Question:

Describe about the Information Systems for Business Professionals.

Answer:

Introduction

The cougar couriers are a delivery company that mainly relies on the delivery aspect with the help of the cycle. The delivery is mainly done in a cross town which involve mainly parcels. The customer makes the request of the delivery by using the phone or using a website. The details related to the delivery is entered automatically or manually by the concerned people. The company has a good reputation relating to the delivery within a distance of five (5) kilometres. The company hold the reputation of being the second cheapest company when relating to delivery of goods. On the other hand, one of the problem aspect is that when it comes to delivery of parcels more than five kilometres the company lags behind. The main aspect in this case is that the company uses van based delivery service which can be considered as a slow medium of delivery. In order to comprehend the aspect, the use of motor vans is incorporated so that the aspect can be resolved. In order to achieve the delivery, request the company uses a website and also the use of phone.

This report puts direct emphasis on the different aspect of the company and the related information technology field that can be related to the organisation. There are many forms of information technology field that the company have implemented in order to exceed the expectation from the customer’s point of view, which are beneficial also for the company. New technological implementation is being focused and the different advantage that the company can achieve from the above implementation are being produced limelight in this scenario. The technological implementation that are discussed are cloud computing based approach, security measures and direct business strategy related to the case. The main structure of the report is summary of the case study putting into account a described description of the case, putting emphasis on the strategy that should be implemented in the virtue of the case study bring into account security issue, the problem area related to the case study and a mere discussion on the benefits that can be achieved from the implementation of the cloud computing prospective.

Summary of the Case Study

The website and phones were mainly used by the customers to make delivery request. The details which are related to the delivery was entered into a QuickBooks sort of application which is mainly used to introduce an invoice to the customer. When delivery is concerned with the distance of five kilometres, the company Cougar Couriers is the fastest and the most important aspect it is the offers the cheapest rate and everybody tries to opt the service they deliver. The problem in the field of delivery arises when the delivery is at a distance mainly five kilometres or more. The main aspect in this case is that the company uses van based delivery service which can be considered as a slow medium of delivery.in order to overcome the problem which is being faced by the organisation and decreasing the standards of the delivery the company has implemented the delivery aspect when it comes to more than five kilometres with the help of motorbikes and van based delivery service.

Effective Business Strategy

The most effective type of business strategy is that which is continually optimizing and changing in order to reach the customer expectation (Bouayad et al.2016). Identifying the general need of the customer and its different approaches when taken into account can benefit the organisation in many ways. The strategy of the business prospective can be subdivided into two parts; the one part is knowing where the main position of the business body is in the market place with the main concern put on the customers which are given the service of. The second point that should be taken into consideration is that what aspects and the future goals or the service which is provided to the customer is different from the other competitors in the same field of area. Having a good knowledge of the customer who gain the service form the business body can work as an added advantage in different ways.

Competitive strategies

1. Effectiveness: the satisfaction factor in any field of business or in the internal business process involved in the organisation should involve the customer, the employee and the suppliers. The satisfaction level which the individual expect should match the satisfaction factor which is mainly delivered by the organisations and also from the point of view of the customers. The blogging down aspect when it is related to many organisation has the implementation aspect process which is considered to be bureaucratic that intend to do harm more to the prospective of the business rather than providing advantage. Optimizing the business prospective should be considered as the main goal when related to the organisation, with its implementation the aspect of affective control can directly reinforce cost saving strategy with the improvement of the concept of technology involved in the overall process. The use of Customer Relation management which is related to the strategies, practices and technologies that many of the organisations use would make it very much clear about the competitive strategies that can be implemneted. Keeping the track of the customer can be achieved with the implementation of the CRM technique, the different field that it can track the customer are the birthdate of the customer and the anniversary date of the customer. This would directly influence the relation between the customer and the company (Tripsas and Langley 2017).
2. Expertise: customer always tend to receive service from the service provider who are expert in the precise field. When the customer try to achieve the service from a reliable concern, it gives them the assurance that the service they would get would be of highest standard without any sort of problem involved in the aspect. Capability emphasising should be the main point of concern in order to adopt a strategy which is competitive in every sphere. In order to collaborate on the precise field it can be achieved through the means of testimonials, degree and certification. These three indicators can be termed as a key differentiator putting limelight on the field of its operation with the market and with its concern initiatives (So 2011).

Recommended Competitive strategy: Effectiveness can be one of the most appropriate strategy that can be recommended. This is due to the factor that it directly deals with the satisfaction factor, which can be stated as the most important factor in terms of business orientation and strategy involvement.

The feasibility aspect of the implementation of the new technology outing emphasis on the strategic prospective puts forward a focus mainly on the issue that mainly focuses on the aspect of improving the processes which are related to the business orientation. The chain of value refers to the chain of the activity involved and the processes that intent to depict all the behavioural aspects or the actions in an organisation as a whole.

The new information system that the company should implement are:

Information system that support competitive

The main aspect in this case is that the company uses van based delivery service which can be considered as a slow medium of delivery. In order to comprehend the aspect, the use of motor vans is incorporated so that the aspect can be resolved. In order to achieve the delivery, request the company uses a website and also the use of phone. In order to comprehend the aspect and maintain the aspect of the delivery needs and the needs of the customer and the different criteria’s that are linked to the service. The computer system that are used in an organisation reduce the overall workload and directly reducing the error which are induced into the concept. The problem which mainly arise with the use of the concept is that the mangers are not very much familiar with the overall working and the benefits that can be reflected through the user of the technology. The result that can be seen for this scenario is that the innovation system is nurtured with the external and the internal entrepreneurs (So 2011). The system which adds an innovation concept in the business point of view are not conceived by the superior. In order to achieve the advantage that can be achieved from the innovation, the managers and the other computer users should be very much familiar with the technological aspect in order to properly implement the technological aspect and from the implementation advantage from the concept can be achieved (Dave, Patel and Bhatt 2016).

Decision support system

• From any source isolated data can be retrieved.
• With regards to data files use of mechanic ad hoc analysis can be implemented.
• According to the planning the consequence of the proposed planning should be estimated
• According to the schedule propose decision are focused
• According to the schedule the decision facto0rs are reinforced (Rittinghous and Ransome 2016).

