Effects of Information Systems in an Organization

Checkpoint

Dan Schwerdtfeger

XACC/210

02/22/2013

Dr. Douglas Powers

The effects of that a quality information system has on a business can be more difficult to understand than the effects that a less than quality information system has on the same business. For instance, when a company has a quality information system (IS), its information flows effortlessly, allowing the different departments to function as one, cohesive unit, meaning a more profitable company in the long term. However, if the IS starts to breakdown, say the server becomes unstable and is constantly failing, or the work stations are out of date, and are locking up and not allowing your employees to work, then the company will definitely notice problems. (Basically, the squeaky wheel gets the grease every time.)

My company is an electric utility. We used to generate electric for our customers, distribute it out over our lines, and send it to their homes through our distribution system. One information system in place for us is our SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. This is a fiber optic information system, which allows a central command of different switching facilities around our entire plant. This system definitely improves our performance because it allows us to monitor system voltage, current flow, and line functions.

Another important information system is our locating system. Because we have about 75% of our plant underground, we need to be able to maintain and preserve the life of those underground cables. In 2013, we still rely on a fax machine to send us all of our locate tickets, requesting us to mark out our lines in certain areas where work is to be done.

This information system could be improved upon greatly. I have been trying to get my boss to bite on allowing for emailed locate tickets. If we were to receive only email tickets, we could save money and time. First, having an email system would allow our locator to instantly receive...