IFSM 300 - Stage 4 - Final part of project
Running Head: IFSM 300 STAGE 3 ASSIGNMENT 0
Business Analysis and System Recommendation Report
Background and Organizational Analysis
Introduction
Chesapeake IT Consultants (CIC) is a very successful and popular Information Communication Technology consultant firm. CIC employs proven management and Information Technology methodologies to provide high-quality consulting services to its clients. The firm has a client base which comprises of governmental agencies, businesses and non-profit corporations. The success of Chesapeake IT Consultants is down to a combination of its best practices and the skills of its employees. The main goal of the firm is to deliver beneficial and satisfactory Information Technology solutions to its customers. Currently, the organization is in the process of developing an Information Technology solution to improve their hiring process. This will ensure that they meet their organizational strategy.
Organizational Strategy
An organization’s strategy is made up of its business strategy. This is a means or method applied by an organization through which it will be able to meet its desired short-term and long-term objectives (Campbell, Edgar, & Stonehouse, 2011). The business strategy of Chesapeake IT consultants is to provide reputable consulting services to its clients and this is achieved by hiring highly skilled employees. The hiring system being developed will ensure that the firm’s business strategy is achieved by providing an effective platform through which highly skilled and competent labor force is attracted and hired for the purpose of meeting the organization’s goal. The new hiring system allows effective and efficient recruitment and selection of job applicants during the hiring process.
Components of Information System
An organization’s Information system is composed of a number of components. The basic components of IT system are; people and technology, processes and data/information (Bourgeois, 2014).
People and Technology
The new hiring system has several objectives for several the stakeholders in the company. The objectives will aid the stakeholders in the accomplishment of their roles in firm. The CIC’s stakeholders and how the new hiring system objectives will aid them in achieving their roles are discussed as follows:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO):
The CEO is the tasked with leading the entire organization and ensuring that it runs in line with the set goals. The new hiring system will aid the CEO by availing a competent workforce that can deliver organizational goals.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO):
The Chief Financial Officer is tasked with managing the financial risks of an organization. The interests of the Chesapeake IT Consultant’s CFO with the new hiring system is to ensure that the human resource department runs in an economical way. That is, the new information system will reduce the cost of hiring new staff.
Chief Information Officer (CIO):
The CIO roles at the organization is to manage the company’s information resources and IT architecture. The system will therefore aid the CIO in storing and having backup data on issues related to hiring of new employees.
Director of Human Resources:
The objectives of the Director of Human Resource is to utilize the system in conducting appropriate and sufficient staffing of the organization. The system will achieve this function through the Human Resource Planning module incorporated in the system.
Manager of Recruiting:
The system will aid the manager of recruiting in recruitment and selection of competent IT consultants. This because of the large number of applicants the new system will be able to reach online.
Recruiters:
The hiring system will enable the recruiters to select the best applicants through screening and filtering.
Administrative Assistant:
The system will simplify the roles of the administrative assistant by providing a channel through which he or she can distribute information on matters of employee hiring.
Hiring Manager
The hiring manager will use the system as basis of decision making on whom to hire as new staff in the organization.
Processes
This section deals with the processes influenced with the new hiring system. It indicates how the processes are currently being carried out and how they will be done in the system and the benefits resulting from the changeover.
| Hiring Process | As/Is Process | To/Be Process | Business Benefits of Improved Process |
| Receiving applications | Receiving of applications through post. | Receiving of applications through the company website. | It takes a shorter time to analyze the applications. |
| Matching applications with open job requisitions | Going through the applications manually. | Automated marching of the qualifications to job requirements. | It saves time and free of errors. |
| Screening Resumes | The hiring manager reads through the resume. | Automated screening of the resumes. | It is less costly and Reduces bias. |
| Scheduling Interviews | Calling the applicants and informing them on the date. | Posting the names of shortlisted applicants and the interview dates on the website. | It is timely. |
Data/Information
This section indicates the data or information that will be collected, processed and recorded in the new hiring system to ensure that it functions efficiently and effectively.
| Data/Information Requirement |
| 1. The hiring manager’s name |
| 2. Department requiring additional staff |
| 3. Available Jobs |
| 4. Applicant Name |
| 5. Professional qualifications of the applicant |
| 6. Former Employer of the job applicant |
| 7. Applicant’s job experience |
| 8. Applicant Skills |
| 9. Applicant age and sex |
| 10. Number of required additional staff |
Decision Making
Running a company involves making a number of decisions, which can lead to the success or failure of the firm or simply fix a previous bad decision (Blenko, Mankins, & Rogers, 2010). This means that companies are required to have a good decision making system to keep it going. In the case of CIC, the new technology can be of great help in the decision making process. The company can use the hiring system for decision making as shown in the table below.