The decision support system can be used for achieving the desired standard of work which is related to the organisation. The main point of emphasis in this aspect is the planning and the necessary working according to the plan in order to achieve the goal of the organisation

Security aspect

In the company there are many security and backup plans that are implemented. The company. The external hard disk with is connected to the main server is rotated. Back up service are conducted each and every day which is done mainly to increment then back up files (Cassidy, 2016). The hard disk is rotated ones a month. There are total three hard disk and the rest two are kept aside. The company mainly uses personal computer that is operated on windows 10 which are automatically updated with respect to operating system and all the application based services such as web browser. The security aspect of the computer system is also taken care of by the installation of firewall, antivirus and malware detection software’s. The Wi-Fi encryption (WPA) is always turned on and the router which has Wi-Fi is always turned off. The router also has an NBN modem connected to it.

Main problem area

The problem in the field of delivery arises when the delivery is at a distance mainly five kilometres or more. The main aspect in this case is that the company uses van based delivery service which can be considered as a slow medium of delivery.in order to overcome the problem which is being faced by the organisation and decreasing the standards of the delivery the company has implemented the delivery aspect when it comes to more than five kilometres with the help of motorbikes and van based delivery service (Bouayad et al.2016).

Benefits with the information system.

Recommendation 1: Cloud computing

The benefits that can be achieved with the implementation of the cloud computing are:

1. No need to replace and rip

The concept of cloud computing environment can run on every existing infrastructure which is related to the hardware (Bouayad et al.2016). The switching which is done by the business to cloud computing prospective from the traditional can be implemented without any addition to the infrastructure which exists and any cost up gradation related to the concept. The main cloud system which would be applied by the implementation is the SaaS (Software as a Service) infrastructure.

2. Cost reduction

Cloud computing environment gives the advantage to the business bodies to scale their storage need and compute needs up as per their requirement. Additionally, the technology implementation moves the spending of the IT to operation expenditure from capital expenditure. This increases the aspect of justification and makes it quite easy on the aspect of understanding. The cost are directly proportional to the business usage so a prediction can be conducted on the total expense.

3. Portability achieved from applications.

When the design part is properly taken into consideration, the cloud computing concept offers the benefits of application which are portable. The business data and the application can be directly moved to the cloud from the traditional database concept and back again without any hepatic scheduling concept and difficulty. This merely gives the business the much needed flexibility in order to how they can be used and implement the technique in managing the data and the applications. The concept can get the best aspect from both the cloud environment and the traditional environment.

4. Mobility Enable

When moving from traditional system to a cloud based system it give the advantage of working from anywhere. This concept is gained from the point of the employee to access the data and the resources form anywhere. The result of such an approach is that the employee’s productivity can increase (Rittinghous and Ransome 2016).

5. Focus mainly upon core competencies.

With the implementation of the cloud computing it merely requires less work on the part of the Information Technology. As a result of which the aspect which is related to the focus on the budget and the resources can be removed and the total focus can be lied upon the core competencies (Bouayad et al.2016). The overall concept of the information technology runs the business but with the implementation of the cloud computing should be streamlined and easy as possible it can be. Such flexibility can be achieved from the concept of the cloud computing.

The data ones put into the cloud have to take care of and any illogical person should not be given permission to access the data. At any point of point with its seen that the data are vulnerable to any kind of breach necessary moves have to take in order to protect the data (Lowry et al. 2016).

 Recommendation 2: Virtualization

• The concept of server virtualisation helps different operating system to work on a single physical server as a virtual machined (V.M). Each of the virtual machine has the underlying servers access which results in efficiency after the aggregation is done on the aspect of server cluster.
• The concept of virtualization enables the applications to run on a virtual network exactly as they intend to do on and a physical system. It can be considered as a complete reproduction of the physical network in the software which provides logical network services which are related to connected workloads (Tripsas and Langley 2017).
• One of the modern ways to deliver application to the branch offices, offshore employee and mobile workers is the concept of desktop virtualization. The ratio which is related to the desktop virtualization is 100 desktop per one server of the desktop.

Recommendation 3: Data Mining

The advantage that an organisation can gain from the implementation of the technique of data mining are vary vast ranging from the sectors of gaming, policing, surveillance and human right. The main aspect of the implementation of the technique is outsourcing the bulky mining projects which can be very much beneficial from the prospective of the organisation in order to manage the human resource sector putting more focus on the aspect of managing the human resource. On the other hand the focus points can also be related to the concept of capital expenditure part and core area of business. When the source data is related to the term plethora, sometimes confusion may arise from the point of view of the researchers with the information which is incompetent that does not involve any experience or tools in bulky project handling situation.

Recommendation 4: Mesh

The organisation using the mesh technology would directly have a profound impact on the field of programmers, long term project plan and initiatives related to the project. In a simply way it can be stated that how the technology is being applied and used in the interface with the aspect of the other connected devices would directly influence the pattern how the company perform and do their business (Tripsas and Langley 2017). The important point with the implementation of the technique is that it would give a better work experience which will concern the points of better contextualized, more connected across devices and streamlined. Mobility is the modern technique of thinking when concern with the new approach of the business. This is the main factor because of which the company focuses on increasing the number of employee and the number of user of mobile with it so that the access to the services which are related to the HR can be accessed increasingly (Lowry et al. 2016).

Recommendation 5: Virtual Private Networking (VPN)

VPN’s Vs Leased Line

Organisations in order to achieve a full connection which is secured which is mainly between the different office locations. The main concept that can be used is that public infrastructure network mainly the internet in order to make the connection and the tap into the network of virtual through the use of much cheaper local lines which are leased

Long distance charge of phones

The virtual private network can replace the access server which is remote and long distance calls which are done mainly with the dial up network connections which was used with the business point of view earlier (Popović and Hocenski 2010).

Support cost

The cost related to the maintaining of the server is comparatively very less as compared to other service providers. The concept of the economy with is related to the scale can highly decrease the cost aspect by servicing many client with the business.

Security aspect

The concept when implemented first can in cure an amount of money which involve installing the different aspects related to the case but on a later phase it can be considered to be exponential as the growth of the organisation are seen. The scalability problem is removed by simply tapping into the lines of public and capability network which are readily available. When the concept is implemented in a location at an International level an internet Virtual private networking can offer good reach and a quality of service. The case in which there are two offices of an organisation but on the other hand 4 branch offices require 6lines in order to connect them and helping them to communicate with each other.

