Systems and Information Systems Project
Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites
By: Chad Karman Aaron Ang Payal Chadha Fred Weihmiller
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Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………….3 Executive Summary…………………………………3 Systems Project……………………………………..4-7 Information Systems Project………………………..7-10 Assessments…………………………………………10-12 References…………………………………………...12
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Introduction
Business systems can be very complex, requiring awareness of multiple views, relationships and states. Understanding business systems is important because that understanding helps us understand the business itself. Technology increases business complexity by facilitating the assembly of new systems, and connecting many different components. While increasing complexity, technology also brings new tools that make doing business more productive. While early business information systems focused on specific activities of limited scope, modern information systems support all business activities in an organization’s value chain. The large computer systems of the enterprise can be divided into three broad categories: Business Information Systems, Operations Information Systems, and Management Information Systems. All of these systems are integrated through Enterprise Resource Planning. The use of these systems make business transactions simpler and more efficient.
Executive Summary
Our group chose The Radisson Hotel as our business model mainly because one of our group members is part of the staff of The Radisson and has a realistic insight into the company’s inner workings. Based on The Radisson we examined its core values, creed, goals and mission statement. All these information was readily available through The Radisson handbook which was accessible to all the staff of The Radisson. We then used 3 business dimensions that were given in the text to apply to this business model to further our research. Computer Information Systems are designed make business transactions easier. They can be divided into three categories: Business Information Systems, Operations Information Systems and Management Information Systems. These systems are integrated through Enterprise Resource Planning, and SAP R/3 is the world leader in ERP software. It has many features including customer relationship management, inventory management, and sales order management. All of these features and more make SAP R/3 software that helps companies become more profitable, productive and innovative. Recent business information systems have been aimed at more user friendly software. While still continuing to make business more productive, now companies feel that creating software that is more user friendly will make the software easier to use and more effective for businesses. Two parts of business that has gained significantly from business information systems is accounting and marketing. Both of these areas now use business information systems to significantly increase productivity.
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Systems Project
Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites
Decision Maker
Data
File
Report
Workers
Building
Sales
Input
Processing
Output
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Creed: Uphold our reputation as a great hotel.
Benchmark our operation against the best. Take seriously each day the topics discussed in “the huddle”. Always push the envelope of new ideas to create ever better guest experiences. Find and take an opportunity to be a hero for guest experiences every day. Understand the today’s competitive environment leaves no room for error.
Mission: At the Radisson Plaza Hotel, our highest priority is the genuine care and
comfort of our guests. Our mission is to provide the finest personalized service and facilities, ensuring a memorable experience.
Core Values:
To Serve the Guest
Serving Each Other
Building Each Other
Uphold our reputation as a great hotel. Surpass every guest’s expectation. Be personally responsible for the highest standards. Encourage team members. Find a better way every day. Strive to better myself, take time to improve Ensure safety and security. Be proud to be a team member.
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Goal: Our goal is to provide the highest quality service, by surpassing every guest’s
expectations. We are here to ensure every guest a memorable experience and to retain them as return customers. Measurability of actions would take well over ten years. It takes a long time to build a reputation as a great hotel. As the city build and people have a reason to visit Kalamazoo, they will remember us as the place that took care of them the first time they stayed.
Views: Three major views of our business system.
Financial View- The language of this view is money, and it reflects a firm’s profitability and return on investment. As the only major hotel in Kalamazoo, we had to renovate the building in order to gain the higher end business traveler. In order to stay in business we must focus a large part on our financial view. Product View- This view reflects the image of the enterprise through its product portfolio. If there is no product, there is no business. The product we offer is of most importance. A person traveling to Kalamazoo could stay at any hotel in the area, but we want them to remember why they choose to stay with us. Service View- Service is an important activity of a company’s value chain that provides optimum use of its product portfolio. It is critical to customer satisfaction. As we are known as the service industry, this is the most important of the three views. In order to retain our customers, we must provide the highest quality service.
