Information systems in the organization are information hardware and software that is employed for the communication capabilities of the organization. Information is vital in the information age for storing, retrieving, and processing the private data of the organization. This network of communication channels allows the organization to conduct business and facilitate planning, control, and coordination. Riordan Manufacturing uses their information systems to support the operations, management, and decision functions of the organization. The information systems must always be in good working order as well as have the necessary security in place to prevent any potential breaches. In all organizations information is an important resource in the operation and management of organization as well as decision functions (Davoreen, 2009).
There are different types of information systems in every organization that consist of sales and manufacturing information systems, manufacturing and production information systems, finance and accounting information systems, and human resource information systems. Information systems in the organization are designed to observe, classify, and store the data of the organization as well as in order to collect pure data in order to develop trends or assist the management in making future decisions. Information systems are vital to the success of the organization. The sales and manufacturing information systems are information systems designed to observe, classify, and store any item of data which might be potentially useful to the decision maker (Babu, 2001). For example Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastic manufacturer with locations worldwide. The goal of the sales and manufacturing information systems are software programs designed to identify the product and services being offered by Riordan as well as the company’s sales processes.
Sales processes include the sales of products, orders, customer records, and customer support elements of the organization. The sales and marketing is the main information system at the Riordan Manufacturing Company. The database stores the private information of the employee, company payroll information, as well as the private information of the customer. One of the most important aspects of the sales and manufacturing databases is the Riordan customer database.
The customer database provides the company with valuable information of past and present customers. The database provides data that promotes the needs of the customer and provides ongoing customer service and technical support. The information stored in the sales and marketing information systems can help the organization make future decisions and predict future sales, revenues, expenses, etc. The more the Riordan Manufacturing Company understands about the sales and future sales projections the more effective and productive the company will be in meeting needs of customer. The marketing information systems support the marketing support decisions of the organization by tracking the success of past marketing strategies and in order to plan future marketing strategies. The marketing information system coordinates marketing effort and supports there implementation. The manufacturing and production information system provides data on units sold; date sold, item descriptions, sold the item, and generate necessary sales reports. The manufacturing aspect of the information system contains information on the supply chain and production systems.
It provides the organization with vital information for tracking inventory and developing more effective manufacturing functions. The manufacturing and production information systems deal with the planning, development, and production of products and services, and controlling the flow of production (Babu, 2001). Next the finance and accounting information systems are essential to the organization and collect, store, and manage the accounting functions. The information system will store all of the critical financial information of Riordan Manufacturing and generate financial reports that assist in organizational decision making. The accounting information system regulates, organize, and monitor financial transactions and recordkeeping. The Riordan financial and accounting information system stores financial information, such as inventory data, payroll information, timekeeping, check registers, customer billing, customer private financial data, and sales invoices. Lastly the human resource information system is an important information system at Riordan Manufacturing. The human resource information system contains all of the private data on the employee and the data involving the employee functions in the organization.
The system contains employee records that include their tax information, employment files, and payroll data as well as company employment information including, career development, training programs, training paperwork, job performance, and support planning for employee compensation. People are vital to the success of Riordan protecting this information is essential. Not only to protecting the employee private data but to ensure the employer has the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Each of the four databases is necessary to the smooth running of Riordan Manufacturing. The failure of the company’s manufacturing and production information system could halt the manufacturing and production process of the company.
The Riordan manufacturing company manufactures plastics for a global market. If the manufacturing and production information systems were to fail the result would be it mass chaos in the business. Riordan relies on the data generated by the information system in order to make decisions, such as how much plastic to produce and where to distribute the produced plastic. The current smooth operational structure of the company would come to a halt and productivity would be down.
Each of the different information systems in the organization is vital to its successful functioning. Failures in the infrastructure of the information system can create major hiccups for the organization but if the failure is the result of a security breaches it could create major challenges and hardships. When the private information of the company is stolen it can be used to commit criminal acts. Whether the information stolen is that of the customer or the employee the result would be a major inconvenience to the employee or customer and damage to the reputation of Riordan. In the 21st Century it is essential to be able to secure the private information of the customer or risk being ruined.
