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 Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)

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Jovanne Nick Cacayan

Jovanne Nick Cacayan


Posts : 36
Points : 37
Join date : 2009-06-20
Age : 34
Location : TAGUM CITY

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyTue Jul 07, 2009 2:26 pm

huhuhu!! "second assignment" Sad Sad !


TASK: Based on the orgnaization(s) that you visited, what do you think are ctchange?

In dealing with this task, it must have to undergo again like what we have experienced in our HRM assignment, a lot of procedures such us the approval of the chosen company to be interviewed , a letter of approval which is signed by our subject facilitator, Dean, and OSS Director. The difficult part of it, is asking the approval of the Information System officer of the company. If we will be rejected upon aiming IS officer's permission to conduct an interview in a certain company because of some valid reasons , it would be another long procedure to be done. We need again to propose, approve a letter and ask for the company's permission. HUHUHUHu!


That's what I also encountered in doing this task. Our group manages to propose a company and provide a letter of approval but as we ask for the company's permission, we were rejected. I guess, they just want to protect the confidentiality of the company. In this case, we have no choice but to start again.

The JS GAISANO TAGUM, permitted us to conduct an interview regarding the INFORMATION SYSTEM of the company.

JS GAISANOTAGUM , is located at Quirante Dos, Tagum City. Serving customers from 9 o'clock in the morning until 7o'clock in the evening.
And now, they are operating their branches in Kapalong and Sto. Thomas.

This company uses bar-code system wherein it functions as the logger of the employees. It tracks the time of log-in and log-out of the company employees. In terms of the information System of the company's transactions, for now, they were just planning for a system/software that will answer the needs of company.

I guess,it is a must for these company to install an information system that will provide their needs.
Especially that they are now growing and operating there business in other places. It s a must for them in the sense that as the company grows, there needs in IS becomes bigger. They need an IS so that the can handle tasks and operation between branches as one main system. Through this the can track if for example,if there sales grows or becomes low and to know if the demands of a customer as well their inventory of the different branches.


For them,the advantage of having an information system in there company are:
easy to transact business and allow them to scan record files in the easiest and fastest way.
convenient to the employees.
The company can save man power in terms of the numbers of the employees. .

They apply encoding in the computer in keeping their records. It was a semi-manual operation.
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Jan Neil Enanoria Gador

Jan Neil Enanoria Gador


Posts : 32
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Join date : 2009-06-22
Age : 34

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyTue Jul 07, 2009 3:36 pm

To start with, honestly I wasn’t part of the group who made an ambush interview on Concentrix for our first assignment in this subject. Fortunately I was able to find my way into the group because one of my group mates was one of those who had the ambush interview and I asked and referred to his reflection or rather his assignment number one.

The adopted company, Concentrix, formerly Link2Support, is a call center operation in Davao which is a US – based Company located at Damosa I.T Park, Lanang, Davao City. Concentrix provides technical and customer support to clients. Their work force delivers knowledge based services that have one measure of success resulting in customer satisfaction. And from Concentrix.com, Concentrix maximizes the long-term value of our clients' customers with solutions that support the entire customer life cycle and provide a high return on investment. And, by delivering from our locations in Asia, Latin America, and the United States in 12 major languages, we give our clients the global reach essential for business success. Our results: satisfied clients, some with relationships of 12 years or more. My group mate told me that when they visited the company they only gave one questionnaire.

Moving on, when I referred to his blog, one of their question is “What is MIS in your company?” the interviewee told them that their MIS is the core of their company. It is the core because their business focuses or makes use of computers and their MIS is responsible for repairing, installing and troubleshooting their computers. Their MIS personnel are also skilled in networking and not only that, their MIS is also responsible for making their systems which does not only record data it also records voice. The next question would be the main topic for the assignment, “What do you think are the best practices in your department that you think contribute a lot to the success in the company?” I was not really expecting that the answer would be teamwork. I was rather expecting the answer would be their latest software or their method of doing the business. So the interviewee said that teamwork, constantly evolving, and the like are their best IT practices.

Teamwork, from the definition in Wikipedia, is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals. Teamwork is one of the key to achieve success not just in business but in all fields such as sports and academics. Without teamwork it would be like playing basket ball five against one and it would be very hard to get the work done especially if that work needs to be done in a certain deadline. In Concentrix, their teamwork not only runs in their MIS department but throughout the whole system which makes them a company that has a system for success. I mean if there would be teamwork or if the people in the company work as a team, as one, then there would also be harmony in work and the tasks would be lighter compared to doing the task alone. The most successful or effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. In the case of Concentrix, they all work for a certain goal and that is to deliver knowledge based services that have one measure of success resulting in customer satisfaction.

On to the second assignment which is “Based on the organization that you visited, what do you think are the risk associated with business and IT/IS change? (1000 words)” I think that if there would be a change or if a certain company like Concetrix would decide to make a change in their business and IT/IS, there would be good and bad effects of that change and considering the fact that they would be encountering a handful of risks in pursuing that change. An example of a change in is migrating from the current software to another one which is better or the latest software in the market. Many risks would arise in pursuing such change such as delaying the work of the personnel because of the reason that the personnel working in the company have already been accustomed to the current system or the current software and it would take time for the personnel to learn or adjust to the new software that they will be going to implement. Of course the new software that they are going to use is better than their current software so it would mean that the new software would have new features and commands that are not common to the personnel.

Also, the company would risk providing or investing resource for the training of the personnel to use the new software and they would have to pay other experts to train their personnel. It would cost the company money and it will also take time considering that they would have to migrate their data from the old software to the new one. They would also run tests and run error checking to their personnel’s performance before they could assure that their personnel have already adjusted to the new software. And if it would take time there would be a possible risk of losing profit but it all depends on how the company prepares for that change.
However, change in the business or IT/IS of a company does not only trigger risks and bad effects in the process it also has good effects. A certain company would not risk pursuing a change if they think that their system is perfect or stable. A company would always aim for the best and provide the best services that they could give to their clients. A change in a company and its effects would depend on the company on how they plan, manage and control it and if they really want that change.

Sources:

http://concentrix.com/about.html
http://www.jmanlangit.blogspot.com

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JerusalemAlvaira




Posts : 46
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Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 35

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyTue Jul 07, 2009 6:09 pm

The answer to my second assignment is just a continuation of the interview which we conducted last June 25, 2009, Thursday. The company we visited was the remote office of Dole Philippines located in Lanang, Davao City and we interviewed a company MIS Programmer.

The risks associated with business and Information Systems or Information Technology change will be discussed below.

One of the risks associated with business and Information System or Information Technology change is the user. If you are going to create a system, you will have to inform the user about the new system so that the user will be prepared and will know what type of system will be created, how the system flows, and what will be its purpose. The MIS Programmer also mentioned that you really have to consider the user especially id the user is already used to the environment of the system, and it also depends to the user because some users would want to use the older system.

I agree with what the MIS Programmer said about having the user considered before changing the system. If the user will be informed about the system change or system upgrade, they will be able to get a chance to say what kind of system they would like to use, they will be able to have a bird’s eye view and somehow be prepared or trained to use the new system.

However, if the users will not be informed about the system change or upgrade, the users might have some difficulties in using the new system. They might think that they will train again for another type of system which they might not like or which seems not a comprehensible program. Moreover, they might think that they will undergo another training when they are already comfortable using the old one.

There are other risks associated with business or things to be considered before changing Information Systems or Information Technology. According to the MIS Programmer whom we interviewed, you have to plan what type of system you are going to change. Is it the database? Are you going to upgrade the system, what type of language will be used for the new system? Or are you going to change the system from a desktop or web application.

The MIS Programmer also mentioned that if it is only the database that you want to change, you have to verify some things like looking at the data, seeing if you can upgrade it, and knowing if it would still synchronize with other versions before changing such system. Moreover, when it comes to the type of language you are going to use, you have to check if there is really a need to change from one type of language to another type of language or to switch from desktop application to a web application depending on the need. The MIS Programmer mentioned further that the desktop application is user side while the web is not. Once you browse the internet explorer or the mozilla firefox, you will already see the system. The desktop application on the other hand, you will have to install the application because it has its own executable file. According to the MIS Programmer, these are the things you need to consider before changing the system because it is like creating a new system. The MIS Programmer also mentioned about system failure.

Finally, on the business perspective, the risk associated with business on Information Technology or Information System or a thing to be considered before changing the system is the data. The MIS Programmer said that whatever the data is before, it will be the same data that the users will be able to see or to access.

I agree with what the MIS programmer said that if you want to change the database, you have to look at the data for the reason that if you overlooked or lost important data, it would cause a very big problem for your company. There must also be compatibility with other versions so that the end users will not find it hard use the system in any types of application.

Aside from the compatibility on changing the database, you also risk security and confidentiality of the data. You have to maintain or improve its security and confidentiality when developing the system. If not, your database will be vulnerable against system hackers or system thieves.

When it comes to switching from web application to desktop application or vice versa, you really have to consider the type of users who will be using your system. A web application, I think is very suitable for what the MIS Programmer said about mobile users while the desktop application on the other hand will be very suitable for users who are non-mobile.

The MIS Programmer mentioned about system failure. It is true that when changing your system, you will not be free from system failures during implementation. System failures may come any time but somehow, it can be prevented. To avoid such, newly developed systems must undergo a series of tests before being implemented. Moreover, System failures can cause communications to breakdown, lost of profit and delay of reports. Moreover, it can cause massive lost of data that might become a big problem for the company.

I think you also have to consider the cost of the system, because if you do not have enough budgets for the new program, it will be impossible to change or upgrade such system unless the programmers will do the job for free. Moreover, you should also consider the amount of money that you will be able to save by the time the new system will be implemented and compare it with your savings using the old one. If you are purchasing your program from in IT outsourcing company, you should consider the cost of buying such program. If you have an Internal IT department, you should also know the cost of such program so that you will be able to decide whether to buy a new program or just create a program.

Evidences are recorded

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Karen Palero

Karen Palero


Posts : 40
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Join date : 2009-06-23
Location : Davao

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyTue Jul 07, 2009 7:27 pm

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?

Company visited: Concentrix

Concentrix’ MIS department said that they are constantly evolving because Concentrix, like all other Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company, is a fast transforming corporation. But what are the consequences with the changes that they do and what are the factors that they first consider before implementing a change on their system?

According to the MIS Supervisor of Concentrix’ MIS department, before a modification on their system will be done a feasibility study should be made regarding the proposed changes of the system. Generally, before approving for a change on the system they make sure that the change is necessary and/or that it could truly enhance the system. In addition, since there is an approval needed before taking any changes on the system thus the management will have an overview of what are the downsides or what will be the risks of changing the system.

So, what are the possible things that might happen in changing a system? Why should a comprehensive study be made before implementing a change?


  • System failure
  • Security
  • Loss of data
  • Design
  • Cost
System Failure - a breakdown or decline in the performance of the system. Concentrix is a large company with numerous employees; a system breakdown will surely interrupt the entire business especially that their clients are from outside the country and the communication process is through the use of telephones and distribution of calls is part of their system. And as far as I remember the MIS Supervisor said that the MIS department is the core of the company because they are a technological call center therefore, a system failure will really discontinue the operation of the business.

Security – confidential data might be accessible to people who doesn’t have the right to access that particular data. In Concentrix’, the employees have limited access to the applications that they have; it depends on the position of the particular employee.

Loss of data – when a certain data had been removed, deleted or in anyway not accessible anymore. Loss of data is losing a client in Concentrix’ state, so they are really careful in implementing a system change because if there will be a loss of data, there will be no documents to be shown to their clients.

Design – the actual design of the system fails to capture essential business requirements. Information may not be provided quickly enough to be helpful; it may be in a format that is impossible to digest and use; or it may represent the wrong pieces of data. A system may be designed with a poor user-system interface. The way in which nontechnical business users must interact with the system is excessively complicated and discouraging. As a result, a system may go unused and eventually may have to be discontinued.

Cost – some systems operate quite smoothly, but their cost to implement and run on a production basis is way over budget. Good thing though, the people under the MIS department of Concentrix are the one who creates their system that is why it will not be that costly.


Information systems facilitate the acquisition, transformation, and distribution of information. Information systems can improve decision making, enhance organizational performance, and help increase firm profitability, thus contributing to corporate value.

Often, a change in the business's strategy, rules, or procedures requires changes in the information systems software, hardware, databases, and telecommunications. An organization’s present and future accomplishments depend in many aspects on what its systems will permit it to do now and later. Also, system projects are increasing in reach and scope. Whereas early information systems addressed primarily technical or operational issues, contemporary information systems are integral to the management and strategic goals of the firm. Today information systems affect a much larger part of the organization itself, such as organizational products, objectives, and structure.

Reference:
Management Information Systems, 8th edition (Laudon)
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Alfredo V. Ala-an

Alfredo V. Ala-an


Posts : 52
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Age : 33
Location : Obrero Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 5:42 am

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?