Product Service
Management
$
Promotion
Advertising
Loyalty
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Obstacles of Business System
Some of the major obstacles that Radisson Hotel faces day to day are theft, technology, competition, lawsuits, and payment of workers/unsatisfied employees that can lead to dissatisfied customers. Theft is a growing problem that leads to higher prices for customers and needs to some how make up for it. If a cashiers computer breaks down then reception is closed and customers have to wait longer in line to check out or even if a credit card scanner is not working it could cause a huge problem since the majority of things are charged these days. There are many competitors out there for Radisson to worry about; they need to have better customer service, lower prices and better quality than their competitors. When a customer is not satisfied with the service then the hotel is at fault. When an employee feels like they are underpaid or unsatisfied with their job they do not have a positive attitude while working which will eventually be passed onto the customer and will lead to unsatisfied customers. “Operational performance and efficiency can and must be improved constantly. To get anywhere you have to know your direction, yes. Stay on course, for sure. But certainly you must be able to navigate around obstacles that appear on the way. And they do. It is imperative to have maximum flexibility on the tactical level. The fast changes in our business environment demand fast adjustments. Securing the efficiency of the day-to-day operation has the highest priority - in each function and in each property - and we are continuously introducing new techniques to enhance performance.” (http://rezidorsas.com/annualreport/1999/vision_down.html)
Computing Data:
Elements e: 6 # Of Relationships r: 15 # of States s: 64 Relationships R: r = [(e-1) e]/2 = [(6-1)6]/2 = 15 States S: s = 2^e = 2^6 = 64
Information Systems Project
Many business and operations information systems are integrated and coordinated by large software packages called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The most widely used ERP software is SAP R/3 because it can help any business become more productive and organized. To show how SAP R/3 can be used in business lets use the example of a company that manufactures furniture. Since the SAP R/3 software incorporates BIS, OIS, and MIS it integrates the processes that turn customer demand into finished goods, tracks
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quality, maintenance and human resources, and records nearly every transaction that has a financial impact on the organization. One function that the SAP R/3 software includes is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. These features include tracking of customer contacts by sales visits, phone calls, letters and direct mailings. By tracking customer behavior it would allow a furniture company to realize when its time for customers to buy new furniture or offer them related products to what they had previously bought. Another important part of the SAP R/3 software is inventory management which is available because SAP R/3 keeps track of sales orders also. Inventory management is important for a furniture company because it allows them to know what they have in stock for potential customers and what needs to be ordered to continue operations. As mentioned before SAP R/3 also keeps track of sales orders and offers a number of different sales orders including standard order, rush order, consignment order, scheduling agreement, and cash sales. The last feature worth mentioning is the production planning in SAP. It first estimates the material required to make the furniture and then coordinates with the sales plan to estimate what materials are needed. Then is automates and integrates purchasing, inventory management, and warehouse management to help the process. SAP R/3 is and ERP software program that integrates all the needed components of a large computer information system. BIS support the primary value chain activities of sales, marketing, and service. OIS focus on the primary value chain logistics and operations. MIS focusing on management of employees and controlling recruiting. All of these components result in improvement of profitability, productivity, and innovation, which are the most important part of any business.
→→ →→ →→
BIS
INPUT
OIS MIS
OUPUT
→→ →→ →→
Profitability Productivity Innovation
Business information systems are made to make doing business less complicated. Recent business information systems have accomplished this while moving toward and more user friendly system of doing this. One area of business that has become easier do to BIS is accounting. Before BIS, tens of thousands of transactions were hand posted and calculated, and then they were summarized into financial statements at the end of each accounting cycle. Now, Accounting Information Systems (AIS) handle the bookkeeping functions of posting, trial balances, financial statements, and closing entries. Also AIS are removing bookkeeping chores from accountants and as a result accounting responsibilities are becoming focused on planning and analysis to optimize the cash flow, tax position, or general financial health of the company. Another function of the business process that has been made easier by business information systems is marketing. The essential responsibility of marketing is to create customers. BIS systems have become involved in many of the marketing processes such as marketing research, forecasting, customer surveys, credit analysis, and advertising. As a result the marketing process has become more effective and efficient.
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SAP Enterprise Resource Planning Application: CIS Model for The Radisson Hotel
Input: Information and Data is keyed into SAP
Processing: The SAP program process the information
Output: Planning and forecast information
Storage: Processes and data is stored in a database and retrieved when needed
The CIS process for the SAP ERP software starts with the INPUT. In the INPUT process, The Radisson would require materials such as furniture, food products and other fixtures to equip the Hotel to serve its customers. This process begins at the procurement department who will order these materials by keying this information into the ERP software. The program would PROCESS this information and calculate, when this shipment needs to be made and how much to order. The ERP software allows interlocking decision processes to occur at once. One example would be, if The Radisson were to order a new bed, the processing phase of ERP would not only note the order, but also begin processing accounting information, storage information and other relevant information as well. After the processing phase is completed, the processing information and results would be sent to a STORAGE location such as a database. This database would help keep track of the materials being ordered and also allow the workers at The Radisson to view this information in the future.
