Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 The Selected Company 3.0 The Problems Faced by the Company 3.

1 Problems Concerning Speed of Delivery of Information 3.2 Problems Concerning Security of the Information 3.3 Problems Concerning Communication 4.0 The Solution to the Problem - The Selected Area of Technology 4.1 What is the Management Information System 5.0 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Technology 5.1 Advantages of the Technology 5.1.1 Enhancements in Communication 5.1.2 Reduction in Costs 5.1.3 Creating New and Exciting Jobs 5.2 Drawbacks of this Technology 6.0 Impact of Management Information Systems Technology on Avtovaz

7.0 Functionality of the Technology 8.0 Similarities and Differences with Other Technologies 9.0 Conclusion 10.0 Reference Abstract In this report, the objective is to make an investigation and a research of a certain type of information technology in the workplace and the way that this technology would be able to bring about positive advantages to the organisation. For the company that was selected, the system that was proposed to be developed is a management information system. The problems faced by the Avtovaz company are said to stem from the presence of a computer system that is very inefficient and not integrated at all. This system makes it very hard for the organisation to improve itself and become competitive, especially in light of its recent joint ventures with other car manufacturers. The presence of this kind of system has caused for the organisation to be unproductive and slow. Here, the management information system technology will be examined terms of its functionality, its various advantages and disadvantages, and the similarities and differences of this technology on three other areas of technology.

1.0 Introduction In this report, the focus would be on making an investigation of a certain area of technology within the workplace and how this kind of technology does have a benefit over the organisation that is being examined. The sphere of information technology is indeed very wide and the area of IT that will be the main subject of this report will be on the management information system. Here, a complete analysis will be made of this type of technology in relation to how this particular type of information systems would be able provide very effective solutions to the issues that are currently plaguing the organisation. Three main areas will be examined here in reference to the issue in question. The way in which this system would have an impact on the productivity and performance of the organisation would also be examined and then the functionality of the system, its advantages, its disadvantages, and the effect that it has on the organisation is examined as well. 2.0 The Selected Company The company that is selected here is the Avtovaz car manufacturing company in Russia, This company is one of Russias largest car manufacturing company and this company has been producing many kinds of cars to cater for the Russian market and the international market as well. In essence, this company has been entering into many joint ventures and alliances with other foreign car manufactures most recently and is performance has been increasing steadily (Avtovaz, 2009). The main concern with this company is that the management of information in this company is very bad and uncoordinated. The fact that this company is now starting to expand its operations means that there would be a need for a much more comprehensive information system that would enable for the perfecting of the process of managing information at this organisation. The management of information at an organisation like this is very important to ensure that the most important processes within the organisation is carried out effectively. What is apparent here that the process of the management of information at this organisation is far from efficient and the fact that it is not automated means that its efficiency and effectives is reduced quite significantly.

3.0 The Problems Faced by the Company When looked at from within, it is apparent that things are not going very well at this organisation and there are a number of issues that are of hampering the effectiveness of the management of information across the organisation. The reason here is the lack of automation of the system and the apparent absence of contemporary technology in the present system. The management of company information is currently undertaken manually and the manual nature of the system means that there are a number of issues relating to speed of delivery of information and reduction of productivity. The present system is ridden with errors and exhibits a high propensity of this could have a devastating impact on the company in the long run. In this organisation, the dissemination, storage and processing of information is currently done manually and this gives rise to many issues concerning performance efficiency and things get done very slowly and the risk of human error is very high. In summary, it can be said that the following issues would be the most significant and would cause for the organisation to experience a reduction of performance and might find themselves unable to compete equally in the international sphere: 1. Issue concerning speed and efficiency 2. Issue concerning the lack of security 3. Issue concerning risk of errors 4. Issue concerning low efficient of communication potency With the presence of such issues, it is impossible for this company to become competitive and continue to be profitable in an environment that is very challenging and full of obstacles and threats. Each of these issues discussed above are now discussed in more depth.

