Information System For Caterpillar Information Technology Essay

Information System For Caterpillar Information Technology Essay Information is a vital to running a business today, hence the needs to control and utilise information has been developed rapidly in order to gain a competitive advantage. Information system is a useful general term which used to describe about the way of organisation manage their information successfully. Today is twenty first century and computers and computer-based system are very essential to run and setup the organisation. A comprehensive and integrated information system provides a space to consolidating fragmented pieces or sub systems, improving country decision-making capabilities, implementing evidence-based decision making and providing easy access to reliable and valid data and subsequently to good quality information for better decision-making. Caterpillar is one of the worlds foremost manufacturers of earthmoving machinery and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and electrical power generation systems. Caterpillar has declared that the Caterpillar Inc. Company was officially established in 1925.Since it was founded in 1925, Caterpillar has a proud history in product development, technological innovations and globalizations with presence around the world in Europe, South-North America, Russia, China, Japan, and Africa, the company provides products and services in a multinational market, Caterpillar employs about 200.00 people around the world between dealers, employees, and suppliers. In 2006, Caterpillar reported Sales and Revenues of $ 41.517 billion and profit of $ 3.537 billion, up 28 percent compared with the previous year. (General Motors Annual Report 2005) Introduction: To ensure the success, organization always depended on information system. For their continued survival all the medium to large organizations depend on their information technology. All kind of business like small to co-operation enterprise everyone use their own information system. In daily Telegraph they published a recent article; IT supplement advises that many large organizations could not survive longer than 24 hours without IT support! Day by day, year by year organizations have changed their information systems from dealing purely with data processing to strategic and decision support. Without the valid information is impossible to find success in the short, medium and long term plan. At present situation it is also recognized that in an organization information is very common required at all levels and that information can have find from many source. To gaining competitive advantage the valid information is very Importance to needs to be stressed. INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR CATERPILLAR: The different kind of Information System depends on different needs of the company. Today the market offers a range of software; accounting programs, management programs. The company depending on its budget have to identify the most effective system which will bring about more benefits. Despite using the information systems in each level, an alternative system called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) may be used to replace all the other systems mentioned above for each level within the organization. The information systems mentioned before address different functional areas usually in fragmented and incoherent fashion. The systems are created to meet the particular needs of the organization. On the other hand, the ERP system leads to more effective sharing of information and eventually to the production of more precise forecasts and plans. It is a package of programs that allow the company to integrate and share information by linking the subsidiaries, suppliers, employees, sales analysis, human resources, inventories, and financial issues simultaneously with managers and customers. It is an all-in-one package. The adoption of a single system has advantages such as dealing with only one software vendor, reduced maintenance and other repair costs, comparability between systems within the organization; and a more unifying strategy for the organization. However, it may be an expensive system to purchase and operate; and may lack flexibility to adapt to changing business need. ERP has been an effective system to adopt and Caterpillar will definitely gain competitive advantage over its rivals. INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION: These systems are focused on determining what information must be provided in order to achieve the objectives of the business strategy. Caterpillar being the worlds leading producer of earth moving equipment, industrial gas turbine engines and a global leader supplier of diesel engines, selling over 300 products with a service life of fifty or more years to support distributors in over 120 countries, needs to plan and establish accurate designs of Information system for each level within the organization. These systems will help the organization to make reliable decisions within each level of the organization as mentioned below. a) STRATEGIC LEVEL The strategic level is the top most level in an organization and through the use of Executive Support System (ESS) which is the highest level of information systems used within the senior management, it establishes medium to long term strategies which assist in strategic decision making. Caterpillars strategic decisions will have a major impact on the organization and will be based on future assumptions rather than the current. It is analysed from external sources (market surveys, trade publications, demographic studies, government reports and commissioned research from specialist suppliers). The information will tend to be highly uncertain and more of a general nature or summary. The organization needs to make decisions which will help them gain a competitive edge within the market by maximising its share, attaining huge profits, develop quality and right products, control the costs and provision of satisfaction for customers. Information Requirements at this level would therefore include: Profit forecasts Patterns of expenditure Sales analyses Demographic Survey Development of market forces General economy Information Technology: The organization needs to understand and forecast customer demands so as to keep up with the future trends. