Introduction
Information refers to a piece of data or a message that needs to be passed from one individual to another. A system is a combination of interrelated items that work together to achieve desired objectives (Peng, 2009). Information Systems refers to a combination of information, the people concerned and the technology that supports the operation.
It also involves the management of information (storage, transfer, interpretation and consumption of the information) and the decision-making process. International Information System refers to the information system that is able to support the communication and coordination of persons at local and international levels.
Information needs to be transferred from one individual to another for it to be meaningful. The process of passing information from one individual to another is referred to as communication. Communication is very important. Kaplan (2009) argues that communication is the only way that an individual can make known what is in his/her heart to another individual. In the business world, nothing can transpire without this vital component.
The only link between a firm and its customers is communication. Through this, a firm will make known what it offers to the market. It will also need this business component to pass other pieces of information to the target market. The customer on the other hand needs communication in order to be aware of firms offering products that satisfy their needs in the best way possible (Muniz & Guinn, 2001).
In the corporate world, information is the link among organizations in an environment where effective communication is the key to success. For this reason, there is need for organizations to understand the information system in totality and its relation to the global environment. Firms need to appreciate the need for information officers and the importance of their role towards the success of an organization in its operations.
The senior management team, led by the chief information officer, must understand and be ready to tackle challenges that come with information technology. They need to be in a position where they can predict these challenges and design concrete measures that can respond to them as they come.
Need for International Information System: Benefits
Globalization has heightened the need for information system. Firms that operate in international markets cannot do without communication. They need the information system in order to understand and operate in the increasingly competitive market. Transportation technologies have incorporated information systems in such a manner that a firm is able to trace movements of products or raw materials from one location to another (Enns & Huff, 2000).
When effectively structured, a firm will be in a position to trace the movement of these products and be alerted in case of any complications or inconveniences. This creates a situation where the firm will be moving along with the products, not physically but via information, and be in a position to determine the timeline that is likely to take the products to get to the desired destination (Enns & Huff, 2000).
International information systems enables firms to develop a global culture. The domestic environment may exhibit remarkable difference from what the global market is. With an information system that is well structured and officers who understand the global world, a firm is able to understand the global culture.
Global culture refers to the expected code of conduct of firms that have global outlook. The global culture views each region in the larger market as unique and with features that need customization for there to be a success when operating in it (Enns & Huff, 2000).
Integrated information system increases the knowledge base. The world is full of very important information that may be useful to various firms. Many scholars have done studies on various factors that affect operations of business units globally. Firms operating in the global world need to be abreast with such knowledge for them to succeed in the market. International information system offers the best way to gather amylase store or utilize the data that is massively available in various print and electronic sources (Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1999).
The global market calls for global cooperation. Firms that get their raw materials from Africa, processes them in Europe and markets the products in America must have a comprehensive international information system that will enable it operate in these regions successfully.
They must be able to coordinate the purchase of raw materials, processing of the products and the market demands. Because the three processes take place in three different continents, communication is the only way to turn the three regions into a single unit with each department fully aware of the demands and capability of the other (Fernandez, 2006).
Role of Leadership in Applying International Information System
Benjamin, Dickens and Rockart (1984) define leadership as the art of organizing and coordinating all factors of production from front, with an aim of making them efficient and productive and in line with the objectives and vision of the organization. Every organization has a clear leadership structure that facilitates its normal running.
The International information system is a complex process that requires the goodwill of the top management to ensure its success in implementation and smooth running. The initial financial impact can be prohibitive, and this calls for leadership that appreciates the need for its application.
There is need to develop and operate this system at various levels and in various locations that an organization operates. All levels of corporate activity must have a coordinated system units that links them to other departments in the larger firm. Whether national, regional or international level, there should be a clear understanding and implantation of this information system so that the firm can operate as one unit even though it may have an international outlook (Deans et al., 1994).
The creation of this office is very important for any firm that hopes to make advancement in this sector. This is common if the firm has a global outlook. Various locations across the globe where such a firm operates must be coordinated closely to ensure the there is a smooth running of the activities of the firm in line with the objectives of the firm.
Types of International Information Systems
International information system can be categorized into various groups. Four conventional ways that many scholars have used to categorize them exist. The first one is the centralized international information system. This refers to a system where information is closely controlled from the headquarters in terms of its collection and storage.
Other departments will receive relevant information directly from the central office. Decentralized information systems allow different units in the entire firm to have their own sub-units where collection of data and its interpretation with relevance to that unit is done before it is channeled to the central office to be shared by other departments.
Networked international information system refers to that system in which a cloud of information is available for all the stakeholders and is subject to editing as may be necessary by any department as long as there is communication with, and approval from the chief information officer. A duplicated information system is closely related to the decentralized system, only that in this case; all departments must develop similar operational structures in the implementation of the information system.
Operations support systems
Firms use these systems in lower levels of the firm to run daily operations. The operations systems are subdivided into other several sub systems such as the transaction processing systems, process controls systems and design and processing systems. The activities of the firm are recorded and processed using transaction processing systems while the physical processes of the firm are monitored and controlled using the process control system. Design and production systems help firms design and test model systems.
Management Support Systems
The decision making process of an organization is hectic and middle and upper level managers do rely on this systems to help them make important decisions of the firm. Other systems exist to help in this process. They include the management information systems that helps managers extract data from a database, compile reports and help the decision makers make decisions based on compiled reports.
The decision support system also helps in the process of making decision in an interactive manner that gathers, exhibits and integrates the collected data from different people and departments. Other systems include the executive information systems and the artificial information systems that are also vital in the running of a given company.
