Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1.
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 2
1.1 APPLE INC..................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Organisation Structure of Apple...................................................................3
2.
3.
CONCLUSION................................................................................................... 7
4.
FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................7
4.1 Intellectual Property Management................................................................7
4.2 Information Security Management...............................................................8
4.3 Corporate Social Responsibility and Information Systems............................8
4.4 People Management from the Prism of Information Systems.......................8
4.5 Flaws in the Present System.........................................................................9
4.6 Feedback Mechanism................................................................................... 9
4.7 Outsourcing versus Internalisation...............................................................9
REFERENCES........................................................................................................ 11
progressively implemented by the new investors and the new employees which led
to a strong divide between the old and new set of employees. In this phase the
organisation underwent a change from being a functional organisation to a product
oriented organisation. There by segmenting and creating different departments
based on product lines like Apple II, Macintosh, Apple III, Lisa, manufacturing, slaes
and service, human resources, administration, etc., (Apple.com, 2010).
Let us understand the corporate structure in the organisation as that would
provide us with an understanding of where the communication gap exists and how
the same can be addressed through the effective deployment of management
information systems.
The companys core and support activities are listed below for ease of
understanding of the functions that are undertaken by the company.
As can be seen from the above the structure of the organisation is flatter and
also aligned with the functional roles of the different directors this greatly enhances
the control on organisational activities and keeps the focus on the core
competencies of the different departments (Hill & Jones, 2004).
This kind of structure creates numerous possibilities for the lower level
managers to take initiative and thereby foster companys strength (BusinessWeek,
2004).
The next level of the organisation is structured as follows which can be
considered as the mid managerial level, this is segregated according to the
geographies that they serve, like for example the Americas, Europe, Japan, and
finally Retail. This kind of structure at the mid managerial level enables the company
to be responsive and understand the operational issues of the different geographies
that they operate in. This enables the company to leverage its skills globally (Hill &
Jones, 2004).
The difference in structure at the various levels creates a concern in terms of
communication as the matrix structure is created in the lower levels, the functional
reporting to the corporate directors and the operational elements being reported to
the regional directors. In this juncture it would be prudent to understand the
effectiveness of information systems to enable and sustain this issue of dual
reporting and how the same can be turned into an advantage by the company.
intensively in order to perform work which benefits all. Even though the virtual
organisation concept is not too prevalent however the elements of the concept are
being picked up by different organisations in segments to enable the utilisation of the
same to build comparative competitive advantages in the market place through the
leveraging of the different information technology systems that are currently available
(Davidow & Malone, 1993).
The above concepts give guidance on the multitude of issues that are being
faced by the organisation. And shows how an effective deployment of managing
information system is required to ensure that the plethora of data which is being
collected can be assimilated to the required managers in an effective and timely
manner.
involved in the value chain has enabled the company to offer customised services to
its customers).
The company has undertaken a tie-up with Utility Computing whereby they
are reducing the amount of computer assets that the company owns and offering
payment for the services undertaken this concept is gaining momentum and is called
as SaaS (Software as a Service). This has enabled the company to achieve the
differential with other competitors in the market place and made the overall
information management system leaner and effective.
3. CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it can be seen that the segment of MIS is highly
important and can provide a substantive advantage in the market place to the
company if administered effectively. At the same time if the same is not planned and
positioned effectively the company faces the risk of losing out on opportunities and at
times may incur serious losses due to decisions being taken without availability of
appropriate information to the managers. Hence, it can be stated that MIS plays a
crucial role in the overall strategic fit of the company.
Bateson (1978) stated that MIS is a system which is a difference that makes
a difference which is a simple definition of MIS and at the same time powerful as it
is able to deliver the true meaning of MIS as a system.
Moving forward let us have a look at the different aspects that the company
can utilise to improve the efficiencies in the system. Some of the recommendations
are as appended below.
4. FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 Intellectual Property Management
The company is at the cutting edge of technology and hence it would have to
harness the intellectual property of the employees and provide a proper fit for the
employees to undertake the different activities which would enable them to cooperate in the development of the knowledge in the company.
The knowledge based information systems are going to gain prominence in
future and the company can harness the same by setting up virtual communities for
the suppliers and employees to interact and develop potent new technologies which
can be assessed by the management for future viability. This would fit well with the
organisation goal of being an innovative leader in the market place, as a collection of
ideas can be gathered which can be harnessed by the management for future
developments in this regard.
REFERENCES
Agarwal, R & Sambamurthy, V. (2009) Strategic Information Management, Challenges and
Strategies in Managing Information Systems, 4th edn, Routledge: Oxon
Bock, G.-W., Zmud, R.W., Kim, Y.G., Lee, J.N., (2005) Behavioural intention formation in
knowledge sharing: examing the roles of extrinsic motivators, social-psychological forces,
and organisational climate. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 87
Bateson, G (1978) Steps to an Ecology of Mind, Ballantine, New York (p, 271)
BusinessWeek, (2004). Steve Jobs It feels good, BusinessWeek, Vol. 2, February, 2004
Davidow, W. H., Malone, M. S. (1993). The Virtual Corporation. New York: Harper
Business
Hill, C.W. & Jones, G.R. (2004) Strategic Management - An Integrated Approach. 5 th edn.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
Hodgkinson, S.L. (1996), The role of Corporate IT function in the federal IT organisation. In:
Information Management, The organisational Dimension (Earl, M.J., ed). Oxford University
Press, Oxford.
Markoff, J., 1997, New York Times, The Apple World according to Markkula,
Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/01/business/an-unknown-co-founder-leavesafter-20-years-of-glory-and-turmoil.html?pagewanted=1
[Accessed on: 17-08-10]
Marshall, D. (2007) 3 Tera on the fit between virtualisation and utility computing,
TechWorld Available at: http://features.techworld.com/operating-systems/3842/3teraon-the-fit-between-virtualisation-and-utility-computing/
[Accessed on 17-08-10]
McCarthy, C., 2009, cnet news, Remembering the 1984 Super Bowl Mac ad
Available at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10148380-36.html
[Accessed on 15-08-10]