Ethical Partners Case Study Sample

• Subject Name : IT Computer Science

ERP Systems - Part A

Robert Smith Case Study

Robert Smith is the manager of a manufacturing and trading company. Robert would like to improve the purchasing process design; he has had a suggestion from an employee that the company should switch to an ERP system due to the benefits of the best practice of ERP systems. Robert is not sure if his company needs to invest in an ERP system. In his view organisation’s has sound systems in place for inventory management. Robert also finds that their systems are unique and can be altered to meet changes in their business. Hence, he is not convinced that moving to an ERP system had its benefits. Rather he wants to try using a TQM approach to redesign their ordering and inventory management process. You are required to conduct your own research using internet and books and see which option is better for Robert. Two questions will be asked during the timed assessment.

Questions:

a) Robert would like advice about the benefits and risks that his company could encounter if they adopted the processes in an ERP system. Should they change to and ERP system?

b) Do you think, based on the few facts available, that Robert should be considering TQM? If so, which do you think is appropriate for his business? Explain your reasoning.

Response:

a) ERP frameworks are employed by organizations wishing to deal with their business functions inside a combined and integrated framework. ERP is usually appropriated for those organizations that working inside the delicate chain to help keep with a following of all the effective parts of assembling and benefit. ERP stores all entered information into a solitary database, permitting all offices to work with similar data. Furthermore, this information can be sorted out, broke down, and made into reports. ERP unites clients the executives, HR, business knowledge, monetary administration, stock, and flexibly chain capacities into one framework. Robert should keep the advantages and disadvantages of the system which are as follows:

Advantages:

1. Optimization of marketing methods.

2. A reliable and convenient way to reliable data.

3. The capacity to receive information within all elements of the system.

4. Exclusion of additional services and data.

5. Modification of time and expenses of litigation

Disadvantages:

1. The establishment of the ERP system is expensive. ERP experts are very costly to use around 60% of the estimates.

2. The progress depends on the abilities and knowledge of the workforce, including training and the system operate accurately.

3. Resistance according to intimate knowledge within departments can decrease the performance of the software.

4. The systems can be challenging to use.

5. Replacement of staff, businesses can operate managers who are not instructed to endure the ERP practice of the employing company, suggesting changes in trade practices that are not synchronized with the operation.

Possessing an ERP system many benefits, but does not ensure the total success of the company. Organizational experience, understand how to connect staff, and hinder reforms that will authorize the organization using this system of management, are essential components for the conclusion of the implementation. As being the manager of a manufacture company, ERP can be a tricky option to use properly.

b.) According to the case, Robert should consider about TQM because of the following points:

(i) ERP execution can be effective in the event that it is performed before by a TQM center.

(ii) there is a causal connection between TQM center and consumer loyalty, just as between ERP usage and activities execution; and

(iii) ERP execution emphatically adds to task execution, which effects affect consumer loyalty execution. Besides, better consumer loyalty execution adds to better execution. Thus, manufacturing firms would be very much encouraged to put attention on TQM before actualizing ERP structures to accomplish normal process.

Ethical Partners Case Study

Ethical Partners are a new and emerging business that run organic food stores around Australia. Initially started in Melbourne, now they have 50 stores in major towns in six states. It sells all types of organic food including pasta, oil, candles, nuts, spices and locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables. However, their main source of income is from non-perishable food and other items. They have decided to opt for an ERP system. Conduct your research looking at uses and importance of an ERP system for a business that has multiple locations and sells multiple products. Such system may not have much benefit for their perishable products such as fruits and vegetables which are also not their key revenue generator.

Question

Explain the importance of an ERP system for any businesses and how it will benefit the Ethical Partners organic food suppliers.

Response:

The dread of less effect, inaccessibility of organic data sources, customer request minimizing the flexibly, lack of solid for organic crude elements and fixings, skillfully chain, the risk of the item not meeting the natural principles, remaining consistent with the buyers' confidence, and so on are a portion of the problems that catch the natural food makers. This situation requests the natural makers to have solid industry-explicit information and sharp knowledge of the much of the time happening innovative progressions just as the dynamic patterns in the business.

ERP promotes natural food makers to meet the necessities of both industry controllers just as shoppers. It's ground-breaking to keep the expense and edge pressures under check, smooth out the flexible chain, keep up the importance of offset in profit to assists with part following. It guarantees sanitation and quality just as dietary inclinations and wellbeing needs of the clients to win their continued faith. Also, it additionally deals with the business, stock, bookkeeping, and generally speaking capacities, in this manner giving producers more prominent authority over their business.

