Introduction
It is common knowledge that information is power. This arises due to the fact that access to the right information at the right time is critical for making business decisions (Stair & Reynolds, 2011). For this reason this information needs to be delivered to the right person at the right time with the minimal amount of effort required.
Information systems are widely used around the world in almost all professions to assist in reaching and serving customers around the world. For this reason this paper presents a brief discussion on some of the potential benefits of implementing a new information system within the Party Plates organization.
Usefulness of Data Conversion
It has been reported that the Microsoft office is among the most useful set of applications that can be used in a corporate setting (Schmalz, 2006). This is because apart from the fact that it is easy to use, most of the applications in the suite can work together. Based on this therefore it becomes very easy to transfer data from one application to another. In this regard it has been observed that Microsoft Excel and Access offer the greatest benefits through integration.
Given the above position this proposal suggests the use of Microsoft Access to track all personnel data currently held in Microsoft excel spreadsheets. Apart from the numerous benefits that Access provides this software is deemed most suitable due to the minimal effort required to manage the conversion.
It has already been mentioned that these applications work well together and as such this will ease the transition from one application to the next. This comes in light of the simplicity involved in transferring data contained in Excel worksheets to Access databases.
Benefits of Access
Though the power of Excel is clear and universally accepted, the additional utility that comes with relational databases suggests a need to integrate the applications for improved business performance. The main advantage that the company stands to benefit from through the use of Access comes from its inherent ability to query data (Schmalz, 2006). The application allows the user to define specific datasets and produce results from a database containing various entries.
In addition to queries, the Access application is useful in that it allows the user to generate periodical reports. It has already been mentioned that the main purpose of information systems within an organization is to improve decision making capacity (Stair & Reynolds, 2011).
The use of an Access database to hold personnel data will allow the management of Party Plates improve their decision making capacity based on reports generated. Another advantage with the Access application is based on the ability to create relationships between various data items. This brings the advantage of ease in updating of data in the tables.
Future Proposals
It has been observed that within most successful organizations, effective internal communication plays a major role in overall performance (Breslin, 2010). It has been suggested that access to open internal channels of communication create an atmosphere of respect where co-workers can flourish (Breslin, 2010).
In light of the fact that face to face communication is often too time consuming or difficult over great distances this paper proposes the creation of a corporate weblogs to improve internal communication.
This comes in light of the fact that this approach is likely to overcome complication associated with face to face communication and the use of print which requires space for filing and is slow to retrieve (Breslin, 2010). It is believed the use of an organizational blog can reduce time spent in meetings that involve conveyance of information such as production quantities, work schedules and sales information.
References
Breslin, J. (2010). Recent Trends and Developments in Social Software. Printed in Germany: Springer.
Schmalz, M. (2006). Integrating Excel and Access: Combining Applications to Solve Business Problems. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media Inc.
Stair, R., & Reynolds, G. (2011). Fundamentals of Information Systems. Boston, MA: Course Technology.