| Introduction | Decision making process | Communication |
| Production system | Management | Conclusion |
| Reference List | Personal Bio Information |
Introduction
Decision-Making
Process
As a matter of fact, Information Technology has a role to decision-making process of executives, managers, decision-makers, investments, employers, and employees. Managers use Information Technology to be a tool to gain solutions, alternatives, and the best decisions cause of their values. The component of Information Technology, for example, hardware, software, telecommunication and network, database, people, and procedure affected to facts and information that are factors and solutions for executives and managers to consider business operations, marketing, and competitors, etc. If managers do not receive the inaccurate and complete information, poor decisions can be made. They might cost the organization of those mistaken thousands, or even millions, of dollars. For example, if an inaccurate forecast of future demand indicates that sales will be very high when the opposite is true, an organization can invest millions of dollars in a new plant that is not needed.
Basically, executives and managers have data. Data consists of raw facts. Data can be anything such as an employee's name and number of hours worked in a week, inventory part number, employees' addresses, or sales orders. Data is not valuable and it has no meaning of itself. To be valuable, data change to information. Information is a collection of facts organized in such a way that they have additional value beyond the value of the facts themselves. The characteristics of valuable Information are accurate, complete, economical, flexible, reliable, relevant, simple, timely, verifiable, accessible, and secure. Thus, managers use information to solve the problems, provide the best alternatives, and make opportunities and progresses to their business. Information Technology is the effective tool that helps executives, managers, and decision-makers to receive valuable information. Most businesses and organizations realized the importance of information. With this reason, the new information technology has been creating and developing all the times to improve the ways to gain the most accurate and valuable information in timely.
The provided examples are the valuable of information. For example, manager has the number of sales for each individual sales representative data on hand. Data on his hand is no value and no meaning. A particular manager could gain the knowledge of total monthly sales to be more suited to his purpose and more valuables than the number of sales for each individual sales representative data.
Another example is that managers have employee's name and number of hours worked in a week or month. To be more valuable and purpose, managers use Information Technology tools to make data more valuable, such as using COBOL Programming to process payroll of employees. Thus, managers will receive payroll information more valuable that the facts of employee's name and hours worked.
In addition, one of the useful and effective tools to help decision-making
process of executives, managers, and decision-makers is Database. Database
is an organized collection of facts and information. Database using in
organization can contain facts and information on customers, employees,
inventories, sales information, the designing and development of product
information, raw material information, costs of operating and materials,
payroll, tracking of the orders, jobs, phone calls, and much more. Managers
use database to keep tracking of all those business records and information
and even organize those complexity information. Database also provided
executives and managers the knowledge of competitor sales and prices of
customers, customer demands, suppliers, and market environments. Thus,
company could gain competitive advantages over other competitors and reach
the objectives of organization. Database is not only useful for executives
and managers to gain solutions and make the best decisions to organization,
it is also useful for everybody in the organization and business. The important
of database is that database allows multiple people to access the database
simultaneously from multiple computers. Thus, everybody in organization
can get the information from database and share vital information to each
other simultaneously, keep one user's work from interfering with another
work. Recently, as a database has become more capabilities. Database technology
has been applied to new areas such as databases for the Internet or for
organizational Internist. Also, database is increasingly used to create
and maintain multimedia applications for businesses and organizations.
Communication
In fact, Information Technology influences the ways that people used to communicate in organizations and businesses globally. It is the most effect tool to communicate among executives, managers, employers, employees, suppliers, and customers, and sales representative, etc. New technology has been emerging rapidly in telecommunications and it has become networks. In the past, the company would ride a pony to send letters and information to others. It took a lot of times that would receive information from others. People did not have televisions and radios to receive information and to entertain with movies and music. Thus, new technology has been developing to give conveniences to people. Nowadays, every business and organization tries to be leading of telecommunications and networks.
In addition, the definition of telecommunications and networks allow organizations to link computer systems into effective networks. Networks can connect computers and computer equipment in a building, around the country, or across the world. Most research firms, colleges, universities, high schools, and businesses and organizations around the World influence by new existing telecommunications and networks. Especially, communications over networks became popular because they are effective tools to communicate with other people over the distance, cheaper costs of organizations and businesses, faster, and easier way to communicate over the planet. There are many technology tools existing nowadays, such as new video conferencing system, Electronic mail or E-mail, voice mail, Internet, and Intranet, etc.
One example of popular technology tools that helps people to communicate over networks is Electronic mail or E-mail. Electronic mail allows users to communicate electronically with other users by two typewriters were connected by a channel. Electronic mail became more popular in most of business and organization. It is very effective, cheaper, fast, and easy way to communicate. For example, Global Consulting Company would like to announce annual meeting schedule of the company from America to ten subsidiaries of the company located at other countries. E-mail is the best decision to announce this annual meeting of the company. The company must consider the expenses of international calls. It could also take plenty of times to send letters and receive feedback later. Time constraint is very important for doing business.
Other examples are Internet and Intranet. Internet is the world's largest communications network. Basically, it is a special collection of interconnected networks, all freely exchanging information. People using Internet tool to exchange information and ideas over time and distance. In general, the company could use the Internet tool to announce company policy, customer information, corporate report, interactively communication, annual meeting schedule, distribute and share vital resources and information about company, etc. Now, the Internet is a new way of doing businesses because it can increase market shares over networks and revenue of company etc.
