MIS Related Issues

MIS Related Issues ASOS.com MIS RELATED ISSUES notwithstanding the spectacular dot-com bust a few years ago, the profit has markedly transposed the way we do clientele. (Reynolds, 2004, 78) Conducting business in the digital economic system refers to the use of wind vane-based systems, on the Internet and another(prenominal)wise electronic meshworks, to accomplish umpteen another(prenominal) form of e-commerce. Networked com bewildering is sufficeing nearly companies excel and is helping others entirely to survive. Gener whollyy, the collection of computing systems utilize by an institution is defined as breeding applied science (IT). In the stand uped countries, almost all speciality and declamatory organizations use reading technologies, including e-commerce, to support their operations. IT, in its narrow definition, refers to the technological side of an nurture System (IS) it includes the hardw atomic hail 18, softwargon product, databases, networks, etc . An IS collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates discipline for a specialized purpose. It processes the inputs (data, instructions) by using IT and produces come to the foreputs (reports, calculations). It includes people, procedures, facilities and it operates within an environment.MIS refers to the management of ISs and it raises a lot of concerns, much(prenominal) as globular, e-commerce, softw ar system choices, ethical, social and operation strategy issues. (Turban et al, 2001) The drift of this paper is to examine five selected MIS topics and analyze specifically champion or two of the occurring issues of some(prenominal)ly topic then, connect these issues to the ASOS.com enterprise.The paper begins with a shortened observation of the background of ASOS.com. Initially, the selected topics and issues, derived from relevant literature, volition be described. Next, a discussion of whether each issue is a problem for ASOS.com or not is presented. Further to a greater extent, a contemplative paragraph follows. The paper ends with the conclusion section and the references. ASOS.com Asos.com, is the UKs largest online-only fashion and peach store, absorbing everyplace one million visitors a week. Its name stands for As Seen On Screen and it was elect to show the brands intention, to supply the public with outfits similar to the styles of celebrities. Asos.com targets 16 to 34 year olds it moroseers womens fashion, menswear, accessories, jewelry and peach products. It provides potential customers browsing its content, with a number of crotchety features. For example, individual catwalk beat videos of most clothing items on the situate, and a fashion blog, which is frequently updated with articles relating to celebrity and entertainment.Asos.com is greatly admired for its large variety of fashion and beauty goods and for the speed at which it keeps up with the in vogue(p) fashion trends. (http//www.asos.com/)Asos.coms headquart ers are located in Camden Town, in north-central capital of the United Kingdom. The companion was launched by Nick Robertson in 2000. Since then, the online company has seen signifi washstandt growth. everyplace Christmas season of 2008, it reported a 100% extend in gross revenue and for the financial year ending 31 March 2009, it reported a revenue of 165,395,000.Asos.com is universe run by a board of cardinal straightors and two non-executive directors.It is a PLC, quoted on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) part of the London Stock Exchange. AIM is not as strict in its rules as the main market it on that pointfore, helps smaller companies to raise capital through with(predicate) with(predicate) the cut-rate sale of shares. Asos.com chose to use the web channel, since researches bear shown that online sales have been increasing meteoric than any other sector. It has targeted young people, for these represent most 60% of online shoppers. To attract them, it offe rs a diverse pad of brands and products. Above all, it offers a pleasurable shop experience, by ensuring that the web order provides much more than than a customer would expect from a shop. The site, in equivalent manner, provides more choices, competitive prices, new styles and, above all, convenience.While growing, Asos.com has unwraped a more complex structure. It has worked hard to keep up with changes in technology. The website is being kept up-to-date by constantly adding new products and product lines.Moreover, Asos.com uses other parley channels to drive growth. These include a monthly cartridge clip of 116 pages and an e-mail newsletter that is being sent to 1.8 million users each week. In addition, it distributes PR pieces in other publications and fosters word-of-mouth recommendation. (http//www.asos.com/)GLOBAL MIS/RISKSDesigning websites for a global audienceThe designing of roaring web-sites that present information round products and services is a relatively recent occupation, which introduced new issues and challenges that causalitys were called to face. It is well-known that some web-sites seem to be more efficient than others. They are more ofttimes visited and more bar pucker fors occur. Very little is reported in the literature on web design and the evaluation