Service product and services

There are mainly five points that should be taken into consideration with the aspect

1. Verifying the identity of the person who is involved in benefiting from the service which is given by the organisation
2. Ensuring that the communication between the service provider and the service gainer is appropriate
3. The message which is being communicated between the two end should not be tampered for example the message should not be edited or modified
4. The aspect of on time delivery of the service is very much important as it gives the client a view that the service can be reliable in the near future.
5. The place of the delivery should be appropriate according to the contact made with this point.

Recommendation 6: Micro Services Technologies

The vast advantages that can be achieved from the implementation of the technique have brought about many organisation in implementing the technology. The advantages are on a single technology elimination of the focus on it is removed, with the implantation of the technique it can directly reduce the isolation fault, it makes the understanding of the functionality of the service aspect clear with it the implementation of the new technology are taken into account.

Recommendation 7: Recommendation of staff

The staff which are related to any information technology aspect should be highly skilled/. They should have in hand knowledge of the different concepts related to the proper working of the concept. In any scenario where a bug arise they should know how to solve the issue and minimize the effect that can be produced with the fault in the system. In order to reach this aspect the people should be highly trained so that they can reach the desired result which they are intended to reach.

The staff can sometimes improve the standard of the business due to the factor that if the interaction they have with the client are justifying. The clients always wants service which is genuinely fast and with it highly reliable. If a situation arise where the cleient is not satisfied it would directly affect the business.

The security risk that are involved with the cloud computing are stated below.

• Unauthorized access to the business data and the customers: the hackers are more attracted toward the small business since the small business bodies don’t have much security aspect involved in the data and the breaching can be done very easily. The hackers make use of the data for their own personal benefits which can involve even monitory aspect.
• Lack of control: the vendors are the main controller in this field. The price which is stated for a service today can infuse a considerable amount tomorrow. The service have to opted fopr that price even though if it’s very high (Popović and Hocenski 2010). The data which are handed to the cloud providers cannot be oversight at any moment of time.

Resolving of the risk

The risk factors associated with the technology has to be the highest priority at any time. Enforcing the security aspects that pertain in the system has to take care of and keeping the backup of the data should be an important issue to protect the delicate data with regards to an organisation. The vendors in this case are the controller of the data. The data ones put into the cloud have to take care of and any illogical person should not be given permission to access the data. At any point of point with its seen that the data are vulnerable to any kind of breach necessary moves have to take in order to protect the data (Lowry et al. 2016).

Feasibility of implementation

Strategic Perspective

The feasibility aspect of the implementation of the new technology outing emphasis on the strategic prospective puts forward a focus mainly on the issue that mainly focuses on the aspect of improving the processes which are related to the business orientation. The chain of value refers to the chain of the activity involved and the processes that intent to depict all the behavioural aspects or the actions in an organisation as a whole.

Business Process Perspective

The feasibility aspect of the implementation of the new technology outing emphasis on the business prospective of the process, the organisation needs to fully understand the operation involved in the aspect and the supply chain that are mainly aligned with the strategic analysis.

Delivery aspect of the organisation

When delivery is concerned with the distance of five kilometres, the company Cougar Couriers is the fastest and the most important aspect it is the offers the cheapest rate and everybody tries to opt the service they deliver (Dave, Patel and Bhatt 2016). The problem in the field of delivery arises when the delivery is at a distance mainly five kilometres or more. The main aspect in this case is that the company uses van based delivery service which can be considered as a slow medium of delivery.in order to overcome the problem which is being faced by the organisation and decreasing the standards of the delivery the company has implemented the delivery aspect when it comes to more than five kilometres with the help of motorbikes and van based delivery service (Bouayad et al.2016).

References

Bouayad, A., Blilat, A., Mejhed, N.E.H. and El Ghazi, M., 2012, October. Cloud computing: security challenges. In Information Science and Technology (CIST), 2012 Colloquium in (pp. 26-31). IEEE.

Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.

Dave, A., Patel, B. and Bhatt, G., 2016, October. Load balancing in cloud computing using optimization techniques: A study. In Communication and Electronics Systems (ICCES), International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Lowry, P.B., D’Arcy, J., Hammer, B. and Moody, G.D., 2016. “Cargo Cult” science in traditional organization and information systems survey research: A case for using nontraditional methods of data collection, including Mechanical Turk and online panels. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 25(3), pp.232-240.

Introduction

Today, businesses have been increasing rapidly. Businesses are competing in maintaining current customers and gaining further new customers; however, various business owners find it difficult to do such. The development in technologies leads businesses to improve their performance by utilising the use of information systems. Moreover, the said systems become a crucial part in operations and are key factors that lead to a successful business especially in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing, human resource management and any main business functions. The main role of Information Systems is to support business processes, decision making and business’ strategies for competitive advantage; besides, the information systems usage can minimise costs, save time, maintain relationship with stakeholders and external factors.

Information systems can be positioned in the case study ‘Hunger Breakers’. It started as a small food business that was first operated by few people. The growing demand for the business made the owner, Rhonda Smith, hard to handle the business with such limited ideas regarding the information systems. As an Information technology consultant, resolutions and suggestions will be provided to the owner for the business operation enhancement.

The aim of this report is to provide answers to the key questions of Hunger Breakers’ owner by deploying information systems knowledge for more collaboration of stakeholders and communication with customers to improve the business performance and gain competitive advantage. This report will focus on seven areas. First it illustrates the meaning of information systems and how it can play an important role to Hunger Breakers. Secondly, the list of Hunger Breakers’ problems will be identified in connection to different kinds of business and systems problems. Thirdly, it mentions about how information systems will enhance Hunger Breakers’ competitive position as well as the specific information systems that are useful for the next section. Then, it highlights the use of Internet, intranet and extranet to fulfil interaction and collaboration requirements. Sixth, change management could be in an account for the change in information systems and also the security and ethical issues about the case study. Finally, this report will present some recommendations due to these issues.

