How do social media sites support or contradict a functionalist vision of society - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2473 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Sociology Essay Type Case study Did you like this example? Introduction Late modern society is a network society (Castells, 1997). Devices such as smart phones are portable connect individuals in a complex system of interaction via emails, Facebook, Linkedin, Mumsnet, BlackBerry Messenger which support the functionalist vision. Social media sites are social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook that function for the purpose of enabling the interaction between millions of individuals whenever, wherever and about whatever given subject they wish to communicate. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How do social media sites support or contradict a functionalist vision of society?" essay for you Create order By the end of 2013 Facebook had 1.23 billion subscribers (Sedghi, 2014). This growth amounted to 170 million new subscribers in 2013 alone (Sedghi, 2014). The main use of Facebook is to maintain socially cohesive contact with friends and family which supports the functionalist vision of society (Ofcom, 2011).   It is argued by C. Wright Mills (1956) that society is manipulated into a social order by the one-directional rhetoric of the mass media. In contrast, social media sites are capable of bi-directional interaction with others which is socially cohesive and supports the functionalist vision of society. However, this is not always the case. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the function of social media sites firstly by providing an overview of functionalism and secondly by illustrating how social media both supports and contradicts the functionalist vision of society. Functionalism The positivist approach of structural functionalists involves analysing society from a macro-sociological perspective. They view society as a set of interrelated institutions which form a whole (Abercrombie et al., 2000:145). Such institutions include the family, education, politics, law, the media, organisations, economics and religion (Abercrombie et al., 2000:145). These form the agents of socialization which the shape behaviours that form a public consensus among which they do through constant institutional interaction (Durkheim, 1893:50). Durkheim focused on the consequences of social change between two eras; pre-modern [mechanical] society and industrial [organic] society (Durkheim, 1893).   Pre-modern agrarian society was cohesive, tied by kinship with a collective consciousness of norms, which were constantly reinforced through socialisation and interaction (Durkheim, 1893). The shift from the simplicity of the mechanical society to the complexities of organic society impacted negatively on kinship and collective values as individuals undertook multiple forms of work in this new mode of production; capitalism (Durkheim, 1893). Durkheims (1893) analysis of organic society extends an analogy originally devised by Spencer (1820à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"1903) whereby he likens society to the human body insofar as both have interdependent parts that must function for survival (Coser, 1893 [1997]: xvi).   If any organ [institution] malfunctions, the body social [society] becomes unstable (Durkheim, 1893). As such, each organism [individual] has a specialist role within these institutions which it performs for the social good; not least because their own survival depends on it (Durkheim, 1893). Appropriating active social change is not advised because the institutions and the body social will be destabilised causing anomie (Durkheim, 1893). Anomie is a causal factor of social instability as a result of the inequalities in the division of labour as a result of some organisms outperforming others (Durkheim, 1893). This differentiation exacerbated the stratification that formed hierarchies in the new industrial workf orce which polarised rich and poor (Durkheim, 1893). Social Dysfunction In a modern context, anomie also descended on the British inner cities for similar reasons in August 2011 when the dysfunction of the political, legal and educational institutions failed to meet the needs of the body social (Durkheim, 1893). Merton argues that institutional dysfunction which can be the unintentional consequences of latent functions (Merton, 1968:105). In contrast, adaptations to society by institutions are manifest functions which are deliberately applied (Merton, 1968:105). The manifest functions involved (Merton, 1968: 105). As Merton asserts, such functions are targeted towards individuals in diverse statuses, subgroups the larger social system and culture systems such as limiting opportunities to education through welfare reforms for British working class youths (Merton, 1968:106). The response by disaffected youths was the riots that ensued across the UK in 2011 which was orchestrated using the free service BlackBerry Messenger [BBM] (Lewis et al., 2012). BBM is a free service in which one message can be disseminated to hundreds of recipients instantly who then forward the message to the hundreds more (Lewis et al., 2012). The social cohesion resulting from BBM extended to a temporary truce between otherwise rival gangs which is a positive function of interaction (Lewis et al., 2012). The riots came to an abrupt end when BlackBerry disconnected the service thus illustrating how solidarity depends on interaction (Lewis et al., 2012). Twitter was also accused of inciting the riots but it was later proven that the 2.5 million riot-related tweets showed solidarity against the rioters whilst also recruiting individuals to help with the clean-up process which serve the functionalist vision of society (BBC News 2011: [Online]). Similarly, the anomie in Egypt and Tuni sia was corrected by implementing the overthrow of their relative dictators which was mobilised via Facebook (Bouteflika, 2011). The Social System It is also argued that crime is necessary, inevitable and functional because it elicits the solidarity of the law-abiding public whose anger culminates in the public shaming and punishment of the offender (Durkheim, 1893). Crime therefore serves to redefine the moral boundaries which supports the functionalist vision of society (Durkheim, 1893).   