Information Management 17951 Essay Example

Production or Workshop. It is fully networked using a combination of Microsoft and Novell technologies. Each employee has access to individual internet and email services. All hardware and software configuration tasks are handled internally.

However, as the firm grew, many systems and functions were developed in a bottom-up manner rather than through a strategic top-level approach. The management of information within the firm seems to follow a similar pattern.

Information Audit

An information audit is a company's assessment of its information and information activities (Australian Audit Commission 1999). The purpose of an information audit is to evaluate the types and levels of information a firm possesses, as well as how well it meets the company's needs. While certain aspects of information, such as naming conventions and security passwords, may already be controlled, many firms lack understanding of their information's relevance, cost, or value. Thus, a formal plan was initially created to ensure comprehensive coverage of all relevant areas. The objectives and scope of the audit were evaluated to guarantee useful conclusions could be drawn.

Formal documentation was created to ensure consistency in the theme among all parties involved. This also enhanced the usefulness of the findings. Subsequently, an evaluation of the overall findings was conducted to identify any anomalies and inconsistent data. Only after this evaluation, recommendations were generated based on the findings.

Emails

The email system stores various types of data, such as price lists, customer account details, recent price quotes, and specific product inquiries. It also includes personal emails sent by employees both from within and outside the company. Every employee is given a secure email box when they start working. This allows

them to send messages to both internal and external recipients. Each email box requires user authentication, but network administrators have the authority to open any mailbox within the system. This arrangement presents challenges in terms of information availability and security. Since only the user has access to their mailbox, other employees are unable to access potentially vital information.

Security and data integrity is compromised as the email server doubles as the firewall server, making it vulnerable to internet attacks. Additionally, employees have the discretion to delete messages in their inbox, possibly containing important or critical information. Once deleted, retrieving these emails is nearly impossible.

The Internet

Laneway heavily relies on the internet for various purposes such as accessing company product specifications, product support sites, private business partner resources, online databases, and current news information. Moreover, Laneway has direct links to suppliers through the World Wide Web, resulting in the establishment of multiple extranets.

Every departmental manager within Lanway considers the internet as one of their top three resources, highlighting its crucial role in today's business market. For companies like Laneway, the internet is the quickest and most effective means of accessing current and mostly accurate information, offering an excellent cost-to-benefit ratio. However, the internet also presents numerous inherent problems and issues in terms of information, which Laneway, like many other firms, experiences.

In most cases, the staff was not aware of many of these issues, which led to a decline in the quality of information. The accuracy of the information received was rarely verified and sometimes stored for future use. There were no guidelines on using only official websites and no training on effective internet usage. There was no central

information storage where staff could save collected data, such as URLs or product catalogs. Some staff members were unaware of the existence of extranet facilities. Consequently, each employee had their own ideas and information on using the internet, resulting in wasted time on repetitive tasks and retrieving duplicate information.

Once again, because the sharing of information was minimal, the speed and accuracy of the data received was greatly reduced.

Stock and accounts database

Both databases above are stored on the SAGE system and are integrated. The stock system includes records of current stock items, as well as historical purchases, stock control dates and times, and trend analysis data. The accounts system includes all data related to company accounts, payroll, and sales transactions.

Unlike previous stores, the information in these systems is not intended for sharing. Users must have the necessary authority to access each area. This is solely for security and privacy purposes, such as limiting access to payroll to only specific staff members.

The information stored in both systems is essential for the functioning of the business, as all business activities rely on it. The system ensures that the data remains accurate and secure, as it serves as the primary transactional system for the company.

Customer database

Currently, the customer database is accessed through a custom application called COSMOS, which was internally developed. This application depends on access database tables. To use the program, user authentication is necessary; however, all user names and passwords are stored in an access database table that can be easily accessed from the network drive. Consequently, there are minimal security measures within the system. Moreover, this system has been operational for over 8 years but suffers

from a design that was created from scratch.

The lack of formal checks or guidelines for entering information compromises the data accuracy in the system. This issue is further exacerbated by security concerns. Duplicate records and anomalies are common occurrences. Moreover, the system's age hinders its accessibility as it frequently crashes or retrieves incorrect records, resulting in delays. Many sales executives prefer using their personal Outlook address book to store account information due to its superior speed, reliability, and security.

Employee home folders

All Lanway employees have their own folders on the main Novell server. Through a sophisticated authentication system, only the respective employee can access their folder. System administrators can see other users' folders, but they are not visible to regular users. Employee word tender documents are kept in these folders, while technical staff store product information and essential applications here. It is recommended that employees store all other important documents in this folder, as the system is regularly backed up.

The accuracy of the data stored here is more important to individual employees than to the firm. Each employee is responsible for their own task. However, there is a recurring issue with information availability. Technical staff have access to important information and applications that are not available to other members. Sales staff require an administrator's help to access colleagues' quotes. Additionally, all network administrators regularly leave the office for customer callouts.

Product catalogues / written documents

Given the expansive and constantly growing range of products sold by Laneways, the company regularly receives a high volume of literature. However, there is no organized filing system in place. Instead, booklets are either thrown onto double

desks or kept by the employee to whom they were addressed. This lack of organization raises concerns about the accessibility and relevance of the information. As a result, important reference material, as well as current news articles and magazines, often go unnoticed by most employees.

It is evident that Lanway has a large amount of data and information, but its management of this resource is inadequate. Therefore, it is important to address these issues when developing an information policy and implementing an Information Service.