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a system which provides information about customers such as categories of customers and predicts their behaviours. This system would update Caterpillar to be able to fulfil customers demands (by innovating new products) and prevent wastage of customers to competitors. b) TACTICAL LEVEL This is associated with the middle management and involves medium term decisions. The information required will normally be in aggregate form and it is subject to less uncertainty compare to information required in the strategic level. Within this level, the organization can use two types of systems; Decision Support System (DSS) and Management Information System (MIS). MIS facilitates routine summarizing and reporting while DSS allows ad hoc queries and analytical reporting. Caterpillar will have to effectively manage and control its finances (prepare budgets), labour, inventories, machinery and other resources. Information Requirements at this level would be: Variance Reports Sales analysis Cash flow forecasts Personnel Records Management Reports Information Technology: The organization needs to maintain good relationships with its suppliers since they provide the necessary inputs and components for its production. One way of doing so is by creating Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) which establishes an electronic connection between the business and its suppliers and automatically sends messaged to the supplier when orders are to be made. c) KNOWLEDGE LEVEL This level is often present in some organizations and helps to keep up to date with the technology and makes use of the Knowledge Work Systems (KWS). For Caterpillar, this level would help to create designs and graphics of its machinery and other forms of design specification. Information Requirements: Design Specifications Drafts Previous or existing models Information Technology: Through the use of expensive Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacturing equipment, Caterpillar has a chance to produce differentiated products which would act as a barrier to entry for other firms and to gain competitive advantage over other firms within the industry. d) OPERATIONAL LEVEL This level is concerned with the decisions made in the normal day to day operations within a business. Decisions in this area are designed to ensure the effective and efficient use of existing resources to realise budget objectives. This level makes use of the Transaction Processing System (TPS) which includes systems such as payroll, order tracking, machine control and employee records. Information Requirements: Personnel information Inventory and production levels Pricing decisions Credit control over customers Cash controls and other forms of accounting Cloud computing: Cloud computing is a term that normally using for anything that involves delivering hosted through the internet. Generally these services are divided in to three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-service (laas) Platform-as-a-service (paas) and Software-as-a-Service (saas).The name of cloud computing is stirred from the cloud symbol that usually symbolized the internet in flowchart and diagram. In the simplest, cocktail-hour terms, cloud computing is managed, shared applications, development platforms or computing infrastructure accessible via a network such as the internet. Above the clouds: Managing Risk in the World of Cloud Computing By Kevin T McDonalds. Cloud computing technology boasts all the benefits of multitenant, including built-in security, reliability, upgradeability and ease of use. Normally cloud computing platforms are growing in popularity, its exceptional advantages does a cloud computing architecture offer to companies in todays economic climate. Suitability of cloud computing: Proven Web-services integration: Cloud computing technology is most easier and quicker to compare with other enterprise applications by their unique nature. Such as McDonalds company using their web site logo I am loving it this is proven that all over the world for McDonalds recognition. World-class service delivery: Cloud computing infrastructures offer much greater scalability, complete disaster recovery and impressive uptime numbers. McDonalds offer their same service to the customer all over the world and they maintain their service in the same label. No hardware or software to install: The main beauty of cloud computing technology is its simplicity. This doesnt require any software to install and it requires significantly fewer capital to get up and running. Faster and lower risk development: No more waiting moths or years and spending millions of dollars before anyone gets to log into new solution. Cloud computing technology applications are live in a matter of weeks or months, even with extensive customization or combination. Support for deep customizations: Several IT professionals mistakenly think that cloud computing is difficult to customize as a result it is not a good choice for complex enterprises. This infrastructure not only allows deep customization and application configuration, it preserves all those customization even during upgrades. This is also ideal for application development tosiness support organizations evolving needs. Empowered business users: cloud computing technology allow on the fly, point and click customization and report generation for business users, so IT doesnt spend half its time making minor changes and running reports. Automatic upgrades that dont impact IT resources: These infrastructures put an end to a huge IT dilemma; if we upgrade to the latest and greatest version of the application, well be forced to spend time and resources to rebuild our customizations and combinations. Cloud computing doesnt force to decide between upgrading and preserving all hard work. Because all the customization and integrations are automatically preserved during an upgrade. Conclusion: According to research literature and Caterpillar information system it is evident that well establish system running by the company. From particular store to head office and also around the world the whole company running by one network. Every store is monitored by head office and how they operate business operation, tracking stock, ordering system, distribution channel, internal communication going through one IT network. Caterpillar has very strong relationship with cloud computing technology that gives great security and data storage facilities without investing additional amounts. Around the world data transfer and hassle free communication with secure system made Caterpillar in driving position in construction and mining equipment industry. Quality development strongly controlled and improved through latest technology and that made customer satisfaction and also keep customer loyal for future business. References: Above the Clouds: Managing Rusisk in the World of Cloud Computing  By Kevin T. McDonald