3.1 Problems Concerning Speed of Delivery of Information It is apparent here that the speed of the present system is very unsatisfactory and information travels at a very low speed rate within the organisation and this causes a number of problems concerning efficiency. When information is to be convened from one department to another department, this is done manually or through the use of e-mail and this is certainly time consuming and makes the processes within the organisation to be very slow. The manual storage of company documents means that staff have to make long searches of information in order to be able to find the information that is being sought. Once again, the speed of the process is compromised. 3.2 Problems Concerning Security of the Information A negative characteristic of this present system of information storage is that it lacks security. The important company documents are currently stored in file cabinets and can be easily accessed by unauthorized persons. The documents could contain important financial information that could be easily accessed by unethical persons and then provided to competitors that would be able to compromise the progress of this car manufacturer. There does not exits any kind of security mechanism to prevent such access and it is high recommended that this problem be overcome through the use of a system that would ensure security and enhanced protection of the information concerning the company. 3.3 Problems Concerning Communication In relation to communication, the main problem that is faced by this organisation through the use of such an ineffective system. What is noticed at this organisation is that the dissemination of important information across the organisation is deeply flawed. For instance, when the communication takes place between members of the organisation in the top management and other members within the lower levels of the organisation or in the supply chain. The information that is exchanged between these parties are very important for the effective running of the important processes within the company and inefficiency in

the communication of such information would lead to inefficiency in the processes of the organisation. The high propensity of errors within the communication system of the organisation poses a risk to the smooth operations and it increases the risks of breakdowns and the communication of flawed information that would result in bad decisions being made or wrong activities being carried out (Laudon and Laudon 2007). Examining the above, the present system that is of a manual nature is indeed problematic in the sense that it is slow, it causes for errors in communication, lack of security, reduced organisational performance, and inability to become more competitive. 4.0 The Solution to the Problem - The Selected Area of Technology The problems that have been identified have to be addressed in the most effective way possible and to do this, it is recommended that Avtovaz adopt the use of a management information system in order to be able to manage the dissemination, storage, processing and retrieval of information. In essence, it would mean totally replacing the present system with the new automated system that is likely to solve most of the problems that are being faced by this organisation. 4.1 What is the Management Information System In this section, the management information system technologies will be explained. Within the sphere of information technology, there exists a number of very different technologies that are specifically designed to accomplish a number of different tasks an in some cases, these tasks are related. Information systems technology is a facet within the sphere of information technology and there also exists many kinds of information system types and the type of information system that is being proposed for Avtovaz is the management information system, which is a type of information system that would be responsible for the storage, processing, retrieval and dissemination of information between and across organisational departments. It also provides information that enables the management to

plan and to coordinate business processes at the organisation (Laudon and Laudon 2007), (BPC MIS, 2009), and (Management Information Systems, 2009). This kind of management information system would be one that would positively automate the most important tasks at the organisation and it would eliminate the need for human contact in some cases, thereby reducing the risk of human errors from taking place. A system like this is capable of making even the most complicated tasks much easier (Laudon and Laudon 2007). 5.0 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Technology In this area, the discussion would be on the comprehensively outlining the advantages and the disadvantages of the new technology. 5.1 Advantages of the Technology 5.1.1 Enhancements in Communication One of the most important benefits of this technology is that it would enhance communication at the workplace and this would be done by making the activities relating to communication much more efficient, very effective and fast as well (BB Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology, 2009) 5.1.2 Reduction in Costs This technology would also ensure for a reduction in cost effectiveness through

automating the entire process thereby eliminating the need for manual equipment that can be very costly in some cases. This technology would be made much more streamlined or the purposes of ensuring cost effectiveness and an elevation in the level of productivity that ultimately leads to an increase in profits and more efficient working systems conditions

(BB Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology, 2009) and (Management Hub Information Management Advantages, 2009). 5.1.3 Creating New and Exciting Jobs The implementation of this technology does permit for there to be new jobs made available and there relate mostly to be need for more technical expertise in the realm of IT. This means that the workforce of the organisation would be diversified further to include more technical experts in the field of IT (BB Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology, 2009). 5.2 Drawbacks of this Technology One of the main drawbacks of the implementation of this management information system is that it would cause for certain jobs to be lost as the use of IT would mean that staff that had been commissioned with the responsibility to carry out task in the present system would find their skills becoming obsolete as what they do can now be done through the computer (BB Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology, 2009). This would also lead to a reduction in confidence and loss of job security among organisational members. 6.0 Impact of Management Information Systems Technology on Avtovaz The various impacts of this new system will have on the organisation will now be examined in detail. In essence, the primary impact of this software is that it would enable for a much more comprehensive distribution of information within the organisation. This would have the benefit of enabling important information to be provided to managers that would enable them to make sound decisions and this would put a stop to the inaccuracies and lack of competence in making decision making (Laudon and Laudon 2007). With highly accurate

