose a computer that would fit the needs of the user and the programs that would be installed. So the first two obstacles that I have stated above are maybe not yet encountered by the company or maybe they already resolved that certain hindrance to the success of their information system. And considering there end-users, I guess there are no problem because as the MIS manager told us that before they implement a new system they study it first and properly introduced and demonstrated to the users. They have trainings beforehand to avoid problems. Compared to my other company, the Lapanday’s Management Information System department have several employees so therefore the job was divided and the process of data would be easy. There would be lesser technical problems that may occur.
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