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Management Information Systems

Notes
Example: Widely mentioned in the literature on Information Systems, is the one of the
American Hospital Supply Company whose success has shown up the need to consider the
network established not only as a mere system of electronic data exchange, but also as a better
implementation of the technology found within a context of changes in the commercial
relationships between the enterprise and its main customers.

A positive consequence of the revolution of communication and Information Technologies is
that there are more available options for designing the labour now, because the technology can
be used to increase the capacities of the workforce, and the information can be transferred to
those places were the labour is carried out. Workers do not need to be located according to
parameters of time and space to co-ordinate any more.
We consider that technology, although it is not the ground for the emergence of a new and
innovative way of organizing the enterprises, plays an important role in its operation.

Technology allows doing things in a different way, which provides the directors some
organizational possibilities that would be unthinkable without its implementation. Thus, using
a mathematical expression, we can state that Information Technologies are necessary but they
are not enough to achieve greater business competitiveness.

The Role of IOS within the Network Structure

The enterprises involved in an alliance must decide whether to use the manual management of
all the exchanged data, or to complement that management with the interconnection of their
respective computer applications. This interconnection may bring, however, compatibility
problems in the integration of the data from the different enterprises, since those applications
would have possibly been designed without taking into account any requirement of integration
among enterprises. The establishment of co-operation networks implies the need for wider
communication in the organizational field, as well as the requirement of capability to integrate
the information systems from different enterprises.

The enterprises inside a network cannot operate properly if they have not the possibility to
communicate quickly, accurately, and over long distances. Within a network, it does not make
any sense to restrict the application of modern computer technologies to the individual borders
of each enterprise. The Management Board of the enterprises in the network must, on the
contrary, consider the possibilities of coordinating the processing of data outside the limits of
their own organizations by means of an IOS.
The application of the IT which provides the electronic integration among the shareholders of
an industry may make easier the outsourcing of activities, as well as be a basic part of the proper
operation of the reticular structures. An IOS may play an important role in the coordination of
interdependent activities, which would be carried out by distant organizational units. Thus, the
enterprises can reduce their dependency on strategies of backward-forward integration in order
to ensure the control over the production process.
The concept of network emphasizes the interdependency among enterprises, which is provoked
by the presence and the sharing of the following key attributes: objectives, experience, labour,
taking of decisions, responsibility, trust, and acknowledgement or reward. The enterprises
within a network will adopt a common objective, namely to provide a quicker and better
service to the final customer. With this aim in view, independent organizations will have to
establish close interrelationships, in which Information Technologies have a vital role to play.
In this way, the aim of optimizing the flow of profits along the supply chain could be achieved
too. IOSs are, basically, new means to facilitate the relationships among organizations; they are,
therefore, a strategic instrument.

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