Management Information Systems

Case Study

Tesco has around half a million employees who serve around 75 million customers in a week. In 2006, they launched club cards within Malaysia and near about 1.7 million customers swipe them each day & are active. Online shopping was ventured by them and for this Tesco used to send mass mail for marketing purposes but certain issues were faced like invalid addresses and bouncing of emails. Along with this, there was a decline in shoppers. Club cards were utilised to identify shopping patterns and how much was spent.

Question 1

Brand name

Tesco. It is a retail firm and provides its customers with an option for online shopping. But certain issues were faced and it is necessary to have an effectual management information system.

Vision & Mission

Tesco's vision is “to broaden the scope of business for enabling them to deliver strong sustainable long-term growth by following customers within larger expanding markets at home as well as in abroad”.

Mission statement: “Creation of values for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. The emphasis is laid on rendering value to consumers so that their loyalty can be attained which will enhance their services.

Products & services offered

Clothing, retailing of books, toys, furniture, grocery, merchandise retailing, financial services, internet, telecoms services and electronics are the products and services that are furnished by Tesco. Their products include hypermarkets, superstores, convenience shops and superstores. Along with this, they have different subsidiaries, stores, banks, mobile, family dining and many more.

Geographic area of business

Around 6800 shops in India, United Kingdom, Poland, Ireland, Slovak Republic, Thailand, Hungary, Malaysia and the Czech Republic.  

History

It was founded by Jack Cohen in 1911 like a group of market stalls. When Coen had a shipment of tea from T.E. the name Tesco appeared and the first shop was opened in Burnt Oak in 1931. In 1939, the business expanded and there were 100 shops around the country. Till 1990s it has expanded globally in 11 countries. Tesco repositioned itself in 1990 from being a down-market low-cost and high-volume retailer to one which is formulated to attract a wide range of social groups by rendering services from Tesco value items to their finest range of productsOrganisational, cultural and management structuring resources but liabilities are on the entire management group. Coordination occurs by detailed specifications, and regular meetings and there exists a functional organisational structure within Tesco. Senior managers are liable for administrative procedures both structured and ad hoc. There is a cross-cultural and friendly structure which leads them to understand the needs of their customers in an affirmative manner (Al Shobaki and Naser, 2016. This enables Tesco to have a participative, supportive as well as relationship-oriented style. The hierarchical management structure is being followed but this is not rigid as all of them operate within distinct structures that reflect their size, location and many other factors are taken into account.

Number of employees & specialities

The multinational general merchandise as well as grocery retailer has around 4, 50,000 employees who are responsible for furnishing their services in different countries and ensuring that quality is maintained. This enables the firm to retain its customers for a longer duration of time  (Anderson, Wipfel and Westerfield, 2015). Their specialities include clothing, food & beverages, financial services and home appliances. This makes Tesco one of the leading supermarkets in the UK and they have been consistently ranked highest with respect to grocery market share.

Significance of information system

It implies a set of components which work in collaboration to manage data processing as well as storage. Information systems are being utilised by firms for carrying out research as well as developing new ways for generating enhanced revenue, streamlining time-consuming tasks and engaging customers. Firms like Tesco can save both money and time while making smarter decisions (Brocke and Rosemann, 2014) information can be gathered as well as processed from distinct sources like warehouses, sales agents and customers with few clicks.  Tesco depends on TPS (transaction processing system) to have a truth related to deals made to customers, middle gathering and suppliers. Here, the bar codes are added to identify a number of products that are being sold. Managers of Tesco can make use of a management information system (MIS) which provides their managers with a crucial tool that can be utilised for management, evaluation and successfully carrying out their operations. This enables them to have information related to past, and present as well as predict information. 

Question 2 Key functional areas

Within Tesco, they are human resources (hiring and training employees), marketing (carry out advertising customers) and production (carrying out the organisation of products like bread butter to enhance the overall system render functional areas

l profitability of store) (Demian and Walters, 2014).