Unlike the riots, social stability occurs when all of the component parts are fully functioning producing a system of equilibrium (Parsons, 1951which is contingent upon the strength or weaknesses of the interactive relationships between the institutions (Parsons, 1951: [1999: 84). In this context, Parsons (1951) claims that actors are goal-achieving and have alternate ways of achieving goals such as through education which is universal and equal (1951:130). In contrast, Merton argues that society sets the cultural goals but fails to provide the institutional means to achieve them (1938:100). While Durkheims functionalist vision is positivist in its assumptions that organisms are homogenous, Talcott Parsons theory of The Social System recognised that society comprised of a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other (1951 [1991]: 3). Parsons (1951) argued that the social system is contingent upon a set of four prerequisites which include: adaptation in times of social change due to one of the institutions malfunctioning; goals involves achieving certain goals in society; integration is the reliance that actors will identify with their social group; and latency involves maintaining the foundations of the social system such as through solid family socialisation.   Mumsnet This would never be tolerated by the UKs top parenting site Mumsnet which is an interactive forum run by parents for parents (Mumsnet, 2015: [Online]). Mumsnet offers advice to parents on pregnancy, education, money, and work (Mumsnet, 2015: [Online]). Within these discourses advice ranging from breastfeeding to university education is all designed to educate and optimise how parents raise their utmost for their children (Mumsnet, 2015 [Online]).   In this context, Mumsnet clearly supports the functional vision of society as it interacts with most of the institutional organs of the body social most all of the institutions (Mumsnet, 2015). According to Maxwell and Aggleton, (2013:139) Mumsnet contains symbolic and ritualistic undercurrents that allow the class disparities to surface. For example, Mumsnet has a strict netiquette whereby husbands and children are identified within the posts by individuals as DH [dear husband] DS [dear son] and DD [dear daughter] which denotes ritual whilst imposing middle class values on working class families.   Parsons argues that the primary problems and strains centre on the role of the wife and mother à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The easy solution is for her to be completely excluded from the occupational system by confining herself to the role of housewife (1951:128).   However, Mumsnet mothers consider themselves professional mothers who can juggle their work-life balance with ease (2013:139). For example, class disparities are evident in an exchange on Mumsnet between several mothers on children watching TV. For example, We cant all be Mother Earth I wouldnt listen to some of the militant mums on here Being pregnant is no reason to be lazy parent to your toddler How judgey some people can be about a little TV At least the child isnt strapped in a buggy with a packet of crisps and a bottle of coke Nowt wrong with crisps and a bottle of coke Exactly, as long as theyre organic (Maxwell and Aggleton, 2013:138) Such class differentiations are glaringly evident on Mumsnet who sell themselves as professional mothers who are well versed in child rearing (Maxwell and Agglegate, 2013). While functionalists overlook class in their macrosociological analysis, Mumsnet is class led and intimidating it is a site for those mothers who do not fear militant mothers or those labelled as Mother Earth (Maxwell and Agglegate, 2013:139). While in principle the mother and homemaker serves the functionalist vision of society, through rituals and cultural practices, the fact that many Mumsnet mothers are working or unmarried will contradict this vision as being negative to children (Maxwell and Aggleton, 2013). The collective consciousness that perform rituals and totemic symbolisation provides a cauldron of collective effervescence for the religious (Durkheim, 1915: 469). Religion which is the most socially cohesive element of the institutions collective life awakens religious thought (Durkheim, 1915: 469). (Coser, 1915: xx). Evidence of such effervescence surrounds Christmas, weddings Bar Mitzvahs and funerals is displayed on social media sites because religion is an eminently collective thing (Durkheim, 1954: 47). Death is also a ritual and a commodity as people flock to mourn the departed; this collective mourning is replicated via social media (Durkheim, 1954; Bell, 1992). Durkheim argued that all societies were divided by the sacred and the profane; the sacred are the totemic objects that are reserved for religious rituals which are emblematic of the clan or tribe, community or society; this is the case across the globe as all primitive religions adopt   the sacred/profane dich otomy (Durkheim 1915: xx). Sacred totems evoke emotional attachment whereas the profane represents everyday objects that are used routinely (such as social media devices) (Durkheim, 1915: xx). However, such totems are only sacred because individuals deemed them as such (Durkheim, 1915). To this end, Durkheim dismisses the centrality of a God in religion; it is the society itself that is God (19). It could be argued that the online community also worships itself as social media sites are central to society (Preston, 2011: [Online]). For example, in the previous week to the time of writing, the Facebook page Jesus Daily received 26.6m Likes and 3.2m interactions (Facebook, 2015: [Online]). Similarly, In a Facebook post by a Jesuit priest supporting the Supreme Court decision to legalise gay marriage Rev. James Martin asserted that: No issue brings out so much hatred from so many Catholics as homosexuality. Even after over 25 years as a Jesuit, the level of hatred around homosexuality is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ unbelievable to me, especially when I think of all of the wonderful LGBT friends I have (cited in Gibson, 2015: [Online]). The Reverends message went viral receiving 18,000 posts,140,000 shares and 400,000 likes on Facebook (Gibson, 2015:[Online]).However, Pope Benedict warned Catholics that human interaction in physical terms was crucial (Preston, 2011: [Online]). Similarly, a Presbyterian reverend urged individuals to experience the physical sensation of water in Baptism [and] hold hands in a service of worship (Preston, 2011: [Online]). This illustrates how religion is mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols (Parsons, 1979:6). Durkheim argues that forbidden, beliefs and practises assists the solidarity to one moral community called a church (Durkheim, 1995:44).   