MIS Assignment 1 - Company's best IS/IT practices

Assignment 1 - MIS

Another post for MIS 1!!

For our first assignment in MIS 1 we were asked to choose a local organization or company to study on their Information System as well as their Information technology practices. Actually this was given a couple of days ago but because of my “cramming syndrome” or “last minute syndrome” which is a bad habit I really have to work on (LOL), now I have to do this as quickly as I could and at the last minute.(LOL) Some of us were also confused as to what kind of company to study on and how this assignment should be done which is also a mistake and we should have asked ahead of time :’c. Well it already happened and there are no time machines. (Hehe)

For this assignment we were asked to choose what company we would like to study on and propose it first to Sir Gamboa for approval. I had actually chosen six and I am already familiar with some of it. These are, Assumption College of Davao, EMCOR Davao, Carabao Dive Center, PAGCOR Davao, Cubepixels Design Studio, Lane Systems, Inc.,.

But among the six only one was approved. Isn’t that sad?? LOL And the winner is which is the only one approved is non other that EMCOR. LOL
Now let me introduce first what is Information System (IS) and Information Technology (IT) and below are the definition from Wiki as usual. Hehe

In a general sense, the term Information System (IS) refers to a system of people, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. In a narrow sense, the term information system (or computer-based information system) refers to the specific application software that is used to store data records in a computer system and automates some of the information-processing activities of the organization. Computer-based information systems are in the field of information technology. The discipline of business process modelling describes the business processes supported by information systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systems

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

Now we already know what are IS and IT. And now this is what I have searched about the company EMCOR.

Emcor Incorporated - Head OfficeJVR Bldg.,

J.P. Laurel Ave., Bajada, Davao City,

Philippines 8000

P.O Box No. 158

Tel. No. +63 (82) 222-1125 to 32 (Connecting All Departments)

Direct Line +63 (82) 300-3161

Fax No.: +63 (82) 221-1863

E-mail: customercare@emcor.com.ph

"EMCOR is a 100% Filipino-owned retail business corporation specializing in appliances, furniture, IT products, motorcycles, and money transfer through its network of specialty chain stores in the Visayas, Mindanao, and Palawan areas. With the launching of our online store, EMCOR will now be making its presence known in the online industry and promote its company’s goals and vision to the global community.

EMCOR was founded by JESUS V. del ROSARIO in 1958 and we are currently under the JVR Foundation Inc.—one of the many companies of the JVR Group of Companies. Others include:
• Kawasaki Motors (Philippines) Corporation

• K-Servico Trade, Incorporated• Wodel Incorporated

• Delsa Chemicals and Multi Products Incorporated

• International Wiring Systems Philippines Corporation

• Hecny Forwarders Incorporated

• Wodel Manpower Services

We carry a wide array of product lines like Panasonic, JVC, Philips, Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Electrolux, La Germania, Whirlpool, FS Furniture, Sanyo, Canon, Brother, Epson, Toshiba, Acer, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and many others. We have also partnered with Western Union for our money transfer services. The core of our existence is our ability to provide high quality service to our customers by providing the right products at the right time, in the right place and at the right price. We believe that as responsible members of our society, we at EMCOR should pursue our profit objectives in the spirit of service to the community.

We believe in reconciling the profit motive of our Company with service to the nation. Thus, we strive to maintain a balance between the interests of our customers, employees, shareholders and the government by supporting national and local agenda for economic development, social reform, educational/scientific research, healthcare and environmental sanitation and preservation. To date, the JVR Foundation has given more than PhP200 Million in philanthropic work."

Source: www.emcor.com.ph

Emcor provides IT/IS services such as online services for their customers. Visit the link to see their website. www.emcor.com.ph This is a website created for the convinience of their customers. The wesite contains the list of their products, their company profile and other services they offer. This I could say is a good IT/S practice of Emcor Inc.

That is all for my 1st assignment in MIS 1. A reflection of my chosen company.

------ASSIGNMENT 1-----better version-----improved-----LOL------

I chose to make a new version of this assignment to make it better at the same time this would also help for starting of with the second assignment for MIS 1. Because the above version is not done correctly, here is a better version of my first assignment (for me its better than the earlier I've done LOL). The earlier was wrong because we had not visited our company but instead we had just search for their best IS/IT practices on the web which Sir Gamboa did not liked. This time what I did is choose and propose companies which at the same time are the companies I used for the second assignment. I had proposed the companies Hubport Interactive, Far East Seafood, Inc. and GH Office Depot. Sir Gamboa approved Hubport and GH Office Depot for assignment 2. Suppose to be Hubport was my priority for the assignment but unfortunately we were not able to do an interview because the company was not able to call us for a scheduled interview. But fortunately I have a reserve. hehe.

