INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information Systems: Global Management Strategies and Technologies

Information Systems: Global Management Strategies and Technologies

Introduction

Entrepreneur Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart store in the small Arkansas town of Rogers in 1962. The past four decades have seen Wal-Mart grow into not only the world's largest retailer, but also the largest employer in the United States with the exception of the U.S. Government. Wall-Marts product line has expanded to include toiletries, clothing, toys, electronics, furniture, house wares, pharmacy service, and in some locations even auto repair. Wal-Mart locations are in fact, so large that one can compare them to a small city. The store manager acts as the mayor, the supervisors are council members and women, and the employees are the townspeople. As such, each store has a well-developed culture and several rules and procedures that must be followed to ensure that each individual is fulfilling his or her role within the group. In order for the store to continue to run smoothly and the customers to be served, new employees must be thoroughly trained in not only the role that he or she is to fill, but also in the culture and norms of the organization as a whole.

Discussion

Information technology is one of the very advancing and in-demand technologies of this era. Ever since this technology has emerged, it has heavily dominated many organizations and firms providing them with efficient way of work. Before indulging into the depth of this technology with respect to organizations, it is first important to get a brief idea about what information technology really is. Information technology basically involves all the things that are related to the technology and science of computer and telecommunication systems. Information Technology is concerned with developing technology into something more fruitful.(Weill, 2008) Information technology is inclusive of both rational and technological elements. On the other side, technological elements comprise of terms and conditions of information technology that are needed for logical structure of a system. (Galliers, 2008)In other words, it can be said that information technology includes both computer hardware and software like voice, telecommunication stuff, multimedia and so forth. Therefore, information technology is helpful for inserting, extracting or processing information. It must be clear to all that information technology is not just limited to computer oriented areas, but also helpful in departments of telecommunication, micro graphics, various firms and other support services.(Earl, 2006)

Decision Support Systems

Information systems technology has paved the way for Wal-Mart to integrate information and plan the use of resources in the form of enterprise resource planning. A definition of Enterprise resource planning( ERP) is large sophisticated software system used for identifying and planning the enterprise wide resources needed to coordinate all activities involved in producing and delivering products(Reid, Sanders). These systems in essence provide instantaneous information through computers to all departments so that decisions can be made using up to date information. ERP improves the efficiency of all four major activities of production planning and control mentioned above. An example of a benefit of the system ...