Benchmark Jobs

In the business world today, many companies are made up of benchmark jobs and also non-benchmark jobs. A benchmark job is an occupation that is common throughout that field of work. Therefore, it is a job that has standard responsibilities that can be found from one organization to another. A non-benchmark job is just the opposite. It is a job that it is unique to the organization and cannot be found in other organizations of the same occupation. Through our interviews one will be able to have a better understanding of a benchmark job, with it being applied to reality. Also, through reading, â€Å"Lectures on the Measurement and Evaluation† by Saul Rosen one will be able to clearly identify a benchmark job. Throughout this article, it goes into detail about real and synthetic benchmark job. As stated in the article, a synthetic benchmark job is one that has been designed specifically for inclusion in a benchmark model. They use this model of benchmark jobs for system measurements or testing of evaluation. Throughout the paper we will discuss the importance of benchmark jobs, the process of determination, what has been found in the past, future research, and discussion on personal interviews and information from articles and books. In the end the reader will be able to have a better understanding from our research on benchmark jobs. The importance of a benchmark job Many individuals may wonder why benchmark jobs are important to an organization. Companies use benchmark jobs as a form of evaluation in order to better their company. Through this information it opens the eyes of the organization to be able to see many new methods and ideas that they may not of otherwise been able to acknowledge. They use these methods and ideas towards improving their effectiveness within the company. Another benefit of a benchmark job is that they can be applied to many different kinds of jobs and also newly created jobs. It is not built to only benefit a certain type of career. The benchmark job process In order to determine a benchmark job, the company can do a survey to compare jobs throughout their industry. There are several questions that a company can ask themselves in order to determine what occupations within their company are classified as a benchmark job. Why does the job exist? What knowledge is needed? What does the job consist of? What couldn’t be done without it? Does almost every company in our industry have this job? Simple questions like these can help businesses determine what jobs are a benchmark job. Some examples of a benchmark job would be a secretary in an administrative company, a scientist in a technical group, or an inspector in a manufacturing business. In the reading â€Å"Handbook of Industrial Engineering: Technology and Operations Management† it discusses the benchmark job process and how it is used for evaluations. The first step is to select a benchmark job. This is very critical to an evaluation, because the entire method is based on them. These benchmark jobs serve as reference points. The number of benchmark jobs for the evaluation varies, because it depends on the range and diversity of the work to be evaluated. Next, one will want to rank the benchmark job. They are ranked on each compensable factor, they use the example of a job family consisting of six jobs is first ranked on mental requirements, 1 being the highest, then on experience and skills, and so on. After each benchmark job is ranked on each factor the next step is to allocate the current wages of that benchmark job among the compensable factors. â€Å"This is done by deciding how much of the wage rate for each benchmark job is associated with mental demands, how much with physical requirements, and so on, across the compensable factors (Salvendy, Gavriel). †

In Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinso, Categorical...

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Analysis of Sean Covey´s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective...

Effective Habits in Teens’ Lives Being a teenager can be challenging sometimes. Not many teens can easily cope with the pressure that comes from school, family, and friends. The author Sean Covey published The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens as a helpful book for teens that face many uncertainties during the emotional stage of growing up and getting ready to become adults someday. Since Covey managed to capture the readers’ heart with many relatable short stories along with deep insights, this engaging book has become widely popular among teens as well as adults who influence young people. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey does not only discuss the essential principles to deal with daily situations, he also provides guidance on how to succeed in life by being proactive, defining goals, and making priorities. In the first chapter, one of the many steps to live a productive and successful life is being proactive. Proactive people think carefully bef ore making any major or minor decisions, and most importantly, they take responsibilities for their behaviors. They often come to the conclusion of their choices based on values and principles instead of impulses or circumstances. They remain calm under situations that many find easy to break down because of peer pressure. Those who are proactive in their lives cannot control the situation; however, they can control what to do with it rather than giving in. Proactive people do not just want something; they