We Have Numbers Of Free Samples

PART 1

Introduction

The Pilbara Ports Authority (PPA), is one of the few ideal organizations to analyse its Strategic Information Systems. The topic of Strategic Information Systems is very vast in terms of all that gets covered under the same. The likes of organizational capabilities by virtue of its structure and also the capabilities in terms of the functionalities the company has to offer come under this wide topic. So essentially, when we consider the fitment of this organization, we can say that this organization has been merged into 4 Port Authorities from the earlier 8 authorities. This entity came into existence in 2014, and has since been operational as a Government Trading Enterprise of Australia. The company is dedicated towards increase in its efficiency and increase trade and commerce for the Western Australia as a result of its increased export figures.

1. The current organizational structure

There has been extensive research on the different organization structures that are being followed by the plethora of corporates throughout the globe. The different classifications are all based on several different criteria’s like on the basis of Hierarchy, on the basis of decision-making power, as well as the sub-division of the organizational functions. On these bases we can label the corporates who use accounting software’s, which are usually the ones that have their turnovers in over millions of Dollars. Some of these divisions are also on the basis of projects, which gives comparatively more autonomy to take decisions relevant to the concerned project and not a generalized breakup resulting in better results because of improved focus on pressure areas (Spathis and Constantinides, 2004).

The PPA uses a mixture of several different structures in terms of its hierarchy as well as the decision making powers, each of the Ports comes under a Chief Executive who is the highest authority for that particular port. These Executives together manage the entirety of the four ports with the help of their subordinates, these subordinates are divided into different functional groups that manage different operations for each port. Each particular functional division is assigned its budgets and targets for the year, but as the functioning of each of these is inter-dependent, few members of each department is further a part of cross-functional teams that ensure synergy for the ports (Denscombe, 2003).

2. What operational problems (e.g., inefficiency, errors) do you think the organisation could experience because of this structure?

This organizational structure can still be termed as decentralized as although the primary duties and decisions are taken under the supervision of the Chief Executives, they are still performing only the superficial tasks of management, on the other hand the ground staff which is the one actually performing the job is answerable for their work. This is where the cross-functional teams come into place. Although we know the export business is prone to several manual errors, the primary one of them is that of inputting data in these software by people less competent than the ones needed, as such roles are not given a very high importance in these organizations.

In PPA, for example, not all data gets properly utilized and correctly stored, the export units, containers can get misplaces because of the large extent of material handling. At the same time not all materials get correctly identified because of wrong assignment shipments. Many a times the port faces loss because of loss of the shipment because of employee negligence or theft. Given the enormity of these ports it becomes very difficult to keep track of all export entities and the necessary documentation. Also documents get forged sometimes which go unnoticed and thus leading to sever penalties for the ports. Not only that timely shipment is of equal importance, but yet it is many time dependent on external factors beyond the control of the port and thus unexpected losses because of the nature of their terms of agreement.

3. What is the most likely system acquisition method— commercial software, custom software, or ERP?

As can be said for the large organizations of the need of a centralized accounting software, what is true equally is that if not used in the correct module it can prove detrimental for their profitability. The reason for the same being that each organization works differently and so looking at the prospective future requirements as well the places for improvements the service providers will be in a position to suggest better practice for their company. The goals and objectives for each firm vary for different time periods and the IT part of it is equally important as it facilitates them achieving these goals. So for companies it is important that they hire people or providers who will be able to understand their business, needs, challenges, and the upcoming changes. There these providers increasingly engage with the consultants who have better knowledge in these areas about the particular fields. Usually one can see that these consultants were previously working as a key stakeholder in the given fields thus having the profound knowledge.

In PPA, it is very important that there is proper understanding between the different functional teams as well as among the management of different ports so as to manage and coordinate shipment work together, for synergy. The company would need reports on its financials, materials management, employee utilization, retention, compensation structure, user groups and land utilization (Abu-Musa, 2005).

4. Describes and prepare a system flowchart of the sales procedures for the chosen organization (company)

This would include over the counter shipment of goods to that will vary with the industry and sector they operate in. Many of the users fall into categories such as automobiles, locomotives, natural resources- oil, grains, etc. This usually depends on the particular organization they are working with. It would require lot of research and analysis on the part of the service provider. They will have to quote competitive prices and have a sales rep team in place to handle the clients. Many of the activities are managed online and so the IT will need to be in place. The payment procedure will also vary with the size of the particular dealing like- cashless, online, LOC letter of credit, lien and similar ways. So like PPA a strategic approach will be needed to work competitively (Hall, 2001).

