Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mr. Dave Rantor , Production Director

My expectations about the impact of the new system (SAPI):
This system started about 4 years ago. I suppose we first started grappling with the problem of how to become more efficient and more effective in the future. I suppose that there were two driving forces. First one was the need to contain costs and to make better use of the resources that we had. There was a shortfall in the capacity. We have enough people, we have enough management resources and we give out warehouse space. It was actually the manufacturing capacity that was defective. So there were options there. We could either build a new plant which could have cost us about £200 million or, we could not take the business, or, we could better optimize the utilization of our existing capacity.
We need something that was going to help us to plan our resources more effectively and when we looked at SAPI that seemed as though it was going to do just SAPI was going to ensure that we only manufactured that which we needed, it was going to reduce our inventory, it’s got potential for planning our materials right the way through the whole of the manufacturing process. It was also going to enable us to plan the utilization of our people much better. The obvious result of using our resources in a more effective and more efficient way was that we would bring our unit cost down and that should make us more competitive. The other beauty is that we’d be able to bring in more business without having to go to the corporation and ask for more capital. So it seemed to fulfill a number of problems that we were grappling with.
I guess the second big advantage we saw in the culture change was to do with the way we wanted to implement MRP- we wanted to implement its company-wide. It was going to have an effect on everyone within the company and it was going to give us an opportunity to do a lot of team building and to encourage teamwork, to focus people’s attention on common objectives. There was going to be a need to do a lot of training, training if done within the right groups, could do a great deal to enhance the feeling of teamwork amongst the various departments and also within departments. I think what we said is, well here’s a system that depends upon people, and the advantage of this system is that it’s got a computer that’s going to enable us to ensure that our data is accurate. However, it’s only going to work for us if people accept that the computer is merely something that’s going to play with the numbers and that it’s the people that are still going to make the decisions. It’s the people that are going to determine how successfully we make use of that computer system.
It is not the SAPI that is going to change the way in which we operate, it’s going to be the way that people handle SAPI and the way that people make decisions when they have got the better information that is going to be available from that system.

The Company Y Profile

1. Discuss the information Systems Development Plan- Purpose, Scope and Objective.
Give your own opinion and reflections.


Information systems are implemented within an organization for the purpose of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of that organization. So information technology departments in larger organizations tend to strongly influence information technology development, use, and application in the organizations, which may be a business or corporation. A series of methodologies and processes can be used in order to develop and use an information system. The use of System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) which is a systematic procedure of developing an information system through stages that occur in sequence will be a big help to the developers in developing the organizations operation. This can be accomplished by outsourcing certain components or the entire system. Capabilities of the information system and characteristics of the organization, its work systems, its people, and its development and implementation methodologies together determine the extent to which that purpose is achieved.

The Purpose, Scope and Objectives of the System

The Purpose of the System: Company Y has always had a “progressive” view on the use of Information Technology. The establishment desires to develop a company- wide system that would essentially and drastically change not only the warehouse department’s classic card based warehouse stock system but the whole Manufacturing, Accounting and Production Information Control Systems. A system that would address the financial planning and operational planning in units, improving not only the transaction process of the department but also the way they would respond to these processes to bring the costs down, allowing them to be more competent in the field.


The Scope: The system is to be used by the accounts department to continually automate repetitive manual processes such as Payroll, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Financial Modeling and Standard Costing. It is also to benefit the Warehouse department, changing the usual card stock system, and the whole company even to have common database, thus determining same and accurate inventory counts. Also enabling them to gain more benefits with the following system functions (how it should and can operate).