• Unlimited oversight of your business by getting to continuous information of Production, Sales and Distribution.
• Improved bundling effectiveness.
• Expanded net revenue.
• Acquaint new items with advertising more responsive and less expensive than contenders.
• Guarantee total consistency to the sanitation guidelines.
• Adjusted interest and gracefully.
• Expanded creation effectiveness and diminished expense and dangers.
• Decreased substance waste and crude material lack.
• Guaranteed food quality throughout the whole procedure.

Jason Case Study

Jason has started working a new job as database analyst in a leading firm that specialises in data processing. Ken is one of the directors and becomes Jason’s good friend. One day over coffee they both started discussion about latest technological developments regarding implementing controls in organisations. Ken has a firm view that biometric controls alone are enough, and they can stop un-authorised access to the centre. Staff can use these controls for access and the work of their firm was running smooth. Ken is rather proud that they have one of the best systems in place which his created by their own programmers. Jason is not comfortable with the idea biometric controls and their efficiency as the appropriate controls in information processing environment. Jason also believes that controls shall be independent of firm’s staff because only then integrity can be ensured. There is a need to implement separation of duties here. Analyse this scenario and conduct your research about whether just biometric controls are sufficient for organisations. Further, there is the issue of segregation of duties. Conduct your research to see if segregation works well in the given scenario and what functions can be segregated.

Questions

a) What faults do you see in the director’s statement?

b) The director has suggested biometric controls, should these be the only controls that the company relies on?

c) With respect to the information system can separation of duties be an be an adequate control. Explain your reasoning.

d) When using separation of duties as a control which functions should be separated?

e) Explain possible risk that could be expected if the functions are not separated.

Response:

a.) Ken sounds like a controlling director and imposes a negative impact about the worling culture.

b.) The biometrics attendance framework can just track the timings which make a feeling of limitation, and limitations can't expand your effectiveness. There are numerous cases wherein limitations are answerable for a decrease in one's proficiency. Utilizing the Biometrics attendance framework one can build the reliability of workers yet it may hamper their effectiveness and efficiency. Let's take a straightforward model, assume you track 9 hours utilizing any framework be it biometrics, be it non-biometric and your representative has just 6 hours of work. For this situation, he can't return home by finishing his 6 hrs errand. He needs to finish his 9 hrs since his participation and timings are being followed. So he will finish his 6 hrs work in 9 hrs. Here he diminished his productivity.

c.) Notice IT security to a great common people and they consider firewalls, interruption recognition frameworks, antivirus programming, two-factor verification, and many other exceptionally showcased safety items. While these certainly all have a job in data confirmation, so carries out the segregation of duties, a basic part of extortion counteraction and recognition. In any case, this imperative security control is usually disregarded, despite the fact that it is a key component of great interior control inside an affiliation. With regard to the segregation of duties, private venture best practices are particularly significant. An absence of segregation of duties is a noteworthy contributing component in practically all events of misrepresentation and is frequently seen as a weakness during the post-examination of framework settles. segregation of duties implies the means in key procedures are partitioned among at least two individuals so nobody individual can act alone to undermine a procedure for their own benefit or purposes.

d.) SOD is a fundamental structure square of reasonable risk the executives and inward controls for the business. The standard of SOD depends on assigned duties of a key procedure that separates the basic elements of that system to more than one individual or division. Without this segregation in key procedures, misrepresentation and blunder risks are far less reasonable. Segregation of duties is basic since it guarantees detachment of various capacities and characterizes authority and duty over switches. SOD is likewise a key Internal Control;

1. it diminishes the risk of mistakes and unseemly activities.

2. Approval

3. Recording

4. Check

5. Guardianship of Assets

6. Administrative Review

e.) There are a few other control systems that may ease an absence of SOD:

1. Review trails empower the re-production of the real exchange stream from the purpose of start to its reality on a refreshed document. Enough review ways ought to provide the initiator of the exchange, date and time of passage, kind of section, information fields, and documents refreshed.

2. Compromise of uses builds the degree of certainty that procedures ran as well as interfaced effectively.

3. Special case reports observed at an administrative level, supported by evidence that releases are evaluated, and if necessary, revised timely. The review must be confirmed by the mark of the director and dated.

4. Administrative Reviews ought to intermittently be accomplished through attention and application to help recognize mistakes and irregularities

ERP Systems - Part B

a) With changing times, information technology has impacted how accounting is used in decision making. Explain how the role of information technology has evolved over time.