Getting Prepared

In business, you can never allow yourself to get comfortable with the status quo, because it is always changing. Surprises may be fatal to your business.

Risk is inevitable, avoiding risk impossible. Risk management is the key, always tilting the venture in favor of reward and away from risk.

Identifying and Managing Risks

While all opportunities are associated with risk, the biggest risk is to miss them. Risk results usually not from unpredictability but from ignorance. The more you know about what you are doing, the less risk you run. If you can define risks, you can limit them. Look back on any opportunities you missed and use your past mistakes to learn how to recognize opportunities.

At any its development stage, the company faces the five major risks that change in nature as company evolves:

1. Growth risk;

2. Technology risk;

3. Marketing risk;

4. Financial risk; and

5. Team and management risk.

You cannot avoid these risks, but you can manage them.

From: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/risks-growth_main.html

What is IS?

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 modeling describes the business processes supported by information systems.

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

What is IT?

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."[1] IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

IS/IT Change?

IT as a Solution to Environmental Change: The cost of IT has plunged since the 1960s resulting in enormous investments in IT applications that have stimulated increasingly complex organizational change (Benjamin and Levinson, 1993). Benjamin and Blunt (1992) anticipate that technology cost-performance improvements will sustain this trend over the next decade. Presently, IT amounts to nearly one-half of US firms' annual capital expenditures and increasingly affects how firms organize, do business, and compete (Keen, 1991).

IT may be considered as comprising of five basic components - computers, communications technology, work stations, robotics, and computer chips (Morton, 1988). In this article, "IT" is considered to be synonymous with the definition of "advanced information technologies" provided by Huber (1990):

From: http://www.brint.com/papers/change/overview.htm

My Opinion

To start with, we were given a task by our facilitator to interview some local companies or organization and discuss the risk. The company we interview was a mall in Tagum City. We will not state the name of the company to ensure the confidentiality what most important is the sharing of ideas of this article. For the company we've interviewed I can say that the risks are the same as the the article told us about the five major risk are the growth risk, technology risk, marketing risk, financial risk and the last the team and management risk.

As mentioned above “Risk is inevitable, avoiding risk impossible. Risk management is the key, always tilting the venture in favor of reward and away from risk.” For me it is true because in an organization you cannot avoid the problems. All the organization or companies always have the problems that they really encounter in their journey. Some of those company failed and some, we can say that they survived but they continue facing another sets of problems.

Looking those five major risks that companies encounter, the first was the growth risk. I can say that the company we interviewed have this risk because they have also another branch of malls and they are looking forward always for the expansion of their business. As the information we got they have 2 branches and the main company was located in Tagum City. The second was the technology risk. Also I can say that this kind of risk was present in the company we visited because they have the information system. As mentioned above the IS it includes the people the physical parts or the hardware and the software. As the information we got they have poor system but they were looking forward to it. Another risk was the marketing risk. It’s obvious that they have really this kind of risk because malls have it. In fact, example of that was the marketing sale report of their company where they can find if they have a good sales or now well. Another was the financial risk. Even in our self we can say that we also have that risk because it deals with money. Working without money in a business is impossible because one of its primary goals of business is to earn profit. The last one was the team and management risk. Workers are part of a company to provide the needs of the customers.

I therefore conclude that all this five major risk that was mentioned above was present in the company we interviewed.

Another question was that is that the IT/IS change?? For me IT/IS was the part a technology that was created to make life easier. But we cannot tell that these technologies will not improve because as of now technology was very main part of world and its growing rapidly. Even as humans we cant say that we will live in this world forever, the same as the technology they do not stay longer it means they will really evolve as the time goes by.

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Img00013

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Img00014


***end***
(^_^)..cocoi™️


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athina alorro

athina alorro


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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 12:25 pm

The company hunting..

The company that my group mates visited for the first assignment is actually the same company that I will be featuring for assignment number 2 which is the DOLE Philippines.

Since sir Randy already approved DOLE as our adopted company for our module discussion, I already assume that he allow DOLE as our company to be featured in this assignment..Hehe ( I hope I’m right..)

Our interview was conducted mostly by using the vernacular language..therefore my answer to this assignment is largely the way I understand what our interviewee was trying to say. I mainly picked out the keywords that she mentioned and elaborated it according to my understanding.

Company background..

Here is a brief company profile of our adopted company for this assignment according to the official website of the DOLE Philippines(http://www.dole.com.ph/CompanyInfo.htm.)

Dole is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh cut flowers with a growing line of quality packaged foods. Dole’s dedication to quality is a commitment solidly backed by: comprehensive programs for food safety, scientific crop protection programs, stringent quality control measures, state-of-the-art production and transportation technologies, continuous improvement through research and innovation, and dedication to the safety of our employees, communities and the environment. Dole is committed to nutrition education to communicate to the public the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

In the Philippines, Dole has introduced premium quality, healthy food products in fresh and packaged foods. Its focus on health and nutrition remains strong even as Dole continues to expand its healthy food products. Its product lines range from canned pineapple solids, canned mixed fruits, canned beverages, packaged fruit snacks to tomato sauce.

Risks on IS/IT change…

Here are the risks of IS/IT change that I picked out from our interview with the MIS programmer of DOLE.

The first thing that she mentioned as one of the primary risk involving a system change would be System Failure. This kind of risk usually happens when the system was not properly planned and well designed. She deliberately emphasized that the company should have a thorough, extensive and proper planning before making any change of system. She also said that it is important to asses first if there is really a need for a change of system or not. The IT personnel should determine if changing the system is the really the best option there are other alternatives such as system upgrade rather than whole system change. She also mentioned during the interview that the IT personnel should determine what specific component of the system must be changed. Is there a need to change the database or programming language used or is there a need to convert from desktop to web?

She also mentioned that one of the probable risks is financial. She didn’t expound much in this aspect maybe because the reason was too obvious. This kind of risk largely affects the financial aspect of any business. Just like any kind of project, investing on changing a new system will require money and resources that if (worst case scenario) the system will fail, will cause the company to lose certain amount of resources that could have been used on other projects and future undertakings.

On the organizational level, she mentioned that the risk involving a system change would primarily concentrate on the employees. If a system change would happen, there is a risk that employees who are accustomed with the old system may have a problem dealing with the new system and will therefore prefer to the use the old one and disregard the new one. That’s why it is very important for the company to deliberately involve the end users and make sure that they will have a proper support and training for them to use the new system effectively.

On the technical level, she also mentioned that one of the risks on making a system change would be the loss of data. Data is one of the important components of any IS or IT system. The loss of data can be crucial because data is considered as one if not the most important component in any information system. It is a possibility that during a system change such as an IT/IS change in a company, inaccuracy and incompleteness of data may occur. This kind of risk will boil down to loss of integrity of the data in general.


NOTE:
The interview is supported with a recorded evidence.

for comments please visit my blog
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Edsa Fe Esio

Edsa Fe Esio


Posts : 30
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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 12:51 pm

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?

There are a lots of factors/risks that must be consider in business and IS/IT change to take place. Risks can occur in different ways and therefore risks should be approach properly to address the problem.

In a call center company like Concentrix, technology change has enabled call center operators to adopt new business models to meet the needs of the costumers and compete in the business world of call center. Technology has the capacity to fundamentally alter the way a company or a whole industry operates and that is certainly the situation now unfolding in the call center. Technology made every aspect of building and operating a call center faster, easier and also frequently has the side effect of changing business processes.

In my own point of view, regarding call center company, services is one of there concern. The services that it offers to the customers and to the internal customers of the company should take into consideration.

“Your customers are in a perfect position to tell you about quality, because that’s all they’re really buying. They’re not buying a product. They’re buying your assurances that their expectations for that product will be met.”
– John Gaspari, “I Know It When I See It”

Another one, it would maybe the security and reliability that it would offer in the said change. The security of the system and the progress it would present, if these would really address the necessary needs of the whole company for improvements.

Another thing is the cost, the expenses on making and in the implementation of the system.

In addition, the condition or state of the company, if it is capable of the change without affecting the other aspects of the company because a change should not put the other aspect of the company into jeopardy. Instead, it would result to the betterment of the whole company in general.


Listed below are brief tips that may be helpful as an overview and guidelines for risk management activities.


Tips & Guidelines©️
...for Corporate Risk Management

10. Identify and assess risks
Risk is everywhere. Success in business often comes down to recognizing and managing possible risks associated with potential opportunities and returns. The types of risks faced in most businesses are quite varied and far ranging. Risks typically include both financial and physical categories. Types of risk include sometimes apparent hazards, such as safety and health risks associated with operations, as well as financial risks from exposures to market price volatility, counter party credit defaults, and legal liabilities. Some risks are intuitively obvious; unfortunately, many are not. Risk categories include: Market, Credit, Legal, Regulatory, Political, Operational, Strategic, Reputation, Event, Country and Model Risks. So first identify possible risks throughout your business.

9. Know the numbers
Systematic processes such as a RiskRegister ®️ to identify and rank risks by order of magnitude can be a key first step, but effective risk management strategies typically depend on quantification of risks, often through probabilistic modeling techniques. Said another way: one must 'measure it to manage it.' Measurement and valuation can be one of the most difficult efforts in risk management and finance, but these are crucial for cost effective risk management and informed decision-making. Spend the time and money to get the tools and expertise to best quantify the company's key risks. A close corollary is to know what is in any 'black-box' models used for valuation & reporting.

8. Risks are interrelated
Interactions and correlations of risks are a key element of which to be aware in identifying, quantifying and mitigating risks. For example, exposure to credit risks may also affect market price risks, whereas operational risks such as fraud may create legal and reputational risks. Recognition that risks interact between business activities is one of the basis for the 'enterprise-wide risk management' approach now widely practiced by leading companies.

7. Continually reassess risks
Things change, and so do risks. Market conditions and volatility levels change, financial strength of counter parties change, physical environments change, geopolitical situations change, and on-and-on. And these changes can be rather sudden, or they can be creeping and hidden. Exposures to risks that result from business activities may also change. Effective risk management requires that one reevaluate risks on an ongoing basis, and processes such as a RiskAudit ®️ should be built into the corporate risk management framework to assess both current and projected risk exposures. Forecasting future exposures is necessary since hedge decisions are based on projected risk levels.

6. Commit adequate resources
Effective risk management also requires considerable expertise and resources, from basic risk control, compliance and governance activities, through advanced quantitative risk analysis. The costs for these resources are usually not cheap, but as has been proven repeatedly by high-profile business failures, the cost of losses due to risk management weaknesses or lapses can be catastrophically high. Investment in risk management capabilities for most businesses has a high payoff. Due to the potentially extreme cost of mistakes, risk managers should be especially well trained.

5. Review the cost of risk mitigation
Transferring risks through hedge transactions or other activities is often an effective and advisable risk management technique, but risk mitigation strategy may largely depend on the hedge costs. Risk mitigation strategies also depend on the capacity of the firm to sustain risks and possible losses. Trading activities that are truly for hedging should not be avoided due to concern that trading could be misconstrued as 'speculative'; however, various hedge instruments may not have the same cost effectiveness or appropriateness for every company and environment.

4. Reduce exposure
Risks arise from exposure. A commonly accepted definition of risk is 'exposure to uncertainty' (at least for that uncertainty for which one is concerned about the outcome). Reduce the exposure and you likely reduce the risk. The selected approach and structure of business activities can have a significant effect on the exposure & risk levels generated. Commercial agreements and transaction structures may result in transference or acceptance of risks with a counter party. Risk awareness in business processes and commercial activities can lead to opportunities to reduce current and future exposures. Billing currency for international purchases is an example of exposure effect.

3. Assess the Risk/Return Ratio
Risk management does not equate to risk aversion; however, decisions driven by risk/reward assessments usually have a higher probability of successful outcomes. A consideration in such risk-based business decision-making should also be the capacity of the firm to sustain risks. As in the well developed finance field of portfolio theory (which in general terms focuses on how investors can best balance risks and rewards in constructing investment portfolios), business decisions based on risk/reward balance should optimize returns.

2. Monitor for quantum shifts in risk levels
A key value of quantitative risk measures is to highlight significant changes in risk levels. Although opinions may differ on the optimal methodology for some valuation metrics, significant changes or trends in risk metrics, such as Value-at-Risk measures, can provide a key signal to management. Best practices designs of management reporting 'dashboards' provide this risk monitoring capability, also showing segment reporting and consolidation to reflect correlations such as offsets in price risks between markets.

