IT SYSTEMS STRATEGY

Assignment: Information Audit

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Assignment: Information Audit

Introduction

A company's financial strength can be measured by tangible and intangible assets it holds. Similarly, its capabilities can be measured by its tangible resources, such as technological and administrative resources and intangible resources, such as innovation and reputation. Strategies adopted by companies depend on these kinds of resources it possesses.

Although Ryanair has implemented scientific management principles and adopted proven strategies to strengthen its internal and external leadership, maintain a high level of profitability and administrative efficiency, what went wrong and where, has been the subject of investigation by the company's management and market analysts (Hoffmann, 2007, 1-28). Through the theoretical forays of this paper, using various management tools and strategic analysis, an attempt is being made to make an assessment of possible remedies for quick and efficient functional improvement of Ryanair.

This paper focuses on four important aspects of the company, namely the Information it has and its usage by the management; the Organizational Culture and how the Organizational Structure is related; the Competitive Intelligence it possessed and a look at the possible Strategic Choices for the company's future.

Answer 1: Issues that will emerge after Ryan air's 'Information Audit'

The most essential tool in the hands of the management is information and how it is mixed with technology and passed on to the employees. These tools play an important role in the growth and success of the organization. An information audit implies the organized examination of information use, information resources, flows and management in an organization (Henczel, 2001, 120-130). It identifies user's need for information and sees how effective that need is met while keeping the cost of communication as low as possible. This is done by determining if the informational structure helps achieve organizational goal (Senft & Gallegos, 2008,50-63).

Information audit is playing a critical role in terms of analyzing the external factors when conducted on the right time(Orna,2004,56-59). Thus, when performing such technique using methods like the seven-stage model, shown in Diagram-1, some issues might occur, could be useful for Ryanair's management in formulating future strategies (Ciborra , 2004, 105-127). The issues are as follows

Information is distributed but not exploited

Because of this the key people in the organization does not have a clear understanding of the objectives and targets set by the management and they are unable to use the information provided to them in achieving the same within the structure and culture of the organization. SO information should be distributed efficiently and maximum benefit should be acquired from it.

Evaluate what information is available and what is needed

Information is the prime requisite for decision making but not knowing what information is needed can create a problem. Therefore, the management should have experienced people in key positions with knowledge and judgment acumen to periodically carry out investigations as to what information is desired by the employees and what is being provided to them.

Information that is unavailable but required

The management has to make regular assessment of its information resources in the context of its policies ...