Unit 16 MCKI Assignment Merit Copy

Unit 16 MCKI Assignment Merit Copy

Introduction

Decision making is the most important aspect which is been considered as the major concern of the higher authorities. In the present times, managers are more concerned with the decision making due to the highly dynamic, competitive and complex nature of the business environment. Managers are mostly tending to make decisions over the information collected through less reliable and accurate means and mostly incomplete as well. The unit 16 MCKI assignment merit copy is been carried out to elaborate the aspects related to managing communication and decision making on the basis of the information systems. It is very much import for the organizations to ensure the correct sourcing of the information. However, communication is another aspect which helps in delivering the desired objectives among the employees in an effective manner. The unit 16 MCKI assignment merit copy would thus focus on the enhancements of the decision making over the information sourcing and communication at Star printers Limited (SPL), a printing company mainly based in London.

Task1

Introduction

This particular task is been concerned with the assessment of the information and knowledge being required by SPL. According to the case study, it has been found that the organization is facing critical issues in its business due to the emergence of the online printing and had lead to the increase in the competition as well. The competition had thus resulted in the loss of employee morals along with the higher employee turnovers. Therefore, the task would focus on the decisions to be made along with the information and knowledge required for the same. It would assess the internal and external sources of information and would draft a recommendation for the improvements.

1.1/1.2 The range of decisions to be taken and the information and knowledge needed to ensure effective decision taking

In order to stand against the competitive market, it is very much important for the organization to make effective decisions over various aspect in the business so that to attain a competitive advantage over the others. In context to the case of SPL, it has been identified that the manager must make various decisions such as operational, tactical and strategic decisions. The strategic decision would be mainly helping SPL to focus on the long term perspectives and implement better decisions (Borghoff and Pareschi, 2013). These decisions would include the initiatives to be made for enhancing the profits and the returns out of the shareholder’s investments. It would also focus on the activities to attain a competitive advantage in the printing market. The tactical decisions would help SPL to make improvements in short terms such as to keep the employees motivated and gain their loyalty and engagements within the organization. In addition this, the operational decisions would be taken for ensuring the attainment of both the tactical and the strategic decisions in the organization. Making decision over the initiatives to diminish the costs and enhance the efficiencies of the business. It would even help in identifying the expectations and demands of the prospective customers so that to meet them effectively.

Moreover, in order to meet these above decisions, SPL would require collecting sufficient information and knowledge about the same. It is very important to collect accurate and reliable information so that to ensure the effectiveness of the decision mad for the betterment of the business as inaccurate information could lead towards inefficient decision and then to the continuous losses. With the identification of the problem, it is important to collect the relevant information about the problem specifically (Ward and Peppard, 2016). However, SPL must collect knowledge and information about the initiatives to be made for encouraging the employees, taste and preferences of the prospective customers, competitor’s strategies such as prices offered by them, new market trends in the industry, etc. SPL must also make appropriate budget or financial planning so the to cut the costs by determining the redundancy and implement new initiatives to overcome with the same.

1.3 Assess internal and external sources of information and understanding

There are various sources from which SPL could collect the required accurate information and knowledge regarding the problem. The management of the printing organization could make effective decisions over the sources whether internal or external. The internal sources are mainly the sources which help in collecting information within the organization by engaging the management and the employees in the discussions and the idea generation sessions. With reference to the case study, Star Printer Limited is basically a printing based company which is been specialized in the printing of magazines  along with other business stationary such as letter heads, business cards and memos (Pearlson.et.al, 2016). The internal sources of information would be helping SPL in acquiring the actual status of the organization in the current time along with its strengths and weaknesses specifically. On the other hand, the external sources of information would assist SPL in recognizing the areas of development, opportunities and threats for the future terms. However, it has been identified that the external sources of collecting the information includes both the primary and the secondary sources of the data.  The primary sources are the feedbacks, survey conducted within the customers regarding their perceptions over the printing services. Moreover, the publications, newspapers, journals, etc related to the printing industry and trends are the secondary sources of information for SPL. The organization would reach upto an effective decision over the problem by evaluating the information collected through these sources effectively.

