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The effective functioning of a modern company requires proper IT services that can integrate the various complicated software programs and services into something that is useful for managers. Managers want the ability to run reports at the touch of a finger without having to spend large amounts of time attempting to extract information. The IT department has responsibilities to provide the capabilities needed in an integrated and simple format (Feigenbaum, Herman, Hongsermeier, Neumann & Stephens, 2007). The integrated system allows the decision makers within the organization to synthesize the information into a useful format for making strategic decisions. Therefore, the IT system and the software that is utilized on that system should be able to work with multiple users on multiple computer interface systems. In order for this to happen all of the software and systems should use a single programming language which makes it easier for IT professionals to work with (Vaas, 2007). When IT professionals can manipulate the code of such software and are able to develop databases of information collected in through various software they are able to more easily handle the data load and manipulated for corporate use. The database should be easy to use and easily manipulated for customization. The process is relatively simple. The information collected through the operating system and the software on the system is periodically updated into a large corporate database. This information can then be extracted and used in reports, financial monitoring and helping to make other financial decisions. The more data that can be collected and synthesized the more beneficial it is to the company. Installing the proper data system will also require some strategic planning about who should have access and the systems that are used. For example, the human resource information systems may not be able to communicate well with the main database. In addition, such systems may have no function outside of their own departments. Once the IT system is made and developed the organization must still determine who is going to have access to such systems (Scalisi, 2007). Each level of access should be based in part on the position of the user, their necessity in the information and organizations objectives. The level of information a person can get is important for the protection of the system, the privacy of the workers and the ability of managers to make appropriate decisions. Setting up a corporate wide IT system with a central database that works is essential in any modern organization. It is useful because it is the powerhouse that keeps all of the information for the organization and without this information it is difficult to make appropriate strategic decisions. When it comes to IT, it is better to ensure accuracy than to force speed. Trigger Mechanisms Trigger mechanisms help companies determine when looming problems are going to become a reality and prompt these executives to take immediate evasive action (Lenckus, 2007). Under such circumstances many organizations will begin to meet and implement plans for steering away from future problems. Trigger mechanisms are important because sometimes executive management may be slow or fearful to act and this allows problems to continue to fester. However at times these problems can grow to the point that action must be taken and without this prompting it can is doubtful that all managers will take evasive action. Triggers can come in many different forms that include financial measure of cash flow, debt ratios, declining profits but also may come in the form of other operations necessities such as turn over rates or system shutdowns. These triggers can help the organization manage crisis. It would make logical sense that the major catastrophes of the organizations are pre-planned and thought out so as to develop a procedure to handle such crisis (Burrage & Hoekstra, 2004). These procedures will depend on the organization and on the managers involved. For example, an organization runs into a cash flow problem and therefore less monies should be temporarily allocated to debt, marketing should focus on more cash related items and managers must help ensure that their departments are funneling as much cash as possible to the central entity. Without mechanisms problems can grow and become bigger then they need be. These problems can continue to grow and fester without awareness of what is happening under the surface. If left unhanded or ignored these problems could either seriously hamper the organization and force its collapse. Murad Ali is a three time published book author, a human resource professional, a business professor and helps businesses get more customers/visitors at http://www.article-agent.org Visit http://www.thenewbusinessworld.blogspot.com for more free articles.
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