1. Create a risk aware culture
Educate the organization in practical aspects of risk management, and that especially includes the most senior business executives and the corporate board of directors. Risk management responsibilities should be clear. Whether it is intuitive actions based on experience and expertise in risk management or whether it is a result of institutionalized risk policies and procedures, effective risk management is typically a key factor in successful businesses. Training and building awareness can lead to a risk management culture that will drive business success.

http://www.riskex.com/risk-tips.htm

-=Here are some tips on how to management risks that will mostly arise in a business and guidelines for a company on how to approach with risks associated in different business activities. Before a company consider a crucial change it is must to know and plan well the change it would do or perform and consider all the factors in all angles of the company.=-

“The problems of today cannot be solved by the same kind of thinking that
created them.” – Albert Einstein
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jealou azucena

jealou azucena


Posts : 25
Points : 27
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 34
Location : Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 6:42 pm

--- Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risk in business and IS/IT change?

Base on the company we visited (Synnex-Concentrix), I will present the risk in business and IS/IT change.

But first let us ask, what is IS/IT?
For us BSIT students some might already know the answer and others have ideas.

IS stands for Information Systems and can be defined as a set of procedures that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making and control. (Laudon, Laudon)

IT (Information Technology) means hardware plus software.

What is risk?
Risks are factors whose presence increases the probability of negative outcomes.

IS/IT in Concentrix is constantly evolving according to Concentrix MIS Supervisor. Before change is done the team conducts a feasibility study to assess if there is a need for change. The outcome of feasibility study will determine if the proposal is to be approved or rejected. This is done to minimize risk and errors. This also proves that the company has good management and managers.

But still risks are inevitable.
Almost all organizations encounter failure in there Information Systems. The major problem areas are design, data, cost, and operations. These problems can be attributed not only to technical features of information systems but to nontechnical sources as well.

So what are the risks if there is a change in IS/IT without a study beforehand?

Here are some…

Cost Risk Cost or financial risks occur when the cost to implement and run the information system on a production basis is way over budget. This means that information provide by the system does not justify the excessive expenditures use on it. Basically the output does not justify the cost and this is not good for business.
In Concentrix, they have own programmers who make their system. I think, this in source system development is a good practice to reduce cost.

Design Risk This happens when the actual design of the system fails to capture the essential business requirements. Information may not be provided quickly enough to be helpful; it may be in a format that is impossible to digest or use; or it may present wrong pieces of data. Another thing is that a system may be designed with a poor user-system interface. In such a way that nontechnical business users that must interact with the system is discourage because the system is excessively complicated and not user-friendly. This could also lead to other risk such as information risk and people risk.
If organizations change their system with new information system that is poorly designed, users of the said IS will not be able to use it to its full capacity. The IT/IS people of the company will also be exhausted answering queries from the end users on how to use the system.
I haven’t seen the IS or any other system of Concentrix, but according to a friend who works there they have a good and user-friendly systems for its employees.

Operation Risk Closely related to design risk, came about when the system does not run well. For example, information is not provided in a timely, efficient and accurate manner.
Operation risks may also include system and media failure.
System Failure is a soft crash that can occur because of a hardware failure or severe software issue whereas media failure is a hard crash. Physical storage media can fail for many reasons. One common cause of media failure is a hardware (disk) failure. When a media failure occurs, you must determine the extent of the damage and restore a server's data before resuming server operation. Media failure is tough blow for an organization since data which are lost in the time of the failure cannot be retrieved.

Data and Security Risk When changes are made without proper planning and study data might be lost or may become inaccessible. Also, security of the organization will be compromise because during the change or transition of systems, information leakage and loss is likely to happen. Therefore person not authorize to have the organizations information might have an access to it.
Base on our adopted organization users are required to have password and change it during a span of time. This might be weekly or monthly in which after the duration the computer automatically prompts that the user needs to change the password to ensure data security.

Technology Risk Another risk to consider is the technology. Upon making the information system, IT/IS people of certain organization must analyze new technologies and if the system they are making can still compete with other systems three to five years from now. Aside from that they must also conduct study or research if new software and technology are proven.



There are many risk in business and IS/IT changes and some that I mentioned here are just a few of those.
>Cost
>Design
>Operation
>Data and Security
>Technology

Therefore I conclude that changing an organization Information Systems is not an easy job. And that many factors and risk are to be considered before certain change is implemented. The people behind the MIS of an organization must conduct a feasibility study and analyze all information and angles of the situation before change is made. In this case IT people play a great role. They are the one who can determine the success or failure of an organization.

This is the same role that we will play when we enter the real world.


Sources:
www.google.com
encarta dictionaries
Management Information System A Contemporary Perspective
by Laudon, Laudon



jealou L. azucena lol! lol!

When you feel like giving up remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

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jealou azucena

jealou azucena


Posts : 25
Points : 27
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 34
Location : Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 6:52 pm

--- Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risk in business and IS/IT change?

Base on the company we visited (Synnex-Concentrix), I will present the risk in business and IS/IT change.

But first let us ask, what is IS/IT?
For us BSIT students some might already know the answer and others have ideas.

IS stands for Information Systems and can be defined as a set of procedures that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making and control. (Laudon, Laudon)

IT (Information Technology) means hardware plus software.

What is risk?
Risks are factors whose presence increases the probability of negative outcomes.

IS/IT in Concentrix is constantly evolving according to Concentrix MIS Supervisor. Before change is done the team conducts a feasibility study to assess if there is a need for change. The outcome of feasibility study will determine if the proposal is to be approved or rejected. This is done to minimize risk and errors. This also proves that the company has good management and managers.

But still risks are inevitable.
Almost all organizations encounter failure in there Information Systems. The major problem areas are design, data, cost, and operations. These problems can be attributed not only to technical features of information systems but to nontechnical sources as well.

So what are the risks if there is a change in IS/IT without a study beforehand?

Here are some…

Cost Risk Cost or financial risks occur when the cost to implement and run the information system on a production basis is way over budget. This means that information provide by the system does not justify the excessive expenditures use on it. Basically the output does not justify the cost and this is not good for business.
In Concentrix, they have own programmers who make their system. I think, this in source system development is a good practice to reduce cost.

Design Risk This happens when the actual design of the system fails to capture the essential business requirements. Information may not be provided quickly enough to be helpful; it may be in a format that is impossible to digest or use; or it may present wrong pieces of data. Another thing is that a system may be designed with a poor user-system interface. In such a way that nontechnical business users that must interact with the system is discourage because the system is excessively complicated and not user-friendly. This could also lead to other risk such as information risk and people risk.
If organizations change their system with new information system that is poorly designed, users of the said IS will not be able to use it to its full capacity. The IT/IS people of the company will also be exhausted answering queries from the end users on how to use the system.
I haven’t seen the IS or any other system of Concentrix, but according to a friend who works there they have a good and user-friendly systems for its employees.

Operation Risk Closely related to design risk, came about when the system does not run well. For example, information is not provided in a timely, efficient and accurate manner.
Operation risks may also include system and media failure.
System Failure is a soft crash that can occur because of a hardware failure or severe software issue whereas media failure is a hard crash. Physical storage media can fail for many reasons. One common cause of media failure is a hardware (disk) failure. When a media failure occurs, you must determine the extent of the damage and restore a server's data before resuming server operation. Media failure is tough blow for an organization since data which are lost in the time of the failure cannot be retrieved.

Data and Security Risk When changes are made without proper planning and study data might be lost or may become inaccessible. Also, security of the organization will be compromise because during the change or transition of systems, information leakage and loss is likely to happen. Therefore person not authorize to have the organizations information might have an access to it.
Base on our adopted organization users are required to have password and change it during a span of time. This might be weekly or monthly in which after the duration the computer automatically prompts that the user needs to change the password to ensure data security.

Technology Risk Another risk to consider is the technology. Upon making the information system, IT/IS people of certain organization must analyze new technologies and if the system they are making can still compete with other systems three to five years from now. Aside from that they must also conduct study or research if new software and technology are proven.



There are many risk in business and IS/IT changes and some that I mentioned here are just a few of those.
>Cost
>Design
>Operation
>Data and Security
>Technology

Therefore I conclude that changing an organization Information Systems is not an easy job. And that many factors and risk are to be considered before certain change is implemented. The people behind the MIS of an organization must conduct a feasibility study and analyze all information and angles of the situation before change is made. In this case IT people play a great role. They are the one who can determine the success or failure of an organization.

This is the same role that we will play when we enter the real world.


Sources:
www.google.com
encarta dictionaries
Management Information System A Contemporary Perspective
by Laudon, Laudon



jealou L. azucena lol! lol!

When you feel like giving up remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

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jealou azucena

jealou azucena


Posts : 25
Points : 27
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 34
Location : Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 6:52 pm

--- Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risk in business and IS/IT change?

Base on the company we visited (Synnex-Concentrix), I will present the risk in business and IS/IT change.

But first let us ask, what is IS/IT?
For us BSIT students some might already know the answer and others have ideas.

IS stands for Information Systems and can be defined as a set of procedures that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making and control. (Laudon, Laudon)

IT (Information Technology) means hardware plus software.

What is risk?
Risks are factors whose presence increases the probability of negative outcomes.

IS/IT in Concentrix is constantly evolving according to Concentrix MIS Supervisor. Before change is done the team conducts a feasibility study to assess if there is a need for change. The outcome of feasibility study will determine if the proposal is to be approved or rejected. This is done to minimize risk and errors. This also proves that the company has good management and managers.

But still risks are inevitable.
Almost all organizations encounter failure in there Information Systems. The major problem areas are design, data, cost, and operations. These problems can be attributed not only to technical features of information systems but to nontechnical sources as well.

So what are the risks if there is a change in IS/IT without a study beforehand?

Here are some…

Cost Risk Cost or financial risks occur when the cost to implement and run the information system on a production basis is way over budget. This means that information provide by the system does not justify the excessive expenditures use on it. Basically the output does not justify the cost and this is not good for business.
In Concentrix, they have own programmers who make their system. I think, this in source system development is a good practice to reduce cost.

Design Risk This happens when the actual design of the system fails to capture the essential business requirements. Information may not be provided quickly enough to be helpful; it may be in a format that is impossible to digest or use; or it may present wrong pieces of data. Another thing is that a system may be designed with a poor user-system interface. In such a way that nontechnical business users that must interact with the system is discourage because the system is excessively complicated and not user-friendly. This could also lead to other risk such as information risk and people risk.
If organizations change their system with new information system that is poorly designed, users of the said IS will not be able to use it to its full capacity. The IT/IS people of the company will also be exhausted answering queries from the end users on how to use the system.
I haven’t seen the IS or any other system of Concentrix, but according to a friend who works there they have a good and user-friendly systems for its employees.

Operation Risk Closely related to design risk, came about when the system does not run well. For example, information is not provided in a timely, efficient and accurate manner.
Operation risks may also include system and media failure.
System Failure is a soft crash that can occur because of a hardware failure or severe software issue whereas media failure is a hard crash. Physical storage media can fail for many reasons. One common cause of media failure is a hardware (disk) failure. When a media failure occurs, you must determine the extent of the damage and restore a server's data before resuming server operation. Media failure is tough blow for an organization since data which are lost in the time of the failure cannot be retrieved.

Data and Security Risk When changes are made without proper planning and study data might be lost or may become inaccessible. Also, security of the organization will be compromise because during the change or transition of systems, information leakage and loss is likely to happen. Therefore person not authorize to have the organizations information might have an access to it.
Base on our adopted organization users are required to have password and change it during a span of time. This might be weekly or monthly in which after the duration the computer automatically prompts that the user needs to change the password to ensure data security.

Technology Risk Another risk to consider is the technology. Upon making the information system, IT/IS people of certain organization must analyze new technologies and if the system they are making can still compete with other systems three to five years from now. Aside from that they must also conduct study or research if new software and technology are proven.



There are many risk in business and IS/IT changes and some that I mentioned here are just a few of those.
>Cost
>Design
>Operation
>Data and Security
>Technology

Therefore I conclude that changing an organization Information Systems is not an easy job. And that many factors and risk are to be considered before certain change is implemented. The people behind the MIS of an organization must conduct a feasibility study and analyze all information and angles of the situation before change is made. In this case IT people play a great role. They are the one who can determine the success or failure of an organization.

This is the same role that we will play when we enter the real world.


Sources:
www.google.com
encarta dictionaries
Management Information System A Contemporary Perspective
by Laudon, Laudon



jealou L. azucena lol! lol!

When you feel like giving up remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

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emilio jopia jr.




Posts : 47
Points : 47
Join date : 2009-06-22

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 7:11 pm

ASSIGNMENT 2 - MIS

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?

As the technology progress, the organization must adopt to these changes in order to make their businesses last. Organizations must also address or meet the needs and demands of the customers. So there’s a need for the organization or the company to change their IT/IS. But these changes may contain some risks that can have a negative outcome to the organization.