A Church is not simply a priestly brotherhood; it is a moral community (Durkheim, 1995: xxii-xxxii). The anomaly lies in the founder of Jesus Daily,   Aaron Tabor who is actually doctor and finds time to update Jesus Daily with Biblical texts (Preston, 2011: [Online]; Drescher, 2011 ). Similarly , the retweeting of Pope Francis tweets comes second only to Barak Obama (1954: 47). This is evidence of a shift towards maintaining a less secular online identity which supports the functionalist vision of society for its cohesive qualities.   In contrast however, radical religiosity contradicts the functionalist vision. ISIS uses YouTube to showcase its killing; Twitter to increase its presence and Facebook to radicalise and recruit young British Muslims from a distance because criminals are often the result of instinctive, irresistible feelings that they often spread to the innocent object (Durkheim, 1893:47; Engel, 2015). While Twitter is constantly deleting ISIS accounts, ISIS is more intelligent than terrorists of the past which most definitely contradicts the functionalist vision (Engel, 2015). Conclusion In conclusion it is evident following a critical evaluation of the debates above that social media on the whole supports the functionalist view of society in maintaining to high degree the social stability of the body social. It is evident that rituals are performed constantly and values are reinforced where needed. However, other sites are more philanthropic and patronising of their working class subscribers which contradicts the functionalist vision. Social media has been beneficial to parts of the Arab world by overthrowing oppressive dictators while the social action of British youths served to redraw the moral boundaries.   ISIS contradicts the functionalist vision in its aim to eradicated Christians from Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless, the social cohesion of interacting with family and friends while the rituals that religious beliefs behold do support the functionalist vision of society. Word Count: 2,190 Bibliography BBC News (2012) Social media talks about rioting constructive, BBC News [Online] Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-14657456 (Accessed 16th September 2015) Bell, C. M. (1992). Ritual theory, ritual practice. New York: Oxford University Press. Bouteflika, A. (2011) Twitter, Facebook and YouTubes role in Arab Spring, Social Capital [Online] Available: https://socialcapital.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/twitter-facebook-and-youtubes-role-in-tunisia-uprising/ (Accessed 16th September 2015) Castells, M. (1999) An introduction to the information age in Mackay, H. OSullivan, T. (eds) The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation (pp. 398-410). London: Sage Coser, L. (1984) Introduction in Durkheim, E. (1893) Division of Labour in Society (pp. ix-xxv), New York: Free Press Drescher, E. (2011) Five Social Media Trends That Are Reshaping Religion, Religion Dispatches [Online] Available https://religiondispatches.org/five-social-media-trends-that-are-reshaping-religion/ (Accessed 16th September 2015) Durkheim, E. (1893) Division of Labour in Society, New York: Free Press Durkheim, E. (1995 [1912]) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. [Translated and with an Introduction by Karen E. Fields.] New York: Free Press Engel, K. (2015) ISIS has mastered a crucial recruiting tactic no terrorist group has ever conquered Business Insider Gibson, D. (2015) A Catholic priests viral Facebook post on gay marriage, and what it means, Religion News Service [Online] Available: https://davidgibson.religionnews.com/2015/06/29/a-catholic-priests-viral-facebook-post-on-gay-marriage-and-what-it-means/#sthash.G2wzRgMO.dpuf (Accessed 16th September 2015) Maxwell Aggleton (2013) Privilege, Agency and Affect: Understanding the Production and Effects of Action, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan Lewis, P. (2012) Reading the Riots, London: Guardian LSE Merton, R.K. (1938) Social Structure and Anomie, American Sociological Review, 3(5): 672-682. Merton R.K. (1968) Social Theory and Social Structure, New York: Free Press Mumsnet (2015) Home Page Mumsnet [Online] Available: https://www.mumsnet.com/ (Accessed 17th September 2015) Parsons, T. (1951) The Social System, New York: Free Press Parsons, T. (1961) Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory. New York: Free Press Parsons, T. (2001[1979]) The Structure of Social Action And Contemporary Debates Preston, J. (2011) Facebook Page for Jesus, With Highly Active Fans, New York Times [Online] Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/technology/jesus-daily-on-facebook-nurtures-highly-active-fans.html?_r=0 (Accessed 15th September 2015) Sedghi, A. (2014) Facebook: 10 years of social networking, in numbers, The Guardian [Online] Available: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/feb/04/facebook-in-numbers-statistics (Accessed 27th September 2015) Weber, M. (1930 [1904à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"5]) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Oxford, Blackwell. Wright Mills, C. (1956). The Power Elite. Oxford Press

Analysis Of Grace Hsiang s Poem, Fobs, And Twinkies ...