Here is the profile of GH Office Depot:

Address:
88-88A T.
Monteverde Ave.
Davao
City
8000 Philippines
Contact Numbers:
+63822245400
+63822242573
E-mail:
davaogh@weblinq.com
gh@negosyopark.com

“The company started as small office stationery dealer in 1967. By the grace of God and through its continuous quest for quality and better products to serve its clientele. It has gained the confidence and patronage of its clients. The clientele expanded to what it is today, a big solid majority share in the market. The company opened its door to the general public in 1995 by opening up a modest yet modern retail outfit. A supermarket-type of stationery store. The concept was overwhelming accepted by the general public.
The retail outlet and network continue to grow and expand. Today, it is a big business outfit housed in a modern complex with all the convenient facilities and amenities.
The GH OFFICE DEPOT carries in its inventory more than 12,000 items of office items to serve its clients. The company keeps on updating and upgrading its list of items to cope up with the current trend in office management. And to serve its clients with the latest and most up-to-date office supplies and equipments.”
http://www.ghofficedepot.com/about.htm

I was very glad that some of my classmates also adopted GH for their class sharing, so at least I won't be alone in doing the interview. Since we have the same company we came to GH as a group. Together with my classmates we met Mr. Hector Po who is the IT supervisor for an interview. According to Mr. Po he is the only IT staff in the company. He said that it could be better to have one person to make their system because the more people to do it the more complicated and confusing the constructing of the system will be. If he will only be the one to make a system then he would know everything without anymore consulting to other personnel. In this manner it would be easier to create one.

In our interview Mr. Po discussed to us their company’s best IT practices. Some of which are their systems being used, their own website, technological facilities like cameras, biometric scanner and other. One best practice he pointed to us is that their back-up service of their data. Every time there new input in their system they immediately back-up their files and data, in these manner there would be management of their data and data loss could be reduced.

Now I will discuss each of the stated IT practices Mr. Po relayed to us. First is their system. According to Mr. Po, to finish the company’s system, it took him one year and he only made him by himself. For the system he used Visual Basic and My SQL v. 5.0. This system contains all the company’s data resources like their budget, staff, accounting and pay roll. They also have a POS or Point of Sale which most establishments commonly use for their cash registers or counter. According to Mr. Po in order to create a good quality system, you need first to identify the needs of the user. Getting information and feedback from the user is the first thing to do and after knowing what the user need, you can now create a good system that is most convenient of the user.

Another is their Cameras. Their cameras can be operated through the web with certain software used that connects to the IP address of the company. This is for the purpose of monitoring what is happening inside the establishment. Their boss could monitor what is happening inside the establishment whenever he is out of town through the internet by connecting to the IP address of their establishment using certain software.

Another IT/IS practice of the company is their website. Here is the link http://www.ghofficedepot.com. On their website customers and suppliers could learn more about their company. It contains the company’s profile, their products, and the services they offer. In every company it is really best to have their own website so their customers would be able to get I touch with them.

They also have this bimetric scanner that is used for idebtifying their enployees and staff using their thumb prints that record their time-in and time-out.

We also get to see some IT/IS facilities the company has. They have their cash registers with POS, their company’s system program, barcodes scanners and biometrics scanner.

The whole experience was very fulfilling and fun. I have here some snap shots of our interview.

Outside View of GH

Biometrics Scanner

Employees Time-in Time-out

Company's System

Our Interview with Mr. Hector Po

My Classmates

Work Area

With Mr. Po

Thank you for reading!! God Bless!! Ü

gAbEe.xii Ü

Six IS leadership roles (CSC, 1996)

The following are what I've researched about what are the IS Leadership roles according to CSC or Computer Science Corporation. It is said that Information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) leadership roles have undergone fundamental changes over the past decade. According to CSC there are six IS leadership roles abd they are as follows:

Six IS leadership roles (CSC, 1996)

1. Chief architect. The chief architect designs future possibilities for the business. The primary work of the chief architect is to design and evolve the IT infrastructure so that it will expand the range of future possibilities for the business, not define specific business outcomes.