of the factors that formulate a conquestful web-site. However, many another(prenominal) studies have been made, in format to empirically test the features, often mentioned by trade journals and vendors, as being critical to design a successful web site.The roles of a web-site are many and important some of them are marketing research, marketing tool, public relation machine and means of payment. Web sites are basically an interface between the embodyumer and the cockeyed.The web sites are being designed in order to facilitate organizations, to carry out business activities by using Internet technology. On their web sites, each organization promotes and sells its produ cts or services, provides catalogs, technical support and obtains useful feedback from its consumers. (Udo and Marquis, 2001/2)According to Udo and Marquis, there are eight factors that put forward to the design of an effective web site* Download Time (response time)* Navigation * Graphics Usage* Interactivity* Cohesion* eubstance* Use of Frames* Amount of Advertisements(Udo and Marquis, 2001/2)According to Tilson, R. principles like simplicity, satisfaction (feedback) and versatility (flexibility) are excessively very important in designing e-commerce sites. In fact, Tilson describes eight factors, with which the designer happen upons the following* Simplicity doesnt compromise us talent for function.* Support user is in project with proactive assistance.* Obviousness understands objects and their controls visible and intuitive.* Encouragement makes actions predictable and reversible.* Satisfaction (feedback) creates a feeling of progress and achievement.* Accessibility mak es all objects accessible at all times.* Versatility (flexibility) supports alternate interaction techniques.* Personalization allows users to customize. (Tilson et al, 1998) Asos.com has very successfully designed its website for a global audience.As already mentioned, the website offers to potential customers a large variety of unique features, such as catwalk videos, a fashion blog, a diverse range of brands and products, a pleasurable shopping experience, competitive prices, new styles and convenience, in order to attract more users and go under itself apart from other similar websites. The company tries to keep up with changes in technology by frequently modify the website, which is also kept up-to-date by constantly adding new products and product lines, tally to the latest fashion trends. Its global success has been recognized through many awards such as% Sep 2002 E-commerce awards Highly commended% Feb 2005 More magazine publisher Fashion Awards Most Addictive Online S hopping% Oct 2008 Aim Awards Company of the social class% Nov 2008 Company High Street Awards Best Online Shopping% Mar 2009 ecumenical Online Fashion Awards Best Online Retailer(http//www.asos.com/)E-COMMERCE AND ITS ISSUES Electronic commerce is taking off both in terms of the number of users shopping, as well as, the get amount of people, who are spending via Internet based transactions.(Tilson et al, 1998)E-commerce is gaining greatness rapidly, in to solar days business environment. The practice of e-commerce has been in existence since 1965 and has attracted the interest of many pundits. Most companies accepted and adopted the e-commerce technology faster than any other technology in the history of mankind. The reason is that the benefits are plenty by creating a web site they burn be seen all around the world, reach out to new customers, have lower transaction embodys, come to their customers expectations and needs, provide new services and products and therefore, keep on competitive.(Khan, 2008)E-commerce presents enormous opportunities for both consumers and businesses in the world. The self-service enabled by it, allows consumers to conduct a all-inclusive-range of activities. They can access thousands of online sites and purchase anything, from groceries to books, cars, credit-cards and loans. As Mark Hurst stated Its ease of use, its ease of use. Why doesnt the sedulousness get that? (Andrews, 1998)Legal and Ethical issues in E-Business Internet technology has make up new challenges for the security department of individual seclusion.Computer information, regarding Internet users, is generated every day through credit card purchases, telephone calls, magazine subscriptions, video rentals, mail-order purchases, banking records and local anaesthetic/state/federal government records. If this information is put together and prone(p) properly, it could reveal a users credit information, driving habits, tastes, neckties, policy-makin g interests and much more.It is come-at-able to record many online activities, including which websites a user has visited, which newsgroups or files he has accessed and what items he has purchased over the Web. Some organizations use this information to better target their offerings. Others monitor the Internet usage of their employees to see how they are using company network resources.A new data analysis technology called NORA (non-obvious-relationship-awareness) offers even more officeful profiling capabilities to the government and the private sector. NORA can take information about people from sources like employment