Our adopted company is Concentrix which mother company is Synnex which Lines of business include technical and customer support, sales and marketing, and back office transaction processing. Industry expertise in technology, communications, and consumer electronics

Here are the risks that I think associated with business and IT/IS change based on the organization that we had visited in bulleted form:
> financial risk
> functionality risk
>managing problem
> implementation problem
> Lack of expertise
> Application complexity
> lack of required knowledge


There are some risk associated with business and IS/IT change, one of which is the financial risk. Due to the changing phases of systems, new techniques and technologies business enterprise has invested in Information Technology (IT) /Information System (IS) to hasten and creating a systematize transactions. Some technologies adopted are not suitable to the environment or the needs of the organizations. Moreover embracing new technologies or system usually starts in a trial and error process so the risk factor here is financial risk since not all technologies/system can be use every time we fail. It involves large amount of capital to tests what are the suitable IS/IT in a particular business.
Also the cost of the training of the employee in order for them to know about the new system and we should also consider the cost of the new hardware or software if there is a need to change the old .

Another risk factor is the functionality risk if in case the projects fails to deliver the functionality that the organizations might have expected . Example of this is when the design of the new system fails to capture essentials business requirements. A sytem may be designed with a poor user-system interface . The way in which nontechnical business users must interact with the system. So how can we tell whether a system is unsuccessful or not? This is not always an easy question to answer. Not everyone may agree about the value or effectiveness of a particular information system. There are various criteria have been developed, but the following measures of system success I will mention are considered the most important. High levels system use, as measured by polling users, employing questionnaires, or monitoring parameters such as the volume of on-line transactions.
User satisfaction, as measured by questionnaires or interviews. This might include users’ opinions on the accuracy, timeliness, and relevance of information: on the quality of service; and perhaps on the schedule of operations.
Favorable attitudes of users about information systems and the information system staff. Achieved objectives, the extent to which the system meets its specified goals, as reflected by the quality of decision making relating from user of the system.

There is also a management problem with strategic transitions that be continually stated like how the organization obtain the maximal long-run benefit from the technology without destroying the positive features of the organization? Managers must adjust their policies to the technology, the environment constraints and opportunities (regulations, loyal customers), and the organization.

The implementation problems are considered typical for each stage of the systems developemnet life cycle when the implementation process is poorly managed. Time, money, and resources have been not been alloted to researching the problem. The problem remains poorly defined. Objectives of the implementation project will be vague and ambigous; benefits will be difficult to measure. Little or no time is spent in pleliminary planning. There are no standards to use in estimating preliminary cost or duration of the project.

Another risk is the application complexity. since systems differ dramatically in their size, scope, level of complexity, and organizational and technical components. Some systems development projects are more likely to fail because they carry a much higher of risk thatn others.

Lack of required knowledge, in changing the IS of an organization there are inadequate documentation of existing systems or incomplete findings from systems study activities. The staff should have knowledge about how to use the system. This may require an amount of time for them to know the system. Users may refuse to spend any time helping the project team gather the requisite information.

Now that the business has developed management may proceed to create another project for the new system. One risk involve is the project risk. Projects that cannot be completed within budget, schedule and/or quality constraints. There are times when one cannot beat the deadline so the project schedule cannot be attain. There is the greater tendency that the project may takes time to prepare and the allocated budget maybe affected since the time projected was not meet.


"Risk is fundamentally about uncertainty in work performance and the resulting outcomes."


http://emilios-blog-emilio.blogspot.com/ - emilio jopia jr.
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Michael George Guanzon

Michael George Guanzon


Posts : 39
Points : 51
Join date : 2009-06-23

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyWed Jul 08, 2009 7:21 pm

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?


Our adopted company was Dole Philippines, Founded in Hawaii in 1851, Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2007 revenues of $6.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research. The Company does business in more than 90 countries and employs, on average, 36,000 full-time, regular employees and 23,000 full-time seasonal or temporary employees, worldwide.

As the world's largest producer and marketer of high quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and with a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, the DOLE brand is synonymous with high quality standards and satisfaction. Dole has earned this reputation over the last 154 years thanks to its unwavering commitment to fulfill its customers' needs and consumers' expectations in the critical areas of quality assurance, food safety, traceability, environmental responsibility and social accountability.

First, we define Information System (IS)
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.

During our interview for assignment 1 with the MIS Internal programmer of Dole Philippines, We also discussed the risk associated with business and IT/IS change.We prepare some questions for her to answer and these are the list of risk that she mentioned.

User

When changing the information system of company, programmers must consider the end users. End users a person or group that is one of the ultimate consumers or users that a system has been designed for.

Sometimes users will find it difficult to understand the new system implemented. So, when you implement a new system it should be a user friendly for the user to easily understand and operate. This is very important because a system that is poorly designed and cannot be use effectively by end users does not meet the goal or requirements of the company.

System Failure

Failure with regards to the changes in the system of business or in an organization is a serious mistake and a threat to the company. Changes can lead to success or sometimes it can lead to failure. An example of this failure is associated with the system, it is called System Failure. System is the brain of the company. It keeps information needed by the company to assess its performance and help them make decisions. So if the system fails all operations are affected especially if this system is designed to be used by all the departments. If this is the case, then the changes will lead to the failure of the company.

Financial Risk or Cost

is normally any risk associated with any form of financing. Risk is probability of unfavorable condition; in financial sector it is the probability of actual return being less than expected return. There will be uncertainty in every business.

Security Risk

describes employing the concept of risk to the security risk management paradigm to make a particular determination of security orientated events.
is the demarcation of risk, into the security silo, from the broader enterprise risk management framework for the purposes of isolating and analyzing unique events, outcomes and consequences.
Security risk is often, quantitatively, represented as any event that compromises the assets, operations and objectives of an organization. 'Event', in the security paradigm, comprises those undertaken by actors intentionally for purposes that adversely affect the organization.

Data corruption

Data corruption refers to errors in computer data that occur during transmission or retrieval, introducing unintended changes to the original data. Computer storage and transmission systems use a number of measures to provide data integrity, the lack of errors. In general, when there is a Data Corruption, the file containing that data would be inaccessible, and the system or the related application will give an error. For example, if a Microsoft Word file is corrupted, when you try to open that file with MS Word, you will get an error message, and the file would not be opened. Some programs can give a suggestion to repair the file automatically (after the error), and some programs cannot repair it. It depends on the level of corruption, and the in-built functionality of the application to handle the error. There are various causes of the corruption.
Data corruption during transmission has a variety of causes. Interruption of data transmission causes information loss.
If you are going to change the information system of the company you have to plan what type of system you are going to change. You have to consider the factors and issues regarding the change before you implement it. Some of those factors to consider are:
Do you want to change the database?
Are you going to change or upgrade the system?
What type of language will be used for the new system?
The MIS Programmer said that whatever the data is in the system before change, it will be the same data that the users will be able to see or to access.

In general, changing information system has many risks to consider. Because
when changing the system it is the same in developing or improving a new system.


references:

http://dole.com/CompanyInfo/Company_Index.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_risk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_risk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_corruption
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Ma.AnnKristineTomada

Ma.AnnKristineTomada


Posts : 46
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Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 35
Location : Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyThu Jul 09, 2009 12:44 am

EMCOR Bajada

This is the continuation in my first assignment and assignment 2. Because we were not able to have a further discussion in our first visit to EMCOR Bajada, head office, we made a follow up visit there to us to be able gain more knowledge to their system with relates to this study.
The day after our first visit, we had left a questionnaire supposedly to be answered by the MIS manager and Sir Alex (we’re not able to ask his full name because of little time he gave us) but unfortunately they were not able to answer it. But the secretary called the EDP department to seek for approval if we could able to interview their system analyst, luckily he permitted us. After in HRD department we went to the next building to meet Mr. Marcelino Vistal Jr., EMCOR Inc. System Analyst.
It was 1991 when they had their first system run at DOS Base Clipper. But because of system can no longer accommodate transaction and also experience corruption of files, they decided to upgrade and change it into that run GUI in 1995.
Now, most of all process data are computerized or systemized. They have their general HR system, payroll system etc. Having this all system gives advantage to their company. In decision making, information’s needed can be collected in faster way. Also if they have to present a report, they can easily have the data required, compared to manually system they had reports were done one month delay because of time consuming of data gathering and the accuracy were at stake. With this, they can less their manpower because the big help of computerized systems. And because of their systems are in-house support it is cheaper compare in outsource.
It has also a disadvantage having computerized systems in their company. One of he mentioned was the costly connection. They pay 400,000Php monthly for the connection. Also, the maintenance of their computers adds to expenses. To connect all systems they had nationwide they had to buy server to be able to interconnect all their branch systems. The server they had in their department cost 30 million, in which 150 servers connected here in 110 branches in Mindanao.
He had enumerated the steps on how they plan on having their system; gather information, analysis, coding, debugging, implementation, testing and also the maintenance (they considered if the system is in a capacity). For security purposes, they had to back up all their files in daily, weekly, monthly and end of the year for the entire year of data. And back up done off side means in the other building. They also restrict their employee on the data they are going to access that’s why employees have their on user account to avoid intrusion to the company important documents and files.
And now, EMCOR are planning to improve their system. They have converted their old system to a new one with the help of SAP (I had already mention this to my first posted assignment). But the risks they encountered in changing their system are as follows.
It takes long time for it to convert to one language to another.
And according to him, one of their systems that they had converted took almost a year and until now it has not yet finish.
They must specify what are needed data or information must be move to the new system.
It is costly.
Because EMCOR considered as one of the big company here in the Philippines they have many systems interconnected that are needed to convert. So, they have decided to let SAP help them for the conversion.
Training to the staffs that use the new system.
There must be a necessary training for the IT staff and the general staff to run the information system. It also included here how they trouble shoot the system if problem occur. Since it is new system, a new way of operating the system and it must be study well the function of the system.



ANFLOCOR Damosa


Background:



The rise of the ANFLO Group business empire started from a vision of one man, Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr., or AOF, as he is fondly called by his employees. AOF's business acumen, inspired by his foresight and gut-feel, enabled him to build a business conglomerate which is proudly Mindanao based.



As the number of companies grew, the need to organize a company that would be entasked to manage the vast business empire became inevitable. Thus in 1977 ANFLO MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENT CORPORATION or ANFLOCOR was organized.



Today, ANFLOCOR manages several companies engaged in growing and exporting of bananas and pineapples, real estate development and leasing, beach resort operation, manufacturing of corrugated boxes, plastic products and labels, processing and/or supplying fresh meat products, growing of citrus fruits, trucking, arrastre and stevedoring, cold storage rental, automotive dealership, financing, retailing, breeding of race horses, hog raising and production of bottled preserves.



In our visit in ANFLOCOR, We were entertained by their ANFLOCOR Senior Manager- IT & Management Services, Mr. Giovanni T. Pimentel. I had learned that their system started using a COBOL. And for their Company’s advantages they had decided to convert their language into Visual Basic 6.0. And because of the need of improvement to their system performance, they shifted to new system. Their current system is run by Visual Basic dot Net. Having this system to their company is a big help in the controls to their business process. Systems are internally developed by their Internal Programmers. He shared that they never experience major problem with their system but they also incident for file corruption and power interruption. With this they secured their data or information by having back up in a daily basis and done off side just like at EMCOR. Back up files is also in other building.


He mentioned that they also encountered risks on changing IS or systems in their company. Challenge to orient their staffs for the new system, they need to train the users of the new system on its function and also how to trouble shoot. They need to purchase software requires for their system conversion. This would be costly, purchasing proprietary software. Also, it takes long time to change IS/IT on a company, as what Mr. Giovanni said they have to make Information System Plan. He also enumerated their steps to be considered on changing IT/IS system; planning, organizing, execute and measure. For his there always business continuity plans.

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Anflobldg2Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Anflologo

Reference:
http://www.anflocor.com/company.html

please see my blog, i post my evidences there...tnx sir!!!!

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AlyssaRae Soriano

AlyssaRae Soriano


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Age : 34

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyThu Jul 09, 2009 8:23 am

Topic : Based on the orgnaization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change? (1000 words)

In organizations without a formal information technology (IT) change management process, it is estimated that 80% of IT service outage problems are caused by updates and alterations to systems, applications, and infrastructure. Consequently, one of the first areas to address to improve service reliability is to track all changes and systematically manage change with full knowledge of the risks of the change and the potential organizational impact. While tracking change events is fairly well understood and is a common practice, consistently and reliably predicting the impact of change requires a disciplined, standards-based approach to assessing risk and likelihood of impact, a technique not usually found in off-the-shelf change tracking tools. –PNNL, Joanne R. Hugi


Since that the company I conducted an interview in my previous assignment was SONY, to be consistent, I would still used this company as my reference for this current assignment. Sony is still located at Magallanes beside Aljem's Inn. Based on the interview I conducted two weeks ago, I observed that even a large and international company like SONY can be very dwarf in terms of their Information System. I mean, as what their assigned IT said, their home base or main server is located at MANILA, therefore, all the sales, expenses, and other important matters are relayed via internet.