Response

Colleges and resistance foundations overcame the advancement of enrolling in the forties, fifties, and sixties, however business needs pushed ahead of the development of data change. The idea of data innovation employments, as particular from expressing occupations, first developed in the mid-seventies. Systems and PCs put PCs on the work areas of non-registering staff, and the use of deciding on business forms needed the production of masters to make, adjust, and keep up both the equipment and programming that would support business exercises.

The creation of the spreadsheet and the word processor produced stable applications that authorized office laborers to increase their profitability. Programming packages for groups made a different branch in IT, which made many sorts of IT employments even inside a settled order.

Authority languages, set to various capacities in IT, advanced and private programming staff into classes. A business operating a database required developers experienced in Oracle or SAP programming, and it besides required C software engineers to create organizing programming There are three principle regions where budgetary bookkeeping helps dynamic:

1. It furnishes speculators with a pattern of examination for—and the correlation between—the monetary wellbeing of protections giving enterprises.

2. It assists loan managers in evaluating the dissolvability, liquidity, and reliability of organizations.

3. Administrative bookkeeping, it assists organizations with settling on choices about how to allot scant assets.

b) System documentation is an important tool for developing information systems for organisations. Explain why this tool should be widely used by organisations.

Response

System documentation: The variety of reports that depicts the needs, experiences, limitations, structure, project, and support of a structure, for example, a correspondences, figuring, or data preparing framework. The approach of documentation assists have with following all parts of an application and it improves the essence of a product item. Its primary centers are an improvement, maintenance and information move to different designers. Effective documentation will make data effectively available, give a set number of client section focuses, help new clients adapt rapidly, change the item, and assist cut with financing payments. Documentation is typically centered around the accompanying parts that make up an application: server situations, business rules, databases/records, investigating, application establishment, and code design. There is a distinction between system documentation and client documentation. In the data frameworks world, system documentation is considerably more specialized. It is designed for a progressed or concentrated peruser, for example, a frameworks manager or IT proficient. system documentation includes things like source code, testing documentation, and API documentation (developers' documentation or guidelines). It describes the needs and capacities of the product and explains the peruser about what the product can and can't do – as it was its usefulness.

c) Modern advancements in information technology has had both positive and negative impacts. Cybercrime is prevalent these days and no organisation is totally immune from it. Describe different types of cybercrime with some examples.

Response

Cybercrime is any sort of hateful activity that objectives PC data structures, foundations, PC systems, or PC devices, utilizing different strategies to take, change, or crush information or data frameworks. Basic types of cybercrime include: phishing: using false email messages to get individual data from web clients; abusing individual data (wholesale fraud); hacking: closing down or abusing sites or PC systems; spreading detest and prompting fear-based oppression; circulating kid sex entertainment; Grooming: making lewd gestures to minors. These days, every single computerized gadget (counting PCs, tablets, and cell phones) are associated with the web. The administration properly pays attention to cybercrime very, and we are endeavoring to battle it. Some other crimes are as follows: Denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack Drive-by attack Password attack SQL injection attack Cross-site scripting (XSS) attack Eavesdropping attack Malware attack

d) The use of databases, especially relational databases, has increased with the advent of information technology. Summarise some benefits of using databases in organisations. Describe why relational databases are best suited for any organisation.

Response

A database is usually structured with the purpose that it is anything but challenging to store and access data. A proper database is necessary for any company or association. This is in the areas that the database stores all the relevant insight about the organization, for example, representative records, value-based records, compensation subtleties, and so on. The essential advantage of the relative database approach is the ability to obtain significant data by entering the tables. Joining tables allows you to understand the contacts between the information, or how the interface of the table. SQL organizes the capacity to check, include, gathering, and furthermore consolidate questions. SQL can perform fundamental math and subtotal functions and coherent changes. Analysts can provide the outcomes by date, name, or any section.

Those highlights make the relative database the absolute most well-known question device in business today. A relative database sorts out information into tables which can be connected—or related—in the knowledge of information basic to each. This capacity empowers you to recover a totally new table from information in at least one table with a solitary inquiry. It likewise permits you and your business to all the more likely comprehend the connections among every single accessible addition new experience for settling on better choices or recognizing new chances. For instance, envision your idea holds up a client table that contains organization information about every client record and at least one exchange tables that contain information portraying singular exchanges. The segments (or fields) for the client table may be Customer ID, Company Name, Company Address, and so on.; the segments for an exchange table may be Transaction Date, Customer ID, Transaction Amount, Payment Method, and so on. The tables can be connected depending on the normal Customer ID field. In this way, inquiry about the table to create important reports, for example, a combined client connection.

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