Context

Information systems are continuously changing and progressing as technology continues to grow. Information has developed a vital resource for managing modern organisations.  In present time, business environment is unstable, active, turbulent and necessitates the growing demand for accurate, pertinent, all-inclusive, sensible and economical information needed to push the decision-making process in order to emphasise the organisational abilities to manage the opportunities and threat. Basically, information systems can be describe as a combination of software, hardware, infrastructure and it could be a skilled personnel that conduct planning, control, synchronization and decision making in the company. According to (O’brien & Marakas 2011), information system is composed of set of people, processes and resources that gathers converts and distributes information in an organisation. It is also a system that receives data resources as input and processes them to become an output. Additionally, information systems would serve as an important source of improvement within HB management as it will be an effective way to utilize the resources of the company (Christensen et al 2010).  Similarly, photo below describes what benefits can information systems give to each areas of knowledge needed by businesses such as the Hunger Breakers. The first area is the foundation concepts; it is the general idea for before the implementation of any information system. It is then necessary for the business like Hunger Breakers, to identify which area needs improvement and which system to be adapted. Secondly, the most widely used is the application of Information technologies such as computer software and hardware. As mentioned in the case, Rhonda Smith was using personal computer with basic business software but then again, it was still hard for her to look after the business when the demand for her product went up. Next is the business application, as to what will be the major use of information system for operations, management and competitive advantage of Hunger breakers. More details of this will be discussed in the next section of this report. Fourthly, development processes on how business owners and information technology experts plan, improve and implement information systems to achieve business opportunities. Lastly, management challenges, the usage of information technology encompasses threats on the security of information and possible ethical issues that may arise.

Source: Management information systems by O’brien & Marakas 2011

 

Three Essential Roles of the Business Applications of Information Systems

Source: Management information systems by O’brien & Marakas 2011

Support of Business Processes and Operations

Ada and Ghaffarzadeh (2015) cited that transaction processing system (TPS) and office automation system (OAS) play an important role to businesses. Daily transactions such as collecting and processing of invoices, payments, orders and sales are organised by the said systems. Corresponding to the first statement, the Hunger Breaker management failed to apply any of the system. As a result, Rhonda Smith was having hard time in managing the pricing information and raw material since more menu items were added. Additionally, with the growing numbers of her staffs, Rhonda unable to trained any of them to help her with the available technology that she has.

Support of Business Decision-making

The decision support system is an influential tool that assists business executives, administrators and employees in making decision regarding the problem. There are different kinds of systems that are used under this area, such as management information system (MIS) which assist the lower level management in solving problems and making decisions, decision support system (DDS) which focuses more on leadership of senior management in a firm providing innovative ideas and lastly, executive information systems (EIS), which combine many structures of MIS and DSS. It provides access to internal and external data relevant to the company’s goals.

In relation to the case study, there are problems associated with this area. First, the growing business of Rhonda means the increase in the choices of menu and the related prices of the latter. Second, there is lack of integration between the current PC software and the business’s transaction system. Lastly, the owner itself has a limited knowledge on how to use the available technology to improve the business’s operations.

 

Support of Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Business strategy operates the various resources, which it has straight control, and these resources have the capability to generate competitive advantage that could lead to the success of the business. Furthermore, executive support systems (ESS) which is the organization’s strategy that is designed to adapt formless decision making through higher graphics and communications with external information and firm performance (Laudon and Laudon 2011).

Moreover, it is crystal clear that in the case of Hunger Breakers, the owner Rhonda Smith did not consider competitive advantage as one of the key for success of her business. For example, the business does not operate on a public holidays when in fact that the small coast town of where the business is located, has an increased visitors during holidays. Rippee (2015, p.6) noted that good social media advertising drives good results to any company. Social media or online advertising works best in generating attention for the company’s products and services. Rhonda Smith should have adapted such strategy since online advertisements in social medias are mostly free. Let’s take for example Facebook; it is the most known social media as of the moment. What Rhonda could do is that she can use such social medias as a starting for advertising strategy. Additionally, these websites allow people to comment on your products and services in positively or negatively way. This would be a great move for HB management since the business is having hard time reaching or communicating with customers.

Information Requirements

The following are the identified information requirements for Hunger Breaker’s case, in relation to the aforesaid business requirements:

• Management information is an essential requirement for Rhonda to come up with a sound business decision such as information on suppliers, customers, pricing, inventory of supplies, inventory of finished and delivered goods, its related costs and payroll expenses.
• Employee’s accessibility to business information including provision for communication, coordination and collaboration tools is another important requirement for Hunger Breaker to operate without the actual presence of Rhoda.
• Rhoda’s awareness of how Information Systems can resolve difficulty in processing the growing transactions of Hunger Breaker and in gaining competitive advantage over new entrants.
• The necessity to integrate current systems of Hunger Busters in areas involving inventory, human resource, financial and production.

Alonso-Almeida and Llach (2013) recommend the adoption of information and communication technologies on small businesses for their survival and competitiveness. These systems and technologies are said to be key drivers for business competitiveness and investing on such adoption and use is essential to small companies. In Hunger Breaker’s production and operation, it is beneficial to adopt a computerised system that will easily retrieve information regarding orders and deliveries to customers. The workflow of pre-packed meals could easily be monitored by implementing such system. In the accounting aspect, while we assume that Rhonda has been using Microsoft Office applications such as MS Excel, these functions may no longer be enough especially for a growing business. Her current computerisation needs upgrading to the use of accounting software which can deliver real-time processing and generation of reports. For the marketing aspect, keeping valued clients and continuously garnering new ones can be achieved through Information Systems. Using the services through Internet is an economical way if advertising products. By this, customers can be involved in the creation, marketing and improvement of the pre-packed meal.

Suitable Information Systems

The two types of information systems detailed by O’Brien & Marakas (2011, p.13), which are Operations Support Systems and Management Support Systems could both be used to answer the problems faced by Hunger Breaker. The business is in dire need of these support systems for satisfying the information requirements abovementioned, proper management, and thereby leading to making sound decisions. The following are specific Information Systems suitable in Hunger Breaker’s situation:

Transaction Processing Systems

These systems record and process data in the course of the business, update database and produce management reports (O’Brien & Marakas, 2011 p. 278). Whenever a transaction occurs, all data from it are captured, stored and can readily be retrieved when needed. Documents for managerial decision making can also be generated through this system. An immediate access to these data can solve Rhonda’s problem on scarcity of time. She can now be assured that even if she will go on a holiday, the business is operating well and she can check its operations through the use of this system. She will not need to hire more staff to operate such systems because possible employee collusion can be prevented just through proper delegation of duties. Regarding her problem on managing raw materials for the increasing menu items, it can be resolved because transaction processing systems has the capability to process inquiries including inventory balances and order tracking.