First, the Master production schedule (MPS), then the Item master data (technical data), Bill of materials (BOM) (technical data), Production resources data (manufacturing technical data), Inventories and orders (inventory control), Purchasing management, Material requirements planning (MRP), Shop floor control (SFC), Capacity planning or capacity requirements planning (CRP), Standard costing (cost control), Cost reporting / management (cost control)


Objectives:
Plan the system thoroughly enabling it:
Ø To have accurate inventory records
Ø To have a better control of inventories, thus reducing the working capital for inventory, maintaining the lowest possible.
Ø To have an improved scheduling, being able to plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.
Ø To plan the resources more effectively, even maximize the utilization of the human resources.
Ø To gain productive relationships with suppliers and clients, making sure that products are available for delivery to customers.
Ø To have an improved design control
Ø To have better quality and quantity control, ensuring materials are available for production and that the company would only manufacture those which are needed.
Ø To have improved cash flow through quicker deliveries

This Information Systems Development Plan describes the overall plan to be used by an organization for planning or developing systems. The details of the individual iterations will be described in the ISDS. It is a big help for an organization in using ISDS because it defines the deliverables that the project is expected to deliver. In short, it will be a guide or outlined plan for the developers in achieving their organizational plans. Things will be done successfully if you already plan first what will you wanted to be done to your projects. The operations will not ruin in the end if you had your plans. ISDS is a key factor in developing and implementing projects operations.
2. Comment on the Relationship of IS and the organization.
The relationship of Information System and the organization is just like the IS became the organizer of the organization’s files and everything they were doing and the organization is the commander of the system.
The Information System really played a big role to the organization for it was able to help so much the people by lessening their workloads and made their jobs more accurate like saving the same data on one common database. It made them more functional and more effective. Though their first attempt of the system was like “forcing them to use it” and the relationship was like “parasitism” because the people did not get any benefits instead it made them more burdened of their works, but later, as they got knowledge of the proper usage of the system and through trainings, they were then able to use the information system correctly though the system was not as that as “user-friendly” at all. When using the system, you should work with it as if you are a friend of the system for you to work harmoniously.
When it comes to work, the information system really contributed a lot to the company by having one common database—that when you store data on it and wanted to retrieve it soon, all people in the organization can have the same information in any particular aspect they want to have. Because of the system, the company was able to save lots of data to the database without having so much time and effort. Even if they had lots of products to enter into the database, they were to manage them accurately because of the system. The people had benefited for they were only sending commands to the system and it was for the system to do the assigned tasks. Despite of the company’s large area of work and fast production of their products, the system was still able to lessen their jobs and it was for the organization to take good care of it.
It was a mutual relationship among the two parties then (the organization and the system) because when people use it, they had benefited and as the system they were using, it continued its life and help for the users. Though the system was not much that user-friendly, the company still continued using the information system because the people knew that it was for them to become helped, more effective and more productive. Their relationship must like a teacher and a student also. The organization will be the teacher that commanded the student to this and that every now and then, and in the part of the student, he had nothing to do but follow what the teacher was telling him because if he didn’t, he could not get good grades..and for the teacher as well, he did not have the reason to give the student a high grade also.


3. Describe the impact of the IS and give your own reflections.
The IS or Information System helped the company to become more efficient and it also helped the people in the company in planning their resources more effectively. The IS ensured that they only manufactured which they needed, reduced their inventory and got the potential for planning their materials right the way through the whole of the manufacturing process. It also enabled them to plan the utilization for their people much better. The result of using their resources in a more effective and more efficient way was that would bring their unit cost down and make them more competitive. They were also being able to bring in more business without having to go to the corporation and ask for more capital. Information System also solved the problem of having many database which made them confused because of having different data. It made them one common database for everyone to have the same accurate data, enabled them to reach the organization’s goals and reduced the workload of their people.
Though IS helped a lot to the organization, it did not mean to change the way people made the organization operate, it was about how people handle the Information System and the way people made decisions when they had got the better information that was going to be available from the system. Even if the people of the company found it hard to deal with the IS at first and were considered as forced to use the system, still they were able to deal with it through teachings of proper usage of the system and the right dealing of it. There should be a good relationship between the system and the users to work effectively and accurately and also to avoid the unnecessary errors that may occur. The IS was really a great help to the organization for it was able to solve problems that they had been encountering since before the time the IS came out—like reducing the workload of their people and providing one common database to have the same data. So obviously, the impact of IS was good and beneficial to the organization because it made them more productive and effective.

