Information Systems Model for Gustavus’s VASA case Study
Executive Summary
Management information systems are tools that focus on the organization, the people, and the technology in the management. They help the managers in making critical decisions in the aspects of management by offering valuable data that can increase the relevance and the accuracy of the business decisions and the actions taken in an organization. The report will cover the critical management information tools that could have been employed in the Gustavu`s VASA case study. The case study entails the building of a Swedish ship that sank after covering 1400 yards on its maiden voyage 300 years ago. The paper will evaluate the management information systems that were lacking in the entire project. The writer will explore the MIS problems surrounding the VASA case. The report will identify five MIS issues about the case and offer three information systems with the modern technology that could have been employed to prevent the disastrous events of sinking of the ship. The manuscript will evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of the three postulated solutions. Based on the benefits and cons of the proposed solutions, the writer will make a recommendation for the case and give the rationale for the choice. The paper will discuss how the model will benefit Gustavu in the VASA project, and the risks associated with adoption of the MIS design to Gustavu`s environment.
Introduction
Management information systems describe a broad category of the application of technology, basically, digital programs that focus on the people, organization and the technology to increase the efficiency, ease, and productivity in the business management. The tools offer valuable information to the managers that are used to make critical decisions with more relevance and accuracy. The MIS systems are many and each play a distinct role in the organization management.
The various MIS designs include decision support models, transaction processing designs, executive information systems, accounting information models, marketing information systems, human resource management platforms, enterprise resource planning designs, and office automation processes (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999). The paper will review the MIS issues at the Gustavu`s VASA project and find the systems that could have been employed to enhance the efficiency of the scheme. The paper postulates that the sinking of the ship was due to the lack of incorporation and the use of critical MIS tools and that decision support systems could have been the nest tool to adopt for the effective management of the project.
Description of 5 Information System Issues surrounding the Vasa Case
The VASA case was surrounded by the failure to utilize a number of management information systems. One of the management issues that made the venture a failure was the lack of appropriate and relevant internal business analysis to determine the strengths and the weaknesses that could be turned to the benefit of the organization. In addition, the organization failed to utilize the information from the analysis of the external business aspects that could have been used to make change-effective decisions for an effective project. Analysis of the internal and the external business aspects by the project managers would have offered valuable information about the progress of the project that could have been used to foster its success (Akçetin, & Yurtay, 2015).
The VASA project management could have employed external and internal business analysis to give valuable information about the project to offer an insight and a base to make informed and relevant decisions in the construction of the ship. The analysis could have offered information about the various aspects of the stability of the ship, the weight to be loaded on the ship depending on the size of the ship, and the proportionate application of the measurements of the ship for the increased stability and speed. The evaluation would have helped to determine the effective volume of the ship with the specified bottom length of 136 and 108 feet.
In addition, the model analysis would have given the applicable weight that the ship with those measurements could mount and be stable. The information would have served to determine whether to increase the length and volume of the ship if the King wished to retain the specified decorations and armor. In addition, the changes made by the King to make a ship with 120 feet would have been analyzed and the corresponding volume and weight to put on the ship determined.
On the other hand, the design analysis would have offered valuable insight to resource requirement for building the ships with the various specifications. The project manager would have identified the critical path to be followed by substituting the resources available to compromise the time effect since the king wanted the ships ready within a short time. The duration of the time taken to construct the ship could have critically reduced by employing more resources in terms of human labor and money used for the project. Dividing the job to several tasks under different management and increasing the labor force to speed-up the rate determining steps could have efficiently reduced the time taken to finish the project (Akçetin, & Yurtay, 2015, p. 56).
Lack of Effective Feedback from the Project t the Top Managers
The fateful event of the VASA ship was caused by the lack of the utilization of the executive information analysis models in the entire construction process. The top managers lacked appropriate and relevant feedback from the project that limited the relevance and the validity of the decisions they made concerning the project. The effective communication of the critical project aspects to the top management would have provided the top managers of the organization with relevant information to be used in the decision-making processes. The process provides a quick access of the reports from the various sections of the organization to the top management. The rapid access to the essential reports from the various sections of the construction firm would be useful to determine the progress of the project, the challenges being faced at specific sections, and the rapid communication of the desired changes to curb the challenges (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 35).
The process could have been useful in providing the critical information about the progress of the ship project to the project manager, the top management, and the King`s counsel. The information from the operations department would have been used by the King to determine his decision of ordering the changes in the dimensions and specifications of the ship when the engineers on the ground had already ordered and cut the timber according to the previous specifications. The changes could have been made in consideration of the time it would take to cut the timber to the new measurements and the extra cost of doing so. In such consideration, the decision to change or to continue with the former measurements would have made with an informed consent.