But still, he gave me some of the problems they encounter as their IS change. Since they relay data via internet, one of their problem is NETWORK CONNECTION, according to him, this happens every time especially when an interruption to the signal occurs. Some of the said possible reasons (internet based) were it may be that you have simply made a typing mistake, and there is an error in the name of the remote host computer. In this case you should also receive an error stating that the host is unknown. Second, There may be problems with the configuration or physical setup of the network connection. Verify that other network connections are functioning. And, there may also be a temporary problem with the remote host computer. If this is the case, you should wait for a while and try to connect again later. Contact the administrator of the remote host computer for additional information.


SONY as stated earlier has only ONE MAIN SOURCE, or they only have one main server which is currently located in Manila. Therefore, if IT personnel changes or there IS (Information System) changes, it would be very difficult for the new employee (if IT personnel changes) to cope up with the main server unless if He is used to having a main server on a far area or location. Data Recovery would also be prolonged if their would be an IS change, IT personnel in charged especially if it is outsourcing, would feel different and likely would not use the new implemented system.


But then before a change of a system, a company such as SONY focuses on controlling the integrity of information systems and resources, including all network devices, computer systems, applications, and databases in the infrastructure. To accomplish this, the change management process tracks all changes and requires reviews and approvals commensurate with the potential impact of the change. To promote thorough consideration of change impact prior to instituting the change, the process is integrated with the systems and software development lifecycle: change risks are considered before systems are built and tested. Modifications to the change release plan during the build and test phases are allowed, but the plan will be reviewed before implementation is approved. After implementation, a release status report records the success of the change, permitting self-assessment of change effectiveness.


My learnings are, actually, a system needs to be changed in order to improve its efficiency and competitiveness. Even though a change is crucial to a success, but still as an IT we must accept and embrace change, since that technology is fast pacing, nothing is constant except CHANGE nowadays, we really have to deal with it. But as changes occur, we must make sure that we keep on the right track. Implementing changes is a repeatable process, one must learn to get abide with it as quick as it should be.

REFERENCE:
http://web.reed.edu/nwacc/programs/awards/excellence_award/pnnl_submissions_07/pnnl_risk-based_it_change_management.pdf
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basith_jumat

basith_jumat


Posts : 49
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Age : 37

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyThu Jul 09, 2009 8:27 pm

Hi Sir…

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Anflobldg2

I and my group chose the ANFLOCOR for our individual study about the risks of changing an Information System.. It’s hard for us to set an appointment for their manager because he was to busy with his career. I thought choosing the ANFLOCOR as our adopt company is a big opportunity for us to catch up knowledge for our module and major paper but unfortunately we got mistaken because some of our question regarding Information System are hanging. He didn’t answer the question well; I don’t know if he has an idea on what are we talking about or he just don’t want to share his knowledge to us, but we really thankful to him that some of our question was answered by him.

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 1_101620708l

Actually ANFLOCOR it’s one of the top exclusive company here in davao. The rise of the ANFLO Group business empire started from a vision of one man, Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr., or AOF, as he is fondly called by his employees. AOF's business acumen, inspired by his foresight and gut-feel, enabled him to build a business conglomerate which is proudly Mindanao based.As the number of companies grew, the need to organize a company that would be en tasked to manage the vast business empire became inevitable. Thus in 1977 ANFLO MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENT CORPORATION or ANFLOCOR was organized. Today, ANFLOCOR manages several companies engaged in growing and exporting of bananas and pineapples, real estate development and leasing, beach resort operation, manufacturing of corrugated boxes, plastic products and labels, processing and/or supplying fresh meat products, growing of citrus fruits, trucking, arrastre and stevedoring, cold storage rental, automotive dealership, financing, retailing, breeding of race horses, hog raising and production of bottled preserves.

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 1_150527885l

The risks of changing an Information System, Actually everybody has a risk in changing an Information System basically for ANFLOCOR was the cost and some of their employee who was not updated for the new technology. As we all know one of the major disadvantages of having Information System in the organization or in the business group was the cost. Same with ANFLOCOR they experience this kind of disadvantage. Using Database Management System (DBMS) was too expensive for a business group like ANFLOCOR because they have a lot of company to manage and they need a better and good server so that their business transaction done on time. For the employee parts, their programmer and Data Administrator (DA), even their regular employee under the MIS Department, are necessary to update but a good news is they are conducting a seminar for their employee on what is the proper used of the Information System. The first Language that they used in their system was COBOL and then they upgrade it to Visual Basic 6.0, and now they are currently using a Visual Basic.NET for their front end and MS-SQL for their back end. Also the Integrity of their data was not maintained because of some changes in their Business system but it’s just for temporary. They can resolve it faster but we can’t avoid for that thing. Hehehe!

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 1_495090496l

I learned a lot in this topic even the manager was not answered our question well but I still understand on what they are trying to say. Hoping that I can use it in the near future or even after taking this subject I can apply it to my other subject. See you again guys!!!!

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 1_524960698l

http://www.anflocor.com


Last edited by basith_jumat on Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:17 am; edited 2 times in total
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karl philip abregana

karl philip abregana


Posts : 29
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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyThu Jul 09, 2009 10:29 pm

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?



We have visited GH Office Depot to conduct an interview regarding with the risks associated with business and IS/IT change,the IT staff said that it has a big effect if there is a changed in IS/IT,most of their transactions used technology with that a sudden changed would affect their business.

Given the serious security risks to information technology (IT) assets, managing those risks effectively is an essential task for the University and its departments. The process is one that will benefit both the individual department and the University as a whole. Completing such a risk management process is extremely important in today’s advanced technological world. It is important that management understand what risks exist in their IT environment, and how those risks can be reduced or even eliminated.

Like fire insurance, ITS-RM is a form of protection that the University simply can not afford not to have. The University has business processes, research and instructional efforts, and legally protected data that depend on IT assets, which UVa cannot afford to lose or have exposed. Unfortunately, these IT assets are subject to an increasing number of threats, attacks and vulnerabilities, against which more protection is continually required. The ITS-RM program is an essential component in this overall effort.

Although the IT Security Risk Management (ITS-RM) program will likely be welcomed by departments that have already experienced loss of mission-critical IT resources, many will not fully appreciate the need for assessment and planning. Consequently, a University policy regarding participation is necessary.



Effects of Technology on Business

Businesses have been at the forefront of technology for ages. Whatever can speed production will draw in more business. As computers emerged in the 20th century, they promised a new age of information technology. But in order to reap the benefits, businesses needed to adapt and change their infrastructure [source: McKenney]. For example, American Airlines started using a computerized flight booking system, and Bank of America took on an automated check-processing system.
Obviously, now, most business is conducted over personal computers or communication devices. Computers offer companies a way to organize dense databases, personal schedules and various other forms of essential information

As information travels faster and faster and more reliably, barriers of distance disappear, and businesses are realizing how easy it is to outsource jobs overseas. Outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring employees who work outside the company or remotely -- and even halfway across the world. Companies can outsource duties such as computer programming and telephone customer service. They can even outsource fast-food restuarant service -- don't be surprised if you're putting in your hamburger order with a fast-food employee working in a different country entirely. Outsourcing is a controversial practice, and many believe that U.S. companies who take part are hurting the job market in their own country. Nonetheless, from a business perspective, it seems like the wisest route, saving companies between 30 and 70 percent [source: Otterman].

Another technology that's starting to revolutionize business is actually not very new -- it's just cheaper these days. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is infiltrating and changing business significantly in a few ways. Microchips that store information (such as a number equivalent of a barcode and even an up-to-date history of the chip's travels) can be attached to product, and this helps companies keep track of their inventory.

Some businesses have even begun to use RFID chip implants in humans to tighten security. An access control reader detects the chip's signal and permits the employee access to the door. But many people are concerned about privacy issues if this were to become widespread practice.


references:

http://www.itc.virginia.edu/security/riskmanagement/
http://communication.howstuffworks.com/technology-changed-business1.htm
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Marren Pequiro

Marren Pequiro


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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyFri Jul 10, 2009 7:01 pm

DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY


Regarding the Assignment 2 which tackle about the risks associated with business and IS/IT change, we considered the Davao Light and Power Company as our adopted organization.

Davao Light and Power Company is the third largest privately owned electric utility in the Philippines. One of the country's top 300 corporations, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group of Companies' investment arm, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. It holds the franchise for distributing electric power to Davao City, the largest city in the world in terms of land area, as well as Panabo City and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte. On September 29, 2000, the franchise was renewed for another 25 years by virtue of Republic Act 8960.

It was just this Wednesday, July 8, 2009, when Davao Light and Power Company texted us and confirmed that we could conduct a three hour interview with them. It was scheduled on July 9, 2009, Thursday, yesterday actually. There were five of us in our group and four from the other group who were given the chance by them. They gave us a very warm welcome and headed toward their Conference room to be our venue for the presentation they have prepared and fro the proper interview. Our interviewee is part of the Information System Department (ISD), one of the department that composes their Information Services Group (ISG).

Anyways, he first showed us a presentation illustrating their Management Information System. He also presented the development of some of the hardware and the systems being used for the data processing of the company. It was from 1978 when they started to evolve from a lower level of systems until they have came up there new system for the present usage. He illustrated that the Electronics Data Processing building have been using the Nova 2 Data General Corporation Computer for handing out the data, with the features of process data 3oo lines per minute, 64 kb and 3 CRT. From then on, they transfer to NCR Century 201. They used it form 1978 – 1983. Unlike to NOVA 2, it process much data for 3000 lines per minute, 128 kb, 2x655 5 mb Disk drive and 2x657 96 mb Disk drive. Then on 1983 – 1994, the Electronics Data Processing building, was been changed to a department and manage the data using the IBM Mainframe 4331 and 4361. Their primary programming language that time is the COBOL or the COmmon Business-Oriented Language.

Until such time the growth of the company have reached its highest peak, clipper has been introduced to them. Clipper is a computer programming language that is used to create software programs that originally operated primarily under DOS. Although it is a powerful general-purpose programming language, it was primarily used to create database/business programs. For the past few years, the Davao Light and Power Company have been in the business. Not only the systems but also the structure of their Organization have gone through changes also.

Changes have been made in order to enhance the performance of their database, which is the one responsible for storing all the data being process in the company. With the existence of technology, a lot of things have been discovered and instituted to them. These particular things have been amended of course for the benefit of their company. Well, if we talk about alteration and changes, we can never let go of risks associated with it. Especially in the business, risks have been considered also. As we asked our interviewee, about the risks associated with business and IS/IT change in their company, he then started to list some risk they have encountered so far.

1. Comparison of the new system to the old one - He gave us an example of the situation which happened in 2005. That time the programming language they have been using is the clipper. But they just observed that every month their system always crash. He described the clipper as a not robust for their database. Because of this, they begun using the Oracle as their foremost database management system up to this present. Although Oracle, have given them much easier tasks as its processed data more faster than the clipper, still there’s lacking to. The users of the databases have been commenting sometimes about the new one, that the old one is more great. Lot of comparisons have arises. In this situation, adopting new system is not that easy even if it do more great works than the previous one.

2. Financial - Adjusting to the latest changes made have been an issue and also a risk. We can never deny that financial aspect is always a factor when newborn technology pioneered in an organization. They will always considered the cost of the product that will be using.

3. Piracy – this kind of situation is not already new to them. It is about their employee being pirated by other companies. The setting is, the employees have just limited knowledge of some programming language. But as technology grows, their expertise should widen also. That’s why they decide to learn these things also. Once the other company knew about this, that this particular man is good with this, they immediately offer a new job with an immense salary. As usual, no man can be reluctant with this kind of offer. Then with this changes, the risk of being pirated could never been denied.

4. Security – this are the risk associated with the vulnerability of the system, information and networks. Risk of intrusions and connectivity to other vulnerable systems risk associated with the evolution of credible threats.

5. Organizational and change management – this is the risk associated with organizational, agency or government- wide cultural resistance to change and standardization; risk associated with bypassing or lack of use improper use or adherence to new systems and processes because of organizational structure and culture; inadequate training planning.


Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 102med12


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org
www.davaolight.com


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charmaine_dayanan

charmaine_dayanan


Posts : 60
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Age : 33
Location : Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: risks associated with business and IS/IT change...   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyFri Jul 10, 2009 9:19 pm

[I express regret for I posted this late..It's just that the available company/organization ready for an interview made the schedule and of course, who am I to plead? haha..Hmm...]


In relation to my assignment number 1 in which I have identified some best practices in IS/IT of a certain organization, I will now first discuss about the risks associated with business and IT/IS change to the first company we have visited before - the Columbia Computer Center.

Various threats poses to a company's business and security matters as much as they have their edges in modern practices of technologies. As I recall, Columbia uses the following practices: Biometrics, MYOB, and CCTV to name a few. These practices offer convenience, data-reliability, and security to their business process. Yet there are also several disadvantages in usage of these things.