4. Elaborate all the negative impact of the IS in the organization and give your justified suggestions or recommendations such that they can be reduced or avoided.
Information System has something to do with typing, inputting and even recording data using the computer. From manual to computerize. The problem there it was that not all employers are computer literate. It’s hard for them to start a new task, a new environment and most of all it’s hard for them to adjust quickly. So it takes time for them to train their self and probably it’s really a problem for it takes too much time and effort.
When you’re new to a job (ignorance of the system) it’s hard for you to cooperate and that’s another problem again. Like in Warehouse when IS is new to them they found difficulties in forming teams (team work). It requires a lot of training and again it’s a waste of time and money.
The system created a tense between them and the MIS, for MIS thought that it is a competition so they thought that they are better than the new system, that they can create a better and more effective application. Because of that they try to criticize the system and made it all bad.
The minor departments affect the whole company, for sometimes the minor company is having the incomplete participation of the production department (main department) and the purchasing department will find it difficult to update their own stock. For instance, the warehouse department cannot properly manage the stocks if the production department did not update their production.
Trainings and seminars are the best way of dealing these problems. Not only training for the jobs (job related), but also a behavior training. Training that could make themselves more flexible.


5. Give your reflection on the ethical issues relating to the given IS planning and implementation.
Probably information arose because of one goal that is to implement the company wide. It has going to have an effect on everyone within the company and it is going to have any opportunity to do a lot of work. IS believed that they can supply the needs of the company, and think to swallow the number of problems that the company was screaming with. That they can able to pull information out of the computer a lot easier then get hold of the information at a moment.

The information system plan runs fluently, it is where the BPCS was chosen by the Y company as a software for SAPI system but for some other reason, the mother company refused to go with the Y company. They reprimand that the MAPICS II should be use, because in business transaction it is more accurate in the parent company. Argumentations, complains and issues followed the proposal/suggestion and as a solution the company conducted a survey and interview.
I appreciated their way of following the opinions, for they did it fairly. Every time there’s an argument we really not need to leave it unsettle but rather try to think of a better solution and that would lead you in goodness. Just like in IS they we’re able to produce a good application for they never leave their arguments hanging.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Masterpiece

As a beginner IT programmer, I want to develop simple programs.

This is a sample program using Dev C++:

Write a program that evaluates a grade given this condition:
70-75-Print"YOU GOT C"
76-80-PRINT"YOU GOT B-"
81-85-"YOU GOT B"
86-90-"YOU GOT A-"
91-95-"YOU GOT A"
<70-PRINT"YOU GOT A FAILING MARK" >100 OR <0-PRINT "GRADE INVALID" CODES: #include
#include
Int main()
{
Int a=0
Clrscr();
Printf("Grade:");
Scanf("%i",&a);
If(!(A>100||<0)) If(a>=96)
Printf("You Got A");
Else if(a>=91)
Printf("You Got A-);
Else if(a>=86)
Printf("You Got B+");
Else if(a>=81)
Printf("You Got B");
Else if(a>=76)
Printf("You Got B-");
Else if(a>=70)
Printf("You Got C");
Else
Printf("You Got a Failing Mark");
Else
Printf("grade invalid");
Getch();
Return 0;
}

OUTPUT:

Grade:73
You Got C!

Grade:82
You Got B!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Small but Terrible!

What is Nanotechnology?

A basic definition: Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced.
In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products.




Nanotechnology Defined

Nanotechnology can perhaps be best defined as the ability to engineer new attributes through controlling features at a very small scale - at or around the scale of a nanometre. One nanometre is a billionth of a metre; or about 1/80,000 the width of a human hair. The use of materials at the ‘nano’ scale predates even the applications that are hitting the market now. Nanoparticles were used by the Romans to make glasses, and during the Renaissance period to make ceramics. However, although some elements were used in the past, it is the understanding of nanotechnology and how it can be used which is new. The nanoscale has become accessible both by application of new physical instruments and procedures and by further diminution of present microsystems.