Table 1: Decision Making
| Role | Level | Example of Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System. |
| Senior/Executive Managers (Decisions made by the CEO and the CFO at CIC supported by the hiring system.) | Upper Management | The CEO can indicate in the system the regulations of the company with regard to hiring, while the CFO can make decisions on whether the financial position of the company allows it to increase the number of employees, along with their pay. |
| Middle Managers (Decisions made by the Director of HR and the Manager of Recruiting supported by the hiring system.) | Middle Level Management | The middle managers make decisions that affect the day-to-day activities within the company. The hiring system will assist the HR Director and Recruiting Manager in deciding on the departments that need additional employees as well as how many of them to recruit or hire. They will also rely on the system to indicate the qualifications required for each job, which will in turn guide the staff members in charge of hiring and recruiting on what to look for in the job applications. This will also make the final decision on who to hire easier, as the system will screen the applicants, and show the most qualified. |
| Operational Managers (Decisions made by the line managers in the organization who are hiring for their projects supported by the hiring system.) | Lower Level Management | The operational managers will rely on the hiring system to determine the specifications for the jobs that will be handed to the new employees. This will be done by identifying the tasks that need to be accomplished, as indicated in the system. This will help them find out how much work needs to be done, how many people they need to compete the work as well as the skills that they should look for when selecting people to hire. |
Communication
Using the hiring system will assist CIC by improving the communication among employees. This system will change the way messages reach every member of the organization, among colleagues and from the top to the lower level management. Since relevant information will be indicated in the hiring system, each employee will be able to access the part that concerns them and determine what is required of them. This will make communication faster and reduce the risk of employees being left out when there is something important they need to be informed of. They will be able to access information from anywhere. In addition, the system will allow for consistency of messages, as employees will be able to get the same information without relying on indirect communication.
Collaboration
The hiring system will help the employees of CIC collaborate better and work more effectively. This is because every employee’s role will be indicated in the system. With this, the employees will know what they are required to do as well as what activity should follow the other. This will help prevent conflicts among them, which are at times caused by confusion on the authority that each of them has. The employees will therefore focus their skills on the tasks which they are required to complete, making the whole process run without any problem. The hiring system will particularly be of help in separating the duties of the hiring manager and director of recruiting. In spite of the fact that the two are usually after the same thing, it is common for them to have conflicts regarding the hiring and recruiting process. The system will indicate their separate duties, preventing them from going beyond their boundaries. This will allow them to work together more comfortably (Stedt, 2006).
Relationships
The introduction of the new system will improve the relationships between members of the organization as well as the company’s external relationships. Internally, the system will be used to enable the employees to work together better s each of them will know what is required of them. The system will reduce conflicts and miscommunication. Externally, the system will improve the relationship between the company and the general public. This is because members of the public interested in the company will be able to access any information they need through the system. People interested in working for CIC will be able to access important details such as the available jobs, required qualifications as well as the application deadlines.
Structure
CIC will use the hiring system to make the company’s structure clear. This will be achieved by indicating specific details of the duties of each department and every employee. The system will also show the interdependence of different departments with regard to the hiring process. The structure will also be made clear to the potential employees in the job description. They will understand their expected duties as well as the people they should work with.
Competitive Advantage
One of the aspects that companies rely on to keep them competitive is technology. Companies that consistently come up with new technologies to keep up with the changes in business are able to an advantage over their competitors. Chesapeake is clearly determined to maintain its competitiveness. The hiring system will help the company stay competitive, since it will make its operations easier. Through the system, information regarding the company departments that need new employees will reach the concerned parties fast. The job openings will be posted based on the specific information received from the concerned departments. Additionally, the company will be able to hire employees based on their qualifications, as the system will screen the applicants and indicate the best people for the jobs. This will help the company hire competent employees who will be able to offer high quality services, enabling the company to maintain its competitive advantage.
III. Strategic and Operational Outcomes B. Strategic Outcomes Strategic Goal 1To provide extraordinary technology consulting services to the firm’s consumers. The organization will provide high quality services that will provide the firm with a competitive edge over its competitors. Hiring skilled staff will assist in providing high quality consultancy services to clients.
