SR-RM-012
Team A Week 3
BAS/310
March 23, 2014
Anastasia Jakubow
Systems in Review

We have been asked to review current and future systems for Riordan Manufacturing’s Human Resource and Legal departments. We have done an evaluation of the systems as they are today. The goal has been to identify areas that need improvement. Our suggestions are as follows.

Human Resource

The present Human Resource Information System (HRIS) was installed in 1992. Here is a short rundown of what the system does: stores employee information (pay rate, hire date etc.), contains separate excel spreadsheets for training/development and job analysis/salary compensation, job openings and resume filing, and employee relations (complaints, grievances etc.) ("HRIS", 2005).

Upon review, it is concluded that Riordan Manufacturing is operating on an outdated HRIS. This has at least two disadvantages. First and foremost, the current system has security concerns. Second, the current system is not efficient. A survey of HRIS systems users has shown that lack of efficiency is one of the biggest problems with old HRIS systems, and therefore one of the top priorities in a new system (“Top HRIS challenges,” 2002).

Security concerns include the following: employee information changes must be submitted on paper creating a possibility for loose papers with personal information, resumes are stored in multiple unsecured locations, and employee files are kept in multiple unsecured locations. If any personal client information were to leak, Riordan could be engaged in legal difficulties. “If you work in a firm providing financial services, your firm will need to comply with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999… This act requires financial institutions to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer data. Data must be stored on a secure medium, and special security measures must be enforced to protect such data on storage media and during transmittal” (Laudon & Laudon, 2010, Chapter 8). For this reason, it is paramount that Riordan Manufacturing upgrade their HRIS system.

The efficiency of the system is lacking on multiple counts. First, the current system is not collaborative friendly. The training and development manager has to keep a record of training accomplishments. If employees get bonuses for training accomplishments, the development manger must inform the compensation manager of training accomplishments. Also, the employee relations specialist all have separate paper files containing past employee situations. Second, the system is lacking efficiency because of the amount of time required to complete each task. For example, if a relations specialist needs to review complaints about an employee, the relations specialist will have to review their paper file, and the paper files of all the other relations specialist. To remedy the difficulties with collaboration and efficiency it is recommend that Riordan Manufacturing acquire a new HRIS system that will eliminate individual spreadsheets and paper files, and replace those with electronic files suited for collaboration and efficiency (“Top HRIS challenges,” 2002).

For Riordan Manufacturing’s consideration, here is a system that may suit the needs of the Human Resource Department. Kronos® Workforce Central is designed for medium to large enterprises. It can manage time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, human relations and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics ("Kronos", 2003). For easy access and collaboration, Kronos® offers cloud management using a tool called Kronos Workforce Ready® ("Workforce Read", 2003).

Legal

The structure of Riordan Manufacturing’s legal department is simple and affective. “Lowell Bradford, Chief Legal Counsel, oversees all legal matters for Riordan Manufacturing. All contracts have to be approved by Mr. Bradford before they can be signed. Department heads forward all legal questions to Mr. Bradford who answers them from his personal knowledge and experience or after consulting with the attorneys at Litteral & Finkel, the law firm retained by Riordan Manufacturing” ("Overview", 2005). The partnership between Litteral & Finkel is a long lasting relationship that has served Riordan Manufacturing very well ("Overview", 2005). Mr. Bradford is the only member of the Riordan Manufacturing’s legal council to communicate between Rioran Manufacturing and Litteral & Finkel ("Overview", 2005). This ensures two things, first that the monthly retainer fee is not run over by an unreasonable amount, and second that Litteral & Finkel are not requested to complete a task that can be handled by the legal team at Riordan Manufacturing.

Looking at the legal department from an IT perspective, there are several considerations. First, it would be good to do a system audit to make sure that all legal communication and negotiations are done in a secured manner (Laudon & Laudon, Chapter 8, 2010). Second, though the agreement between Riordan Manufacturing and Litteral & Finkel has worked well for many years, the legal assistance needed by Riordan Manufacturing may be to such an extant as to warrant hiring another attorney, and degreasing the reliance on Litteral & Finkel. This would be of benefit to Riordan Manufacturing because it would share less confidential information with an outside party.

Summary

In summary of what has been said, it seems that the most important department to update is the Human Resource department. That department is greatly lacking in efficiency and information security. Greater efficiency should save money, and greater security should diminish the chances of legal complications. As for the legal department, it is suggested that an audit of the system be performed with the purpose of making sure legal communication are done securely. There may be room to improve efficiency, but we do not have enough information to confirm.

References

HRIS. (2005). Retrieved from

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2010). . Retrieved from

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader.aspx#ch08lev2sec6

Top HRIS challenges. (2002, October). HRfocus, 79(10), . ProQuest Central.

Kronos. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.kronos.com/

Workforce Read. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.kronos.com/products/smb

solutions/workforce-ready.aspx

Overview. (2005). Retrieved from

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/Legal/Overview.asp