and comprehensive information available at the finger tips of these managers, they would be able to make timely decisions with positive outcomes. The presence of a system like this would mean that there might no longer be problems relating to underproduction or overproduction, there would be no issue relating to the improper resource allocation and lack of timing in responding to critical situations. The use of a system like this would be very important when it comes to enabling managers be presented with information that is acquired in real time and that can be utilized to accomplish a variety of important organisational activities (Laudon and Laudon 2007). The system would also ensure that there is a high level of connectivity between various departments and this system would ensure that all the important departments of Avtovaz are connected with one another and this then has the impact of facilitating the smooth transfer of information from one department to another. The new system also has the impact of saving time for the most important processes within the organsation and it is theorized here that matters like the transfer of data would be made much faster and high efficiency levels can be achieved in comparison to the present inefficient computer system. The new management system would make it possible for comprehensive storage, distribution and processing of important organisation information From the security aspect of things, it is learnt that the new management information system also has the impact of increasing the security of the information that belongs to the organisation, whereas the old system had left the organizations information to be vulnerable and having a high likelihood of falling into the wrong hands. However, the new system has the impact of ensuring the security of the companys information is ensured at all times. 7.0 Functionality of the Technology This system is very functional in that it is capable of working under extreme conditions and the possibility of information overload is very unlikely for this system. The functionality of

the system is evidenced by the fact that the system elevates the level of operational capability, it is easily update and open to the integration of new technologies. It also delivers efficiency of communication between Avtovaz organisational members and suppliers as well and it would be powered with a high level of security features (Laudon and Laudon 2007). 8.0 Similarities and Differences with Other Technologies The three areas of technology that will be examined here would be internet application, ethics and security. Firstly, this system bears the similarities of an internet application in that it would require the internet to be able to be used successfully and efficiently across the organisation. Next, the system does have many security features in order to ensure that the information that is contained on the system is protected from unauthorized access. In relation to ethical issues, the system is designed to promote ethical practices like ensuring confidence of data and to prevent the misuse of data by parties without the authority to access the system and use the information. Hence, it can be said that this system does exhibit similarities of a internet application, a security application and an application to ensure ethical use of data.

9.0 Conclusion The main issue that was identified as causing for low efficiency levels at Avtovaz was their highly outdated and improperly integrate computer network. The computer system was viewed as being dysfunctional without any sort of semblance and it clearly lacked the ability to provide this organisation with superiority when it comes to the collection, processing and distribution of information within the organisation and between departments. After making an examination of the problem that was faced by Avtovaz, the ideal solution was implement the use of a management information system, which was a type of information system that is designed to improve how the organisation handles its

10

information. This can be said to be a system that is able to manage the important information to the upper management for decision making activities. This system was found to have a number of important advantages and a few disadvantages as well. It was found that the system was very functional and its functionality was something that would enable the organisation to perfect the management of information to achieve is strategic business objectives.

10.0 Reference Laudon K and Laudon J, 2007, Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm Pearson Education International Tenth Edition

11

Management Hub Information Management Advantages, 2009 available at: http://www.management-hub.com/information-management-advantages.html Retrieved on 18-11-2009 BPC MIS, 2009 available at: http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/management-information-system.htm Retrieved on 18-11-2009 Avtovaz, 2009 available at: http://www.gm-avtovaz.ru/new_ru/index.php Retrieved on 18-11-2009 Management Information Systems, 2009 available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-management-information-systems.htm Retrieved on 18-11-2009 Business Bible Advantages & Disadvantages of Technology, 2009: available at: http://www.smallbusinessbible.org/advan_disadvan_informationtechnology.html Retrieved on 18-11-2009

12