Human Resource Management Problems
The failure of Gustavu`s VASA project was caused by the lack of appropriate human resource management in the project. The top and the middle project managers to schedule and utilize optimally the available human resource in the project could have employed the human resource planning. The process could have offered valuable information about the workers competency, skills, and availability that helps the management to plan and schedule the critical needs of the organization depending on the skills and the competency of the workers (Neubaum, Dibrell & Craig, 2012, p. 36).
The process guides the management to plan for shifts, day-offs, and leaves to the employees in a manner that does not influence the operations of the organization. In addition, the effective HRM gives information about the available skills and competency in the firm that is used to determine the need for the staff training and the type of training to offer depending on the needs of the business (Neubaum, Dibrell & Craig, 2012, p. 36). The VASA project manager could have employed the process to determine the skills that were required in building the ship and the availability of the skills in the organization. Sourcing of the skills that were not available could have assisted in giving a sense of direction to the organization rather than relying on the masterly skills of the artisan that depended on his experience and his creativity
Lack of Effective Communication within the System and Between the System and the External Stakeholders
The failure of the VASA project could be attributed to the lack of utilization of the enterprise resource planning project execution design. The ERP design would have established essential networks in the organization that could have fostered communication and interaction between the various sectors of the VASA project and the external stakeholders. The ERP model was critical in fostering the interaction and harmonious relationships between the various departments forming the parts of the entire Gustavu`s project. The effective and rapid communication could have ensured the smooth flow of the entire project since the tasks performed at various levels and by different departments influence the outcome of the entire project. The delay in one of the tasks causes a delay in the entire production process (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 99).
The ERP design would have provided an interaction between the project and the external stakeholders by sharing the progress, and getting the feedback from the concerned parties rapidly (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 101). In the VASA project, the system could have been effective in offering rapid communication between the timber suppliers, the engineers, the project manager, and the King. The rapid communication would have prompted the king to consider his immediate demand to change the dimensions of the ship when the timber for the previous dimensions had been done. Instead, he could have focused on reducing the time estimated to complete the former designs by interchanging the substitute resources in the organization.
Ineffective Task Processes with Bottlenecks and Stoppages
The success of Gustavu`s VASA project could have been enhanced by the enhancement of the effective and successful flow of the operations in the project. The failure of the project can be significantly attribute to the lack of observation and utilization of the automated operational processes in the firm. The automation of the project tasks could have increased the efficiency and the productivity by improving communication within the organization that creates an improved workflow process. The smooth workflow established eliminates stoppages, bottlenecks, and delays in the entire production process (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 103).
The VASA project had been divided to various tasks and operation was assigned to a different team. The teams included the people that were responsible for making the decoration and the carvings to mount on the ship, the ship body constructors and engineers, the personnel that were to armor the ship, and the group that was preparing and ordering materials to be used for the process. Office automated processes could have been employed to signal the demand to control the supply chain. When any department required supplies, the demand could be used as a signal through the supply path to make the supplier to supply just the amount demanded (Neubaum, Dibrell & Craig, 2012, p. 37). In the light of that, the tons of 136 feet timber that lay unused in the ship construction site could have been eliminated. With the change of the plans to 120 feet, the demand could have been sent to the supplier to supply 120 feet timber. The change could have been translated and adopted smoothly with minimal extra expenses as was observed with the supply of the 136 timber that was needed for the entire ship yet it was to be used for a long period.
Three Information Model Design with Current Technology Alternative Solutions to the Problem Discussed
Decision Support Systems
The VASA project could have employed the current decision support systems to improve on its efficiency and productivity of the production process. The DSS system could have offered useful information from a wide perspective to the project managers and the middle level managers that could have been employed to make relevant decisions to steer the project forward. The system would have offered the considerations of the dimensions of ship proportionate to the weight that could aboard the ship. The changes given by the king about the changes of the bottom of the ship could have been accompanied by corresponding width and height as well as the weight of the cargo to be put in the ship. In addition, the King could have considered the implication of the changes to the running project and make cost-effective informed demands project (Akçetin, & Yurtay, 2015, p. 55).
Office Automation Processes
The problems faced by Gustavu`s VASA project could have been eliminated by the adoption and implementation of the office automation systems. The OAS models could have eliminated the delays and the stoppages in the production process by eliminating bottlenecks and improving the workflow on the entire project. The automated process would have reduced the level and the amount of inventory by ensuring the amount supplied was the amount demanded (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 103).The incidence would have prevented the buying of 136 and 108 feet timber even when it was not all demanded at the instance. When the King made the changes in the measurements, the system would have sent a signal to the supplier to supply the 120 feet timber and would have avoided the challenges posed by the already purchased 136 and 108 timbers that had already been cut despite the fact that it was not being utilized immediately.