In addition, Rhonda could also use an online transaction processing where she could connect electronically to her customers and suppliers (O’Brien & Marakas, 2011 p. 279). This likewise offers greater service to her customers and suppliers, thus adding value to her products and in a way distinguish Hunger Breaker from its competitors. Bog et al. (2011, p. 334) introduced a design which combines transaction processing and operational reporting. The combination of these two systems offers advantages on reporting, in getting up to date data and in analysing data from all hierarchical levels. Hunger Busters can also use this integration useful in generating its accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and other needed financial figures.

Enterprise Collaboration Systems

According to O’Brien & Marakas (2011, p. 14) these systems ‘enhance team, workgroup, and enterprise communication, coordination and collaboration.’ Since Hunger Breaker is a business solely owned and managed by Rhonda, it is assumed that there seems to be full dependence of her actual presence for the business to operate. In fact, the business already acquired opportunity losses due to non-operation on public holidays. Staff access to essential data in the production and operation of Hunger Breaker may be a solution for them to independently do their job. Moreover, with enterprise collaboration system Rhonda, her kitchen and delivery staff can rely on internets, intranets or extranets for electronic communication, electronic conferencing and managing collaborative work. When these tools are appropriately provided, the flow of production and operations of Hunger Breakers will not be dependent upon the presence of Rhonda.

Also, electronic communications tools such as e-mail, instant messaging, voice mail, faxing are necessary in communicating to Hunger Breaker’s consumers and suppliers. Rhonda could educate her customers through this channel and can even reach out to international customers.

Management Information Systems

These systems are under the Management classification of Information Systems which supports managerial decision making. Management Information Systems are defined by O’Brien & Marakas (2011, p. 15) as systems that ‘provide information on the form of pre-specified reports and displays to support business decision making’. It is useful in producing information necessary for the day to day decision making of Rhonda. It could also provide timely information for those issues faced by Hunger Breaker which needs immediate response. Through these systems, difficulty in managing pricing and relative costs/expenses can be addressed.

Hunger Busters could likewise purchase and use already-developed Accounting Systems providing not only automatic accounting transaction processing and report generation but also management tools. These can make Rhonda keep close track to Hunger Breaker’s operations thereby improving its performance and competitive advantage. In an article of James & Maher (2013) enumerates the advantages and disadvantages of using accounting systems in small businesses and also top accounting packages which includes Quickbooks, MYOB, Xero and Reckon. Choosing which software to use is based on matching the user’s specific information needs.

Engaging with Stakeholders and Fulfilling Communication and Collaboration Requirements

 

Internet as a Means of Communication

Business operation cannot operate by itself. It is a compliment of individual, for instance, owner, employees, customers, shareholders and supplier; besides, in a large company, it may include community and government as well. All these elements are called Stakeholders. The stakeholder is defined as ‘a person or group that can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives’ (Freeman 1984 cited in Matuleviciene & Stravinskiene 2015, p. 75). Stakeholder engagement is a significant factor that lead to successful business because stakeholders and an organisation have effects on each other. Due to the stakeholders’ collaboration with an organisation, it assists the organisation to enhance its efficient in its products and services through feedback and two-way interaction to achieve its objectives (Krstic 2014, Dickinson-Delaporte et al. 2010 cited in Matuleviciene & Stravinskiene 2015). The network that connects these two elements is Internet.

According to globalisation and technologies development that can be seen in past decades, technologies are crucial tools that consumers utilise more especially the Internet network. From business perspective, Internet network is important for operational and managerial decisions. Business deploys Internet, intranet and extranet to support its process and aid to be a successful business. To begin with Internet, it is an important and powerful network that can be a tool for sharing, obtaining and exchanging information. Internet has various accesses that are called Internet application, for instance, World Wide Web (WWW), e-mail, instant messaging, and chatrooms (O’Brien & Marakas 2011). Moreover, Internet also assists business increasing its network (Hilman 2012) by utilising a computer protocol (Baltzan & Phillips 2011). Baltzan and Phillips (2011) describe that Internet facilitates a business to an easy connection with its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to be successful beyond an industry. This network facilitates to exchange information and trend of customer’s requirement; besides, it  also strengthens the relationship between owner and customers as well as suppliers which leads to an expansion of business’ market domestically and internationally (Akhtar, Azeem & Mir 2014). Akhtar, Azeem and Mir (2014) claim that internet provide an interaction network that can enhance the quality of firm’s products by receiving feedbacks from lead users and business partners to minimise any falsity via this network. Baltzan & Phillips (2011) highlight that Internet can increase the quality of customer service by generating a web site or other type of communication. Internet is an important part of functioning the intranet and extranet (Baltzan & Phillips 2011). From the case, Internet should be utilised as both one-way communication and two-way communication. That is to say, for one-way communication, the team can provide new menus also ingredients that are cooked; besides, the team can also research other knowledge about food and adapt it for a new idea of food and business operation. For two-way communication, Internet is a network that can integrate conversation between sender and receiver; hence, it will cause more efficiency in the operation.

Intranet as a Knowledge Management Tool

Intranet is one of communicated interactions that utilise Internet network to function. Intranet is defined as ‘a network inside an organisation that uses Internet technologies…to provide an internet-like environment’ for sharing exchanging information to support its operation (O’Brien & Marakas 2011, p. 289). It is also mentioned by the authors that intranet is a communication inside the organisation for its employees. It is deployed by ‘posting, interactive functions of communication’ including database of organisation; furthermore, it can provide various ways to communicate (Tang 2000 cited in Chu & Chu 2011, p. 1164). Intranet should be utilised to enhance business interaction activities. Due to the case, the most important internal stakeholder is employees. Food business requires a good service to customers which is provided by its employees. If the business provides good products and customers’ service, the business will generate loyal customers and business reinforcement; therefore, it will boost up the better job security to its employees. The intranet usage via e-mail, a blog, a private section on business website for employees or electronic newsletter can be a tool that utilise for internal communication by providing plans of business process and food safety policy from the owner and also include feedbacks and barriers on work surface from employees. This effective communication assists understanding between internal stakeholders; hence, workers will continue working harmoniously with the nature of the business. The collaboration between employees and owner will be increased; consequently, the strength of employees’ engagement gains the better overall business performance, competitive advantages and strengthen the company against competitors.