5. Identify any control problems in the system and what sorts of fraud are possible in this system?

These problems are widely prevalent to all sorts of business’ but primary ones being miscalculation, reduced efficient, and fraudulent practices. These would include stealing goods, documents, misplacing due to negligence and so on and so forth. What PPA should invest more in is better surveillance and responsible staff that can make informed decisions. Otherwise, these can harm the profits as well as the preorganization from the inside. Also inspection of the goods sent and received is important as smuggling is the primary drawback these ports that can lead to legal actions taken in case of insufficient supervision.

PART 2

1. Development and adoption of the accounting software packages,

The PPA is currently implementing the MYOB accounting software with different modules each for different departments as the needs for each are highly different from each other. What can further be served is that despite of them having these different requirements MYOB has successfully been able to implement its product in the organization, and it still continues to function in close connection with the executives of each division to be able to customize it further for them.

Although we know that the higher the level of customization needs the greater will the costs for the company but still in the long run, they are bound to be profitable because of better performance and analysis. So for this organization in particular we can say that it is a wise decision to adopt customized versions of the package. As per what the research suggests not all companies would benefit from such strategy as opposed to how it worked for PPA. The reason being that some organizations are better of having centralized procedure set in place than giving departments autonomy over their needs. In such cases, it might get very difficult to align the firm in the company years, because of the increased number of financial regulations (Vagias, 2006).

2. The current market size,

The accounting software services are versatile in nature it terms of the industries they cater. Because irrespective of the industry, no matter howsoever different the user group and their own varied product offerings, the needs get united at least in terms of their accounting requirements. This industry has witnessed massive growth already which is only going to outperform itself. With an annual business of 3.2 Billion dollars, we can expect the industry to encompass larger avenues in the future and thus make it even more fiercely competitive. The year on year growth has been averaged as around 6% for the past two financial years and it is expected to continue the trend if not increase it. It has also been observed that the larger these software conglomerates, the even fiercer the competition which makes it very difficult for the low turnover companies to achieve break even because of the niche services provides like accounting consultancy and accounting status regulatory reports. The market is no longer only limited to the accounting software providers, several other information technology firms from the third world countries have ventured in this filed and our performing exceptionally making it a necessity for larger providers to challenge their employees for better delivery (Simkin, 1992).

3. Identify the leaders in the market and what gives them the competitive advantage,

The primary competitors in this market include Saasu, and Quickbooks that are the leading accounting software services providers, followed by few others like Xero and SAP. Apart from these MNCs there are several native service providers that ae although not so big in turnovers but are equally efficient. As per what the analysis of the products of these firms suggests the larger the product base of its offerings, usually larger the competitive advantage. Also the ore the number of efficiently trained support groups for the users, the greater is the reliability as so larger is the retention ratio. So basically nowadays companies are preferring those providers who are able to automate the maximum of the task yet be able to customize their modules for their individual needs which I itself can be quite fluctuating as per their individualistic business’ demands. So it can be said the larger the service lines, the better the proposition (Jones, 2002).

4. Identify the current gaps or challenges encountered by users or customers of accounting software/packages and make relevant suggestions or recommendations.

As what happens with any other crucial differentiator, same is the case with accounting software, they are highly prone to causing disadvantages, either because of lesser awareness or because of inability to utilize it to the maximum advantage. Take for example the usability, not all the employees working in the organization can be trained on these nor does each one of them necessarily have enough competency. So if it is put to use by inefficient people, they may not be able to make use of the software as was meant to be. Also, when we speak of accounting software what next comes is its vulnerability to potential information leaks or misuse because of wider accessibility. It can get increasingly difficult to restrict such confidential data in a larger spectrum of people.

5. Relevant Suggestion/ Recommendations

The current competitive environment for exports is not just prevalent from the Australian competitive itself, but PPA is facing even massive challenge from the export authorities of Asia and the Gulf who are highly efficient in achieving in better economies of scale faster owing to their cheaper labor as well as better resources, but the lager hand is of the organization that can standardize its working but at the same time be readily available to setup dynamic functionalities in its ongoing systems because of the ever changing nature of this business. Choosing the correct mix of software packages would ensure that the data is being fed in the right place and is being used to gain an edge over the others (Abu-Musa, 2005).

Conclusion

The above analysis makes it very evident how essential automation is essential in the accounting practices in a large organization like PPA to centralize the financials of the company. Implementing these accounting soft wares ensures that the company is not only complaint to the new rules and regulations but also is able to benefit out of the analysis done for its financial reports of the previous years, resulting in informed decision making which is strategic and aligned to its common goal. These software are a great tool to getting an edge over the competitors and achieving reduced costs by standardizing the procedures.

[Download not found]

Download