Question

A management information system (MIS) is a system or process that provides the information necessary to manage an organization effectively. MIS and the information it generates are generally considered essential components of prudent and reasonable business decisions.

Management Information Systems are primarily concerned with the delivery of information (both internal and external) to organizational members from the shop floor workers to the management.

The purpose of MIS is to help the smooth running of the business by providing information on the firm’s data (such as accounting figures) employees from different levels will then evaluate this information so that decisions can be made to ensure that the business remains competitive and successful.

The development and management of information technology tools assists executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the processing of information. MIS systems are especially useful in the collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for decision-making.

You are required to undertake an in-depth study of the Case Study and answer the questions that follows:

ISSUU: Flousihing on Internet

When it comes to doing global digital business, ISSUU sells digital products in the form of templates and extensions that are used with the open source content management system (CMS) Joomla. The Joomla CMS allows anyone with at least a limited knowledge pf Website construction or internet technologies to start a Web site. Joomla essentially puts advanced Web technology at the fingertips of ‘newbies’. Current estimates suggest that Joomla is being used on 1.5 to 2 million Web sites globally.

Andy Miller, a former member of the core developer group of the award winning Joomla CMS, started the ISSUU template club with the goal of making professional-looking Web sites available to the average Internet user. Competition in the industry is fierce. However, ISSUU attempts to differentiate itself from other template clubs through originally, a user-oriented focus, and flexibility of design. Currently, it is branching out into other different CMS markets, providing templates for other open source CMS solutions, such as Drupal, WordPress, and phpBB3.

ISSUU sells its products directly to its customers through a membership system. Growth of the club is mainly organic. For each type of membership, ISSUU charges a different fee. Members are differentiating by whether they are light or heavy users (e.g., regular members vs. developer members), which is visible through the pricing schedule. Marketing efforts are targeted at the online community. To attract new customers, ISSUU uses an affiliate system and makes use of Google ads.

The ISSUU template club was launched in 2006 and has experience exponential growth. According to Miller, “I started the ISSUU Template Club with a whopping three templates in the inventory. Membership has steadily grown since that time probably due to the increase in number of available templates. It’s been a relatively consistent ride and I think a huge part of that is just due to how great, Joomla is and how it’s popularity has risen. Sure, some templates are more popular that others, that is just the way these things work. I try to ensure that we provide a very well-rounded selection of designs, not just the same old “business” templates every month.”

How did the club get its start? Miller says, “I have been involved in Web development since my days in University, back in the early 90s, when hypertext was a new concept and gopher was the most common method of sharing information across networks. I was computer engineering major and quickly got caught up in the excitement around the internet. Anyway, long story short. I’ve been doing web development ever since.”

ISSUU is privately owned, Miller is the sole partner of the ISSUU Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). As much, he is also the day-to-day operational manager. Miller focuses on energizing his staff and creating a common goal for his employees-the success of the ISSUU template club. The organization can be characterized as flat and nonbereaucratic. It has full time staff of 12 and has 14 support staff. The support staff consists mainly of subcontractors and several volunteers. New staff are attracted straight from the ISSUU community or from online advertisement. Thus, the organizational structure is fluid and flexible. The organization retains specialists from different parts of the world, highly skilled in their respective fields.

ISSUU presently has a user base of well over 40,000 registered members. It stands out because of its international orientation and collaboration. The team responsible for support and development of new templates and extensions is an international team consisting of members from around the globe- the United States, England, Italy, Holland, Germany, India, Canada, Poland, Greece and Japan-from different backgrounds and different age groups. All communication and information exchange between the employees of ISSUU and between ISSUU and its customers performed using the electronic superhighway. ISSUU attracts its customers from all over the globe; like its team; its customers come from different backgrounds, different age groups, and different countries. The target group of customers is, in essence, anyone who wishes to run a Web site using the Joomla CMS.

ISSUU focuses mainly on development of templates for the different content management systems to which it caters. Other services provided are mainly in the area of support. Customer support is provided through an online forum in which ISSUU club members can post their template and extension-related questions and general problems with Joomla. The online community at ISSUU.com and its collaborative atmosphere is representative of open source ideals. It is one of the pillars of ISSUU's success.

Your report should include:

1. What are ISSUU's business processes, and what information systems can be used to support these processes?

2. How can these systems improve ISSUU's business performance?

Answer 1

1. ISSUU's business processes and information systems to support these processes are product development of templates for content management systems, customer support system for solving any problems and issues through online forum, membership and payment management systems for its registered users around the globe, international operations with customers based in different countries and support staff.

Enterprise Resource Planning systems can be used to support the business processes of the organisation with its global operations for integrated performance, trend analysis and decision support .

2. These systems can improve ISSUU's business performance by improving its efficiency and effectiveness. It can provide customization and improved performance for its customers. It can focus on its most potential customers and regions. The firm can provide better customer support to resolve its customer issues and problems. It can increase the scope of its services and business with resource planning and management.