Running head for publication goes here Essay Example for Free

Running head for publication goes hither Essay1. Introduction 3 1. 1. Purpose of piece 3 1. 2. Current Situation 3 1. 3. Identified Problems 4 2. Data and Knowledge 5 2. 1. What put ons selective information good? 5 2. 2. How is information created? 5 2. 3. How is information subroutined? 6 2. 4. How dingle utilized information 6 2. 5. How KAR Vehicles Ltd send packing benefit 8 3. Using Systems to Convert Data into selective information 8 3. 1. movement bear upon Systems 8 3. 2. counseling information systems 9 3. 3. Decision Support Systems 9 3. 4. Expert systems 10 4.Conclusion 11 References 12 INFORMATION SYSTEMS 1. Introduction 1. 1. Purpose of Report This paper is to discuss and examine the role of information systems in processing raw info much(prenominal) as statistics, sales anatomy and demographic information, into serviceable and priceless knowledge which bed be apply to support stopping point-making at heart an organization. focalisation will be p laced on a case study of Kar Vehicle Hire Limited, from which valuable real life experience and lessons depose be drawn from. 1. 2. Current Situation.KAR Vehicle Hire Ltd has recently implemented a transaction processing system augured K-VIS which utilizes a infobase containing details of fomites, clients, hire bookings, vehicle accretions and returns, vehicle maintenance schedules, etc, as well as other relevant information. Bookings are done by K-VIS and the assign information such as booking details, admitr details and payment details are entered into and stored in the database. This data entry and updating is done manu every(prenominal)y by the office executive get offor.Other transactions and surgical operations such as the collection of vehicle is also carried out in a similar fashion. With the growing count of information and data available in the new database, the dominance for the use of this information to aid managerial decision-making by unc all overing patt erns or trends, or in other methods, has been discussed. Knowledge invention to support stiff key management decision-making is and wherefore the primary bear on of Kar Vehicle Ltd currently. 1. 3. Identified Problems The main problem here that KAR Vehicle Ltd faces is that of managing data and knowledge creation.Firstly, managing data is a challenging process, because the amount of data expands exponentially over time is collected from many sources, both external and internal and is scattered throughout the organization antithetic carve upes. The introduction of K-VIS has helped to centralize the collection and storage of data in a standardized format and procedure however, KAR Vehicle Ltd has limited experience in transforming data to information, and information to knowledge via a knowledge creation process.This requires data that can be understood by the managers and analysts of KAR Vehicle Ltd easily, be accessible conveniently, and hence be able to analyzed using a vari ety of tools according to their needs to produce information. This information can then be used in conjunction with the experience and personal knowledge of the managers and analysts to create knowledge, which should then be stored in a format that all organizational employees can access and apply, creating a fictile and powerful learning organization.(Rainer, Turban and Potter, pg 96-100, 2006) 2. Data and Knowledge 2. 1. What makes data good? Data is but a collection of raw facts, figures and statistics collected by people and systems, and then stored in various format. By itself, raw data has no real significance and use, but like all raw materials, it has to go through a process to convert it to information about the world, situations and people, which becomes factual statements about the world, which has meaning and can be useful in certain ways.(OBrien, 1994, pg. 19) But before raw data can be born-again to useful information, it has to be good and clean that is, data witho ut errors (Rainer, pg 101, 2006). What makes data clean? Clean data which is error free should be completed, complete, timely, consistent, accessible, relevant and concise. Clean data is of high quality and can be used to generate useful information about linkages and facts about the world. 2. 2.How is information created? Information is data that has been converted into a meaningful and useful context that links various facts together in a race which can be used to form factual statements about the world. It is the result of data that has gone through a cheer added process where it is aggregated, manipulated and organized analyzed and evaluated and finally placed in a decorous context which is suitable for its purpose or designed end user.This value added process, or what we will call data processing, usually occurs in information systems. For example, raw data is entered by the office administrator and front line stuff into K-VIS, which organizes and process the data to form m eaningful relationships, such as a customer demographic data, his sales and records history, a vehicular history and transactions history. 2. 3. How is information used? Information that has real value and is accurate and meaningful is very important to any barter organization.Without timely and accurate information which is relevant, line of credites would not be able to make informed decisions and carry out activities such as risk analysis, cost benefit analysis, demand forecasting and supply chain co-ordination, among other things. For example, dell business model is entirely based on timely and accurate information about orders, demands, suppliers and inventory. Making use of accurate and timely information flows, dingle is able to exploit a fundamental warring compute in its industry to its fullest the value of time. 2. 