Other useful tool is Intranet. Intranet is a network that uses Internet technology to share resources and information within an organization. For example, executives, managers, and employee in the organization can e-mail to each other to schedule meeting and vital information within organization, such as using Microsoft Outlook.
Thus, pushing of new emerging technology change the ways that businesses
used to conduct and communicate within organizations or others. New technology
is increasing to meet organization demands. However, a company should consider
the costs of communications, the appropriate way, and time constraints.
Production System
For Production Systems, Information Technology influences
to every unit of production. The products might be tangible goods or services.
Advanced Information Technology leads to highly capacities of production
systems and highly productivity.
New technology tools always create to increase capacity of production,
such as Hardware Systems and Software Systems, etc. First of all, Hardware
consists of computer equipment used to perform input, processing, and output
activities, such as Numerically controlled machines, Machining centers,
Industrial robots, Automated material handling systems, flexible manufacturing
systems, etc. In Operation Management, Hardware Systems is very important
issues that the company should consider carefully because hardware systems
affect to the capacity of production and highly productivity. Information
Technology for consideration hardware systems is primarily to operate equipment
associated with the system as well. The highly technology is the important
factor to get the best hardware systems and highly products and services.
The effective and qualified hardware systems leads to reduce the costs
of operating and maintenance, produce the highly quality of products and
services, shorter cycle times, and speed up operating, delivery flexibility,
new product introduction speed, etc.
Secondly, Software Systems are also affected to Production. Software using for Operation Management consists of programs for the computer. Software Systems in Operation Management are such as Computer-aided design, Automated manufacturing planning and control systems, and Computer-aid manufacturing, Computerized Maintenance Management Software, TPM/Continuous Improvement program, Overall Equipment Effectiveness, Technical Data Management, Production Data Management, and Statistical Quality Control Charting and Analysis, etc. Software Systems support the production activities and businesses processing. For example, some software helps designing and development of products and services. Some software are provided methods for planning and scheduling the inputs and outputs of a manufacturing and control system, purchasing, material requirements planning, adjusting plans and schedules based on performance, supporting JIT strategy, safety provision, find solutions and alternatives, and creating opportunities of new products and services, etc.
Information Technology affects to business because it changes the industry
to become more favorable to the company and consumer demands. It provides
solutions, alternatives, and business production opportunities. The company
could gain more power over suppliers and customers. Highly Information
Technology in both hardware systems and software systems lead the company
to achieve high quality products and services and keep it up in the face
of restrictions. It also supports developing flexible production systems
to enable mass customization of products and services. Moreover, it could
affect the developing and integrating new productive technologies into
existing production systems and improve existing product lines and services.
The highly of Information Technology increase capacity of the production
and drive down the cost of operating, reduce time and effort to complete
manual tasks, improve organizational effectiveness, develop, and support
the fundamental business strategy of enterprise.
Management
For Management, Information Technology has affected
to management of business and organization. Nowadays, Information Technology
affected market leading to global marketing. Thus, markets open widely
and rapidly growing. It affects executives and managers to change the strategies
of Management as globally, because it is not only local market or domestic
market emerges, but also global market. Information Technology helps supporting
executives, managers, and decision markets to manage and control business
and environments in many ways. The most common types of information technology
used in business organizations are such as transaction processing systems,
management information system, decision support systems, and expert systems,
database, and other information technology tools. Together these systems
help executive, managers, employee in organizations accomplish both routine,
and decision-making process, and special task - - from recording sales,
to processing payrolls, to supporting decision in various departments,
to providing alternatives for large scale projects and opportunities.
Conclusion
In summary, Information Technology is important to
Operation Management because it is the effective tool to help and support
the efficiency and effectiveness of Operation Management. High quality
and leading of Information Technology could gain the effective of production
system, better business processing, high qualities of products and services,
better management, and the effective communication in the organization
and business, etc. One of the information technology risks are the highly
costs of technologies and the new rapidly technology. Thus, businesses
and organizations should consider about technologies carefully and reasonable,
such as problems, costs, investments, and opportunities in the future,
etc.
Internet
Basic Operation Management URL: http://bpaosf.bpa.arizona.edu/~vkhatri/mis373_fall.html
Ludan Software Systems URL :http://www.ludansy.co.il/
Decision Sciences: Operations Management Group URL: http://www.fba.nus.edu.sg/depart/ds/omgroup.htm
Books
Sandra Donaldson Dewits, System Analysis And Design And The Transition To Objects. McGraw-Hill, 1996
David M. Kroenke, Database Processing. Prentice Hall, 1997
John Willitts, Database Design And Construction. Library Association Publishing Ltd, 1992
Ralph M. Stair, Principles of Information Systems - A managerial approach. Course Technology, 1998
Carr and Snyder, Management of Telecommunications. McGraw-Hill, 1997
Chase Aquilano Jacobs, Production and Operations Management. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Hometown: Tae-Jeon, Korea
School: Emporia State University
Major: Computer Information Systems
Year in school: Senior
Work Place: Sodexho Marriott Services-ESU Cafeteria
Electronic Journal Article
MG423 Operations Management
by 
E-Mail
me: Si-hyuk Chong
Last Updated July 25, 1999