When K. Eric Drexler (right below) popularized the word 'nanotechnology' in the 1980's, he was talking about building machines on the scale of molecules, a few nanometers wide—motors, robot arms, and even whole computers, far smaller than a cell. Drexler spent the next ten years describing and analyzing these incredible devices, and responding to accusations of science fiction. Meanwhile, mundane technology was developing the ability to build simple structures on a molecular scale. As nanotechnology became an accepted concept, the meaning of the word shifted to encompass the simpler kinds of nanometer-scale technology. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative was created to fund this kind of nanotech: their definition includes anything smaller than 100 nanometers with novel properties.



Much of the work being done today that carries the name 'nanotechnology' is not nanotechnology in the original meaning of the word. Nanotechnology, in its traditional sense, means building things from the bottom up, with atomic precision. This theoretical capability was envisioned as early as 1959 by the renowned physicist Richard Feynman.

I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big. — Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics

Based on Feynman's vision of miniature factories using nanomachines to build complex products, advanced nanotechnology (sometimes referred to as molecular manufacturing) will make use of positionally-controlled mechanochemistry guided by molecular machine systems. Formulating a roadmap for development of this kind of nanotechnology is now an objective of a broadly based technology roadmap project led by Battelle (the manager of several U.S. National Laboratories) and the Foresight Nanotech Institute.

Shortly after this envisioned molecular machinery is created, it will result in a manufacturing revolution, probably causing severe disruption. It also has serious economic, social, environmental, and military implications.

Working at the nanometre level offers many opportunities for creating novel products; and any product, which possesses a characteristic, or attribute that involves some manipulation or measurement at or below 100 nanometres (or 0.1 of a micrometre) falls under the umbrella of nanotechnology. These include paints (with nanoparticles), medicines (coated drugs for targeted drug delivery), foodstuffs (‘taste-burst’ foods), clothing (stay-clean textiles with nano fibres), packaging (specially adapted polymers that prevent contamination and sense decay) and new materials for aerospace, automotive and construction applications (lightweight but tough, heat-resistant nanocomposites).
Governments worldwide are now spending close to £2.5billion on nanotechnology R&D, and this figure will continue to rise. The United States is leading the way, and full information is provided on their National Nanotechnology Initiative website (www.nano.gov). This website is run by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and, as befits an initiative that will spend over US$847 million on nanotechnology in 2004, is the most comprehensive governmental website on nanotechnology, full of reports, facts and figures. The agencies involved with the initiative include the Department of Defence, NASA and the Department of Energy.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Me, Myself and I :)

Hi! I’m Aileen Frias, a 3rd year student of Information Technology in Central Mindanao University. A child of a loving family and a daughter who was used to be at Lola’s side always. Always been afraid to sleep alone in her room.

As a creation of God, I want to be the best that I can be but in accordance to His will. I want to achieve everything I want and really want to build a Christ-like character. To do that, I must have first Jesus in my life.
Just like in my chosen field, it’s more on computers, making programs, analyzing problems and all those IT related works. Computers won’t function without its processor-which is their brains to execute commands and programs and it won’t function without its users. It needs human intellect of course. Without human technologies won’t exist.

The same thing with me, without God in my life I am not what I am now. Without Him in my life, I am good as nothing. I can’t function the way I am now. Human as I am, I have also lots of problems and difficulties in life. The same with my field, I have to analyze task or problems for it to be solved. In me, I’m so blessed because I have God in my life to keep me strong in all those challenges and help me solve all those problems. With Him, every impossible is possible. So, why worry if you can pray.
Computers also won’t last forever. They have their life span as humans do. Time will come that they will not function well and again will be replaced with a new one. Same thing with me, I’m a mortal being who will not live forever and will soon pass away.
God loves us so much that He sent His own Son to die for us in the cross of Calvary. All we have to do is to accept Him in our lives and commit everything in Him. He shuts down all our problems in life, restart t us to become better and be as good as new, scans us to deletes all the viruses in us which is our bad sides, he is my antivirus. Most of all, he programs my life in accordance to His will. He is my processor!

That’s all for now. Godbless!<3