In the case of Biometric system, in which they use fingerprint scanners and code inputs for employees' log in and log out, the main disadvantage here is the instance when the scanning machine malfunctions. If that would be the case, the management will have no choice but to temporarily go back to the manual system of recording the attendance of the employees to be reflected on their daily time record. This would give hassle to the company since the work will be doubled. The view of the other offices through the CCTVs relies on the Internet. If there would be no Internet signal, the branches especially the main office would not be able to monitor the other office online. Another main disadvantage is, if the other branch would turn off all CCTV cameras connected in their office. Naturally, the accessing branch cannot see what's going on since the CCTV streaming is live. Also, the company is dependent on the Internet in that, when some customers ask for certain descriptions of some products, and to easily describe it, the employees search it online. Internet plays a big role in the business. The networking of data by branch is done also through QuickShare and that includes Internet usage. The MYOB (inventory system) would greatly affect the business operations if the data would not be backed up, and if the system will fail, there are no network connections from which the saved data will be copied from (because only the main branch holds the data of the other branches, and it is only the main office that is able to access the records of the other offices. The other offices only have access to their data. As they describe it, their accounting, sales or inventory, credits, etc are placed in the same software program...

The second company I've visited is the Davao Light and Power Co., in Ponciano St., Davao City. In our interview (me and several classmates) with the Report Infrastructure Manager of the IT Services Group, we first discussed the evolution of the Information Systems that the company has right now. As we were informed of a part of the company's history, I was able to notice the gradual change in the hardware/software aspect(s) to cope up with the needs of the organization. They've changed various servers - mainframes, programming language, networking.

In their Password Management side, where they use Biometrics in employees' log in and log out, they have to change their password every 90 days. Our interviewee added that the passwords should not repeat otherwise their account would be locked. Passwords also have recommended format. It should be alphanumeric, with a minimum of 2 alpha characters and 2 numeric characters, and should have a length of 8 characters. I think this is quite bothering to the employees' part. What if they run out of potential passwords? What if there would be instances that the employees tend to forget their current passwords? They have to call for some IT personnel for help and this is hassle on both sides of the employee and the programmers. If there were also complicated passwords such as those containing special characters adds to the complexity of the system.

In what they call as Systems Development Cycle where they form group policies to also address security, they organize a User Acceptance Test in which new strategies will be tested, and users must actually complain before the actual system will be finalized and implemented. In this case, I think this is quite time-consuming in the sense that if there would be no sooner reactions from the users who tested it, the implementations would be delayed, thus, delaying the process of addressing the problem.

It was on 2005 that they changed from Clipper to Oracle. Clipper is a good programming language but is not robust. It is because of this primary issue that they've changed into Oracle. As years passed, their data bacame bigger and bigger so there was a need to migrate into a more robust database. Clipper is good in terms of network connections since it can hold many clients, making it convenient to use. Yet they have to let go to a another database so to cater their needs especially in security aspects.

Another risk is the issue of 'piracy' in their employees. In our modern technology today, many people know several programming languages with the help of the Internet and open source softwares. More and more people are skillful enough in various fields. In the history of Davao Light, they have experienced several instances where their IT personnel were pirated to another companies and some reasons were of personal preference. Like for example, salary or income. Others will give in to some offers of other organizations which they think is better than what their company can provide. Sir Emil said that the company cannot really stop anybody from that because those were personal decisions of their employees. On this matter, I think it would be a disadvantage on the company's part. If most of their IT personnel would be like this, there would be instances in the future when almost all of the employees will be pirated. Those who are trusted in their particular tasks, once leave the company, their tasks would also be left, either uncompleted or discontinued or hanging. The administration will have to spend trainings for the ones who will replace those who left. The company will surely regret it if the trusted people or those who are already masters in their fields will be gone in the company for good. Their skills are of course, needed in the company yet the management can't stop them if they decide to prefer to the greener pasture where better opportunity calls.

Nothing is constant except change. In order for an organization to gain success in business, they have to undergo several changes in the management, equipments, material and supplies, and operations. That is why there is a need to upgrade programs and systems to cope up with the advancement of technology in the modern era. But not all changes bring benefits, they also have disadvantages. But according to Davao Light, it is based on what is really needed in a certain organization that necessities are addressed. If you opt for a secured system, then you might consider less convenience. If you choose to be convenient in using the system, chances are, you might have slight security difficulties. In order to properly address the problems of the organization, a good decision should be made, a fair and balanced decision should be made.
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brian c. namuag

brian c. namuag


Posts : 61
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Join date : 2009-06-19
Age : 32
Location : Philippines, Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: MIS Assignment # 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySat Jul 11, 2009 2:33 am

Information System and Information Technology Best Practices. ABS-CBN Corporation is the company we choose to conduct our Management Information System study. This is the profile of the company.


ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (PSE: ABS) (ABS-CBN: "Alto Broadcasting System-Chronicle Broadcasting Network") is a Philippine-based multi-media conglomerate. It is an integrated media and entertainment company in the Philippines with 42 subsidiaries and an asset base of more than PHP34 billion (US$707.09 million) as of March 2009. ABS-CBN is principally involved in television and radio broadcasting, as well as the production of television programming for domestic and international audiences and other related businesses. It was founded on June 13, 1946 (62), becoming Asia's first commercial television broadcaster in 1953. It is part of the Lopez Group of Companie. It also broadcasts content to the rest of the world through The Filipino Channel (TFC Direct), TFCko (video on demand) and TFCnow internet TV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS-CBN_Broadcasting_Corporation


ABS-CBN Corporation presented to us their Information System and Information Technology best practices. Headed by Mr. Bobby C. Nolasco, engineer manager of engineering’s department, he gave us the systems which ABS-CBN used from late centuries until now. With my group mates in Human Resource Management, we interview Mr. Nolasco together with his assistant manager; he detailed some information’s that we need in the study. We’ve learned various things about news, systems they use, personnel, strategies, and how they handle some problems without the help of IT professionals. As what they said they are “Superman” because of their ability to maintain and finance all the needs of engineering department. They can be a programmer, engineer, and manager. Here are the systems which ABS-CBN Corporation used:


Newsroom Management

The Newsroom can be one of the most high energy environments in a radio station, making it one of the places that can benefit the most from having the right tools. Newsroom management software from Broadcast Electronics can more than just gather wire stories and audio feeds from newswire services. NewsBoss is the complete package for radio newsrooms. All aspects of your news operation are addressed with intuitive tools designed to streamline operations.

Easily gather wire stories and audio feeds from newswire services, create scripts and audio cuts using either original material or network material, manage the scripts and audio cuts to quickly build a newscast, and present the newscast On-Air with the best tools in the business. Having the right suite of tools means your news staff will be able to spend more time on the things that really matter, contrbuting to the overall sound and success of your station. The NewsBoss advantage is the ease and speed with which these tasks can be accomplished. For more detailed information, either download the NewsBoss brochure or visit the NewsBoss website, where you can also find manuals and information on support options.

http://www.bdcast.com/hierarchy/secondary.php?maj=101&sec=225



Aspera Enterprise Server and Aspera Point-to-Point

1. Introduction

Permission determines who can access certain files, thus it is an essential organization that corresponds to how work groups collaborate. This document instructs you how to set up the proper user permission on your server machine that runs either Aspera enterprise Server or Aspera Scp for Point-to-Point, also explains the permission of transferred files.

2. Configuring User Accounts on the Server

The Aspera Enterprise Server and Aspera Scp for Point-to-Point use the same user account management system as your system. Users connecting to this server can use their system accounts to log in with equivalent permissions.

2.1 Windows

All incoming connections require authentication against Aspera-enabled Windows user accounts. If you want to enable a user that doesn't already exist on your system, on Windows 2000/XP you can create one in Control Panel -> User Accounts; on Windows 2003 go to Start menu -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management. For additional help on managing user accounts, please refer to the Windows manual.


http://www.asperasoft.com/en/support/how_tos_8/Managing_user_and_file_permissions_20



ITS (Issue Tracking System)

An issue tracking system (also called trouble ticket system or incident ticket system) is a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues, as needed by an organization. Issue tracking systems are commonly used in an organization's customer support call center to create, update, and resolve reported customer issues, or even issues reported by that organization's other employees. An issue tracking system often also contains a knowledge base containing information on each customer, resolutions to common problems, and other such data. An issue tracking system is similar to a "bugtracker", and often, a software company will sell both, and some bugtrackers are capable of being used as an issue tracking system, and vice versa.

A ticket is a file contained within an issue tracking system which contains information about support interventions made by technical support staff or third parties on behalf of an end user who has reported an incident that is preventing them from working with their computer as they would expect to be able to. Tickets are commonly created in a help desk or call center environment. Typically the ticket will have a unique reference number, also known as a case, issue or call log number which is used to allow the user or support staff to quickly locate, add to or communicate the status of the users issue or request. These tickets are so called because of their origin as small cards within a typical wall mounted work planning system when this kind of support started. Operators or staff receiving a call or query from a user would fill out a small card with the user's details and a brief summary of the request and place it into a position (usually the last) in a column of pending slots for an appropriate engineer, so determining the staff member who would deal with the query and the priority of the request.

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



Lotus Notes


Lotus Notes is a client-server, collaborative application developed and sold by IBM Software Group. IBM defines the software as an "integrated desktop client option for accessing business e-mail, calendars and applications on [an] IBM Lotus Domino server. The Notes client is mainly used as an email client, but also acts as an instant messaging client (for Lotus Sametime), browser, notebook, and calendar/resource reservation client, as well as a platform for interacting with collaborative applications.

In the early days of the product, the most common applications were threaded discussions and simple contact management databases. Today Notes also provide blogs, wikis, RSS aggregators, CRM and Help Deskapplications for Notes using Domino Designer. systems, and organizations can build a variety of custom. The Notes client can be used as an IMAP and POP e-mail client with non-domino mail servers. Recipient addresses can be retrieved from any LDAP server, including Active Directory. The client also does web browsing although it can be configured to launch the default browser instead. Features include group calendaring and scheduling, SMTP/MIME-based e-mail, NNTP-based news support, and automatic HTML conversion of all documents by the Domino HTTP task.

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


SAP

SAP provides a comprehensive range of business software and enterprise applications – designed for global operations and supported with globalization services – to empower every aspect of your business.

You gain the visibility to pinpoint inefficiencies – and the capabilities to transform them into competitive advantage. The foresight to identify new opportunities – and the agility to respond. The functionality to optimize your operations – and resources to extend best practices to your entire value chain.


http://www.sap.com/solutions/index.epx


Lout


The Lout system reads a high-level description of a document similar in style to LaTeX and produces a PostScript file which can be printed on many laser printers and graphic display devices. Plain text output is also available. Lout offers an unprecedented range of advanced features, including optimal paragraph and page breaking, automatic hyphenation, PostScript EPS file inclusion and generation, equation formatting, tables, diagrams, rotation and scaling, sorted indexes, bibliographic databases, running headers and odd-even pages, automatic cross referencing, multilingual documents including hyphenation (most European languages are supported, including Russian), formatting of C/C++ programs, and much more, all ready to use. Furthermore, Lout is easily extended with definitions which are very much easier to write than troff of TeX macros because Lout is a high-level language, the outcome of an eight-year research project that went back to the beginning. (from rpm description)


http://linux.maruhn.com/sec/lout.html



This are the best Information System and Information Technology practices of ABS-CBN Corporation.We thank them for sharing this incredible opportunities to us to learn and see how this corporation works in the field of IT.




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Ariel Serenado

Ariel Serenado


Posts : 58
Points : 66
Join date : 2009-06-20
Age : 33
Location : Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Risk associated with Business and IT/IS change...   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySat Jul 11, 2009 4:49 am

This assignment is with reference to the visited local organization in assignment 1. With this, it is not the Best IT/IS practices but the risks associated with business and IS/IT change.

Same company we visited for assignment 2 which was the Hubport Group Interactive, located at the 3rd Floor Conpinco Building, along J.P Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City. The same person we interviewed regarding this assignment and it was Mr. Paulo Saravia, the Operations Officer at Hubport Interactive Inc. Also, he is a Web Designer, Project Manager and under training in Operations Management for Information Technology / Management and Business Process Outsourcing. Besides, he is specializing in IT business process development, IT product branding, human resource acquisition, project management, client negotiations, web design, application process design, interactive flash development and many more.

According to Mr. Saravia, Hubport started with only 6 (six) developers and 2 (two) designers; as to their facilities they started with the basic software, of course basic hardwareincludes computer units. Since it is not easy to invest with competitive systems, the company was not able to acquire it until late 2006-2007 marked the breakthrough of the company when it comes to the systems used, from basic software to high level ones, from basic hardware to the upgraded ones

For this time, what we have known are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change.

In this section “risks” is being centered. By the way what is risk??

By definition, RISK is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of values and, as such, eventualities may have both beneficial and adverse consequences. However, in general usage the convention is to focus only on potential negative impact to some characteristic of value that may arise from a future event. Risk can be defined as “the threat or probability that an action or event will adversely or beneficially affect an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives”. In simple terms risks is ‘Uncertainty of Outcome’, either from pursuing a future positive opportunity, or an existing negative threat in trying to achieve a current objective.