Enterprise Resource Planning
The third option that could have been employed in the VASA project to improve the efficiency and the project outcome was the utilization of the ERP tools. The model provides a platform for rapid and smooth communication between the various sections of the organization and the eternal stakeholders (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 99).The system could have fostered communication between the timber providers, the construction engineers, the project managers, and the king about the progress of the project. The information would have been valuable to the King and his counsel in considering making the changes to the construction process.
Benefits and Disadvantages of the Proposed Solutions
Decision Support Systems
The benefits of the DSS systems are many. One of the benefits is that the project manager will be able to determine the strengths and the weaknesses of the organization and employ the data in making relevant and critical decisions to be implemented in the organization. The system will give an overview of the entire operations of the firm that will be used to evaluate designed process adoption and implementation, identify problems and bottlenecks along the production process and make viable change decisions to curb the issues in consideration of the entire process. One of the disadvantages of the DSS systems is that they need skilled managers that can interpret the data offered to real-world implications for decision-making process (Akçetin, & Yurtay, 2015, p 57).
Office Automation Processes
Office automation processes increases the efficiency and productivity of the organization by eliminating stoppages, bottlenecks, and delays in the manufacturing process. The little human interface required increases efficiency and accuracy by eliminating errors caused by humans. However, the process requires accurate prediction of the demand since the amount demanded acts as the signal to the supply chain. Inaccurate demand projection would result to over or under-supply that would create surplus or shortage in the production process (Turban, McLean & Wetherbe, 1999, p. 103).
Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP models increase the efficiency and productivity of the enterprise by fostering effective communication within the organization and between the firm and the external stakeholders. Improved effective communication between the various sections of the production line ensures smooth and harmonious workflow for the success of the entire project. The information from the various departments is available to the top managers that make decisions to be implemented according to the reports obtained. The challenges and reports gathered are communicated rapidly to the decision makers and the feedback is given in a timely manner making the organization able to respond rapidly and effectively to the external changes. One of the critical challenges in the adoption of the ERP programs is the level of skills necessary to use the system. Since it should be used by all the staffs and be accessible to the external stakeholders, it need to be modified to offer the highest level of user-friendly to the end-users. Extensive and continuous training of the workers is critical as the system is upgraded continually depending with the project development (Neubaum, Dibrell & Craig, 2012).
Recommendations and Reason for the Choice
The recommended MIS system to be adopted in the VASA project would be WS-CDL+ built on a GIS platform Decision-Making system was recommended for the project. The model would enable the project managers to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the business in their decision-making process. The system will collect information from the various sections in the production line that will be used to determine the implementation of the planned project process, the challenges experienced at specific levels, and the critical changes needed to eliminate the bottlenecks in the process (Kang, Wang & Hung, 2007). The system will offer the corresponding volume of the ship with the specified bottom length and the cargo weight that can aboard. In addition, the model could have given the information about the cost and the time of manufacturing the desired ships that could have been employed in determining the impact and the relevance of the changes made by the King.
The DSS MIS design would be sold to Gustavu based on the features, the advantages, the benefits, cost, and the needs of the VASA project. The proposed model employs a WS system built over a GIS model that collects information from the various sections of the business, the external factors related to the industry from the cloud computing systems and analyses it in relation to the status of the project. The model is applicable to a non-structured organization and is used by middle and top managers in decision-making processes; therefore, the other staff will not need to be trained on how to use the system. The model is user friendly and cheap to run and maintain. Using the system would enable Gustavu to manufacture the most competitive ship in the market. The design would enable Gustavu develop the best ship with the most cost-effective production method. However, the model would need professional data interpretation skills by the managers to use the analyzed information to make real-world effective business decisions. In addition, the system is prone to unforeseen external environmental disasters that may influence the success of the project (Kang, Wang & Hung, 2007, p. 383).
Conclusion
Management information systems are critical management tools that are used by the project managers to offer useful industrial information to be used in making relevant and effective decisions in the firm. The tools are many and each has a specific set of information it offers to the enterprise leadership. The failure of the Gustavu`s VASA project can be attributed to the failure of the utilization of five critical MIS models. The designs that were not utilized in the project were decision support models, executive information systems, human resource management platforms, enterprise resource planning designs, and office automation processes. The issues surrounding VASA project could have been solved by adoption of the Decision-Making, Enterprise Resource Planning, and Office Automation MIS models. The three possible solutions have their merits and demerits. After consideration of the pros and cons of the three alternatives coupled by the needs of the VASA project, WS-CDL+ built on a GIS platform Decision-Making system was recommended for the project.
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