Strategic Goal 2Hire highly skilled staff that that will provide high quality consultant services to customers and put the firm a head in terms of technology and developing new business concepts. Qualified personnel will improve innovation within the organization processes which will put the firm ahead in service delivery.
Strategic Goal 3The third firm’s strategy is to expand its operations across border. The firm aims to expand its operations into international market in order to serve more customers and improve its revenue generation capability. Ability to recruit many staff within a short period of time will enable the organization to easily expand its services delivery to global markets.
B. Process AnalysisThe hiring process starts when an applicant sends resume for job consideration, it is the job of the recruiter to screen the resumes to select the best qualified candidates. The hiring manager selects the best qualified candidates from the list forwarded by the recruiter and Administrative Assistant. The table below represents the current CIC’s manual hiring process.
| Hiring Process Step | Responsible CIC Position |
| 1. Receive application from job hunter | Recruiter |
| 2.Screening job applicants’ resumes | Recruiter |
| 3.Foward the best qualified candidates | Recruiter |
| 4. Selections of best candidates are made | Recruiter /Administrative Assistant |
| 5.Tracking job applicants status | Administrative Assistant |
| 5. Checking with candidates availability | Recruiter |
| 7. Present Job offers to candidates | Recruiter |
| 8. Schedule for interviews | Recruiter |
| 9. Identifying the best qualified candidate (Hay, 2014) | Hiring Manager |
| 10. Interviewing the candidates | Recruiter /Administrative Assistant |
| 11. selecting best after interviewing | Recruiter /Administrative Assistant |
| 12. Extend Hiring Offer to Selected Candidate | Recruiter/Hiring Manager |
System security is paramount in protecting the integrity of job applicants’ information, job applicants details stored in the system should be protected from unauthorized access (Khan, 2012). The table below shows the system requirements.
| Requirement Number | Requirement | Source (individual) from Case Study – name and title |
| U-1 | Prepare selected candidate’s job offer | Recruiter- Paul O’Brien/ Mac Thompson/ Juliet Jackson |
| U-2 | Select candidates who possess required skills | Recruiters- (Paul O’Brien/ Mac Thompson/ Juliet Jackson), Hiring manager |
| U-3 | Update job applicants on their application status | Recruiters- Paul O’Brien/ Mac Thompson/ Juliet Jackson |
| U-4 | Schedule for interviews | Recruiters- (Paul O’Brien/ Mac Thompson/ Juliet Jackson) |
| UR-1 | Candidates who have the required skills and experience (Khan, 2012). | Recruiters- Paul O’Brien/ Mac Thompson/ Juliet Jackson), Hiring manager, Director of HR- William Bradley, manager of Recruiting-Suzanne Rodriguez, Administrative Assistant-Ted Anderson and CEO-Alvin Morrison |
| SS-1 | Prevent unauthorized access from within and outside the organization. | CIO-Fadil Abadi |
| SS-2 | Maintain data integrity and secrecy | CIO-Fadil Abadi |
| SP-1 | Secure information flow within and outside the organization | CIO-Fadil Abadi |
| SP-2 | Secure from malware and viruses attack | CIO-Fadil Abadi |
| SP-3 | Role base access control | CIO-Fadil Abadi |
Blenko, M., Mankins, M. C., & Rogers, P. (2010). Decide and Deliver: Five Steps to Breakthrough Performance in Your Organization. Boston: Havard Business Press.
Bourgeois, D. T. (2014). Information Systems for Business and Beyond. Sarlor.org.
Business Perspective. (2017, 06 01). Retrieved from UMUC - IFSM 300: https://umuc.equella.ecollege.com/file/86676687-c3fd-4176-92e0-ad8f73fc49ee/1/Mod1Topic_2.html
Campbell, D., Edgar, D., & Stonehouse, G. (2011). Business Strategy: An Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hay, N. (2014). Your Complete Guide to the Recruitment Process: Hints and Tips to Help You Get the Job You Want. New York: BookBaby.
Hire Expectations Institute. (2014). Strategies to Improve the Recruiter and Hiring Manager Relationship. iCIMS.
Khan, K. (2012). Security-Aware Systems Applications and Software Development Methods. Hershey: IGI Global.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Decision Making in Organizations. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 1-9.
Stedt, J. (2006). Talent Balancing: Staffing Your Company for Long-term Success. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Xu, J., & Quaddus, M. (2013). Managing Information Systems: Ten Essential Topics. Atlantic Press.
