Emerging technologies have enhanced the way of doing business. It has greatly improved the efficiency of business functions and as well as eliminating the chances of unsound decision making (Ikävalko et al., 2016). In this case, it is evident that the New Zealand Tour Company has progressively delivered its mandate to the expectations of all its stakeholders. Specifically, the company has been successful in promoting the country’s clean and green image – which are among the vital tourist attraction aspects for New Zealand tourism. However, the move to incorporate countrywide integration of products and services means that the company has to invest more on the newest information system technologies for even better efficiency and smooth functioning.
Prior to my promotion to the systems Analyst position, it would be my responsibility to ensure that the company adopts the most suitable systems that integrate the service delivery from the head office to the new branches in Christchurch and Wellington. Evidently, this entails prior planning and effective consultations with all stakeholders and especially the directors, branch managers as well as inquiring for firsthand information from various departments such as marketing and accountancy. Therefore, the first step is to acquire the information/demands as described from the interview transcripts by the respective company staff. From this information, I can outline that;
Despite the fact that New Zealand has met its functional expectations, it still lags behind technologically. The company maintains a database with the established Local Area Network (LAN) at the Auckland branch. The other branches lack LAN and database integrations.
There is no a cutting edge technology that collaborates marketing materials so that can boost the countrywide popularity of the company’s services.
Going by the information from the Auckland Branch Accountant, the company utilizes MS excel spreadsheets for accounting work. It means, therefore, the company lacks the best accounting information tools for analysis and functional efficiency.
The establishment of Local Area Networks at the other branches, that is, at Wellington and Christchurch. Further, I would establish the Wide Area Network (WAN) technology to consolidate information integration from the LAN’s in the individual branches. The establishment of the WAN would be at the head office. It would ensure that real-time information from all branches is communicated and timely responded to hence creating network system for better efficiency.
For the purposes of better accounting analysis and administration, I would recommend the abolishment of the common and old MS excel spreadsheet. Instead, I would recommend the use the emerging Freshbooks web-based accounting. Freshbooks has emerged to be the number one competitor to Quickbooks and I am certain that it would provide the best platform for accounting functions to help New Zealand Tour Company keep up with the market competitiveness.
References
Ikävalko, J., Hänninen, Seppo J., Serkkola, A., & Kauranen, I. (2016). Emerging Topics and Technologies in Information Systems. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-222-0.ch011
