Impact Of ICT On SMEs Performance And Information System Benefits For Springfield Animal Hospital

The benefits of implementing ICT in SMEs

1. In the article titled “ICT impact on SMEs performance”, researchers Tarut? and Gatautis (2013) have highlighted the manner in which the adaptation of information communication technologies (ICT) can directly or indirectly affect the performance of small and medium sized business organizations.

The information provided in the chosen article provided a brief overview of the benefits that can be achieved from the implementation of information system, as far as SMEs are concerned: hence the selection of this article is indeed relevant with respect to this particular question.

A computer information system can be defined as a system comprising of computer devices and human experts, both having the capability of storing, managing and analyzing organizational information. Some of mots well known information systems that are commonly implemented and utilized by business organizations are:

2. Data warehouse systems:  the core functionalities provided by this system include storage and analysis of massive chunks of business data.

Enterprise resource planning systems, on the other hand, allow the real-time management of all operational processes for the business with the aid of technology.

Decision support systems assist the executive personnel associated with any organization to take significant business decisions.

Springfield Animal Hospital is a steadily growing healthcare organization (for animals) that is yet to implement information systems within their operational functionalities. The implementation of effective and secured information systems would indeed provide the following benefits to the organization:

1. Automated record maintenance, along with secured storage of data
2. Effective analysis of data leading facilitating decision making
3. Integrated management of business processes.

3.In the article titled ‘The impact of Information Technology on the development of Supply Chain Competitive Advantage’, researchers Marinagi et al (2014) have shed some light on how the efficient use of appropriate business information can provide a competitive edge to any business.

The primary objective of this answer is to reveal the manner in which the information requirements of SAH can earn the organization a leading position in the competitive market: hence the selected article is in perfect alignment with the question.

The key information requirements of SAH have been outlined in the table below:

Sl. No	Information requirements of SAH	Competitive edge available
1	Availability of appointments for treatment of pets, pet accommodation or grooming	The availability of this information over online platform would assist the target customers to book appointments by themselves.
2	Level of stock of consumable elements in the inventory	The automated updating of inventory information would enable SAH to procure such elements well before they run out of stock, thus enhancing the level of service
3	Customer feedback	Would  facilitate the process of customer service, thus ensuring  customer satisfaction.

4. Authors Sadrzadehrafiei, Gholamzadeh. and Karimi (2013) have included a list of benefits that the Dry food packaging industry might avail from the implementation of Enterprise   Resource Planning system, and have tabulated  the said benefits under the following heads: supplier, operations and logistics, finance, sales and marketing and customer support.

The selected article is indeed related to the question being answered as some of the benefits outlined in the paper are applicable for Springfield Animal Hospital as well: the details of the same are being highlighted in the table below.

Key Information requirements for Springfield Animal Hospital

The information requirements of the Springfield Animal Hospital can be adequately met with by the implementation of only two information systems:  the enterprise resource planning system and an online registration system. The utilities of these system are being outlined in the table below:

Sl. No	Recommended Information System	Benefits in meeting business problems
1	Enterprise resource planning	The implementation of the ERP system would facilitate the process of maintaining organizational records, along with keeping a check on the level of consumables present in the inventory.
2	Online registration system	The online registration system would allow the customers to book appointments online, and post their comments and reviews about the services of SAH.

5. Ashrafi et al. (2014) have highlighted the manner in which small and medium sized business organizations have started utilizing the services   of internet for performing their day to day operational activities. The authors have not only identified the benefits that these organizations have availed through the use of internet (and intranet), but have also outlined the pattern of usage of these services based on the size and structure   of the organizations utilizing them.

This paper essentially outlines the strategies that SMEs utilize for availing the benefits of internet. Nigel Taylor, the owner of Springfield Animal Hospital would definitely gain an idea about the appropriate usage of internet and intranet within the organization: hence, the selection of the article for answering the question is justified.

SAH can strategically utilize the services of the intranet, internet and extranet in engaging the key stakeholders of the organization in the following manner:

Branding: SAH can create their ow official website or other well-known social media platforms for advertising the services they provide, thus attracting their target customers.

Communication with customers:  SAH develop facilities for the target customers to boo their appointments and other services online.

1. Communication with vendors:  SAH can utilize the extranet as an effective too for communicating with their suppliers and vendors.
2. Intercommunication between the different facilities of the SAH:  The intranet can be utilized for facilitating the process of informing sharing among the different departments and facilities of SAH.

6. It have conducted a review of several existing literary works reporting independent research works on the domain of organizational change.

The selectin of this article is relevant as it provides a detailed description of the strategies that can be utilized for managing the changes being introduced at the SAH. Some such strategies are being outlined below:

The higher management of the SAH should communicate to the employees the need   for the change being implemented, besides encouraging their participation and ownership. In fact, the participation of the higher management in the same would make the task of incorporating the change much easier.

The higher management should take into consideration the work culture of the organization and make arrangements for all sorts of facilities that the employees would require for adapting the new ISs being implemented at SAH.

7. Authors Hashizume et al. (2013) have presented a systemic review of various literary works, so as to outline the security issues that are associated with cloud computing systems.

 The   consideration of this paper was appropriate in this case, as several of the security and ethical issues mentioned in the paper hold true for a vast majority of information systems utilized by SMEs.

The following ethical and security issues might be associated with the IS under consideration:

Issue	Strategy for resolving the issue
1. Cybercrime: The newly implemented information system might fall victim to a wide range of cybercrimes, including Identity theft, Copyright infringement, Hacking, phishing, etc.	1. An effective network security policy must be developed and implemented at the office. 2. Employees must be provided with appropriate training regarding the avoidance, identification and mitigation of these issues.
2.  Deliberate or accidental leakage of data	The employees of the organization should be provided with adequate training sessions so as to avoid the accidental or deliberate data leakage.
3. Non-utilization of appropriate data security measures	Development and implementation of centralized data security policy would help in mitigating this issue.

References

Ashrafi, R., Sharma, S.K., Al-Badi, A.H. and Al-Gharbi, K., 2014. Achieving business success through information and communication technologies adoption by small and medium enterprises in Oman. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 22(1), pp.138-146.

Hashizume, K., Rosado, D.G., Fernández-Medina, E. and Fernandez, E.B., 2013. An analysis of security issues for cloud computing. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 4(1), p.5.

 Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), pp.1-20.

Levenburg, N.M., Schwarz, T.V. and Motwani, J., 2015. Understanding adoption of internet technologies among SMEs. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 16(1), pp.51-70.

Sadrzadehrafiei, S., Chofreh, A.G., Hosseini, N.K. and Sulaiman, R., 2013. The benefits of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation in dry food packaging industry. Procedia Technology, 11, pp.220-226.

Tarut?, A. and Gatautis, R., 2014. ICT impact on SMEs performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 110, pp.1218-1225.