How information

MIS can be utilised to have details regarding different individuals who have applied for specified vacancies within Tesco. This will enable them to analyse who is an appropriate candidate for the specified vacancy. The decision support system can be used for formulating decisions with respect to who must be hired (Fountas, and et. al., 2015). Along with this, DSS also assist in the identification of patterns of sales which will lead to producing what is demanded more by their customers. For managing the finances of a firm, a transaction processing system can be utilised to make that they do not go out of budget for different activities

Types of data

Data can be retrieved through the utilisation of a management information system (MIS) which comprises details associated with distinct aspects of the organisation. Through this, DSS will have appropriate information and decisions can be formulated. It will allow Tesco to develop its strategies as well as policies according to situations which prevail. With the assistance of a transaction processing system, all the transactions which have been made can be overviewed and accordingly, plans can be developed so that their stock does not get finished or their activities do not run out of budget (Li and et. al ., 2015). Along with this, Tesco can make use of customer relationship management to ensure that effectual relations are maintained with their consumers and they are being served as per their requirements. For this, Tesco can make use of CRM tools which will enable them to acknowledge exact needs and have their feedback. This will aid organisations in carrying out enhancements in their products accordingly. 

Information required

Human resources needs to have access to different online platforms which will aid them in creating job advertisements as well as screening the most appropriate candidate. The marketing department requires details of products which are being manufactured by the manufacturing team to ensure that they can communicate the services to their probable customers in an appropriate manner (Lim, 2016). The manufacturing team must have details of what customers are looking for and this data can be attained and processed by the marketing and R&D department. Furthermore, all the functional departments require a budget which will enable them to render their services in an appropriate manner.   

Evaluation of crucial areas

Each functional area has their own expectations in terms of resources available and needs. Research and development needs to have what customers anticipate and this can be rendered by marketing. Then they will analyse the feasibility of expectations. Along with this, Tesco's Club card can also be used to identify the buying behaviour or pattern of their customers to render them services accordingly. Details related to this will be stored on MIS which can be analysed respectively (Liu and et. al., 2014). Each has its own specified requirements and they can be accessed through the utilisation of information systems and decisions can be formulated with the assistance of a decision support system (DSS).

Competitiveness of Tesco

It started as a group of market stalls and they expanded in such a manner that they have around 6800 stores in different countries. Competitiveness can be understood by these figures. Furthermore, it is the ninth largest retailer around the world in terms of revenue (around £63,911 million) and the third largest in the context of gross revenue.

Question 3

Distinguish strategic, tactical and operational data along with examples related to distinct types of decision-making.

Ways in which information system serves three levels of decision making in as well as around functional areas.

Illustrate the performance of the information system for discussing KM techniques.

IS acts as an important factor which assists to attain effectual decision-making within Tesco. A KM (Knowledge management) technique furnishes a concept which is associated with storage as well as management of data or information which is being possessed by an organisation (Narain Singh, Gupta, and Ojha, 2014). This will aid Tesco in gathering, sharing, develop as well and administering data that is being possessed by them so that enhanced use of information or knowledge can be made. This acts as an affirmative aspect for an organisation as this can be utilised for carrying out their operations in an appropriate manner. This will lead them to have impelling profitability.

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Good as well as lacking aspects in functional areas.

Tesco ensures that its processes are defined with respect to its requirements in such a way that they can be accommodated completely. Along with this there, employees are also qualified and experts within their distinct job roles (Theorin and et. al., 2017). Management makes sure that they go with an evolving market and for this, they make use of updated Technology which makes them different from their competitors. But, if human resources will lack screening appropriate candidate then it will hamper their performance. Furthermore, the finance area also needs to develop a budget by analysing the activities which have to be carried out by departments as an imbalance will lead to a decline in their services.

