Operations And Information Systems Management

Operations and Information Systems Management
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Assignment tasks:

You have recently been employed in the new IS department of MBL as a Business Systems Analyst. You have been asked to produce a report on the role and acquisition of IS for Senior Management, Department Heads and line Management at MBL. In your report you are required to have a number of sections, and these are listed below:

1)    Management have expressed their desire to acquire new CAD/CAM system and you have been asked you to provide comparative analyses of what systems and hardware are available to purchase/lease and to provide a clear justification of the best option for MBL to adopt. You will need to provide details of the process you would follow to select the CAD/CAM system. This involves identifying the requirements of the CAD/CAM systems, identifying and evaluating potential suppliers, delivery, installation, training, etc. The process would also need to identify the criteria (e.g. speed, quality, flexibility, cost, etc.) you would use to select in acquiring such system that will be acceptable for company’s designers. CAD/CAM systems are one of a range of potential process technologies that MBL could employ. Process technologies have an impact on the operations of an organization in terms of the layout (fixed, variable, cellular, etc.) of the facility, product methods (job, batch, mass, etc.), flow of materials, etc. As part of your analysis you need to identify the impact of process technologies on these aspects of the organization, their advantages, disadvantages and if appropriate any mitigating strategies.

For this portion of the task you need to cover the following aspects:

•    A list and description of different types of CAD/CAM systems available together with any other process technologies required to support them.
•    An analysis of impact on the organization from on operational perspective paying particular attention to the potential impacts on layout, processes, materials flows, types of operation, etc.
•    The choice of IS acquisition process with relevant justifications, taking into account the organisations size, products, etc. This needs to cover all aspects including acquisition, selection, delivery, installation, testing and validation.

2)    Management have asked you to evaluate the feasibility of developing systems to support B2B and even B2C e-business models for marketing and selling their briefcases and other products. You will need to provide a discussion of the differences in work processes involved in selling products using traditional means versus those that are supported via the Internet. Again, the focus is on the IT systems both hardware and software needed to support the both types of business models. These should consider the options of developing in house solutions versus outsourcing to third party organizations and groups. In particular, what are the implications for data security, data access and the ability to provide data on demand to all aspects of the MBL business? However, your proposed changes to the IS functionality within MBL will have implications for the operations aspects of the business and these need to be assessed. For example, if the aim of the B2B improvements is to allow greater flexibility in customer orders, reduce dispatch and deliver times then these again have implications for the ways in which the organization produces the briefcases. In particular the production methods, layout, materials flows, etc. within the organization. A significant aspect of the feasibility needs to be on the ways in which your suggested changes impact on the operations of the business.

For this portion of the task you need to cover the following aspects:

•    An explanation of e-commerce.
•    A discussion of the differences between traditional vs. Internet means of selling.
•    A discussion of B2B and B2C and the advantages and disadvantages to both the customer and the seller.
•    A discussion and analysis of any proposed B2B or B2C changes on the operational aspects of the organization. These need to cover all aspects from production and inventory to dispatch and delivery.
•    A discussion of organisational environments (both from an IS and operational perspective) and their relation to the organisation.