1.4 Justify recommendations for improvement

As per the case study, it has been observed that there are sufficient requirements of improvement in SPL. It is very much important to execute effective improvements in the business practices so that to ensure the mitigation of the issues and reach to the levels of success. The most important aspect is the employee retain, SPL must make effective initiatives to motivate the employees and make them work towards the organizational development and reduce the cost of capitals over the business. In order to sustain in the competitive market, the organization requires bringing new concepts, innovation and creativity in the printing activities and must also modify its printing mechanism which would largely help in inclining the customers towards it (Gu.et.al, 2012). The employees could be motivated through various activities such as monetary benefits, appreciations, appraisals, promotions, etc. These initiatives would make the employees more engaged in their jobs and would reduce the job cuts along with the losses due to the decreased production. An effective distribution channel would also help in overcoming with the problem and ensure the effective delivery of the products and services within the market. SPL must even enhance its customer relationship by identifying their needs and expectations and providing them with the best satisfactions. Thus, these improvements would help SPL to achieve the desired levels of objectives and reach the success levels effectively.

Conclusion

Star Printer Limited is basically a printing based company which is been specialized in the printing of magazines  along with other business stationary such as letter heads, business cards and memos. The manager of SPL must make various decisions such as operational, tactical and strategic decisions. It has been observed that there are sufficient requirements of improvement in SPL. It is very much important to execute effective improvements in the business practices so that to ensure the mitigation of the issues and reach to the levels of success

Task 2

2.1 Identification of the stakeholders for a decision-making Process

Stakeholders are the most important aspect of an organization who are been affected and have interests over the business practices. There are two types of stakeholders i.e. internal and external stakeholders. The external stakeholders mainly include shareholders, suppliers, creditors, customers, societies and the government while internal stakeholders are the managers, owners and the employees of the organization. In order to make the effective decisions, SPL must include owners, stakeholders, government, employees, etc. who have invested in the business in any of the way. It has been identified that these stakeholders plays an important role in an organization. It is very important for the organization to meet the expectations of these stakeholders and abide by the rules and regulation s by the government (Ferrell and Fraedrich, 2015). It has to establish healthy relationship with the employees along with the customers so that to keep them satisfied with the organization specifically. The creditors and the suppliers contribute in the organization to the large extent by making investments and providing with the required human resources respectively. Thus, SPL must include both the external and the internal stakeholders in the decision making process so that to reach an effective and profitable decision over the problem.

2.2/2.3 Explanation of how and why making contact with those identified and develop business relationships is important

Developing a business relationship with the stakeholder would help SPL in formulating a strong base for carrying out its business practices. The identified stakeholders play an important role in SPL. Customers are the most important stakeholders of any of the organization and thus making relationship would assist SPL in identifying the desires, wants and feedbacks regarding the organization and its services (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). The initiative would facilitate the company in forging good and healthy relationship with the customers and bring better improvements in the products and service quality specifically. With the development of the relationship with the government would direct the managements of SPL to avail an understanding about the legislations and policies which could affect the business in either positive or the negative aspects. It has been identified that building relationships with these stakeholders would enhance the loyalty and trust over the brand and make them invest more in the business practices.

In order to develop the relationship with the stakeholders, SPL would require making specific initiatives which would engage them to improve the relations specifically. Concerning the customers, the organization must deliver quality products and services on affordable prices so that to attract the customers and grab their trust over the organization. This would help in developing a relationship with the customers for longer period of time. There are wide ranges of communication channels which could be used by SPL to improve the relationship. For instance, to communicate with the shareholders, SPL could make use of the annual general meeting or conferences along with the annual report of the business (Bourne, 2016). The organization could even make use of the social media sources to attract the customers and make them a part of the business. Moreover, SPL could make these initiatives and develop effective relationship with the stakeholders so that to reach the desired levels of success.

