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BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
UCB: Managing Information for Globalization and Innovation

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BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
UCB: Managing Information for Globalization and Innovation

BML 106
STUDENT NUMBER:
1108282
BML 106
STUDENT NUMBER:
1108282

CONTENTS

Page 2: Company Background
Page 3: Question 1
Page 4: Question 1
Page 5: Question 1& 2
Page 6: Question 2
Page 7: Question 2 & 3
Page 8: Question 3 & 4
Page 9: Question 4
Page 10: Question 4
Page 11: References & Bibliography

BACKGROUND OF UCB

Formally as Union Chimique Belge when it began in 1928, UCB was one of the largest concerns in Belgium. Being associated with one of the oldest chemical factories in Belgium, UCB had grown by acquisition of other companies. The organisation was split into three different sectors; Chemicals, Films and Pharma with Pharma being the biggest market as they moved into two therapeutic fields; allergy and neurology. Priding itself in its flexibility and ability to adapt, UCB saw sectors such as Pharma’s sales growing by 20% with a profit margin of 28% adopting the philosophy of taking ‘speed of action’ when it came to developing new information systems across the entire organisation. The company was known for its practicality as it looked for ‘quick wins and identifiable value in everything that it did.’

1. Use the case study to identify one example, either of a business process or of a decision making area that is supported by IT /IS within UCB. Describe your example (along with a technical diagram or specification) and evaluate the benefits and issues/disadvantages of IT/IS support for this example.

Figure1
Figure1
DECISION MAKING PROCESS: HELP DESK SUPPORT Intelligence | -Limited languages system-Basic system in place .i.e. paper and pencil-Large number of clients being covered by 6 employees. | Design | Centralized Database or staying with normal system in place. | Choice | Centralized Database System-Centralized data system to help manage client’s information.-Helped track calls to centre.-Facilitates the company to accommodate more clients.-Helps support 200 other applications. | Implementation | -Putting the system in place across the whole help desk.-Chemicals using the system to provide technical support. | Evaluation | -High demand in the use of system for more applications.-Rapid regional expansionFigure2
Figure2
-Obtaining feedback and adjusting services accordingly.-Increasing levels of staff turnover |

Intelligence: Starting in 1993, the helpdesk started off with paper, pencil and only one person dealing with 600 clients with only one language spoken. In 1998 the Belgian helpdesk consisted of 6 people speaking 2 different languages, covering 5 sites with 2,800 clients. The main problem facing UCB in regards to the helpdesk would be that the basic system they had in place makes it hard for them to keep track of the large number of client’s data and also the limited number of spoken languages makes it harder for them to meet expected standards as the typical call centre in Europe provided support with 7 to 10 spoken languages.
Design: The centralized data system Anne Bellemans was working on provided different benefits for UCB. It allowed the help desk to easily access client’s details and track calls to the centre. With 2800 clients, it would be easier for UCB to keep track of customer records on the centralized database as using basic pen and paper system not only would slow the organisation from tracking it clients but doesn’t provide sufficient security in term of backing up their information. The only other alternative would be to stick to their normal system in place and make changes as the years go on.
Choice: The UCB help desk chose to go for the centralized data system. The decision making process would have been influenced by factors such as the cost-benefit analysis where they would weigh benefits the system would bring towards the organisation against the cost, such as how efficient the help desk can work and help their clients, its impact on organisation operations and also whether it would fill in the gaps of their service that they couldn’t provide previously such the limited number of languages spoken which would help them to keep up with people’s expectations keeping in line with competition.
Implementation: Upon creating the customized database system, UCB implemented the system throughout the help desk and also through to Chemicals to help provide technical assistance to customers whilst asking for feedback and adjust the system accordingly to meet their needs.
Evaluation: Alongside the benefits previously mentioned such as helping staff to work more efficiently and helping their client’s. UCB reported success as there was an increasing demand for more novel applications used to track computer assets and software licences. After implementing the system, UCB encountered rapid regional expansion helping the Remedy software system to reach out to different geographies. The new system would make it easier for UCB to back up any data reducing the risk of the business activities being interrupted in the event of an incident such as a fire for example (BCM). * Chemicals were interested in using the technology, using it to support people and providing technical product assistance to customers. By disciplining the help desk to obtain feedback from customers and adjusting services to meet customer’s needs better shows that the system allows UCB to not only improve organisational operations but also helps them to improve their relationship with customers offering them better service. * The benefits for the employees would be that the Centralized Database system would allow them to gain experience using computer systems increasing the levels of skills that would assist them in moving up to different positions within the organisation. However, through this, the help desk faced increased levels of staff turnover as the help desk manager stated that her staff use the helpdesk as a trampoline, a starting point to move up. This would increase recruiting costs for the company as they would have to constantly replace the existing staff.