In this case, the event is the change in the field of Information Technology/Information System and the change in Business Environment. With new technology as one of the key drivers in maintaining competitive advantage and continuity success in the business sector, change is one of the few constants within the said sector. Any change, especially fast-paced change creates risk – on a technical as well as operational level. Risk needs to be recognized, evaluated and managed if the organization and their customers are to benefit, rather than suffer, from change.

From the interview we conducted to the IT officer, he gave us this following information:

For the risk associated with IT/IS change, here are the following:

1. Rejection of the Staff.

Unfortunately, new information technology causes a fundamental change in the workplace. Thus, organizational change is always a challenge and often causes a rejection on the part of employees and the management side. Hubport is an international-based company, the company should relate to demand that there are still branches outside the main branch of the company which requires also the fast responsiveness on the change. Therefore, the company would understand rejection of employees, instead of having many employees to attain on the needs of every branch what; will happen is that only one employee will be managing the branch and that is the manager. This is to address that in every high flexible and more effective processes there is an optimizing cost.

2. Major Change:
Data Loss

Despite technological advances in the reliability of magnetic storage media, data loss continues to rise, making data recovery more important than ever. Because of the IT/IS change, there is a risk on data loss. Data loss may come in different form – Intentional, Unintentional, Failure and Disaster. Failure and human error are the two identified causes of data loss. The only way to recover form data loss is having a Recovery Plan probably storage in separate location.

Operating system errors account for a large percentage of data loss. Virus attacks and spyware can bring down a system and erase critical data. The operating system will not boot if located on the same drive as the compromised hard disk, as it will indicate that the operating system is not found.


In the whole interview with Mr. Saravia, he centered his discussion on the major changes in business environment. The following are:

1. Security.


“Business is secured with IS”, Mr. Saravia added, with the help of the competitive systems that they are using it tends to update them with latest enhancement projection. There is a “one-way monitoring” with IS.

2. Dissemination is clear.

With the help of the Information System through a VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol, the company is providing a complete access on the services that the company is offering.

Some of the questions raised during the interview were:

1. What procedures are in place for controlling the development of software
applications and changes to those applications?

Software Development Life Cycle

This means that the applications of the systems are “time and material based”, for without this basis there is a risk factor that customer won’t follow do necessary payments regarding the application requested by the customer. The company is actually using the “waterfall method”. A waterfall method is a sequential software development process, to which progress is seen as flowing steadily through the phases of Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification and Maintenance.

The waterfall method model maintains that one should move to a phase only when its preceding phase is completed and perfected.

2. Cite some trends in global business environment that have made IS vital?

Global Financial Crisis

Because of this Global Financial crisis the company is looking for other companies to become partners in managing the business. In order to mitigate and manage the service continuity plan of the company.

High System Requirements

System requirements may include License Certification. This enables to meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society. Also involves, requirement on effective and competitive systems to cope with the greater demand.

Despite all the advances of technology there appear to have risks. This is because of the changes in terms of the systems that the company is using. That is why risks should be expected at any point and should be taken into account to avoid the greatest risk on business malfunction. Data loss is considered the major change on the IT/IS change and it seems to be apparent with the rest of the companies.Also, nowadays we all move along at such a fast pace that any disruption can prove to be disastrous, especially if that problem stems from computer data loss. We depend so much on one piece of machinery that losing precious data, time, and productivity can lead to bigger concerns. There are many common issues that arise that can be the culprit and happen at any time.

The visit…the interview…

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 All11

The group with Mr. Paulo Saravia, Operations Manager, Hubport Interactive.

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Ako11

Ariel Serenado at Hubport Interactive.


Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk
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Stihl Lhyn Samonte

Stihl Lhyn Samonte


Posts : 55
Points : 55
Join date : 2009-06-22
Location : sasa, davao city

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: ASSignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySat Jul 11, 2009 7:10 am

The company we visited for assignment 2 was the Hubport Group Interactive.

Hubport Group Interactive, enables a business to build an imperative subsistence in theo nline B2C (Business-to-Consumer) space. We empower your website to attain optimum function and revolutionize your business by creating online channels toeffectively connect with existing clients and successfully tap new ones. Ouraccomplished E-Commerce Storefront encoders, Retail Shop Managers, Online Marketing Consultants, and Production Team associates provide the technology backbone that launch prospering and profitable websites.
Satelliteoffices in North America, the U.K.,and an upcoming presence in Japan help counter communication, and accessibility issues. Subsequently, creating a smooth working relationship between client and service provider. Projects are delivered on time, with little or no hitches. Our fulfillment teams observe a synchronized shifting schedule to accommodate client concerns at any time most convenient to them. Hubport Interactive Inc. is sensitive to a clients’ web investment margin and his ultimate goal of increasing profits.

  • Their best practices on the field of Information Technology and Information System.
1. ISO Certifications.

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. It is an internationally recognized standard for the quality management of businesses. It applies to the processes that create and control the products and services an organization supplies. It prescribes systematic control of activities to ensure that the needs and expectations of customers are met. It is designed and intended to apply to virtually any product or service, made by any process anywhere in the world. The benefits of this certification is the key reason why Hubport has been practicing this certification. Implementing a Quality Management System will motivate staff by defining their key roles and responsibilities. Cost savings can be made through improved efficiency and productivity, as product or service deficiencies will be highlighted. From this, improvements can be developed, resulting in less waste, inappropriate or rejected work and fewer complaints. Customers will notice that orders are met consistently, on time and to the correct specification. This can open up the market place to increased opportunities. “By the certification we can cope with the minor and the major changes of the business”, Mr. Saravia added. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

2. Proper Documentation.


Proper documentation is really important in a business organization. It enables to have a “roll back”. Roll back has something to do with recovery plan of a certain system. Using the roll back system, this will restore the transaction being made before a system has been interrupted in any instance. If any interruption will happen the administrator can manipulate to do the roll back, to restore the transaction before the interruption (e.g. Power Interruption) occurred. Also, the work of the roll back is similar to “UNDO”. Basically, UNDO is used every time the user wish to revert the current version of the page, turning back the page to its original version.

3. Security

It includes FIREWALL, SPYWARES and etc. Firewall is a part of the computer system to block unauthorized access while permitting authorized communications within the network of the organization. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. Spywares. It is installed on personal computers to collect information about the users their computer or browsing habits without their informed consent. With Hubport, IT personnel are very particular with this security system for some of the data and information requires confidentiality. In the case of Hubport, every system unit designated in every department of the company has NO CD/DVD Rom NOR USB Ports. If one wished to print some information, he/she must go to the IT department where printing of information is made possible to check the print outs as to the data to stick on their practice which is confidentiality with the information within the private network of the organization.

4. Disaster Recovery Plan.

This plan is intended to mitigate and manage if there is a disaster happening, such as in case of fire also includes server break down. This is one of the measures that Hubport is practicing in their communication plan. Disaster recovery planning is a subset of a larger process known as business continuity planning and should include planning for resumption of applications, data, hardware, communications (such as networking) and other IT infrastructure. In the case of Hubport, they used 3 internet servers; if and when one server will experience break down then it will be easy for the manager to connect to the other internet server. Also, they are monitoring as to which of the servers work faster in terms of its bandwidth. This is to practice IT related infrastructure recovery and continuity plan. Furthermore, disaster recovery planning is the aim of the organization in avoiding larger losses in the event that the business cannot continue to function due to loss of IT infrastructure and data.

  • The risks associated with business and IS/IT change.
1. Rejection of the Staff.

Unfortunately, new information technology causes a fundamental change in the workplace. Thus, organizational change is always a challenge and often causes a rejection on the part of employees and the management side. Hubport is an international-based company, the company should relate to demand that there are still branches outside the main branch of the company which requires also the fast responsiveness on the change. Therefore, the company would understand rejection of employees, instead of having many employees to attain on the needs of every branch what; will happen is that only one employee will be managing the branch and that is the manager. This is to address that in every high flexible and more effective processes there is an optimizing cost.

2. Major Change:Data Loss

Despite technological advances in the reliability of magnetic storage media, data loss continues to rise, making data recovery more important than ever. Because of the IT/IS change, there is a risk on data loss. Data loss may come in different form – Intentional, Unintentional, Failure and Disaster. Failure and human error are the two identified causes of data loss. The only way to recover form data loss is having a Recovery Plan probably storage in separate location.

Operating system errors account for a large percentage of data loss. Virus attacks and spyware can bring down a system and erase critical data. The operating system will not boot if located on the same drive as the compromised hard disk, as it will indicate that the operating system is not found

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


Those are the best Information System and Information Technology practices of Hubport Group Interactive and risks associated with business and IS/IT change. We were so thankful and grateful for them because they shared us some information about their company.

Laughing Thank you very much!!!! Razz

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felix a. sumalinog jr.

felix a. sumalinog jr.


Posts : 38
Points : 42
Join date : 2009-06-22

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySat Jul 11, 2009 11:22 am

I and group 1 members namely: Anthony Rigor Aguilar, Athina Alorro, Jerusalem Alvaira, Michael George Guanzon had an interview with the MIS Programmer of Dole Davao and her name is Cristine Galindo. The interview was conducted in Dole Satellite Office located in SJRDC Building at around 12 noon last July 2. This interview was recorded through celfone recorder and PSP recorder.

Company Profile: Dole Philippines

Dole Food Company's worldwide team of growers, packers, processors, shippers and employees is committed to consistently providing safe, high-quality fresh fruit, vegetables, and food products, while protecting the environment in which its products are grown and processed. Dole's dedication to quality is a commitment solidly backed by: comprehensive programs for food safety, scientific crop protection programs, stringent quality control measures, state-of-the-art production and transportation technologies, continuous improvement through research and innovation, and dedication to the safety of our employees, communities and the environment. Dole is committed to nutrition education to communicate to the public the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Dole is a founding member of the National 5 A Day for Better Health Program and is a leader in developing technology-based nutrition education programs for children.


Based on Dole Philippines (Davao) that I visited and its MIS Programmer that I interviewed, the risks associated with business and IS/IT change are:

1. Failure of the new System. This means that the new system does not achieve the full functionality of the old system. It also means that new system does not live up to the expectation of end-users. In this case, Backup, Recovery, and Business Continuity must be addressed by the system analyst. Disaster Recovery Planning is often not sufficiently addressed or is low on the priority list, as there is no immediate, detrimental impact to the entity, until a disaster or other situation preventing normal operations arises. The business entity should develop a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) that will cope with the unavailability of the computer application(s) during an unexpected outage. This plan should be written, approved by management and tested on a regular basis. The plan would address how the entity would recover from short or long-term outages, as well as how operations would continue during the recovery effort.

2. End-users will not accept the new System. The employees who will use the new system may not like the interface or the graphical user interface (GUI) because they are familiarized with the old system’s interface. This problem can be solved through proper training. The success of any application is greatly dependent upon the training provided to the end-users initially and on a continuing basis. Continuing education is necessary to ensure employees are aware of, and proficient with, application enhancements and new releases. Recurring education also addresses training needs of new employees. Adequate training curriculum must be available to application users

3. Synchronization of all applications of the new System. Synchronization of the system means that the functions and applications of the system occur at the same time or proceed at the same rate. Synchronization also means simultaneous flow of functions of the new system. In this factor, we have the Program Change Control. The purpose of program change control is to ensure that only appropriate changes to program logic are made, performed in a timely manner, do not negatively impact other logic and ultimately produce the results expected by the user that requested the change. We also have System Interfaces factor. The endless pursuit of efficiency gains has resulted in the ability to transfer data from one system to another electronically rather than expending time keying data into both systems. The exchange of data from one business application to another is considered an interface. The accuracy and completeness of data files transmitted to, or received from, other applications should be assured by a quality control process consistent with the receiving application’s edit standards.

4. Data must change not change in the new System. In this instance, the term Data Integrity arises. The purpose of data integrity is to ensure complete and accurate data, which can be reported in any manner users require, with all fields formatted according to data definition rules and within established ranges (date fields should not allow month>12, day>31, and a code field should only be populated with valid values). The risk of internal fraud increases if individuals are granted the ability to modify program logic as well as production data. Adequate data input edits in place to prevent data corruption (on-line or batch)

5. Upgrading from old system to the new System. Upgrading means to advance or raise to higher a new system. One feature of upgrading is Data Access Security. The purpose of data access security within any application is to grant users appropriate access privileges necessary for the job they perform while restricting privileges not needed for their job or that could create weaknesses in the Internal Control structure of the entity. Duties and responsibilities assigned to each job role should be defined by management that ensure adequate segregation of duties. Those job role definitions can then be used to establish specific application permissions granted and/or restricted. Data access security should also provide an audit trail, which could be utilized to identify specific users that made individual changes to the data. Network environments which allow users to access the data directly (typically via a database utility such as Paradox or MS Access), effectively voids data access security within the application and should not be allowed. This type of access allows users full update capability with no audit trail. Another feature is Network Security. This higher level of security would typically grant users the ability to access an application, then administration of the specific application security would be utilized to grant and/or restrict data access as necessary within the application. Networks become more complex as more efficient, effective and secure products are made available through advances in Information Systems technology. Preventive measures can reduce the risk associated with threats inherently caused by advances in technology.