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In the final OUTPUT phase, ERP would inform the staff at The Radisson that the information has been process and forecast future trends. It helps the staff predict in the future the amount of materials they would need and how much to order. This final OUTPUT phase is the decision making phase because ERP would suggest the best solution. Relevance: The ERP computer information system that we have chosen would be highly relevant to The Radisson Hotel because it allows greater cost savings to the company by making the resource planning processes more efficient Timeliness: The processing part of the ERP system occurs nearly instantaneously because it calculates in nanoseconds. This short processing time would be very useful because it allows business decisions to be made faster and would create some cost savings. Exclusiveness: The ERP system would have to be custom made to The Radisson which makes it highly exclusive. This is because many of the business processes done by The Radisson is unique to it; for another company to adopt this system they would have to reconfigure it by employing an SAP consultant. Accessibility: This system is highly accessible; however it would require some basic training. However, this mostly depends on who The Radisson wants to allow access to. The ERP system would probably be accessible to the procurement department who would make most of the purchasing decisions for The Radisson. Price: The price of the ERP software would be high because it requires professional installation and implementation. SAP consultants are expensive and would be needed to maintain the system from time to time. The program itself is expensive. Format: The SAP Enterprise Resource Planning software uses a graphical interface which is mostly like Windows. However, unlike Windows, it is not as easy for a u ser to use without training in SAP systems.
Assessments Assessment- Chad Karman
As a member of the service industry for many years, I had a lot of influence in doing this project. I work at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and have been involved in much of the service side, both front and back of the house. I was involved in creating some of the core values and mission statement. Though I don’t find myself making a career out of the service industry, it has given me much insight on the business end. It has taught me what a major business is looking for out of there employees and also there customers. Out of all of the projects so far, this has been the most interesting. I have learned more of the financial, advertising, customer service, and other aspects of the way a business is run. This project taught me goals of businesses, behavior dimensions, information systems, and much more. Overall I found this project to be the most helpful and insightful.
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Assessment- Aaron Ang
This project helped me better understand and appreciate the complexities involved in a system. Although we often take systems for granted, I realize now that there are systems in place all around us all the time. These systems make up the world we live today and without them, there would only be chaos or stagnation. This project assignment helped me break down a system into its basic frame work of input, output, processing and storage. It is useful because by doing this project we are able to understand clearly how each of these parts works with each other. For this project, our group chose The Radisson Hotel as our business model. This business model was adequate for our project needs because it is a business process that has input parts, output parts, processing and storage. We mainly chose The Radisson Hotel because one of our group members worked there and has insight into the inner workings of the hotel. This greatly helped us in creating a more realistic model for this project. After completing this project, I also realize that all systems have problems and there is a constant need to continuously improve on every system. There are always obstacles present in any system, and it will be my job one day to deal with these obstacles. These obstacles would either need to be fixed or an alternative found for it. I believe that these experiences that I have had so far with these assignments would one day help me in the business environment because this gives me a birds-eye view of the entire workings of any modern organization. I feel that the framework of computer information system is basically generic for all processes in the world today, and by drawing out a graphical framework, it helped me better visualize the entire system. Seeing a graphical representation of the computer information system frame work gave me a more in depth understanding of the process. Overall, the project was useful and it allowed some learning opportunities that I believe would benefit me in the future.
Assessment- Payal Chadha
This project was a project that needed quiet a bit of effort and a lot of coordination. We did it pretty well in a very nice and organized way. This project taught me about the various goals. It taught me how various dimensions affect the business; in fact it was nice to know how many things affect the working of a business, and how all of the things are so interdependent. Also the information systems project gave me brief insight into how processes work, and how they merge into a system, also of where things are heading towards. I learned how to identify the goal, and a measurable result of a business system that the business monitors. I learned how some of the basic views are important to an individual business. I also identified obstacles in the business system. In the future I may be able to use what I have learned to look at what different businesses hold as views of philosophy and see how they apply them. I could apply the impute-processing-output model to my personal life by seeing what goes into a situation how things then change and then how they are returned. The new knowledge of business's production helped me understand how business's work and succeed in the business world. I will use this knowledge to be more understanding in those types of business environments Overall I thought that this project was difficult, some of the sections were very confusing and
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unclear on what was expected of us All in all it was a good learning experience and a good project to work upon.
Assessment- Fred Weihmiller
A system is a goal-driven set of elements and their purposely oriented, structured relations that produce measurable results outside the system, despite obstacles. There is more than one kind of system but most companies use goal-driven systems. In this process a company starts with inputs, then processes those inputs, then produces outputs. This is the basic model of most businesses, and is important for all business majors to understand. Also each organization has different organizational dimensions and views that they must consider that are important to a company. I feel that exploring business information systems is important to all business major. Whether or not they actual use them, all business majors should be aware of what is offered and what other companies are using. Business Information Systems are one of the many reasons business has improved significantly of the past few years. Increasing technologies gives companies more options for running a business and different ways of doing business to customers. Software like SAP R/3 is a prime example of this king of software and is widely used for good reason. If offers a variety of different business applications that make businesses more productive.
References
http://rezidorsas.com/annualreport/1999/vision_down.html The Radisson Hotel and Resorts (2005). Retrieved March 8, 2006, from http://www.radissonkz.com Targowski, A., & Rienzo, T. (2005). Enterprise Information Infrastructure (4th ed.). Kalamazoo: Paradox Associates Inc. Greenleaf Hospitality Group. (2005). Kalamazoo: Greenleaf Ventures Inc.
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