2.4 Design strategies for improvement

There are wide ranges of business strategy which could be used by SPL to bring relevant improvement in the business. In order to enhance the network of the organization, the management had to develop specific strategies and execute the same effectively.  It has been found that the organization requires setting the priorities over the stakeholders such as creditors, owners, stakeholders, customers, government, suppliers, employees and the society. There must be an efficient communicational flow of information for the improvement in the business. To enhance the network with the creditors and the stakeholders, SPL must keep them updated with the regular information regarding the strategies, changes, decision and actions towards the business profitability and provide them with the detailed report over their investments. This would help in gaining trust over the business and would improve the relationship as well (Wolf, 2014). Another important aspect is customers as they are the major sources of income and thus requires improving the relations. With this purpose, SPL must be in touch with the customers by collecting feedbacks stating their demands and needs, keeping them informed about the introduction of new products and services, etc. An effective distribution channel would also help in overcoming with the problem and ensure the effective delivery of the products and services within the market. However, these initiatives would largely help SPL in improving the relationships and avail better outcome out of it.

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Task 3

This section would be mainly discussing about the communicational process being followed within the organization and would also include relevant recommendations for the same. It would even include a personal plan for improving the self communicational skills specifically.

3.1 Report on existing processes of communication in the organization

In context to an organization, communication is been considered to be a very important process as it helps in conveying the relevant information within the business. It is very important to ensure an effective flow of communication as a simple distortion could change the actual meaning of the information and lead to severe issues for the business. There are various type of communication channels which could be used by the organization top convey the desired information within the organizational framework. With respect to the case of SPL, it has been observed that there are three major communication channels such as upwards communication channel, downward communication channel and lateral communication channel which is being used by the organization within the workplace.  The existing process of SPL includes these three communicational channels which facilitates the management and the employees to transform the information within each other. It has been found that the basic communication model includes an encoder i.e. sender of the information, medium, and a decoder i.e. a receiver of the information or message. Moreover, it has been identified that to make communication effective and two sided; SPL must include a feedback loop from the decoder to the encoder specifically.

3.2/3.3 Explanation of the ways to improve appropriateness and how SPL would implement improvements to ensure greater integration of systems of communication

In order to reach the desired levels of success, it is very much important to assure that the communicational channels is been executed effectively. This would help to make sure that the actual message or information is been delivered to the right receiver and in the right way. An effective communication channel reduces the possibilities of distortions or misinterpretation of the originality of the information. In context to the present case, there are various ways of improving the communicational effectiveness in the organization.  Some of the most effective and common ways of communication system which could be used by SPL are such as:

• Establishing two way communication: The authorities of SPL must ensure that there is a two way communication so that to enhance the employee engagement in the communication process. Feedbacks must be taken from the employees to attain the full involvement of the listener in the process of communication (Nwankpa, 2015).
• Utilization of different modes of communication: There are various modes of communication such as emails, formal, informal, face to face, meetings, etc. which helps the manager to convey the message to the subordinates. Making use of diverse modes of communication helps in improving flexibility in the communicational system and do not makes it dependable on a single communication channel.
• Advanced technologies could be used: SPL must make use of new advancements in the communication process so that to enhance the effectiveness of the communication system and diminish any risks over it. For instance, making use of integrated communication technology could enhance the efficiencies over the process (Vaishnavi and Kuechler, 2015).

3.4 Create a personal plan to improve own communication skill

In order to enhance the communication system within the organizational framework, it is very much important to enhance my own communication skills so that to implement the right initiative. To improve my own communicational skills, I would first identify the basic loophole in my skills for communication such as reading, writing or understanding and thus would focus on the same. I would be initiating with the communication training sessions or coaching for enhancing my understanding towards the same. I would improve my abilities by reading articles, books, listening to the presentations, watching communication videos with subtitles, etc. I would even join personality development program, which would help me enhance my presentation as well as the communicational skills effectively.