natural coverings, telephone records, customer listings and precious lists, and correlate relationships to begin obscure hidden connections that might help come across criminals or terrorists.Cookies are another noteworthy issue. Cookies are tiny files deposited on a computer hard drive, when a user visits certain websites. Cookies secernate the visitors We b-browser software and track visits to the website. When the visitor returns to the site, the website software will search the visitors computer, find the cookie and know what that person has done in the past. Then the site can customize its contents for each visitors interests. there are several more ethical/legal concerns occurring from the use of IT. For example, another issue is the protection of intellectual property such as software, digital books, digital music, or digitized video. It is extremely difficult to protect intellectual property, when it can so intimately be copied and distributed. In addition, there is the matter of the spam messages and the computer thieving/fraud (stealing personal credit card information). (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) Asos.com guarantees privacy and security over credit card purchases for the website visitors. There have been strong movements from the political involve to protect the Web users privacy and security. Additionally, the online ind ustry has preferred self-regulation to privacy law for protecting consumers. In 1998, the online industry formed the Online Privacy Alliance to encourage self-regulation to develop a set of privacy guidelines for its members. The group promotes the use of online seals, like TRUSTe, certifying websites adhering to certain privacy principles. There has also been created an additional industry association called Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) to develop its own privacy policies to help consumers opt out of advertising network programs and provide consumers redress from abuses.On top of the legislation, new technologies are available to protect user privacy during interactions with websites. Many of these tools are used for encrypting e-mail, making surfing and e-mail activities erupt anonymous, preventing client computers from accepting cookies etc. Asos.com plans to use such activities in the short-run, to batten down its visitors privacy. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005)SOFTWARE SY STEM CHOICES To buy off-the-shelf packet boats or develop from whoresonThe acquisition of new software and hardware can flirt dramatic applications that will change an organization. Managers mustiness be prepared to make angry acquisitions that will have a significant impact on the firm. There has been some movement towards outsourcing and strategic alliances to reduce the time required to develop vital applications. Buying instead of making is one strategy to bring change more quickly in the firm. However, the purchase finding is one that usually warrants advice from systems professionals. Software can be bought from a large number of companies. Manufacturers of large computers often sell proprietary software for them, especially run systems. Companies like Computer Associates sell a great deal of software for large-scale computers.The main attraction of buying of-the-shelf packages is to repress having to develop a custom system. Custom programming is expensive and time-c onsuming therefore, when a package is available, it should be considered.The major emolument of using a package is exist savings. The package developer expects to sell a number of packages to recover the investment in developing it. The toll is thus amortized over a number of users. The cost to the developer though is usually higher than the development of a single application would be, since the package must be general enough to be used by a number of customers. This increased generality makes the package larger, more complex and often less efficient to operate than an application specifically developed for a single application. (Henry and Lucas, 2000)The make or buy decision is alship canal a difficult one for management. The availability of new technologies in the marketplace and a movement by firms to get back to their message competencies, have led many companies to select the buy option.Because of the high cost and long time required to develop software, most managers look premier(prenominal) at whether they can buy lively software and modify it, if necessary, to avoid programming an application from scratch. (Henry and Lucas, 2000)(Henry and Lucas, 2000) Asos.coms managers had to face all these difficulties in order to make a decision of whether to develop their own custom system or buy existing software and modify it, according to their needs. They could have depended upon outsourcing to develop and operate their applications, or choose to retain part of their IT functions and to partially source some activities, which I believe would be the best decision for the company. Unfortunately, there isnt much information in the Asos.com website of how the organizations software systems were developed.ETHICS / SOCIAL ISSUES Information ethics relates to standards of right and wrong in information processing