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Dolorosa G. Mancera

Dolorosa G. Mancera


Posts : 40
Points : 43
Join date : 2009-06-23
Age : 34
Location : Lacson Ext. Obrero Davao City

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySat Jul 11, 2009 9:29 pm

In assignment two, I adopted to companies to be my bases with the question, “what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?” I consider all the opinions coming from the two companies, the GH Office Depot (located at 88A Monteverde Avenue, Davao City) and the Lapanday Foods Corporation (located at Maryknoll drive, Lanang, Davao City). For the first company, I was blessed to interview there IT personnel and on the other hand, for the second company I was given a chance to talk with their MIS manager.

In a certain company, having a new or changing the information system is a tasking job. However, if it is used properly and accordingly, it will be considered as a good benefit for the organization. We are all aware that technologies nowadays are fast evolving. Big or even small and medium enterprises aim to adopt the latest breakthroughs that will be helpful for their company. But using technologies might give the company the risk as well. Change is important, but it should also be controlled so that the risk does not escalate to unacceptable levels. For a company to cope up with the rapid advancement of information technology, changes and facing the risk must be obtain. Risks in changing of the IS of an organization reflects the events that may affect the flow of business in an organization.

As what I have understand from the manager of Lapanday, when changing an information technology or information system they make sure that they all back up the files. They have this off site (usually every end of the week) and on site back up (everyday back up). It is also a big risk for them because every data is essential so they are very sensitive in terms of changes in their systems. In changing with their hardware components, he said that they have these guidelines in which they follow or analyzes before they bought a new one. He told us that some companies may change their computers every (maybe) 3 years but for them it depends. If that computer can still work well, then they will still continue to use it. And I ask him some of those guidelines and he unselfishly elaborate some like a minimum of dual-core, 160GB memory for hard disk, and a 1GB RAM. He added up that they only use higher specs for those computers that are used for engineering department or those with autocad software installed. Since they are the main office, they always secure all their data, because they are afraid to loss all of it. And whenever they used a new system, all the employees (who will be involved with it) are obliged to have their training first before they could use it to avoid some errors. Risk is caused by the reluctance of the employees to use the new system probably because they are not familiar with it. So further training should be done to the employees on how to handle the new system enable to maximize its functions. These are just some of the ideas that I have gathered as we have a talk with the Lapanday’s Management Information System manager.

Another company that I have interviewed is the GH Office Depot. The one who entertained us is there IT personnel. When we ask what are the risk associated with business and IS/IT change, he then said,”there is a BIG risk”. For him it’s not that easy to instantly change their information system because they have to consider everything since they have 35,000 different items. They always make sure to have their backups. Before, according to the IT personnel of the GH Office Depot, they are using those dos base systems and now they are using the visual basic 2005. So, he told us that it is also good to change a system for a faster and more reliable work but they always consider the risk that it may gave to the company. They made some strategies to be able to avoid such risks. They always consider if that system would work or not and if it would satisfy their needs or if it would come up with their desired output to minimize or avoid problems. As what I have said from the first assignment, the GH Office Depot has no proper hierarchy in terms of orders or request. The IT personnel told us that if the boss asked him to do this and do that, they directly follow orders. They consider the cost, functionality and the capacity if they want to change some of their hardware components.

As a whole, I conclude that some of the possible risks that an organization may encounter in changing their information technology or information system are the following: loss of data, incomplete system, unreliable system, security, organizational risk and technical risk. A company may loss data if they change into a new system so it is very essential for them to always have their backups. An incomplete system is also a big risk because it will not satisfy the needs of the company and the organization may spend a system that would not be that useful. So, the company must observe and analyze first before changing their actual system. Security would be a risk because every data that the company have are confidential. When we say organizational risk, the problem occurs if the employees don’t know how to use the new system so it is very essential to conduct a training first. In terms of technical risk, the company must consider if the system will function properly and accordingly.

There are lots of risks that a business may encounter. The success of implementing new or changing the system depends on the people’s acceptance of the change. And the success comes to those organizations that identify and manage the risk more effectively and of course proper management. It is also essential to have some strategies and proper planning on handling the possible risk that may occur. These are just few of the risk that a company may encounter so we must not take it for granted because it is so dangerous so we should always be aware and alert.


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shane sacramento

shane sacramento


Posts : 58
Points : 60
Join date : 2009-06-19
Age : 32
Location : davao city

Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptySun Jul 12, 2009 7:58 pm

Risk Associated with IS/IT Change

Hubport Interactive is an IT based company that enables a business to build an imperative subsistence in the online B2C (Business-to-Consumer) space. They empower their customers' websites to attain optimum function and revolutionizes business by creating online channels to effectively connect with existing clients and successfully tap new ones. Their accomplished E-Commerce Storefront encoders, Retail Shop Managers, and Online Marketing Consultants provide the technology backbone that launch prospering and profitable websites.(http://www.hubportinteractive.com/about-us.htm)

As the interviewee say, the company started only with eight people, which is composed of six(6) developers and two(2) designers. They don't really have an IS to keep track of their business' movement. They only use one(1) computer and basic softwares for their business. Records for the deadline is aided by pen and paper. From that very simple alliance they have evolve into something big that they even reached and surpassed the boundary of the Philippines. Now, they've been working with more or less one hundred and fifty(150) staffs. The speaker added that they started establishing and using IS for their growing business in the year late 2006, particularly on the month of November.

As he has discussed that the role of IS/IT in the business is, it is the core or the backbone of their business, in which these systems keep track of their customers, old and new, and their staffs. He define IT/IS very important, that is ranging from software, which is essential for website developing and it can identify errors and split them up much faster than usual, with manual; hardware on the other hand, acts as the server and it is necessary for the staffs to have at least one(1) computer each, these hardwares are connected to each other, which is technically called networking, particularly by WAN or wide-area network, they use WAN because the company is based from the main office, which is located at the United States of America or USA, through internet; peopleware as the speaker says, are the one who develops, secures and maintains hardware and software, thus software and hardware relies on the people ware. As he said, "Hardwares would just be there without peopleware". These three things work together to uphold the business thus, enabling them to reach the full functionality of their company so they can provide the very best solution they can give for their clients and customers.
The risk associated with Information System change in Hubport Interactive.

Hubport Interactive is the same organization or company we have visited for the first assignment, which is identifying their best practices regarding Information System. Now, I would have to tackle about the risks associated with IT change in the company.

As the IT Officer enumerated, the following are the risks they would have to take when changing IS:

* Data loss
Data loss may come in two reasons, first is, the data which is stored for quite sometime will be given up for the new data. Since system's memory is limited and coming in of new data is a continuous process, they would have to delete old data and will try to use the space for the new data; a secondary reason is, changing into new IS will tend to risk their data, especially when the new system has features that won't be compatible with the old system.

* Rejection of staffs
This may also come in to two situations. First, as from what we all know that there is always resistance between technology and people, meaning people tend to deny that IS/IT is a big help when it comes to maximizing time. Thus, when a new system is implemented, staffs will tend to reject it. The staffs will choose to use the old one other than the new one. It is maybe because, they find it hard or time consuming to learn the new system without knowing that they would have a better use of their time on the future if and only if they give time on learning the new system. The second reason may be hiring new personnel who knows best regarding the new IS, will push the company to ask the old IS personnel to resign, which is a very critical choice. It may be a bad move but that's business, the company will have to hire people or staffs who have a better understanding of what the position their trying to fill and reject those who are not needed.

Further problem of rejection of staff/s may also give high risk regarding the cost of the new personnel. This may push the company to pay bigger amount than the older system and personnel.



Last edited by shane sacramento on Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
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neil rey c. niere

neil rey c. niere


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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: MIS Assignment 2   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 EmptyMon Jul 13, 2009 8:52 pm

ABS-CBN Corporation is the company we choose to conduct our Management Information System study.

Company Profile:

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. The Group's principal activity is that of a media and entertainment company. It is principally involved in television and radio broadcasting. It also produces television programming for domestic and international audiences and other related businesses. The Group has three business segments namely, Broadcasting, Cable and Satellite and Other Businesses. Broadcasting covers the production of television and radio programs that serve its target audience's needs for news, information and entertainment, and public service. Cable and Satellite develops and produces programs for cable television, including delivery of television programming outside the Philippines through its DTH satellite service, cable television channels and blocked time on television stations. Other businesses include movie production, consumer products and services. The Group operates in the Philippines, in the United States of America, Middle East, Europe and Australia.

ABS-CBN presented us their Information System and not only that thing but also the engineering department. We were accomodated nicely by Mr. Bobby C. Nolasco, engineer manager of engineering’s department, and with the maintenance engineer of it's department. Mr. Nolasco showed us everything in their IS, and described them very well. This things were very important to their company, without this things, we cannot have news in our T.V. from Manila or long distance places from us because these things are the means of data video/media transportation. Below were the different Systems which they use in their company.

•Aspera Enterprise Server
•ENR(Electronic News Room)
•Lotus Notes
•ITS(Issue Tracking System)
•SAP
•Lout

Just a brief description in each system:

-ITS(Issue Tracking System)

An issue tracking system (also called trouble ticket system or incident ticket system) is a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues, as needed by an organization. Issue tracking systems are commonly used in an organization's customer support call center to create, update, and resolve reported customer issues, or even issues reported by that organization's other employees. An issue tracking system often also contains a knowledge base containing information on each customer, resolutions to common problems, and other such data. An issue tracking system is similar to a "bugtracker", and often, a software company will sell both, and some bugtrackers are capable of being used as an issue tracking system, and vice versa.

A ticket is a file contained within an issue tracking system which contains information about support interventions made by technical support staff or third parties on behalf of an end user who has reported an incident that is preventing them from working with their computer as they would expect to be able to. Tickets are commonly created in a help desk or call center environment. Typically the ticket will have a unique reference number, also known as a case, issue or call log number which is used to allow the user or support staff to quickly locate, add to or communicate the status of the users issue or request.

These tickets are so called because of their origin as small cards within a typical wall mounted work planning system when this kind of support started. Operators or staff receiving a call or query from a user would fill out a small card with the user's details and a brief summary of the request and place it into a position (usually the last) in a column of pending slots for an appropriate engineer, so determining the staff member who would deal with the query and the priority of the request.

-Lotus Notes

Lotus Notes is a client-server, collaborative application developed and sold by IBM Software Group. IBM defines the software as an "integrated desktop client option for accessing business e-mail, calendars and applications on [an] IBM Lotus Domino server. The Notes client is mainly used as an email client, but also acts as an instant messaging client (for Lotus Sametime), browser, notebook, and calendar/resource reservation client, as well as a platform for interacting with collaborative applications.

-Aspera Enterprise System

Aspera is the creator of next-generation transport technologies that move the world’s digital assets at maximum speed regardless of file size, transfer distance and network conditions. Based on its patent-pending fasp™️ protocol, only Aspera software fully utilizes existing infrastructures to deliver the fastest, most predictable file transfer experience. Aspera’s core technology delivers unprecedented control over bandwidth, complete security and uncompromising reliability. Hundreds of organizations across a variety of industries rely on Aspera for the business-critical transport of their digital assets. Aspera empowers individuals and corporations to dramatically increase productivity, minimize operational costs, expand revenues and explore new business models.

-Lout System

The Lout system reads a high-level description of a document similar in style to LaTeX and produces a PostScript file which can be printed on many laser printers and graphic display devices. Plain text output is also available. Lout offers an unprecedented range of advanced features, including optimal paragraph and page breaking, automatic hyphenation, PostScript EPS file inclusion and generation, equation formatting, tables, diagrams, rotation and scaling, sorted indexes, bibliographic databases, running headers and odd-even pages, automatic cross referencing, multilingual documents including hyphenation (most European languages are supported, including Russian), formatting of C/C++ programs, and much more, all ready to use. Furthermore, Lout is easily extended with definitions which are very much easier to write than troff of TeX macros because Lout is a high-level language, the outcome of an eight-year research project that went back to the beginning.

-SAP

I haven't found the SAP System description but as what Mr. Nolasko told us, they use this kind of system.


References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issue_tracking_system
http://wrightreports.ecnext.com/coms2/reportdesc_COMPANY_C60862750
http://www.asperasoft.com/en/company_sections
http://linux.maruhn.com/sec/lout.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Lotus_Notes
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Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty
PostSubject: Re: Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm)   Assignment 2 (Due: July 7, 2009, before 01:00pm) - Page 2 Empty

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