Business systems

Question 1

MIS

Answer 1

refers to the software and hardware used by managers to obtain the necessary info for accurate decision making and monitoring the effectiveness of decisions.

Question 2

MIS benefits

Answer 2

• Helps companies keep track of its resources and stay organised
• It allows managers to make various types of reports about a company’s activities
• can give evidence of the status of a business, areas of improvement (e.g. rising sales), areas of risk (e.g. falling sales), loss of market share, personal or group responsibility for success of failure

Question 3

MIS limitations

Answer 3

• cost of creating and installing system
• poor/inflexible design which doesn’t meet current or future needs of the organisation
• does not make judgements; only gives info needed o make decisions

Question 4

CRM

Answer 4

• Customer relationship management

- tracks how the business interacts with current and potential customers

Question 5

CRM benefits

Answer 5

• An increase in customer revenues.
• Enhanced internal communication
• Improved relationships with customers.

Question 6

CRM limitations

Answer 6

• software issues, such as limits on data storage size or emails
• integration difficulties with other organisational systems
• lack of training leads to poor data entry and incorrect data

Question 7

SOP

Answer 7

• Standard operating procedures
• detailed step by step guides to how functions should be carried out within an organisaton to ensure that they are carried out accurately and in the same way each time

Question 8

SOP benefits

Answer 8

• Training managers are capable of easily monitoring the status of training for a user, document and etc.
• Documents can be arranged for periodic review at company-defined intervals. Reminders are sent out before a review is due and workflow can be initiated either automatically or manually.
• Flexible change control with configurable change request forms.

Question 9

SOP limitations

Answer 9

• imposing restrictions which result in inflexible practice and a lack of innovation
• too much time being spent on admin rather than doing the job
• lack of version control - if updates to the SOP aren’t recorded with a date and a brief statement about the changes, individuals could be working to different versions which can causes serious problems

Question 10

Help desk

Answer 10

• designed for IT users to contact when they are having problems with their IT services.
• has a multi-tiered trouble shooting approach by having staff with extensive technical knowledge available.

Question 11

Help desk benefits

Answer 11

• User guides usually contain linked images, screen shots and diagrams for examples to show you how to use the software for more clear help.
• Online Support- a range of services provided to help customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product.

Question 12

Help desk limitations

Answer 12

• loss of service through breakdown of communication systems
• cost of setting up and in-house help desk with hardware, software and staffing
• issues with the availability of the help desk, e.g. the need for 24hr call-out, availability during bank holidays

Question 13

What does MIS do?

Answer 13

continuously gathers internal and external data and refines and organises it in one or more databases where it can be interrogated by those with access rights.

Question 14

What can MIS data be downloaded for?

Answer 14

• reports and other documents
• spreadsheets and strategic decision support systems
• functional systems such as those for marketing, sales or production