MARSTON TOOLS PLC

Case Study: Marston Tools Plc



Case Study: Marston Tools Plc

Executive Summary

This assignment is based around a case study of a company, Marston Tools plc, that is aiming to employ information systems to progress its competitiveness and efficiency. Marston Tools plc distributes and manufactures hand tools for the professional and by the do-it-yourself user. The company decided to commission a new information system. This new system will require a fundamental change to the current processes linked with human resource management, marketing, inventory control, finance, shop floor control, product costing, engineering and planning. The system will also have a monitoring and feedback function to cater for delays and waste in the purchasing and manufacturing activities. This paper provides IS guidance to the Chief Executive and Board of Directors on the limitations & benefits, design and acquisition of information systems.

Introduction

Marston Tools Plc has been experiencing some issues with production, distribution and management. The management has now decided to take benefit from the modern Information Systems to overcome the problems. The new Information Systems (IS) will help Marston Tools in managing its all activities of production and distribution especially in guaranteeing customer delivery dates. The system will also help Marston Tools in monitoring and feedback function to cater for delays and waste in the purchasing and manufacturing activities. I as an Information Systems (IS) consultant would like to provide the following guidance to the Chief Executive and Board of Directors of Marston Tools Plc on the benefits and limitations, design & acquisition of information systems. This paper discusses how Information Systems and Internet applications could improve their current business operations.

Discussion

The meanings of the terms management information system (MIS) and information system (IS) are identical and interchangeable in an organisational context. They refer to the system providing technology-based information and communication services in an organisation. They also refer to the organisational function that manages the system. The concept of a management information system enlarges the scope of information processing to encompass not only applications for transactions and operations, but also applications that support administrative and management functions, support organisational communications and coordination, and add value to products and services. (Turban 2009, 47)

The information system becomes viewed as the system that connects the brain with the body—the nervous system as it were. From this separation of work and thought about work, established by scientific management, management information systems emerged as a self-evident need. As organisations grew in size and complexity, this need became more and more acute. Likewise, the problem of allocating resources—workers, machines, material, and so on—could no longer simply be solved on "diagrams and maps," which acted as models for the reality. As organisations became more complex than can be represented on diagrams and maps, more sophisticated models were needed to act as representations of reality, where different possible allocations, or scenarios, could be developed and evaluated. Thus emerged the need for decision-support systems. Likewise, more and more detailed information about work in progress and work completed were needed so that ...