practices. Organizations must deal with ethical issues relating to their employees, customers and suppliers. Ethical issues are of high importance, for they have the power to damage the image of an organization and to destroy the morale of the employees.Ethics is a complicated area, since ethical issues are not cut-and-tried they vary between people, cultures and countries. What whitethorn be regarded as ethical by one person may be regarded as unethical by another. (Turban et al, 2001)Displacement of employees with Information technology IT offers many benefits to the organizations. A key benefit of IT is for example, the reengineering of work it provides operations with many benefits such as elimi race of production waste and reduction of in operation(p) costs. On the other hand, redesigning business processes could cause millions of employees to lose their jobs.As Rifkin (1993) tellWe will create a society run by a small high-tech elite of corporate professionals in a nation of the permanently unemployed. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005)Some argue that relieving bright, educated workers from reengineered jobs will result in t heir replacement to better jobs in fast-growth industries. However this does not apply to unskilled, manual(prenominal) workers and less well-educated, old managers.Consequently, IT has created new ethical dilemmas, in which one set of interests is pitted against another. For example, many of the large telephone companies in the USA are using IT to reduce the sizes of their workforces. Voice recognition software reduces the need for sympathetic operators by enabling computers to recognize a customers responses to a series of computerized questions. Competing set at work are, therefore, developed and groups are lined on all side of a debate. Companies argue that displacing employees with IT is ethical, since they have the right to use ISs to increase their productivity and reduce the size of their workforce, in order to lower expenses and remain in business. The employees that are being displaced argue that their employers have responsibilities against their welfare and that thei r work shift with IT is unethical. (Laudon and Laudon, 2005) Asos.com, as an online corporation, occupies much less personnel than traditional fashion and beauty industries. The company hires high-educated, IT experts to run the operating software and keep the companys website updated with the most innovative features. Displacement of employees with IT is not an issue for Asos.com, although, the latest movement of businesses moving into the digital economy, could be an issue for less and less workers are needed.STRATEGY AND IS / INITIATIVES agonistic reinforcement is at the core of a firms success or failure. (Turban et al, 2001) find continued, powerful Competitive AdvantageComputer-based ISs have been enhancing competitiveness and creating strategic advantage for several decades.A competitive strategy is defined as a broad-based formula for how a business is going to compete, what its goals should be and what plans or policies will be required to carry out those goals. Through its competitive strategy, an organization seeks a competitive advantage in an industry.A Competitive Advantage represents an advantage over competitors in some measure such as cost, quality, or speed. A strategic IS can assist an organization to gain a competitive advantage through contribution to its strategic goals and the ability to considerably increase performance and productivity. (Turban et al, 2001)M. Porters competitive forces model is the most favorite framework for analyzing competitiveness. It is used to develop strategies for organizations, with the purpose of increasing their competitive edge. Porters model identifies five major forces that could endanger an organizations position in a given industry.These forces are1. The threat of entry of new competitors2. The negociate power of suppliers3. The bargaining power of customers4. The threat of substitute products or services5. The rivalry among existing firms in the industry (Turban et al, 2001) Asos.com is an online -only corporation this fact alone provides the company with astrong competitive advantage over its (traditional-clothing-stores) competitors. Asos.com possesses a competitive advantage, mainly, in a matter of cost/expenses, since it doesnt own stores and doesnt occupy vendors and other kinds of stave (cleaning staff, security, etc.) For Asos.com, Internet technologies offer very powerful tools that can increase success through traditional sources of competitive advantage. For example, apart from low cost, Asos.com has an excellent customer service and superior supply chain management. Low costs collapse to more advantages such as competitive prices and supreme quality for the companys products. conceive and Decide IT outline be a leader, a follower or an experimenter Strategic management refers to the conduct of drafting, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives.IT contributes to strategic managemen t in many ways. For example, it can contribute through innovative applications, competitive weapons, changes in processes, links with business partners, cost reductions, relationships with suppliers