2. Select one of the initiatives considered by Damien Vincent for his meeting with the Executive Committee, and discuss the benefits which could be derived from one of these initiatives along with the key change management issues which would need to be addressed. As the case was written a few years back, feel free to include in your answer any additional suggestions in terms of technologies and practices which would provide a solution to the problem at stake.

One of the initiatives David Vincent considered when meeting with the Executive Committee was Transforming the Pharma Sales Force.

General Manager of Pharma Sales, Luv Vermeesch understood that his sales representatives worked better and learned faster when working alone, virtual offices where they worked in the comfort of their own home was what seemed to be an ideal working environment for his team. With the on-going email exchange with his sales reps, it enabled them to keep in constant contact over product updates and market-related activities.

This initiative to transform the Pharma sales had its benefits and disadvantages.

Advantages: * Virtual offices were cost-effective in terms of the company not needing dedicated office space to complete their work and there were no building maintenance costs and no utility bills, such as electric or telephone bills. * Ideal environment for the team as mentioned earlier that they learnt faster when working alone. * To an extent, the sales reps had flexible working hours in terms of choosing their own lunch times for example, giving them a sense of control over their work. * Having virtual offices in place was an advantage to Vermeesch and UCB as it expands the employee pool meaning that the organisation could hire people they felt would be good sales reps for the company without distance being a deciding factor. He could make remote players part of his team and create means of communication using web conferencing tools. * The sales representative profile was someone that had with UCB for 11 years, meaning their levels of knowledge would be high compared to someone newly employed or some that had been with them for a short-time.

Disadvantages * With the UCB sales representative profile being someone that had been with them for 11 years around the age of 55, it may be harder to implement change as they are accustomed to working a certain way making it harder to train them as opposed to training a younger group of employees and UCB may face reluctance (KCM).
-Also with the age of the sales representatives, a question has to be raised of whether they would be able to keep up and cope with the different technological changes UCB face in the future? (KCM) * The average age for many of their reps at the age of 55 and employees retirement age was 65; UCB faced many employees retiring around the same time meaning they would have to look at employing new people to replace those retiring. * With a process of on-going email, Vermeesch and his staff increase the risk of opening the network to outsiders such as hackers and also it hard for Vermeesch to monitor the security precautions each representative is taking to minimise risk as all 150 sales reps are spread out between Holland and Belgium, for example with the staff working at home, Vermeesch will not be able to monitor who is exposed to the company information such as their family or friends and also leave it open for them to abuse any information or data. * This system also makes it harder for Vermeesch to monitor each representative’s work ethic which could have bad effects on the company’s sales. * Pharma Sales rely highly on technology, however, the department does not seem to have a Business Continuity Management plan in place to work from if any of the sales reps experienced any problems that would affect their business activities, for example, if their internet went down and were unable to share or retrieve information from customers and other reps.

SOLUTIONS * UCB should look to recruit younger people for Pharma Sales as they are easier to train when implementing a new system and are more open to open to change than older employees. * To maximise security against threats such as hackers and crackers, Vermeesch needs to have a system in place where they can exchange information and view files such as an intranet with unique username/password for each user to work from preventing people with unauthorised access being exposed to company information. * Using applications such as GoogleDocs and SkyDrive will minimise the number of emails going out and coming in from all 150 sales reps. * To monitor his sales reps work ethic and performance, Vermeesch needs to delegate some of his tasks to some of sales reps through creating a tall structure with different levels of control were some are given responsibility to monitor performance. It will give the nominated staff as sense of control which may increase levels of motivation within their job role and it will also help Vermeesch to manage things more efficiently. * One way to solve any key change management issues (labelled KCM) they may face from transforming the sales force is to involve staff in the process, encouraging participation and ideas of all staff, ensuring they understand the need for change and also reassuring them of any insecurities/anxiety they may be experiencing.

3. To what extent is UCB equipped with a fully integrated Enterprise Information System? In your answer, identify elements of good practices but also areas where you feel that UCB should improve its IT/IS provision.