2. Change leader. The change leader orchestrates resources to achieve optimal implementation of the future. The essential role of the change leader is to orchestrate all those resources that will be needed to execute the change program. This includes providing new IT tools, but it also involves putting in the place teams of people who can redesign roles, jobs and workflow, who can change beliefs about the company and the work people do, and who understand human nature and can develop incentive systems to coax people into new and different behaviors.

3. Product developer. The product developer helps define the company’s place in the emerging digital economy. For example, a product developer might recognize the potential for performing key business processes (perhaps order fulfillment, purchasing or delivering customer support) over electronic linkages such as the Internet. The product developer must "sell" the idea to a business partner, and together they can set up and evaluate business experiments, which are initially operated out of IS.

4. Technology provocateur. The technology provocateur embeds IT into the business strategy. The technology provocateur works with senior business executives to bring IT and realities of the IT marketplace to bear on the formation of strategy for the business.
The technology provocateur is a senior business executive who understands both the business and IT at a deep enough level to integrate the two perspectives in discussions about the future course of the business. Technology provocateurs have a wealth of experience in IS disciplines, so they understand at a fundamental level the capabilities of IT and how IT impacts the business.

5. Coach. The coach teaches people to acquire the skillsets they will need for the future. Coaches have to basic responsibilities: teaching people how to learn, so that they can become self-sufficient, and providing team leaders with staff able to do the IT-related work of the business. A mechanism that assists both is the center of excellence - a small group of people with a particular competence or skill, with a coach responsible for their growth and development. Coaches are solid practitioners of the competence that they will be coaching, but need not be the best at it in the company.

6. Chief operating strategist. The chief operating strategist invents the future with senior management. The chief operating strategist is the top IS executive who is focused on the future agenda of the IS organization. The strategist has parallel responsibilities related to helping the business design the future, and then delivering it. The most important, and least understood, parts of the role have to do with the interpretation of new technologies and the IT marketplace, and the bringing of this understanding into the development of the digital business strategy for the organization.
Source: http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2000/0493/07/04937055.pdf

Managerial Roles According to Minzberg

This is another assignment for MIS 1. The following are the Managerial Roles which is according to Henry Mintzberg an internationally renowned academic and author on business and management.

According to Mintzberg (1990), the manager's job can be
described in terms of various roles:

1. Informational Roles. By virtue of interpersonal contacts, both with subordinates and with a network of contacts, the manager emerges as the nerve center of the organizational unit. The manager may not know everything but typically knows more than subordinates do. Processing information is a key part of the manager's job. As monitor, the manager is perpetually scanning the environment for information, interrogating liaison contacts and subordinates, and receiving unsolicited information, much of it as a result of the network of personal contacts. As a disseminator, the manager passes some privileged information directly to subordinates, who would otherwise have no access to it. As spokesperson, the manager sends some information to people outside the unit.

2. Decisional Roles. Information is not an end in itself; it is the basic input to decision making. The manager plays the major role in a unit's decision making system. As its formal authority, only the manager can commit the unit to important new courses of action; and as its nerve center, only the manager has full and current information to make the set of decisions that determines the unit's strategy. As entrepreneur, the manager seeks to improve the unit, to adapt it to changing conditions in the environment. As disturbance handler, the manager responds to pressures from situations. As resource allocater, the manager is responsible for deciding who will get what. As negotiator, the manager commits organizational resources in real time.

3. Interpersonal Roles. As figurehead, every manager must perform some ceremonial duties. As leader, managers are responsible for the work of the people of their unit. As liaison, the manager makes contacts outside the vertical chain of command.

Source: http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2000/0493/07/04937055.pdf

Alternate Managerial Roles Highlight Communication

Henry Minzberg took a radical view of management in his classic article, "The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact" (1975, reprinted in HBR 1990). Originally, Minzberg presumed his management roles to replace the traditional management functions. The formal position of the manager inherently involves three dominant roles: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. Table 1 illustrates these managerial roles.