and customers, new products and competitive intelligence.Porters model identifies the forces that influence competitive advantage in the marketplace. Managers are interested in the development of a strategy that aims to uphold a profitable and sustainable position against these five forces. To accomplish this, a company needs to develop a strategy of performing activities other than from a competitor.There are many different strategies that managers can choose, according to which copes best with their operation. Some of them are the following Cost Leadership dodging Produce products at the lowest cost in the industry. A firm achieves cost-leadership in its industry by thrifty buying practices, efficient business processes, forcing up the prices paid by competitors and helping customers /suppliers reduce their costs. Differentiation Strategy Offer different products, services, or product features. By offering different-better products companies can charge higher prices, sell more, or both. Niche Strategy involve a narrow-scope segment (niche market) and be the best in quality, speed or cost in that market. Innovation Strategy Introduce new products and services, put new features in existing ones, or develop new ways to produce them.There are many other strategies such as Growth, Alliance, Operational Effectiveness, Time Strategy, etc. (Turban et al, 2001) Asos.com has tried to implement Niche strategies. It has chosen a relatively small market segment (it targets consumers aged 16 to 34) in the clothing/fashion and beauty industry and it has tried to be the best in cost, quality, and speed of the deliveries (same day delivery service through the use of MetaPack delivery management software and CitySprints SameDay Courier solution). Given that it is an online enter prise, and it can therefore keep expenses low, it demonstrates very competitive prices and a very wide range of products and brands. It also maintains high standards of quality for its products. (http//www.asos.com/)REFLECTIVE PARAGRAPHI believe that the main lesson learnt here is that the use of IT has many benefits, but also many drawbacks. IT and the use of information systems can bring rapid change to organizations, enhance productivity and reduce costs. A firm established on the World Wide Web has countless advantages, which is why most intermediate and large organizations and even small ones create a website. In contrast, numerous concerns derive from the exploit of IT. Global, software system choices, e-commerce, strategy and IS initiatives, and ethical, social and political, are only some of the subjects that raise a great deal of issues. However, there are many options to be considered for the use of IT and most of the matters can be resolved.CONCLUSION To conclude, a brie f observation of the background of ASOS.com has been given. The five selected MIS topics have been examined and the occurring issues have been analyzed. Moreover, a discussion of whether each described issue is a problem or not for ASOS.com has been presented. Finally, my reflective thoughts have been outlined, in the reflective paragraph.Last of all, mentioning that in the 21st century we find ourselves living in the age of computerization, is essential. There is plenty room for future development of IT and IS. Information and Communication Technologies for Development, for example, refers to the application of Information and Communication Technologies within the field of socioeconomic development or international development and its concept is intimately associated with applications in the developing nations. It is concerned with the direct application of IT approaches to poverty reduction. Information and communication technologies can be applied either in a direct (their use di rectly benefits the disadvantaged population) or in an indirect find (facilitates the improvement of general socio-economic conditions). In many indigent regions of the world, legislative and political measures are required to facilitate or enable application of information and communication technologies.References Andrews, W. (1998) At Far Too Many Sites Buyer Be Lost Applies, Internet World, Vol. 98, Issue 6 Henry, C. and Lucas, Jr. (2000) Information engineering for Management, McGraw-Hill, 7th edition, Ch. 15-17 Khan, K. M. (2008) Managing Web Service Quality Measuring Outcomes and Effectiveness, Information intuition Reference, Ch. 1,3 Laudon, K. and Laudon, J. (2005) Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm, Prentice Hall, 9th edition, Ch. 5 Reynolds, Janice (2004) The Complete E-commerce al-Quran Design, Build and Maintain a Successful Web-Based Business, CMP, 2nd edition, p.76-79 Tilson, R., Dong, J., Martins, S. and Kieke, E. (1998) Factors and Principles alter the Usability of cardinal E-commerce Sites, Proc. Of the 4th Conference on Human Factors and the Web Turban, E., McLean, E., Wetherbe, J. (2001) Information Technology for Management Transforming Business in the Digital Economy, Wiley, 3rd edition, Ch. 1, 2 Udo, Godwin J. and Marquis, Gerald P. (2001/2), Factors Affecting E-commerce Web Site Effectiveness, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Vol. 42, Issue 2, 10-17 The ASOS.com web-site http//www.asos.com/