Extranet Serves as a Service

Extranet is defined as ‘network links that use Internet technologies to interconnect the intranet’ (O’Brien & Marakas 2011, p. 232) for communicating with its stakeholders that include customers, suppliers or business partner. It allows ‘external organizations access to a company’s internal information’ (Caber, Albayrak & Loiacono 2013, p. 106); however, reaching documents or business’ important information needs an ID and password to access the internal system (Kozubek 2010). Its stakeholders is limited an accessing to the organisation’s intranet website. Because of containing a relationship between organisation and stakeholders, it assist the organisation to gain its competitive advantages and productivity (Watson & McKeown 1999 cited in Spralls III, Hunt & Wilcox 2011). Moreover, the authors provide information that extranet leads to meet customers’ needs by interacting with customers directly; therefore, it will build and tighten relationships and loyalty between customers and organisation. In addition, O’Brien and Marakas (2011) also provide various advantages of extranet which are creating the easier and the faster for stakeholders to interact with the business, as well as ‘enable and improve collaboration by business’ (p. 232) to its involvements. In the case, the group of stakeholders that can access extranet is customers and suppliers which are a great crucial part in business operation. Interaction with the company customers by the use of extranet can be an instant messaging about online ordering or a food specification directly and instantly. These services reduce a cost of a miscommunication and mistake in ordering. Moreover, providing food and service feedback and suggestion on extranet network will inform the internal complements to be more productive by improve business’ weakness and maintain its strength and also leads to meet customers’ needs and satisfaction. Extranet not only retain the present customers, but also attract the new customers by a new idea of communication as well. Suppliers is a part that should utilise extranet network to work with the company. That is to say, food stock should be monitored by suppliers through extranet network. Suppliers will analyse supply chain and create an order of their goods according to the company needs. Consequently, it reduces cost of company for stocking raw materials and time of re-stocking inventory.

Change Management and Changes in the Business

Changes can occur all the time especially in technologies among globalisation these day. According to technologies development, it modifies how people work and how businesses are operated. The changes in working life will affect every involvements, stakeholders, all internal and external. The internal stakeholders, such as the owner and employees, are the most affected from organisational change. The repercussion of change in workplace can be an acceptance and a resistance (Alhogail & Mirza 2014). However, Clardy (2013) claims that there are five reactions that can be; first is readiness and commitment, it can be mentioned that people have motivation and ready to accept changes that will happen, second is compliance which ,sometimes, makes people accept change without motivation, third is reluctance is a hesitation  that people do not ensure about change, forth is scepticism, it is to say that people or employees question about change and about themselves whether they can do it lastly is resistance, it illustrates the opposite way of positive response. An adoption of new technologies, applications or even a new way to operate the business should take into a serious account. Change management should involve an analysing of change; besides, it should also include ‘developing programs to reduce the risks and costs and to maximize the benefits of change’ (O’Brien & Marakas 2011, p. 470).

Change management is defined as ‘a process that helps organizations in the implementation of an appropriately planned change’ (Beekman, Chenhall & Euske 2007, Nutt 1992, Tan & Tan 2005 cited in Ziemba & Oblak 2014, p. 49). The authors also illustrate that change management in information systems are about technology for communication changes in business operation and people who are involved in the process. There are various reasons that cause to the organisational change. Recent study demonstrates four reasons why organisation invest in information systems to enhance business operation which are business survival, improving efficiency, competitive advantage and external factor (Cadle & Yates 2008 cited in Ciric & Rakovic 2010). Nevertheless, Clardy (2013) provides how to prepare employees to the organisational change and boost up employees confidence. Techniques that can be deployed to employees for coping with change are establish expectation of change, train managers for changes which is the way that increase confidence to employees, and provide employees change management training to prepare workers before the organisational change is occurred.

According to the case, it is a small business that expands its operation. When the business and competitors dramatically grow, the owner should select method that leads to the better business by utilising information systems for communication with key stakeholders; therefore, it can be claimed that an adoption of new technology is a critical part of the change management. According to the studies that are mentioned, the owner should select Clady’s techniques to alert employees coping with changes. Through these techniques, the business including internal stakeholder can deal with changes and accept it automatically. It also leads to enhancement productive, competitive advantages against competitors. Importantly, it will retain present customers and attract new customers if the business has various ways to interact with. Finally, the business will achieve its objective efficiently.

 

Hunger Breakers and Security and Ethical Issues in Information Systems

Because of the technologies enhancement, there is a vulnerable issue that should take into an account which is information security. It is defined as ‘the preservation of confidentiality, integrity and available of information (Spears & Parrish 2013, p. 19). Even though those developments lead people to a more convenient life, it also brings people some vulnerabilities as well. One of reasons that people utilise technologies is for retaining business’ information. One of a vast amount of risks that could incur to those information is privacy because technologies contain, collect and store personal information and confidential information (O’Brien & Marakas 2011) as a database. It is risky if an involvement does not emphasise privacy and security issues. It may affect the business reputation and trust if any personal and confidential data is revealed. The prevention that business security team should utilise is to set and limit the accesses to employees by deploying security codes (O’Brien & Marakas 2011). Hutchings (2012) enumerated some computer security threats that most small businesses in Australia faced. These are threats for malware, wireless internet vulnerabilities, online fraud, compromised websites, denial of service attacks, spear phising, unauthorized access and cloud computing risks. She likewise gave recommendations for preventing these to happen. These technical countermeasures include security patches, antivirus and malware tools, firewall, fraud detection and prevention, staff policies awareness and training, and physical security of computer systems.

Moreover, the company should provide departments a personal access and different access level. Every employees and department should have their own ID and password to reach business’ information that relevant to their own work surface (Baltzan & Phillips 2011). For instance, due to the Hunger Breakers case, Hunger Breakers customer service team does not need to access the whole business information. The team should reach only customers’ information and orders and should be read-only access because the team does not have to amend any detail. Another example is suppliers should have access only their own data section of their own supplies.

In short, the different department should have the different access in business information. Providing ID and password is one of the prevention that could protect information from damages and information revealing.