There are different cultures, religious, and languages that form diversity within America. Having a variety of diversity brings colors into our community, but it also creates conflict within different groups. In Grace Hsiang’s essay â€Å"‘FOBs’ VS. ‘TWINKIES’: The New Discrimination Is Interracial†, the author discusses about the cultural conflict within the same ethnicity, and she points out people can avoid internal discrimination by recognizing there are two cultures, â€Å"True Asians† and â€Å" True Americans†. In Hailey Yook’s essay â€Å"Positive Sterotypes Are Hurtful, Too†, the author writes about the harmfulness of judging others based on their ethnic stereotype. Two essays argue people should not discriminate against other cultures and people should not have a preconceived notion on other cultures respectively, and they share a similar point that diversity makes our society better. In Hsiang’s ess ay, the author argues people should not judge others’ cultures based on own assumptions, or it would complicate the relationship between the community. In many cases, people have different backgrounds and religions, and we, living in a same community, should not criticize others’ behavior. It is mentioned in Hsiang’s essay, students today are discriminated against by their own ethnic groups. Asian Americans are divided into two groups, â€Å"true Asian† and â€Å"true American†, and each group highly criticize on another. â€Å"True Asian† group believes it should cling to its ethnic heritage. â€Å"They

Management Practices Consistent Treatment

Question: Discuss about the Management Practicesfor Consistent Treatment. Answer: Introduction An organized style of management will always ensure the unquestionable loyalty of the employees towards the organization, and consequent organizational success of the company. In case the employees are able to receive fair, consistent treatment from the employers, and find the organization working actively for ensuring their well-being, the employees will not only consider working in the company for a prolonged period of time, but their utmost dedication and zealous effort to work harder will ensure higher profit margin for the company. In the given case study, it has been observed that the change of the yard manager in Top Trucking Company brought in an incredible change at workplace, making the employees work more energetically, ensuring larger number of contracts for the company (Beske et al., 2014). Accordingly, it is important to critically evaluate the workplace policies of the company, as introduced by the new manager, as well as the potential challenges that the company might encounter in future. Discussion: Effectiveness of the Workplace Practices Introduced by the New Yard Manager: The recent theories of employee relations claim that it is futile to expect that the employees would work with great zeal, simply because they are being paid a fair sum of money. The recent studies have stated that improving employee relations play an important role, as a fair, positive workplace will always help the employees keep motivated. The new yard manager introduced a variety of workplace policies that are complementing each other. New Leadership Style: Unlike the former yard manager, the new manager believes in Participative o Democratic style of leadership, unlike the autocratic style. Consequently, he is able to have proper control and authority over the employees, and he is able to render a sense of democratic dimension in the management scenario. Unlike the former times, the truck drivers do not feel de-motivated, exploited and deprived, as every course of action is being communicated, prior to its implementation. This new style of leadership has allowed him to create an intimate rapport with the staffs, who would otherwise have resisted the management decisions, forming alliance with the union, and this gave him minimize the scope of unnecessary union intervention in managerial decisions. Research suggests that the union intervention can be easily ruled out in case the managerial staffs exhibit compassion towards the well-being of the staffs (Ogbonnaya Nielsen, 2016). Effective Communication System: An integral feature of Participative Leadership style is that it enables the leader resolve workplace conflict by communicating with the staffs at regular intervals. Considering the fact that the yard manager is not using an autocratic style of leadership, dictating the employees every now and then, a proper control over their actions, can be established by periodical communication (Deegan Islam, 2014). Hence, the new manager also communicates with the staffs at periodical intervals, so that he can keep himself updated about the performance of the employees, and offer them any advice, if necessary. Maintenance of Positive Relation with the Union: In order to ensure workplace stability and a positive workplace, good relation with the union leaders is a must. The new manager was well-aware that even after creating an intimate body with the employees, the union leader can resist George can exhibit resistance and opposition towards the management decisions. Hence, in order to ensure a smooth functioning at workplace, the manager regularly keeps in touch with the Union representatives, so that the demands and the needs of the Union leaders do not get unnoticed. Reports suggest that if the union groups are not being regularly communicated with, they can protest against trivial things, leading to workplace strikes that ultimately affect workplace productivity (Billett Choy, 2013). Employee Motivation: A motivated workforce is always productive, and enthusiastic about taking up any challenge. In order to help his staffs deliver work with greater efficiency, the new manager realized it was important to listen to their needs. Hence, he has brought new trucks for them that enable them to complete tasks with greater convenience, and even gave each one of them a uniform, that provided them with a sense of belonging (L?z?roiu, 2015). Since he has mandated the use of uniforms, the employees started feeling more obliged to perform their duties, being now an integral part of the Top Trucking Company. Risks of Sustaining Workplace Changes in the Company: There are potential challenges that the stable, positive workplace can encounter if George or even the new yard manager moves on, leaving the company behind. First of all or any organization