Question 4

Operational database & CRM technologies

The instance of a database that is liable for creating as well as updating large amounts of data within real-time is referred to as an operational database. Tesco can make use of distinct technologies as this will support data integrity, concurrency, speed and recoverability (Wolden, Valverde and Talla, 2015). CRM techniques are being utilised by Tesco for retaining their customers, maintaining cloud-based data as well as carrying out predictive analysis. This will aid firms within to ensure that services delivered by them are appropriate as per requirements of their customers.

Data warehousing, data mining & data analytics

The process of construction as well as the usage of a data warehouse is referred to as data warehousing. This can be utilised by Tesco for reporting as well as data analysis which will aid them to ensure that what are the goals of the firm and can accordingly carry out their activities. The process is associated with the identification of larger data sets that comprise the intersection of statistics, database management as well as machine learning (Abrink, Nilsson and et. al,, 2014). This will lead Tesco to identify the consumer's patterns in terms of their buying patterns. Data analytics denotes the science that is being utilised for the analysis of raw data for making conclusions associated with information. It implies that information attained can be utilised by Tesco for rendering their services as per desired standards.

Cloud-based and out-sourced data management services & platforms

They imply the practices in which a network of remote servers are hosted on the internet for storage, management and processing of data rather than making it present on personal computers. This will aid Tesco in accessing services from anywhere and at any moment of time. This will smoothen the activities that are being carried out by them as it will enable them to deliver services as per the requirements of their customers (Al Shobaki and Naser, 2016). By outsourcing the services Tesco will be able to handle a different situation which prevails. Like by opting for cloud services they will be able to save unnecessary costs associated with external devices and their maintenance. Along with this security issues can also be handled by the vendors themselves. So Tesco need to ensure that emphasis is laid on customer satisfaction by meeting their needs.

Web and mobile-based access to platforms

Tesco has its own website in which individuals can view services which are delivered by them along with important details related to the organisation. In addition to this, mobile-based services are provided which will enable them to assist their customers in opting for online activities (Anderson, Wipfel and Westerfield, 2015). Individuals can log in with their credentials and look for what they want. Furthermore, they can make payments and have services which they want. This enables them to fulfil the needs of their consumers.

Question 5

PELS Consideration

Information systems have made many businesses successful today. However, improper use of information technology can create problems for the organization and employees. This can be understood by certain activities that are being carried out by the usage of technology. Cybercrime refers to the use of information technology to commit crimes (Brocke and Rosemann, 2014). Cyber crimes can range from simply annoying computer users to huge financial losses and even the loss of human life. The growth of smartphones and other high-end smart devices that have access to the internet has also contributed to the growth of cybercrime. People as part of the information system components can also be exploited using social engineering techniques. The goal of social engineering is to gain the trust of the users of the system. Ethics refers to rules of right and wrong that people use to make choices to guide their behaviours. Ethics in MIS seek to protect and safeguard individuals and society by using information systems responsibly. Most professions usually have defined a code of ethics or code of conduct guidelines that all professionals affiliated with the profession must adhere to. An ICT policy is a set of guidelines that defines how an organization should use information technology and information systems responsibly. ICT policies usually include guidelines on;

• Purchase and usage of hardware equipment and how to safely dispose of them. Use of licensed software only and ensure that all software is up to date with the latest patches for security reasons
• Rules on how to create passwords (complexity enforcement), changing passwords, etc. Acceptable use of information technology and information systems. Training of all users involved in using ICT and MIS (Demian and Walters, 2014).

Conclusion

From above it can be concluded that information systems can be utilised by firms so that they can deliver their services in an appropriate manner. This will lead them to fulfil the requirements of their customers as per desired services. Furthermore, cloud services can be used to ensure that services are delivered to customers as per their needs and that their expectations are fulfilled. To ensure that departments deliver their services in an impelling manner different information systems can be used as it will assist in the formulation of decisions and thereby produce their services. Along with this, they need to ensure ethical, professional, legal and social considerations so that they can provide services by adhering to certain criteria.

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