Summary and Recommendations

In the case study Hunger Breakers, the owner, Rhonda Smith has a business of pre-packed meals in a small coastal town, is experiencing some difficulties in handling the business as the demand and competition goes up. She then realised the she need to do something to keep her business in line. With the limited knowledge for information systems, she then contacted an IT consulting company that is owned and run by my group and asks for help in some questions that are related to her business. The group noted some noticeable problems with Rhonda’s business, some of these are: the owner itself has narrow idea on how computer works but then she knew that it is a big help for her business, the issue of whether opening the store during holidays should be taken into consideration. The place is located in the coastal area, which means that it attracts more tourists during holidays. She is also having difficulties in operating the business in terms of pricing and raw materials. Time was becoming insufficient for performing things that she used to when the business was just starting. She found it hard to communicate with customers, which could possibly lead to bankruptcy if left unsolved. Finally, a new competition came up in the small town and already took some of the Hunger Breakers’ customers.

The group then boiled down to one solution, the implementation of Information Systems. If a growing business wants to keep on a track on a competitive market, then it should require innovative application of information technologies. Information technologies such as: computer-based information systems, accounting and finance systems, production/operations systems and marketing systems. Since the group already identified or investigated the major problems of Rhonda’s business, we then analysed and designed the business requirements for the Hunger Breakers’. It is then recommended for the business to install useful software and hardware like MYOB to make it easier for the business to generate reports and comply government requirements, Netwrix for auditing purposes, wireless internet connection for the personal computer and easy access of any online orders, online advertising plus customer comments and suggestions can easily be seen through social media and to keep all information safe, it is highly recommended to install anti-virus software to prevent hacking or leakage of any important information. Implementation of the said systems needs to be learned not only by the owner but also by her employees and creating improvements to maintain the business worth of a system. To ensure successful implementation of the Information systems, Rhonda should follow the information stated in response for change management and focus of security and ethical issues.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

Ada, Ş, & Ghaffarzadeh, M 2015, ‘Decision Making Based On Management Information System and Decision Support System’, European Researcher, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 260-269.

Akhtar, N, Azeem, SM, & Mir, GM 2014, ‘Strategic role of Internet in smes growth strategies’, International Journal of Business Management & Economic Research, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 20-27.

Alonso-Almeida, MM, & Llach, J 2013, ‘Adoption and use of technology in small business environments’, Service Industries Journal, vol. 33, no. 15/16, pp. 1456-1472.

Alhogail, A & Mirza, A 2014, ‘A framework of information security culture change’, Journal of Theoretical & Applied Information Technology, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 540-549.

Asefeh,A, Ali ,S,  & Adeleh, A 2011, ‘the Role of Management Information System (MIS) and Decision Support System (DSS) for Manager’s Decision Making Process’, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 6, No. 7, pp6-7.

Baltzan, P, Phillips, A 2011, Business Driven Information Systems, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.

Bog, A, Plattner, H & Zeier, A 2011, ‘A mixed transaction processing and operational reporting benchmark’, Information Systems Frontiers, 13, 3, pp. 321-335, Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 24 August 2015.

Caber, M, Albayrak, I & Loiacono, ET, 2013, ‘The classification of extranet attributes in terms of their asymmetric influences on overall user satisfaction: an introduction to asymmetric impact performance analysis, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 106-116.

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Clardy, A 2013, ‘Improve the process for managing change’, Performance Improvement, vol. 52, no. 9, pp. 33-44.

Hilman, M 2012, ‘Information system as a service: issue and challenges’, Journal of Information Systems, vol.8, no. 2, pp. 71-77.

Hutchings, A 2012, ‘Computer security threats faced by small businesses in Australia’, Trends & Issues in Crime & Criminal Justice, no. 433, pp. 1-6.

James, D & Maher, W 2013, ‘7 accounting packages for Australian small businesses compared: including MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon, Xero’, Business IT, viewed 10 September 2015, http://www.bit.com.au/Review/344651,7-accounting-packages-for-australian-small-businesses-compared-including-myob-quickbooks-online-reckon-xero.aspx

Kozubek, M 2010, ‘Extranets cut costs in law departments’, InsideCounsel, pp. 22-24.

Laudon, K, & Laudon, J 2011, Essentials of management information systems, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

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Appendix A

FIRST MEETING

Meeting time: 9am

Date: 22^nd August 2015

Duration: 2 hours and 23minutes

Names of those who attended:

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

Agenda: Allocation of tasks, rationale for allocation, deadlines set for each member to complete tasks.

Discussion summary:

We reread and analysed the case study and decided to divide the questions by casting or drawing of lots to make a fair form of selection.

Problems/issues:

We find it hard to divide the questions since the marking for the first assessment isn’t available yet. Most of the sources will be based on the first research but then again, the group need to know if which resources are relevant or irrelevant to the case study. We also considered time as an issue since each of us has different things-to-do everyday.

Decisions taken

Based on the process of allocating the questions, XXXXXXwill do question numbers 1 and 2, XXXXXXwith 3 and 4 and XXXXXX will answer 5 and 6. Since we find number 7 as the hardest, we decided that each of us would have to do it and then combine or discuss all the answers.

The second agenda will be held on 5^th of September 2015 at CQU library. It has also been agreed by the members that the deadline for the questions will be on the 12^th of September 2015.

Comments

Ratings and feedbacks for the first assessment should be available soon enough since it serves as the basis for the second assessment.

SECOND MEETING

Meeting time: 9am

Date: 5^th September 2015

Duration: 2 hours and 5minutes

Names of those who attended:

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

Agenda: Progress reports from members to the group, estimations of what’s left to do by each individual and when each person estimates they will finish the tasks allocated to them.

Discussion summary:

As of today, each of the group members has done not even half of their part. We only had few points to check for this meeting, for question number one, the definition for information systems was not clearly identified and it was only based on the definition that is written in the book of O’Brien and Marakas, additional references such as journals and books were suggested for this part. For question number 2, only one specific business and system problem was identified, the group believe that there should be atleast two since the question says “problems”. For 3^rd question, the initial answer was purely reference when it should be related to the condition of the HB management. For the 4^th question, some of the specific information systems were already recognised but then again, it should be connected with the case study. For the 5^th one, Internet and intranet were perfectly defined as to what the stakeholders desire to improve communication and collaboration requirements. Lastly, change management was well elaborated but it should narrow down to the company’s objective, which is to adapt the proposed changes. Questions number 7 hasn’t started by any of the group members yet but everyone is settled that it should be finalised just before the last meeting.