Table 1

Managerial Roles According to Minzberg

Source: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~ibec/papers/43.pdf

firSt daY refLection Ü

My First day reflections/Learnings

Another school year has started after a 2-week summer vacation. Yes just two weeks for most of us still had our summer classes. Another year of project loads, long sleepless nights, and more eye bags LOL. But still schooling is a lot fun for me. Ok, so much for geeky introductions. LOL

The first of our MIS class was on the 18th of June 2008. The subject was handled by “gwapo”(according to him) hEhe, Dr. Randy S. Gamboa who was also our professor in some of our subjects before so we somehow knew him and his policies. Sir Gamboa has his trademark of the "talent portion" when someone comes to class late. And this has always been my alert for me not to be late in coming to class. I really don't want to perform in front of the class. hehe. We had our new classmates who are transferee students from USEP Tagum campus. They had to introduced themselves one by one together with a short talent portion (LOL) as what Sir Gamboa always do for new students and also for late comers as what I've mentioned. We had fun watching their talents and knew our new classmates.

After some introductions about our professor and new classmates, Sir Gamboa introduced what our subject is all about. Our Subject was MIS 1 with the subject description Management Information Systems. In other sources, Management Information Systems (MIS) is defined as the term given to the discipline focused on the integration of computer systems with the aims and objectives on an organization. http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/management-information-system.htm

Another meaning I’ve got from the web is this. A management information system (MIS) is a subset of the overall internal controls of a business covering the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures by management accountants to solving business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Expert systems, and Executive information systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_Information_System

PDOC
What is PDOC? This is the acronym I’ve got from Sir Gamboa that describes what MIS is. PDOC stands for Planning, Directing, Organizing and Controlling.

“Planning involves setting long-term goals, short-term objectives, and the strategy to meet both goals and objectives. Directing moves to the level of day-to-day operations, it also involves last-minute changes to an original plan. Organizing addresses the elements of staffing, physical space, equipment and hardware, workflow relationships, and supervisory relationships. Controlling occurs after the organization's process is in place.”
-Charles E. Beck, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
-Gary R. Schornack, University of Colorado at Denver
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~ibec/papers/43.pdf

Now segregating the M and IS to elaborate more of MIS. I’ll take up first the letter M in MIS. Management in all business and human organization activity according to Wikipedia is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. What I’ve learned from our MIS class management means managing obviously (LOL) from the word itself having to manage something or someone. I agree that all of us could be a manager. Managing our money or our belongings for instance is a simple example of managing but never someone. A person could not manage another person definitely because we are individuals and we should be the one to control ourselves guided by our Almighty Father, another thing I should store in my mind which Sir Gamboa told us. God will only guide us on the right path and we are the ones who should take the steps to walk through it. Anyone could be a manager but not everyone could be a leader because it would be hard if everyone will be working as the leader having similar role. It would create catastrophe. LOL
That’s what I’ve understand with the M in MIS. It is now IS’s turn. IS stands for Information Systems. Again from Wiki, Information Systems refers to the specific application software that is used to store data records in a computer system and automates some of the information-processing activities of the organization. To make it easier to understand Sir Gamboa gave us this equation to describe IS:
[IS = IT + PW]
which stands for Information System = Information Technology + People Ware and
[IT = HW + SW]
which stands for Information Technology = Hardware + Software
so we could come up with the equation:
[IS = HW + SW + PW]
which stands for Information System = Hardware + Software + People Ware
This final equation now describes IS or Information System means which is the hardware plus the software and people ware joined together. Easy right?
Now after relaying all I have learned from the first meeting in our MIS 1 class the question our professor left for us is this. Is Management Information System the appropriate description for the subject? How could we say that MIS denotes management of Information System and IS is equal to Hardware + Software + People Ware, when it is mentioned that people cannot be managed?
Sounds confusing? Absolutely! Hmmm.. It is mentioned above that people cannot be controlled and I totally agree but it does not mean that the people ware in IS is being managed by other person. I have found this definition of peopleware in Wiki. “Peopleware can refer to anything that has to do with the role of people in the development or use of computer software and hardware systems, including such issues as developer productivity, teamwork, group dynamics, the psychology of programming, project management, organizational factors, human interface design, and human-machine-interaction.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peopleware
With this definition we can say that peopleware refer to the “role of people” not the people itself in the development of systems. So people here are note being controlled but instead they just do their role in developing the hardware and software of the system. Therefore I believe the description Management Information Systems is just appropriate for the subject MIS 1.


I think that is all for this blog post. I hope I have answered all that Sir Gamboa had instructed. hehe Till my next post!

Have a nice day!!
God Bless us all!!..





gAbEe.xii Ü

hiGh tOuched ♥

♥♥♥

Matthew 6:34
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of the fool seems right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.

♥♥♥