Page 630 - Introduction to Business

604 PART 6 Managing Business Operations, Management Information Systems, and the Digital Enterprise

with determining the firm’s portfolio of investments, allocating financial resources
to competing projects, and forecasting cash deficits or surpluses. For senior man-
agers, financial information systems assist in developing an optimal financing plan
for the business by using forecasts of the economy, business operations, interest
rates, types of financing available, and stock and bond prices.

Human Resources Information Systems
The human resources function involves recruiting, placing, evaluating, compensat-
human resources information systems ing, and developing the employees of a business organization. Human resources
Information systems that support information systems support planning for meeting personnel needs, developing
planning for meeting personnel needs, employees to their full potential, and controlling personnel policies and programs.
developing employees to their full
potential, and controlling personnel For operations managers, human resources information systems assist with
policies and programs recruiting, workforce planning and scheduling, skills assessment, performance
evaluations, payroll control, and benefits administration. For middle managers,
human resources information systems help with labor cost analysis and budgeting,
turnover analysis, training effectiveness, career matching, compensation effective-
ness and equity analysis, and benefits preference analysis. For senior managers,
human resources information systems support workforce planning and tracking,
succession planning, performance appraisal systems, contract costing, and salary
forecasting.

reality If you were or are employed by a business organization, what was your
CH ECK interaction with the human resources information system?

Developing Information Systems

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
Identify the activities involved in the development of information systems.

Information systems are created to solve business problems or to improve business
operations. The activities involved in the creation of an information system are
information systems development The called information systems development. These activities can be grouped by
activities involved in the creation of an stages as systems analysis, systems design, programming, testing, conversion, and
information system
production and maintenance.
systems analysis The identification of Systems analysis consists of defining the problem, identifying its causes, spec-
what the information system should do ifying the solution, and identifying the information needed to achieve the solution.
Systems analysis describes what the information system should do. One of the
feasibility study A study to determine if major activities in systems analysis is a feasibility study to determine if the pro-
the proposed solution of a business posed solution is feasible in four major categories:
problem is feasible organizationally,
economically, technically, and Organizational. Can the organization handle the changes introduced by the
operationally
information system?
Economic. Is the information system a good investment?
Technical. Can the firm’s information systems specialists handle the technol-
ogy required by the information system?
Operational. Will the information system be accepted by its users?
information requirements The details of
who needs what information, where, The most challenging activity in systems analysis is determining the informa-
when, and how
tion requirements, which are a detailed statement of who needs what information,
systems design The description of how
where, when, and how.
the information system will meet the
Systems design details how the information system will meet the information
information needs identified by the
systems analysis needs identified by the systems analysis. Systems design entails designing the user
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