The American Health Care Delivery System

Tenicia Ellis

American InterContinental University

MGTMT 305 Management Information Systems

02/14/2017

Abstract

        All businesses have a management information system throughout their organization. Management information systems are the study of people, technology, and organizations. Every individual who works within a business uses information systems. Information that serves no purpose is useless.

Introduction

        There are several companies all over the world. In order for a business to run effectively it has to become familiar with the use of information systems. Information systems are built by managers to serve the interest of the business firm. Developing information systems can change the social life as well as the work life of the organization. Having information systems in organizations is important because they ensure regulatory compliance, support better management decision making, understanding new management technologies and help with minimizing litigation risks. In order for businesses to remain relative within the competitive market, they must embrace the use of modern day information systems. Two organizations that will be compared and contrasted are Amazon and Walmart.

Comparing

        Walmart is a company that serves all kinds of customers. They sale a variety of different things, which include but are not limited to, electronics, sportswear, full line of groceries, and a host of others. Amazon on the other hand, is an online shopping centers that sale as well as a buy a variety of things. Some of their products include cellular phones and accessories, home and kitchen furnishings, books and electronics and a wide variety of others. The thing that significantly makes these companies different is the fact that Walmart has a full line of groceries and Amazon does not because it is an online shopping center.

Walmart        

Walmart gives its customers the option to come into the store and make a purchase or shop online. The information system that Walmart uses is known as the Transaction Process System (TPS). A TPS system collects data from user inputs. Those inputs generate outputs based on the data that has been collected in the form of a report. This particular system can be based on, what is known as batch processing which helps business owners to meet demand without acquiring additional personnel. Some examples of the TPS system are payroll systems, order processing systems, and systems for payments and fund transfers. This system has a role of producing information for other systems. It happens to be very efficient and it is used by operational personnel who are on supervisory levels.

Amazon 

Amazon like Walmart serves many different customers as well as retailers. These people have an interest in a variety of different things. The main difference between Walmart and Amazon is the fact that Amazon is an online company in its entirety. When shopping with Walmart you have the option of doing so online or in the store. Although the two companies differ in the different services and products they provide, they both use the TPS information system. At Amazon, each customer has their own personal profile. In order to make a purchase through Amazon, the customer has to have a valid and updated profile. Alongside their profile are web tools known as the shopping cart and a wish list. Walmart also offers the same options on their website.

Internal Operations

        The internal business environment involves factors within an organization that impacts the success as well as the approach of the operations. Managing the strengths of the internal operations and recognizing the potential threats that are on the outside, are the keys to the operations success. The role of company leadership is an essential internal factor. The leadership style and the management style of the employees can impact the organizational culture of the organization.

        Walmart has 10 different ways in which it manages their internal operations and make decisions as it relates to their organization. The design of goods and the services that are provided is a system that they use to characterize their products. Although Walmart is a company that offers retail services, it also has their own brands that they sale as well.  They address the effectiveness of retail service by using the variables known as cost efficiency and cost effectiveness, ensuring their customers that they have low cost products of great value. They have certain policies and procedures set in place to ensure that if a problem occurs it can be rectified immediately with no discrepancies.

        Like any organization, Walmart has both weaknesses and strengths as it relates to internal operations. Although they have a large scale of operations, they are also involved in many lawsuits. They have a wide range of products and services. Managers and executives have a habit of making poor investment decisions as well.

        Amazon has a set of team leaders and members who have the responsibility of keeping things updated and managed properly. There are a few things they use when making decisions for the organization. Some of those things are known as, support, security, monitoring, discovery, and testing. Utilizing these tools help the company to stay competitive in the ever growing business industry.

Competitive Advantages

        Amazon is one of the most well-known online businesses. They have the ability to offer some of the lower prices and has a well-developed delivery network with warehouses all over the country. Because they are all over the country, this investment allows them to cut or even eliminate shipping costs on items that are being sold. This is something that Walmart does not offer. Although Walmart could compete with Amazon in some areas, they have some very competitive areas that it is just impossible to. Amazon gets the best prices from its vendors and so does Walmart. However, the prices that are paid to their manufacturers are what differ. Because Walmart has actual stores, their shipping prices are more than Amazon because they us warehouses.

Breaches and Cyber Crimes

        Amazon is a company that sale and buys products online from vendors and individuals and Walmart is a company that gives you an option to shop online. Neither company can be too careful when offering online business. There are criminals all over the world waiting for a chance to step in and steal customers and businesses personal information. They steal things like credit card numbers, social security numbers, addresses, and account information.

        According to research, Walmart has been a victim of a security breach in 2005 and 2006. Hackers targeted the development team that was in charge of the store’s point-of-sale system in Eastern Europe (2009). Before updating their security of their system, personal information was being housed on the company’s network in an unencrypted form. To eliminate things of this nature happening within an organization, all networks should be up to date. Security and background checks should be given to each employee upon the hiring process. There should only be a selected set of individuals who is allowed access to any organizations servers. Many times hackers are past employees and friends of existing employees. Recognizing security breaches are not something easy to figure out.