Challenges of International Information System
Technology comes at a cost in every organization and the international information system is no exemption. There are several challenges that many organizations face in the process of implementing this system as discussed in these subsequent section.
Cultural Challenges
Organizational culture has been one of the greatest impediments in the implementation of information systems in firms. For a culture that has never had a place for technology, issues arise while convincing the top traditional managers that technology is as important as the department of finance that they hold with treasure.
For instance, convincing employees in many firms operating in third world countries to adopt information systems is difficult due to cultural beliefs and values. Convincing them of the need to have an elaborate and distinct department for communication and information may not be an easy task. Other members of the organization may also exhibit casual towards this vital department, making it impossible to have a successful integration of the system
Regulatory Challenges
Some regions in the world have stringent legislations that that govern the flow of information. A point in case is the Republic of China that has prohibitive laws such that as liberal laws that regulate information flow. The government has direct intervention on the kind of information that flows within its borders. This is a great challenge, as such, firms will have to edit their information, depriving those in such regions the entirety of the available information. Other federal laws and organizational regulations may also work against success of international information system.
Standards and Quality
Technology requires quality of the structures that are involved in its operations so that the result is up to the standards required. However, some instances occur where the structures fail to meet the quality standards expected of them. In such a system, firms may offer substandard services that may be risky compared to accrued benefits.
This may be disastrous to an organization that relies on such information to ensure successful operations in various global regions. Enn and Huff (2000) explains that a substandard information system is twice as disastrous as having none.
The quality of the system should also be managed so that all units involved are incorporated successfully. Apart from the quality of the supporting hardware, the quality of the information systems also matters. Many vendors exist in the market that it is difficult to know the genuine vendor of the international information system is.
The sale of a system should be accompanied by its maintenance and updates to meet future challenges. In addition, the system should design for specific issues of an organization. Some of information system lack these qualities thereby making firms undergo many losses after investing in the system.
Reliability
The international information system must be reliable. The management, owners, employees and other stakeholders depend on it to get the right information about the running of the firm. They depend on this integrated communication to establish the progress, challenges, and opportunities and threats the firm faces in the market among other concerns.
The stakeholders therefore expect that communication that will be generated from the international information system will be reliable. However, at times this fails to happen. Unreliability of the system can be due to technological challenges or errors in data provided. The outcome to this could be too costly to the firm that many firms fail to successfully implement the international information system.
Personnel
This system requires a highly trained and experienced labor force that understands information and communication technology. Information system users should be conversant with the different aspects of the system in order for the system to be of use to the firm.
Most of the organizations adopting information system management do not have trained and experienced employees and have either to hire new experienced staff or train their existing employees on the use of the system. This may be an expensive venture for a business enterprise as the average pay of employees is always considerably high especially if the firm hires the scarce experienced employees.
If by chance, an organization picks on personnel with little understanding of information system, it would be the beginning of a failed international information system. However, the firm could choose an option of training its existing employees. This will take many time and financial resources that may cost the firm its valuable competence in the market. Therefore, the management must make a viable decision after evaluation of the costs and benefits of every alternative.
Security
Security is one of the greatest concerns in international information system. The communication industry is full of criminals who have specialized in hacking into websites and other communication channels with malicious intentions.
Some are hired goons who are interested in strategies of the firm in the marketplace characterized with dirty competition. Others are just interested in distorting the message. The firm employing this system always has security as its biggest concern. Every organization has its confidential information that it values so much.
For instance, the consumers of an organization are of great importance and their confidential information contained in the employee database is vital as other competitors for malicious intentions could steal it. Other vital information concern the production and processing techniques. New inventions and innovations are of great significance to the firm that are to be guarded at all costs. Information systems do not always come with security details and an organization has to arrange for security (Ward & Ostrom, 2006).
Chief Information Officer
This is the head of information and communication department. Many organizations in the world have this office. Some of them include Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola in the beverages industry; Toyota, General Motors, Ford and BMW in the car manufacturing industry; Disney, Amazon and Tesco in the retail market.
The best way through which a firm can successfully implement the international information system is by creating a position of chief information officer who will act as the focal point in all operations that pertains to information and communication of the firm. The chief information acts as an enabler of change in an organization as he/she aligns the information systems with the strategy of the organization (Collins, 2007).
By so doing, the chief information officer helps the firm advance its strategy from good to great. In addition, the CIO manages the IT resources of an organization together with their operations. Just like other departments of an organization (marketing, finance, production, personnel), this department is vital to the success of the firm. Many developed firms have this department with very advanced structures. Other firms integrate this department as a sub unit in the marketing department (Deans & Rick, 1993).
Conclusion
The international information system is an ingredient that any firm wishing to succeed in the current global market cannot afford to exclude in its operational mix.
It is a tool that enables the management to be everywhere at the same time. A manager in Chicago can monitor operations at Miami Beach, New York city and other locations within the US and abroad. However, there are challenges that come with this system, top of which is security. There should be proper mechanism that is put in place by the firm to counter such challenges.
In spite of the many challenges of adopting information systems in many organizations, some solutions that firms could adopt to embrace technology and increase the competitive advantage exist. To begin with, firms should increase literacy levels of their employees concerning information technology and its advantages. This could be achieved through training and organization of workshops on computer and information system literacy (Collins, 2007).
Regulatory challenges could be overcome by the firm the government enacting laws and regulations that are mandatory for firms to abide by such as making a requirement that all firms implement given management information systems.
Training and establishment of different training institution for management information systems could overcome the issue of inexperienced personnel. The firm being strict with its confidential information especially regarding internal and management processes could overcome the issue of security. Moreover, the firm should restrict access to the confidential information to only a few authorized employees.
References
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