Byod and Morgan Stanley

Memorandum

To:                 Professor Edward Wozencroft

From:           Paul Grech,

,

Fall 2016

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Subject: Management Information System

Attached please find the final project paper for CMPT 300, on the topic of BYOD implemented in the Morgan Stanley Corporation.

The work and writing presented in this Assignment, unless otherwise specified in an appropriately cited footnote, endnote or reference note is solely my work.

Attachment:

Signed by:

  Paul Grech _        

The implementations of management information systems have had an immense impact that has benefited companies across all industries and countries. These systems have cut costs, allowed for better management, created an easier way for business to connect with customers, and have made business practices more efficient. Since the 2000’s there have been many information systems created each having its own specific purpose and benefits. Despite the attractiveness of purchasing, implementing, and utilizing these information systems some companies have elected not to due to the prices of the systems and the complexity regarding their implementation and use. For a company like Morgan Stanley information systems have had an immense impact on productivity and day to functions. By automating transactions it has allowed the firm to conduct business worldwide with complete access to all relevant trade information. Despite the immense success of the systems in place Morgan Stanley would also benefit from implementing other systems. One system in particular is, the bring your own device (BYOD) policy in which employees are allowed to use their personal laptops and cellphones to access certain company systems.  By updating their systems to allow their employees to access them utilize the BYOD policy and access the systems remotely it will greatly increase productivity and in turn profitability of the firm.

Bring your own device practices are defined by the textbook as allowing employees to bring personal devices such as phones, tablets, and computers rather than utilizing company issued equipment to work to access business software services.^[1] These practices have recently become popular as by implementing them productivity has gone up along with employee morale because they are more comfortable utilizing their own devices, in addition to lowering the cost of purchasing and repurchasing up to date hardware. According to the IBM white paper on Four Key Trends Impacting Mobile Infrastructure Strategy, “According to IDC, the market will see a rapid expansion of smart connected devices (which IDC defines as laptops, tablets, and smartphones) led by sales of smartphones (growing at a CAGR of 30% through 2017) and tablets with projected growth of 13% in 2014 (down from 2013's aggressive 23% growth).”^[2] This quote is very important because it shows that there is a trend in which business are leaning towards utilizing these BYOD policies which demonstrates the policies effectiveness on day to day operations. Another key factor of BYOD is they allow for “the rapid growth of smart connected devices (either company or employee owned) provides an easily accessible on-ramp for end users to procure applications and resources from the cloud”^[3] This is especially important for Morgan Stanley employees because through this easy access to the cloud it allows them to interact with clients outside of normal work hours from wherever and still be able to give them the information that is needed. Prior to this the employee would either have to go into work after hours to access this information or would have to wait until they returned to the office. In the past an employee who had to come into work to be able to service the client’s needs could have lowered their morale in regards to the company and if it were a reoccurring case could even result in their resignation. In the other case where the customer had to wait until the next work day it could result in the customer leaving the firm for a competitor which one would hurt profits based on the size of the customers’ accounts and could also result in a loss of future business as they can tell others about their negative experience. These are extreme cases but in the financial industry are more common than not because customers need and depend on timeliness of transactions and reports of results since they have such large numbers of capital invested..

 Elena Kvochko of Forbes writes that, by allowing employees to utilize their own device they feel more responsible for their work and in turn will be more productive. In addition the learning curve for new hires will be much shorter since they are already comfortable working with their own devices and it allows employees to work remotely which in turn lowers operational expenses^[4]. This is important because many of Morgan Stanley new hires either are millennials who have recently graduated college and are tech savvy or are people that worked for other firms and have had extensive experience utilizing a specific type of system. With BYOD both types of employees benefit because they can use devices that are most comfortable to their specific situation rather than having to get a company issued computer or cell phone and have to learn how to use it for day to day activities. On the customer interaction side of the business it allows employees to interact with customers all hours of the day which is vital in the cutthroat industry that Morgan Stanley operates in. This is supported by the IBM white papers which forecast that “By 2017, 80% of Fortune500 companies will have an active customer community, up from 30% today [2015]”^[5] 

In addition to employee empowerment, and improved customer relations, the BYOD policy allows the companies to have better connection and communication with their own employees. Employees can have access to work emails and systems all hours of the day so even if an employee is out sick, on vacation, or just away from the office they can still be reached and be effective in the event that a critical situation arises. In Morgan Stanley’s case this includes meeting customer demands, as mentioned before, and in other situations such as market drops, or in other emergencies like a hedge fund bailout. In events such as these it requires all available employees to come together and work together to reach a solution. However employees can be on assignment or vacation but will have access to relevant information because of BYOD policies.