to operate effectively, an effective relation between the management and the union is required (Henderson et al., 2013). Here, the new yard manager with his Participative style of leadership has been able to create a balanced relation with the Union leader. In case any of them leaves, the stability of the workplace can be instantly threatened. In case a new union representative comes up, he may not be able to adjust with the management style of the manager, and may encounter many conflicts, before getting to know each other fully. Again, similarly, if the yard manager leaves the organization, a new manager with his new management style or communication style may find it hard to adjust with the employees (Dobre, 2013). Usually, employees are resistant to change, and especially a change occurs in t he managerial position itself, the employees tend to feel de-motivated and become less productive, and start apprehending the problems that may occur at workplace (Tedeschi, 2013). Engagement of Blue Collar Unions in Workplace Changes: As far as the blue collar unions are concerned, it is needless to state that they play an important role in a construction or a transport based organization, at least from the employees perspectives. However, studies suggest that the blue collar unions are usually more opposed towards the organizational changes brought within a company, and since the workers in these jobs usually engage in tough, hardy and manual jobs, the union leaders are often more concerned about getting their demands fulfilled, rather than developing an understanding of the current scenario (Form, 2015). In such a situation, it becomes obvious that as and when any workplace change is being introduced, the blue collar unions may resist the change, without seeking to understand why the change was imperative in the organization. Research reports suggest that communication will play an important role. Unless the employees along with the Blue Collar union leaders are being communicated regarding the impending change, expecting union participation would be meaningless (Alexander, 2013). Conclusion and Recommendation: To conclude, it should be remembered that the Top Trucking Company has been able to achieve much success lately, given the impressive management style and leadership control of the new yard manager. While on the one hand, he has been able to build a close bond with the existent employees, he has also developed a good relation with the union leader as well. An effective leadership strategy has helped him create a positive workplace that keeps the employees motivated, increases the productivity of the employees and maximizes the organizational revenue as well. The Top Trucking Company under the leadership of a new leader explains how important a role does the management authority of an organization play in determining the future success and growth of a company. Employee motivation, employee well-being , leadership and organizational success are inter-related concepts, and the existence of the one helps in complementing the other. Although the Top Trucking Company has been able to achieve the needed organizational growth, it is important to have a look at some of the strategies that can be recommended to help the company prosper in future. First of all, the management authority must ensure that the new manager regularly communicates with the union groups, or otherwise as mentioned, blue collar unions would end up in creating workplace conflicts. This would hamper the workplace productivity, and hence the management authority is being recommended to communicate any change through proper interactive sessions and meetings that will facilitate the explanation of the reason behind the change. Further, it is important to ensure that transparency exists between employees, union members and the employers. Hence, the management authority is also advised to host meetings with both the union leaders as well as the employees, once in every week to ensure mutual understanding among all the stakeholders. Besides, since the employee unions are mostly concerned about the employee welfare, an organization is less likely to suffer from management-union conflicts, if it seeks to invest in employee benefit programs. As far as the organization is concerned, it has started investing in career development opportunities of the workers, while also ensuring employee protection from the workplace hazards. It is recommended that the company also starts revising the wage scale of the workers, and offers compensatory leaves on need, and acknowledge the contribution of the workers through lucrative incentive schemes. Besides, the union members may often feel marginalized, and their importance lessened with the arrival of an efficient manager, and this may compel them to conspire against the management authority. Hence, it is also recommended that for the successful expansion and growth of the company, the organization ensures co-participation of the employers and employee unions in discussing issues affecting the busi ness, the employers and the employees. Reference List: Beske, P., Land, A., Seuring, S. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature.International Journal of Production Economics,152, 131-143. Billett, S., Choy, S. (2013). Learning through work: Emerging perspectives and new challenges.Journal of Workplace Learning,25(4), 264-276. Deegan, C., Islam, M. A. (2014). An exploration of NGO and media efforts to influence workplace practices and associated accountability within global supply chains.The British Accounting Review,46(4), 397-415. Dobre, O. I. (2013). Employee motivation and organizational performance.Journal of Management and Socio-Economic, (1). Form, W. H. (2015).Blue-collar stratification: Autoworkers in four countries. Princeton University Press. L?z?roiu, G. (2015). Employee Motivation and Job Performance.Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, (14), 97-102. Ogbonnaya, C., Nielsen, K. (2016). Transformational leadership, high performance work practices, and an effective organization. Henderson, C., Williams, P., Little, K., Thornicroft, G. (2013). Mental health problems in the workplace: changes in employers knowledge, attitudes and practices in England 2006-2010.The British Journal of Psychiatry,202(s55), s70-s76. Tedeschi, J. T. (Ed.). (2013).Impression management theory and social psychological research. Academic Press. Alexander, K. (2013).Facilities management: theory and practice. Routledge.