Task 4

With the advancements in the technologies, it has been seen that the information and knowledge had become more important for the organization so that to meet their success in desired levels. This section would be discussing about the improvements to be brought in the system related to information and knowledge.

4.1 Report on existing approaches to the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge

There are various methods of collecting, formatting, storing and disseminating the information and knowledge in an organization such as survey, observations, experiments, secondary sources, primary sources, feedbacks, records, documentation, etc. It has been found that making use of these methods, SPL would be able to avail the relevant information and make use of the same for its business purposes. The organization would be even facilitated in bringing the desired levels of improvements in the communication system and ensure the flow of information effectively (Louise Hamilton.et.al, 2014).  SPL could store its information by establishing the new advanced technological methods such as digitalized files, CD, DVD, pen drives, hard disks, etc. Thus, these methods would help the organization to meet the levels of success effectively.

4.2 Appropriate changes to improve the collection, formatting, storage and dissemination of information and knowledge

Introduction

With respect to the present case, it has been identified that SPL is been going through an immense competition from the online printing companies and thus requires to make initiatives to overcome with the problem. The most effective way to meet the competitive advantage and sustain in the market is to bring technological advancements in collecting, formatting, storing and disseminating the information and knowledge specifically (Davenport, 2013). Implementing integrated communication technology, making use of the internet sources, making use of the survey and observation methods to identify the taste and preferences of the customers, etc. These strategies would help ion ensuring the effectiveness of the business and make use of the information accordingly.

4.3 Implement a strategy to improve access to systems of information and knowledge

In context to SPL, the most appropriate strategy of improving the access to the information and knowledge is to implement IT system in the business. It has been seen that IT would prove to be extremely useful for the management and delivery of information process of SPL. With the emergence of the clout storage technology, it has become very much easy to store the information and make use of the same effectively without any distortion into it. This technological advancement would help the organization by cutting huge costs on storage and maintenance of physical records and could keep enormous amount of data secured (Grimshaw.et.al, 2012). The innovation by SPL which helps to print at lower costs could be copyrighted as well. This strategy would thus contribute in the enhancement of the information system and help in delivering the data effectively.

Conclusion

It has been found that the organization had been facilitated in bringing the desired levels of improvements in the communication system and ensures the flow of information effectively. Implementing integrated communication technology, making use of the internet sources, etc. would also help SPL effectively.

Conclusion

The above report concludes that decision making is the most important aspect which is been considered as the major concern of the higher authorities. It has been identified that the manager must make various decisions such as operational, tactical and strategic decisions. Even it has been revealed that the organization requires bringing new concepts, innovation and creativity in the printing activities and must also modify its printing mechanism which would largely help in inclining the customers towards it.

References

Books and journals:

Borghoff, U.M. and Pareschi, R. eds., 2013. Information technology for knowledge management. Springer Science & Business Media.
Bourne, L., 2016. Stakeholder relationship management: a maturity model for organisational implementation. CRC Press.
Carroll, A.B. and Buchholtz, A.K., 2014. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education.
Davenport, T.H., 2013. Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press.
Ferrell, O.C. and Fraedrich, J., 2015. Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Grimshaw, J.M., Eccles, M.P., Lavis, J.N., Hill, S.J. and Squires, J.E., 2012. Knowledge translation of research findings. Implementation science, 7(1), p.1.
Gu, B., Park, J. and Konana, P., 2012. Research note-the impact of external word-of-mouth sources on retailer sales of high-involvement products. Information Systems Research, 23(1), pp.182-196.
Louise Hamilton, A., Coldwell-Neilson, J. and Craig, A., 2014. Development of an information management knowledge transfer framework for evidence-based occupational therapy. VINE: The journal of information and knowledge management systems, 44(1), pp.59-93.
Miller, K., 2014. Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Nelson Education.
Nwankpa, J.K., 2015. ERP system usage and benefit: A model of antecedents and outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, pp.335-344.
Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.