Strategic Information Policy

To rectify these problems, Lanway needs to establish a clear information policy. Many of the issues mentioned earlier arise from a lack of strategic planning, resulting in inappropriate systems and methods.

The company's policy should align with its business policy, and new systems should only strengthen it. The audit findings indicate that information sharing is a vital issue. Currently, only certain employees can access specific data, and they determine how to store it. It is advised to create a regulated information environment that prioritizes company-wide information sharing.

This includes not only ensuring all information is freely available, but employees are specifically informed about policy changes and new developments.

Establishing Information Needs

Hickie argues that an information-rich organization is a successful organisation. However, it is the management of this information that enables the firms success. Therefore, to ensure each employee has access to relevant information, such needs should be identified on a departmental basis. However, there is an overlap, and information suitable for one department may also aid other departments.

Sales

Internal company information can include employee guidelines, holiday availability, new company policies, and company car arrangements.

It can also include latest news and technology stories, information on current market trends, predicted advancements, and current vendors' strategies. Additionally, sales teams may need product specifications which include lists of available hardware and software types, their features, and the situations they best suit.

Current pricing catalogs - the IT industry is constantly changing, which means prices for products and components can vary from day to day. Sales executives need to stay updated on these changes in order to offer competitive prices. Competitor information can include current prices, product strategies, financial data, and company background.

Accounts

Internal company information. Only accounts staff will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of new accounting software releases. It is crucial for them to have the necessary information to make an informed decision.

The text highlights the importance of staying updated with current accounting news and new practices in order to remain competitive. These sources offer assistance and advice on new practices. Networking is crucial, as it provides internal company information, technical support information, product updates, and essential applications. The department responsible for networking must have access to all product drivers to provide effective service. The repairs department, on the other hand, requires hardware-specific manuals for dealing with hardware failure, as well as past problems and customer-specific information. Like the networking and repairs departments, the workshop department also needs internal company information, hardware-specific manuals, and past problem details. It is evident that many of the information sources needed by these departments overlap with each other.The company benefits from a cost perspective when departments can share resources. Lanway has two types of information - electronic and paper. To maximize access to these resources, effective

management is necessary.

Paper

All brochure documents received should be stored immediately in new filing cabinets on the sales floor. There is available space for them in the cabinets. Each publication must be filed alphabetically under the company heading and have a post-it note stapled to it. The post-it note should contain the date of entry and the employee responsible for it. Every three months, review the filing cabinets, removing any duplicate or outdated information and shredding it if necessary.

Electronic

In Lanway, there are two types of electronic information: internal and external sources. To maintain consistency, employees should access both types using web technologies as they are the simplest and most effective way to achieve this.

In the past 5 years, the internet has become an essential factor for successful businesses and continues to increase in importance. It provides various resources like searchable online databases, problem-solving systems, and business tools. Instead of looking for other ways to access necessary data, it is recommended to use the existing technology that is readily available and free for any company. The current LANway network with a capacity of 100mb will remain unchanged as it is currently the most cost-effective choice for firms of this size. However, the internet connection will be upgraded from ISDN to ASDL, which will reduce operating costs and improve speed.

The first step for Laneway is to introduce an intranet, which will be hosted on a new Microsoft Web server. Through this intranet, all electronic information, including the internet itself, will be accessed. The online news stories will be obtained from Silicon.com, a free online news resource specifically designed

for IT firms. Each user will have a unique user name and password, allowing for personalized entrance pages based on individual needs. The accounts department will receive their current news and information from Accounting.net, a prominent American accounting resource.

Once again, the service is free and can be personalized to suit individual needs. Both the service and personalization can be accessed via the intranet using absolute URLs created through Active Scripting during users' initial log on to the Lanway system. All confidential company information will be posted on the website, and employees will be notified of new data through email. An internal mailing list will be used for this purpose. Technical support information can be obtained from vendors' websites as well as subscriptions to Microsoft Technet, Novell Support Connection, Symantec Support, and 3COM Utilities. The latter sources consist of monthly CD-ROMs.

It is suggested to purchase Virtual Drive to eliminate the need for a CD-ROM network server. Instead, all contents can be copied to hard drives, creating multiple virtual CD-ROM drives. This enhances performance and network reliability. Three new databases will be established using SQL server as the foundation, which will be accessed through web browsers. The first database will include all essential links to internal applications storage needed by technical employees, along with a brief description of each application's uses.

The second contains detailed hardware manuals, which may be scanned or written by departmental heads. The third contains past problems related to customer accounts, including hardware, software, and individual configuration issues. All systems are fully searchable using CGI scripting via the web browser. All employees have access to the databases, but only technical staff can add

to the system. Regular checks on stored information are conducted every three months.

Summary

Information is crucial for Lanway and its operations.

It is crucial for the information stored within the internal systems to be accurate, relevant, and accessible to all employees due to the nature of the business and products sold. By following the outlined steps, many of these issues can be resolved. However, the success of implementation lies with the company. Employees must be informed about the importance of the newly introduced systems and policies.

Only then will the firm start to see benefits. The project costs are minimal because all work can be done in-house and products can be purchased at almost cost. However, formal training is recommended and will need to be outsourced. The new intranet is expected to increase information distribution and ensure consistent access for employees, which should ultimately help effectively utilize the new systems. To ensure desired outcomes, Lanway should conduct an annual information audit to identify any problems or oversights from previous audits.