Architecture of Integrated Information Systems †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Architecture of Integrated Information Systems and Modelling. Answer: Introduction In B Bakery, the performance is based on the growth with the orders set for the new healthy product ranges where Bakery has lost some of the key accounts when they are producing some of the products at the best competitive rates. B Bakery is the company which can work on the selling of the products to the supermarkets and the different pub chains. The customer base is mixed with the prominent business that comes from being their customer. They also tend to produce the bakery products with the supplies done to the other business and the shops. The focus has been on the bakery business needs where there is a need to handle the production units, supply chain management, sales and the marketing. The company works for handling the accounts, finance, and the HR management process. With this, the supply chain management needs to take care of the buying of the raw material from the different other business like the poultry farm and the fruit shops, with the flour suppliers. The production is based on the bakery products with the management of the inventory and the logistics management. This will help in storing the products and the delivery of the orders to the different shops, and the eatable areas. (Romnney et al., 2012). The accounts are managed through the accounting activities, where the payment is made to the suppliers, and the payment is generally from the customers. The payroll management is to take hold of the staff and to work on handling the hiring, payroll systems effectively for the staff. The final sales are through the taking of order and then selling the products by properly exploring for the different markets. The marketing is based on the promotion of the business where the frame is depending upon handling the processes which are mainly affected by the sales, and the accounts as well. To check on the problems, the supply needs to handle the production which could be affected due to the different reasons, which will lead to the problems in the sales and the accounts. (Ismail et al., 2014). Hence, when the business loses some accounts, then the business must manage with the lesser sales along with which HR management also suffers. The bakery needs to focus on taking care of the business processes like the equipment for the bakery and the chefs so that they can provide with the better quality of the food to the people. The goal of the business is to process and provide the best to the customer so that he comes back with the more customers. The individual activities can be divided into the org anizations and mainly among the people. Hence, it is important for the business to work on the value-added chain systems which include the process with the supply of goods and services that would lead to the span of the several business systems. The economic benefits are generated when there is a change in the business administrative systems that does not differ from the use of the systems and the business systems. The analysis and the modeling are necessary to define the limits as well as to consider where the bakery can provide the connection of the interfaces with easy management. (Anandarajan et al., 2012). The processes of the bakery of the business are based on the core business patterns, where the supply chain management and the production will help in the easy management of the HRM and the accounts. Here, the accounts are important for the business as it will help in fuel to the whole business process. The B bakery is important for the growth in the last few years as this will help in handling the accounting difficulties in an effective manner. The dedication of the team is mainly to the accounting experts who work on the bookkeeping processes for the business. (Domeika, 2015). The setup of the company depends upon decision-making activities where the company has to focus on their competitive prices as well. It has been seen that the company has lost some of the valuable customers as well. Hence, it is important for the business to focus on the needs with the information for easy and fast running and functioning of the system. The information is likely to affect the business process es with the decisions of the strategic forms that will bring a change in the business to a higher level of success. (Bajdor et al., 2014). There is accounting information for the business that includes the availability of the software for a purpose where B Bakery tends to acquire: The enhancement of the accounts and its sales. The integration setup with the business processes which is mainly for handling the accounting systems with the efficient decision-making processes. The investments primarily in the accounting software that will lead to the customization of the business process. The implementation of the ERP and AIS that is set for the business where ERP will lead to the integration of the business with the better platform for AIS. (Talk, 2016). The business of the bakery needs to focus on the core business processes which will include the performance of the market. The first focus is to be on the business processes and the information. The transactional and the operational information is important for the processing and the decision making in an effective manner. The accounting is the process that will help in easy connection to the different process of business. Hence, for the proper information standards, there is a need for the accounts with the information from the different processes. (Kuperman et al., 2013). The standards are set for the suppliers and the stock in the inventory, amount of the sales and the possible margins to handle the cost of the raw materials as well, costing with the labor charge. These are important for the setting of the competitive pricing for a particular product where the information comes from the different business processes. The standards are set to maintain the integration and the needs o f the business processes and the systems. This includes the forms of the integration which will be able to integrate with the better compatibility and the faster process of business. Hence, there are forms which include the help in earning more revenue. AIS tends to implement the ERP