Pearlson and Saunders (2006) defined Enterprise Information Systems as a ‘set of information system tools that many organisations use to enable information to flow within and between processes.’ Whilst Gold-Bernstein and Ruh (2004) suggest that ‘Enterprise Information Integration technology (EII) provides an easier way to consolidate information from multiple sources into a single interface, as if all information came from a single database.’
Looking at the different Enterprise Information Systems UCB has in place within the organisation such as PeopleSoft, SAP and the 3R Portal. There are different factors that may suggest that they have an integrated system but there are areas of improvement that could turn it into a fully integrated system.
On example would be the 3R portal. The aim was to provide UCB staff with information from all key systems using one username/password which was later rectified to a unique username/password to each individual. It was designed as a customizable and personalized web portal allowing transparent access to staff of both internal and external information. Through this description, it would seem as though UCB are providing information across the network for their staff as they are able to access it from one portal, however when implementing the system, there were various gaps. Firstly, there were two layers, corporate layer and another sectorial & functional layer allowing information to be filtered. This practice was not enough to filter information needed by individuals with different job roles and responsibilities. Secondly, transparent access and the one username/password meant that many had access to the same information but whether it would be specifically relevant to their department or job responsibilities was not apparent. Lastly, from feedback, the team concluded that staff found the system too complicated to use and this may deter them from fully utilising it.
Good practice shown by UCB when putting the system through a trial period, was their ability to take on board the feedback they received and used it to adjust the 3R Portal. One example of this was the feedback from staff suggesting it was too complicated to use. Marten’s group released a 50 page user manual and face-to-face training sessions showing good practice of Key Change Management. Ways to improve the system of which UCB later took on board was to create more layers and pre-design the portal for each individual rather than leaving it to the individual to customize making it easy for them to access information relevant to their job role and also securing information that may have not be significant to some staff.

4. Discuss security issues and practices at UCB. In your answer, identify best practices and areas for improvement. As the case was written a few years back, feel free to include in your answer any additional suggestions in terms of technologies and practices which could be used to increase security.
THE NEW DATA CENTER
In 1999, to maximise the physical and data security, they placed the computer room of the data centre underground. With staff having little access to the premises except for when giving tours, allowed the organisation to minimise the risk of staff misusing any data or abusing the system. This type of security practice seemed more practical for UCB as it helps ensure that all their data was protected and provides limited access to the computer room reduced the chances of unauthorised access.
With UCB using robot-driven systems to back-up any data and having monitoring and server operations outsourced away from the actual facilities allowed the organisation to ensure that not only was their data backed-up but was also protected externally. This process is a type of containment meaning that they distribute important data across a large geographical area to control access to the organisation’s information system.
Through backing up all their data and storing it away from the facilities show good practice of Business Continuity Management as with backing up their files away from the premises, they can ensure that their daily business activities can continue without being severely disrupted if any events were to occur such as the system network going down.
PHARMA SALES FORCE
Using virtual offices for their representatives may have provided them with more flexible hours, however created various security issues. Luc Vermeesch, a general manager for Pharma, had on-going email exchange with the reps and also involved them sharing information against teams with product updates and market related activities. This provided a major threat to the organisation as this opens the network to outsiders. Pharma can reduce the levels of risk through controlling the numbers of emails being sent and retrieved by using applications such as Google Docs and SkyDrive that allow the sharing and editing of documents between users. Creating a company intranet can secure company data from the outside but also allows employees to send and retrieve information freely.
3R PORTAL PROJECT
The 3R Portal allowed access to both internal and external information giving staff transparent access. To gain access to this system, UCB applied one single user name and password which allowed access to all network applications. The system had two layers which filtered the type of information staff could access, corporate level offering HR information for example and the other was the sectorial and functional layer offering specific information relevant to specific job responsibilities. This new system provided many security risks. Firstly, with the single username/password system, it allowed staff to gain access to information and without a unique username and password for each user, it would make it difficult for the organisation to identify users that were abusing the system of which was already identified by Rudy Meert who advised the company’s security matters since September 2000. Meert suggested that 80% of bad security was due to bad practises also stating “that it only takes 1 person out of 10,000 to compromise the security of the firm by not respecting our policy.’’ A simple but efficient solution to this problem of which UCB later adopted when implementing the system was giving each individual a specific username and password.
Looking at the two layers they created to filter the type of information staff could access, UCB should have specifically customized what type of information different levels of the organisation can have access to. This would mean that no one was exposed to information that was not relevant to them reducing the levels of someone abusing this information. UCB identified this problem and adjusted the system accordingly by pre-designing the portal for each individual rather than leaving it to staff to do it themselves.
One security measure that can be adopted for all systems within the organisation would be to purchase software services such as IBM IT solutions that help to prevent the risk of computer systems getting severely damaged from threats such as computer viruses through giving early indications of any threats to the system.
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REFERENCES
BOOKS:
Gold-Bernstein, B. and Ruh,W (2004). Enterprise Integration. Boston: Addison-Wesley. pp.150-151.
Pearlson, K. and Saunders, C. (2006). Managing & Using Information Systems. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp.120-121.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:
Pinto, J. and Millet, I. (1999). Successful Information System Implementation. 2nd ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institution. pp.47-68.
Mullins, L. (2010). Management & Organisational Behaviour. 10th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd. pp.171-252.
Bociij, P. et al (2008). Business Information Systems. 4th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd. pp.571-607.
WEBSITES:
Enterprise Information Systems (2010) Accessed from: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/17517575.asp Last Accessed: 02/04/2012