Problems/issues:

The same problem arises with regards to time as everyone has too many assessments due on the same week, which we had the second meeting.

Decisions taken:

In the first meeting, it was approved that the deadline for all the answers will be on the 12^th of September 2015. With the only current achievement of the group, we then decided to move it on 22^nd of September, which is also the week for submission of the assessment. Since the group will be running out of time of rechecking each other’s solutions, in any and all circumstances, all answers should be ready by then or else individual comments will be written in the personal assignment diary.

Status of decisions from previous meetings:

The score from the first assessment came out week after we had the first meeting. Since each of us already started answering the questions, we then continued to what we are doing and not to change the assigned questions as to realign it to the first assessment’s outcome. As to what is stated in the decision taken, the deadline has been moved to 22^nd of September.

Comments

Submission of the final paper is in 3 weeks. The group should have done atleast half of it by today but since a lot of things are going on, the outcome is less than of what has been expected. Time should be allocated well when it comes to assessments and deadlines.

FINAL MEETING

Meeting time: 12:00pm

Date: 22 September 2015

Duration: 2 hours and 50minutes

Names of those who attended:

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

XXXXX XXXXX

Agenda: Wrap-up and determine if everyone is happy with the final result, resolution of any outstanding problems/issues within the group.

Discussion summary:

Since the deadline for all questions has been moved 10 days after the first date that had been agreed by the group, it is then expected that everyone has completed their part including the details of three meetings and the personal assignment diary. The following are main points that are generated by the group in answering the case study questions:

• Introduction – Sufficient background of the Hunger Breakers and Information Systems are provided to guide the reader on how the material will be presented. The purpose of the report has also been stated clearly in this part.
• Questions 1 and 2 – Information systems are well outlined with supporting details of its different kinds as to how it could play an important role to HB management. Specific business and systems of HB were identified clearly.
• Questions 3 and 4 – Competitive position, with the accompanying ideas of key information requirements that are discussed in these questions, certainly, these will improve HB’s economical position by advancing its operational functions through the use of Information systems.
• Questions 5 and 6 – Computer network such as internet, intranet and extranet are suggested for the stakeholders as it could save time in operations and communications within the internal and external environment of the business.
• Questions 7 – This part is answered through a problem-solving method in relation to the risks that are associated with the adaption of information. Excellent examples were provided by each of the group members since everyone answered this question.
• Conclusion – this part summarises the argument and arriving with conclusion on how the HB management should adapt the possible solutions to their growing company and the increasing competition in the market.

Problems/issues:

The final meeting was dated on the same week of the final submission of the assessment. It was stated in the previous meeting that time was the major problem of the group and then everyone approved not to move any date or else it will be reported in the diary.

Decisions taken:

Meanwhile, we still have 3 days just before the due date, the group coordinator will do the last rechecking of the assessment, to look for minor errors such as grammar, referencing and formatting. The final paper will be uploaded to Moodle on Friday, 25th of September 2015.

Status of decisions from previous meetings:

The decision from previous meeting was successfully taken with no further pending task.

Comments

Everyone is satisfied with the answers in resolving the Hunger Breaker’s case study as to connect it with the use of Information Systems. The group is confident enough with all the answers and positively thinking of getting a high score.

Personal Assignment Diary

of

XXXXX XXXXX

S0XXXX7

 

Personal Contribution

I believe that I contributed mainly on the key information requirements that are needed for the business and specific information systems that will help Rhonda Smith in competing in a competitive market. I was also assigned to do the executive summary part and explained my answers, as it was included in the summary and recommendations. I uploaded some of the key points that I found while researching for my part that I think will help my groupmates in answering their questions. Lastly, rechecking of each other’s work was done to ensure that all answers are linked.

Achievement for three mandatory meetings

For the first meeting, we discussed that we will portion out questions; we were all satisfied about questions that we got. I analyzed what is the main point for those questions; then, I identified key words of the questions and did some researches widely through university search. When the second meeting came, my group members and I have not finished our parts in the assignment yet. We assisted each other by telling our difficulties. One of the problems is that we all have too many assignments to do all at the same time; however, all suggested on ways how we could find more suitable sources. On the final meeting, we still had some conditions about working on our assignment, but only minor changes were made. Nevertheless, we finished our assignment on our due date which was 22nd of September. When we read through the assignment, we also modify some points on the paper to make it clearer and perfect. Overall, I am satisfied what all of us have done. We all worked hard and we are happy working together.

Experience of working in the group

My experience of working in a group was great since I learned a lot of things like, even if you’re 2 or more working to finish on a case study it doesn’t mean that you’ll finish it earlier than those who decided to do it individually. As what we went through, it wasn’t easy to set date for submission of the answers. In the second meeting, the group decided to move the date as to give more time for the members to finish their tasks. Overall, we were able to do well in researching and answering the case study questions despite of having hard time to meet everyone in the group for discussion.

Evaluation of other team members

XXXXXXDomingo – She was really active in giving and suggesting ideas that are significant to the case study. She was also a big help in the group in terms of finalising and summarising the answers. She prepared the summary and recommendations portion and made sure that the guide and format that are provided in the moodle are strictly followed.

XXXXXX Khamkhom – She is an all-nighter since she always stays late to do her assessment, which shows that she is really dedicated to finish her part earlier than the due date. She also posted her part to serve as reference in answering the questions.

Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016. The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.

Popović, K. and Hocenski, Ž., 2010, May. Cloud computing security issues and challenges. In MIPRO, 2010 proceedings of the 33rd international convention (pp. 344-349). IEEE.

Rittinghouse, J.W. and Ransome, J.F., 2016. Cloud computing: implementation, management, and security. CRC press.

So, K., 2011. Cloud computing security issues and challenges. International Journal of Computer Networks, 3(5), pp.247-55.

Tripsas, M. and Langley, A., 2017. Call for Papers: Special Issue of Strategic Organization “Exploring the Strategy-Identity Nexus”. Strategic Organization, 15(1), pp.113-116.