structure or the integration of the ERP implementation. This will also help in providing the structure to the business along with collecting and managing the process, storing and retrieving the financial information from the business analysts, managers, and the other accountants or the tax consultants. (Grabara et al., 2014). The ERP will tend to integrate the functions and the processes of the business. For this, the integration is set where the valuable source of information comes from the business patterns, where AIS tends to focus mainly on the business forecasting information with the proper analysis of the historical information. The system requirements are based on the ERP and the AIS implementation which are important for handling the system objectives of the company. This is mainly based on the ERP software that will lead to the integration of the different business processes along with sharing the data with the centralized database. Here, the focus is on the AIS process that will lead to the access of information from the different processes of business. (Wiegers et al., 2013). The processing is better and accurate depending upon the forms and the fundamental functions which include: The AIS is important for the effectiveness, and the efficient data processing as the data acquired is set for the operations and the different transactions of the company. There are forms where the functions need to work on the transaction sources that will help in easy documentation process as well. The transactions need to record the journals, where the journal records are for the proper detail of the events which are related to the company. Then, there is a need to transfer the data from the journal to the ledgers. The ledger is set to sort the data which is based on the different accounts. AIS works on the different software patterns which will help in the easy management of the decision making process along with working on the information that comes from the database and the analysis. There are categories for the management, managerial reports and the handling of the financial statements. (Komala, 2012). AIS works on the software standards where there is a need to handle the control with assuring the ability to rely on the information which is being produced by the software. This is also for the ensuring of the efficiency with the business activities that is set by the management objectives. The accounting software is based on the applications which work on the account payables and the payroll systems. This is important for the proper handling of the in-house by the organization. It includes the on-line based access that is set for the different devices and for the suppliers to handle the areas of accounting. The pattern is based on the stock and inventory processes where the company tends to keep the control of the inventory with the purchase order when the order is set with the sales for the different customers. The implementation in the bakery of AIS is active as it will help in handling the total costs which are more than the actual software costs. (Berente et al., 2012). The midmarket and the larger applications are set through the resellers and the developers which lead to the customization and support of the services. There are lower end market systems with the inexpensive application software that allow the general business accounting functions to be performed de pending upon the market standards. The business is set with the lower end systems where there are no major adequate security or the auditing trials. This is based on the wide range of the business software that is capable of working on the different needs as well as the multiple currencies. The framework is mainly to include the industry standards with the robust database functionalities. The higher end specifications are for the applications with, the smaller development team, increased risks of the business failure and the reduced availability of support. (Madapusi et al., 2012). With the change of technology, AIS works on the software vendors who can offer the wider range of advanced software generally at the lower price. For this, there is a major focus on handling the companies and then dealing with the multiple stages of the growth. This will help in realizing and growing the larger market with the various locations in size. With the software vendors, they can provide with the offer that will increase the advanced software at a lower price. Along with this, there is a need to check on the suitable formats for the companies at the different stages of growth. This ensures that the features of the mid-market and the high-end software include the advancement of the customization and the scalable database. The forms are also set with the expansion of the business overseas or then allowing the workers to connect to the home office. (Grabinskia et al., 2014). The options are mainly to work on the Software as a Service application that will lead to the accessibility from the different locations. The selection of the B Bakery being the family-owned firm is based on the business, where there are 70 employees. The company needs to categorize the medium to the large-scale company where the solutions are set for the business. It is important for the small business and the home-based business which have 1-5 members. There is software which can handle the delivery of the financial accounting functionality, their review, and the reports. AIS like the QuickBooks, SAGE and the XERO is set as certain examples. This includes the class of the AIS which is important for the small to the medium scale business with 100 active users. The software is also able to handle the different functionalities where the high demands are mainly for the information support. (Davenport, 2013). The reports are relating to the software which is scalable and then associated with the database which is completely robust. Certain other examples are Exact Max, QuickBooks Enterprise, CYMA, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP by design. This is based on the AIS that allows the organization to have more than 100 active users. The system can handle the different features and the functionalities which are based on the SAP, Oracle, etc. This is for the different processes that include the AIS for the SMB where there are support from50 active users for the diversified times with the range of accounting and the other