Response Postings should be substantive postings (offer new information), contributing to and advancing the examination of the questions at hand. Every response posting must include at least one reference and citation. Response postings must be at least two paragraphs (with 5 to 8 sentences each).
1. Management Information Systems
Did you know that Management Information Systems is the essential information to help run a business or organization and info to keep it going? This works great for managers who want to get an understanding on what the business that they are running strengths and weaknesses. “It’s like looking at the instruments and gauges on the dashboard of a car, but these MIS gauges are lined up on the front of the desk.”(Woodruff) This system can also have data from different parts of the business or company such as profits, taxes,expenses and more.
There are a few benefits that management information systems can offer the business or company.When it comes to data, accurate data is crucial because it can lead to decisions and a (MIS) can be useful as a tool to help keep track.”This system also provides information services that you can use for planning, monitoring and administrative control.”(Gunawan) Managers aren’t the only ones that can use this but other parts of the business can use this so that’s a plus.
Management information systems is a tool for collecting data through out the company to keep on track of important information. Important information includes, the amount of profits,taxes,expenses that the company has.Not a single person is only allowed to use this tool as the company in general is free to use it to help benefit and push forward the business.
2. Knowledge management
Knowledge management can be essential to the success of a business because it is the process by which information is shared throughout a company. This is important because members of an organization must be receiving the same information in a timely manner so that everyone is on the same page. If there is confusion about sharing data, mistakes are likely to occur and cause unnecessary trouble. Business leaders must make intelligent decisions regarding their knowledge management and choose a system that works the best for them. Then they should make sure that all business associates are properly educated on the procedures to generate, use, and share the information.
There are two main types of information involved in knowledge management. There is tacit knowledge, which is more based on physical skills, and explicit knowledge, which is information that can be documented and easy to share with others. Since transferring tacit knowledge is so interactive, “employees will garner tacit, organizational knowledge through time by learning from experienced co-workers via training or mentoring sessions” (Starmind). Even though gaining tacit knowledge is more experience based than learning explicit knowledge, there are knowledge management programs that are able to tackle both of them.
One example of an extremely successful business that has great knowledge management is Amazon. The business connects people from all over the world to one single platform, meaning that there is a lot of information being shared that Amazon has to manage. An example of how they do this is with their excellent product display, which “comes from outstanding content management, where they compose information and then publish it to users in a consistent manner” (Rosenberg). Amazon couldn’t operate without knowledge management, which just proves how vital it is.
3. Accounting
Accounting is arguably one of the most important titles within a firm. This is mainly due to the reliance on an individual’s accurate and truthful recording of financial information – otherwise known as an accountant. In fact, “accountants in business often find themselves being at the frontline of safeguarding the integrity of financial reporting” (Jui and Wong, 2013). In line with this, if an accountant happens to record miss information or purposefully recalls incorrect financial statements it can result in the economic downfall of an organization, legal action, unemployment, and in most cases, even bankruptcy.
When looking at accounting as a whole, the reason it holds so much importance is because a firm’s profit is what keeps them alive and running. Given this information, an accountant is essentially the person in charge of correctly assessing and presenting the flow of money. Although, our textbook defines it as “the process of systematically collecting, analyzing, and reporting financial information” (Pride, 444). Accounting can be applied to a variety of specialty areas. Including, managerial accounting, financial accounting, and cost, tax, government, and not-for-profit accounting. Regardless of the area of specialty, the accountant has “the task of defending the quality of financial reporting right at the source where the numbers and figures are produced” (Jui and Wong).
As I previously mentioned, the job of an accountant is extremely important considering the firm’s reliance on their accuracy. With this in mind, it’s important that accountants are assessed and evaluated by individuals experienced and knowledgeable in the field. In most cases this is done through audits, or a way of regulating the financial records and data recorded by an accountant that inherently represents the value and standing of a firm. This is because in most big firms, accountants oversee much more than just the recording of financial standings, they “have oversight over all matters relating to the company’s financial health. This includes creating and driving the strategic direction of the business to analyzing, creating and communicating financial information” (Jui and Wong). Furthermore, when accountants operate under the integrity of a company, they can be extremely beneficial in helping a firm delegate their spendings to more cost efficient practices and areas of interest.
4. Financial Statements
Financial Statements give outsiders a look at a company’s financial status, this is especially important for investors. There are four main financial statements that are carried out in the following order: Income Statement (IS), Statement of Owner’s Equity (SE), Balance Sheet (BaSH), and Cash Flows. The income statement calculates the company’s net income using the company’s revenue and expenses. This comes first because creating the Statement of Owner’s Equity uses the net income from the Income Statement.
The Statement of Owner’s Equity is its own financial statement because the owner and business are two separate entities. This is known as the Entity Concept. The SE includes the owner’s withdrawals, investments, capital, ect. This statement can also be referred to when displaying the owner’s net worth.
After the IS and SE is the Balance Sheet (BaSH). The balance sheet makes sure that both asset and liability accounts are balanced. The balance sheet also determines the rate of return for investors. “In short, the balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a snapshot of what a company owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by shareholders.” Ratios that need to be calculated, such as the equity ratio, can also be found from the balance sheet. After the balance sheet are cash flows. In short, this statement consists of cash receipts and payments; money that has come in and out of the company.To be more specific, the cash flows come from the company’s financing, operating, and investing activities.
5. database
The increase in access to information has allowed us to accumulate information at a much faster and larger rate. Databases help us organize it. The textbook defines database as “a single collection of data and information stored in one place that can be used by people throughout an organization to make decisions.” (Pride 436). This is important for organizations to be able to process information more effectively.
There isn’t just one form of databases. “There are many different types of databases. The best database for a specific organization depends on how the organization intends to use the data.” (Oracle). It is important for businesses to choose the best databases for their needs. Some of the types include relational, distributed, and graph databases. Multimodel databases are a great way to get the benefits of multiple databases in one. They do this by “Multimodel databases combine different types of database models into a single, integrated back end. This means they can accommodate various data types.” This can be beneficial to business’s that have different data types coming in.
Databases can carry many advantages for a business. It can allow business to “Building better customer relationship (via newsletters, business emails), Sell complementary products; To make customers aware of special offers; To tell them about new services and products; To send offers to specific groups; Results are evident because you can consider the returns; It’s very useful in direct marketing” (Charis). These advantages can help further profits for the business. This is also a cost effective way to help business’s interact with their customers.