4.How Dell utilized information Dell use of information technology to gather, process and disseminate information is vital to the success of its business model namely direct sales and build-to-order enabling it to make highly accurate and timely decisions about market forecasting to drive production and inventories. It kept track directly of customers PC inventory, allowing individual business users to order PCs directly quite a than going through a middleman, allowing Dell to build a relationship with customers and making the collection of useful data automated and painless.This data, which was processed into meaningful information, helped Dell to segment its customers into different primary categories. This categorization helps Dell to respond to changes in different customer segments, and make decisions on which customer segment is the most fat to develop and grow, and hence the segment in which to concentrate its visions on, offering highly customized services to gain and backup their business.In short, meaningful information helped tell to make decisions regarding its most profitable customers, and where its resources wou ld be most expeditiously expended on. Dell is also able to minimize part inventories by requiring suppliers to restock parts only as they are needed, and to have available specific components as they are needed to fill an incoming order. This is do possible through very close coordination between Dells sales and manufacturing arm, and between Dell and its suppliers.This is achieved by refining its business processes, developing close relationships with a limited number of key suppliers, all the while making heavy and extensive use of information technology systems to facilitate communication within and outside the company, making this close coordination possible and successful. (Kraemer, Dedrick and Yamashiro, 2000) 2. 5. How KAR Vehicles Ltd can benefit KAR Vehicles Ltd can benefit from the information stored in K-VIS as well in many ways.For example, customer demographic information could be used to shelter closer customer relationships and to keep and retain profitable and valu able customers. In turn, profitable and valuable customers can be identified from their sales records, which can be analyzed to pick put high value and high volume customers. This information can also be used to create customers segments like Dell did, in order to make decisions as to how KAR Vehicles Ltd can distribute their resources most effectually.Furthermore, KAR Vehicles Ltd can also make use of the information gathered in K-VIS to minimize inventory turn over rates, and to maximize resource usage. For example, KAR Vehicle managers could analyze sales history and periods, and then determine where and when car inventories should be kept and contain in order to meet demand. This can help KAR Vehicles to reduce its inventory stock, by making from each one car in its inventory more utilized. 3. Using Systems to Convert Data into Information 3. 1. Transaction Processing Systems.This is what the K-VIS basically is, a system that supports the monitoring, collection, storage and p rocessing of data from the organization business transactions, each of which generates data. The TPS collects data continuously in real time, and are considered critical to the success of any enterprise because they support result operations. It is hence obvious that K-VIS is essential to the continued and efficient operations of KAR Vehicles business operations. 3. 2. Management information systems Management information systems summarize data and prepare reports.These reports are mostly for middle and low level managers, and concern a specific functional area. K-VIS is also a management information system, as we can take that K-VIS is used by the office administrator to print out multipart forms or VIF. 5 forms for all collections repayable for a particular day. These forms are then used for business transactions as appropriate, and also used to update K-VIS with any new information or details. 3. 3. Decision Support Systems Decision support systems deliver the goods computer- based support for complex, non-routine decisions, for both managers and knowledge workers.There are typically two categories of Decision Support Systems job Intelligence Systems and Data Mining Systems. These are usually used in conjunction with a data warehouse and allow users to perform their own data analysis. For example, K-VIS enabled with a decision support system module, could be used to conduct what-of analysis to test the impact of bringing in new inventories of cars, relocation of branch offices, or expanding their varieties of cars offered. 3. 4. Expert systems Simply put, expert systems can be thought of as a collection of rules as defined by an expert.These rules can then be used as information processors whose applications steer highly specialized and restricted areas of expert human knowledge, as stated by Murray and Murray (1988, pp. 3). The potential benefits of expert systems are enormous, and their applications highly flexible. Watkins and Eliot (1993) identify some of the benefits of integration between expert systems and computer-based information systems (CBIS) as o Improving the operations and maintenance of the database o Improving sensitive analysis o performing as a tutor o Making applications more useful and intelligent o cut maintenance costs.o Refining the query system This is the area in which KAR Vehicles Ltd should focus on, as it automates decision making support for managers, and can help KAR Vehicles Ltd to identify and exploit any strategic or competitive advantage available in their industry. 4. Conclusion In today highly competitive and complex business environment, the capability to collect data, process it into useful and meaningful information, and then utilize this information in efficient ways to create knowledge or a competitive advantage, is essential towards prosperity and even extract in the business climate.Information systems are indispensable when it comes to this tasks, and there are a wide area and vari ety of information systems, all of which can be integrated, to collect data, process data into meaningful information, and then make use of this information to support the decision making process used by the managers of KAR Vehicles Ltd. In doing so, competitive and strategic advantage can be potentially identified and achieved, and greater operational talent will result as well.References Kraemer, Kenneth L. , Dedrick, Jason. , and Yamashiro, Sandra., 2000, Refining and Extending the caper Model With Information TechnologyDell electronic computer Corporation, The Information Society, 2000 Murray, Jerome T. , and Murray, Marilyn J. , 1988, Expert Systems in Data Processing, A Professionals Guide, McGraw-Hill OBrien, pile A. , 1994, Introduction to Information Systems, Richard D. Irwin, Inc Rainer, Kelly. , Turban, Efraim. , and Potter, Richard. 2006, Introduction to Information Systems, John Wiley and Sons Watkins, Paul R. and Eliot, Lance B. , 1993, Expert Systems in Business a nd Finance, John Wiley and Sons.