financial activities. Here, the forms are set for the business intelligence, HR, and the web services to handle the manufacturing and the distribution of the services. It includes the better customer relationship management. The solutions could easily be set with the customization based on the processes that include the software with high modularity, stability, and the flexibility. The needs are mainly for the Microsoft Windows Environment and the Microsoft SQL which is based on the backend database. (Hoffer, 2012). The implementation is important for the client-server or the online platform. This works on the basis where there is support for the setting of operations with the easy use of the software. The integration is based on the different modules of the software which works on the maximization of the ROI of the business. The decision-making processes with the users can easily identify and define the forms which include the users who can add the defined fields with the business rules. The decision-making processes are important for performing the specific tasks with the customization that will lead to handling the need for the gradation. This can handle the different key functions with the proper production planning, logistics, and the quality management in an effective manager. Here, the training and the corporate services are set for the real estate management so that the system can build the best support for the service oriented architectures. (Belfo et al., 2013). The project standards a re set with the companies who try to plan for the implementation and then upgrading to the SAP ERP systems with easy integration of the system to save the implementation from the failure. The deployment and the maintenance costs are based on the improved production efficiency with the minimization of the shortage and the interruption functions. Here, the forms are set with the generalized accounting solutions that are for the SMB data. Here, a proper lookup has been for the SaaS details which are related to the cloud accounting solutions. The robust sets are for the professional services and to work on the integrated process of the finance, CRM. The companies belong to the light manufacturing industry with the suitable form of the implementation of the software. The advantages for this are: The easy access to the software, support mainly for the international account as well as the financial transaction support. The multi-currency and the multi-language support is improving the cost of ownership, which reduces and the management is set across the organization in a controlled manner. Here, the forms are also established for the cloud-based solutions with the built-in of the disaster recovery system and the enhanced support for the security. The forms are set for the B Bakery system where the software need to work on the integration of the platform with the capability to handle the different operations as well as the transactions of the decision-making process. A proper use of the SAGE 100 ERP will help in improving the quality of the accounting software. With this, there is a possibility to work on the different business process and check on the connection with the integrated platforms. There are different ranges of the business which are available on the system through the software, where the vendors, customers, and the in-house users tend to connect to the system mainly through the BYOD. The management of the CRM, sales and the integrated platform helps in easy transformation of the raw data with easy processing that will add the advantage to the system. The information from the business comes with the intelligence analysis, where the system is through the discovery of the potential customer, products and the demand for the market management. For this, there is a need to check on the safer stock control which will help in easy understanding and change the procedures of the potential customers. The understanding is based on the customer r equirements with the hold of the easy and the better formats of work. (Hooffer, 2012). The relationship is based on integration with the forms of the product stability, maintenance, integration, and the reports. This is based on the collaboration with the social media that will help in easy delivering of the better CRM experience. The information from the business intelligence will also help in maintaining the records of the customer with the historical and the inventory data that is based on the understanding of the potential customers, and their requirements. The billing and the other operations could easily be set through the billing and payment modules that are for the invoicing and handling the quick payment factors. (Stair et al., 2012). The expenses are for the invoices which could easily be reduced to the forms that include the automation process with the lesser effort. The forms of the Days Sales Outstanding is reduced with the redundant form of the data entry where the time required for the invoicing is based on the handling of the processes of billion and th e automated invoicing. The processes for the SAGE ERP 100 is set for the managers to handle the processing of the orders, payment and the collection in an easy manner. The information could easily be added to the system of ERP with the forms where the company has the liability to work on earning more revenue and the benefit. The receiving of the ROI (Return on Investment) will be more and faster with the improved functions. The standards of the transformation will depend on the relationship services along with working over the different system standards. (Davenport, 2013). Conclusion For the easy management of the system, there is a need to focus on the business processes which is set through the integrated and the simplified, robust version. (Madapusi et al., 2012). Here, the management and the fulfillment of the orders is based on organizing the system in an effective manner. The services are set to the value added formats which are for the software development. The business also applies to the addition of the AIS implementation with the statistics that tend to achieve the advantages. References Anandarajan, M., Anandarajan, A. and Srinivasan, C.A. eds., 2012.Business intelligence techniques: a perspective from accounting and finance. Springer Science Business Media. Bajdor, P. and Grabara, I., 2014. 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