Strategic
information systems
Introduction:
In
the ever evolving global Information technology market place, it is becoming
increasingly important that an organization re-evaluates it goals in relation
to its contribution to the society and in propagating better environmental practises.
Besides considering an organization performance in regards to quality products
and how much profits it is making, social responsibility and environmental
issues have become core investigative aspects. This is therefore the basis for
which this research is conducted.
Analysis:
Social Responsibility including ISO 26000
ISO 26000 is an
international standard as approved by the international organization for
standardization to provide guidelines for social responsibility (Puneet &
Ashish 2012) It is designed to offer guidelines to corporate companies on
behaviours that are socially responsible and their possible outcomes. This
therefore means that companies cannot use this standard as a basis for their audits
or for the purpose of compliance statements (Puneet & Ashish 2012). ISO
2600 is very important in the sense that it encourages organizations to partake
in activities that make it socially responsible in the corporate world.
The advantages/disadvantages accruing to a company implementing to use ISO 2600 are as follows:
It is able to get
good reputation form the public in the sense that the masses feel that they are
working towards the betterment of the community goals and in support of various
community initiatives that have been put in place.
Companies/organizations
that choose to incorporate this standard into their organizations are able to
gain competitive advantage over other companies that do not apply the standard.
This is through the integration of the most important social responsibility metrics
and integrating them with the business metrics (Pojasek, 2011).
Most of the
working community are usually attracted to a company that is able to offer back
to the community in various ways. This way, many people may end up being
attracted to work for the company. In addition new clients may be attracted to the
company in a bid to contribute to the good cause. Non governmental organisations
and other users may also want to play a role in supporting the company towards
this initiative. Moreover a good relationship with other companies in the same
front is established (Puneet & Ashish 2012). For example, if a company
chooses to give back to the community by visiting children in the children homes,
they may choose to affiliate themselves with a consumer producing company so
that they can be able to get consumer products at a better price. Simultaneously
the incorporation of this aspect in to the company’s operations may
consequently result into increased costs in terms of spending yet the costs are
not in any way contributing to generating more revenue for the company
(Pojasek, 2011). In other ways also, since the standard is not certified, there
has been the rise of many N.G.O’s and consultation groups coming up in the name
of providing clear stipulations yet they are just a hoax and their main
objective is to fleece the companies.
Relevant case study: coca cola
Coca Cola Company
is the largest in the United States in the manufacture and distribution of soft
beverage drinks yet their conduct in matters regarding social issues has been
awesome.
Among their many responsibilities,
it is their duty to be as open and transparent as possible in their daily
operations to matters pertaining the environment (Grankvist, 2013). In the year
2009, coca cola was able to replenish the amount of water used to nature.
In the previous years,
Coca cola has initiated partnership with other companies like W.W.F with the
aim of enhancing efficiency in the environment and for the purpose of enhancing
efficiency in the production of drinking water. This has led to improvements in
water efficiency of up to 9% in the year 2009 (Grankvist, 2013). Lastly, they
have also continuously supported the Britain group in a bid to help making the
city green (Grankvist, 2013). Finally, environmental campaigns have also been
the core attribute of the company.
Potential issues in the future
It is apparent
that social responsibility will be significant in the future because ISO
standards will be responsible for regulating performance of companies. Therefore,
companies will embrace the idea of considering ethical standards in their
operations. In the future, the society will only support socially responsible
organizations while the other will be rejected. Additionally, future companies
will adopt this incentive to play a role in the establishment of environmental
preservation.
Green IT issues and the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres
Green information
technology is a term translated to mean, incorporation of technological systems
in solving environmental issues and in the reduction of the effects related to
information technology (Lamb,
2009). Its main concerns are to deal with electronic
waste emaciating from the use of computers so as to make viable global
penchants in regards to new electronics. In this regard also green it advocates
for energy efficiency in terms of reduction in the amounts of electricity used
by the computers so as to regulate the emission of green house gases (Baroudi, et al 2009).
The European code
of conduct on data transmissions is powered by the goal of improving energy
efficiencies through use of voluntary means and other means that are expected
to create a stronger legislation in regards to setting up minimum basic
standards for compliance (Kim &Lee 2011).This way, data operators will be
more informed on the reduction measures regarding energy to save on associated
costs while still offering the best service possible.
Advantages and disadvantages:
The main
advantages related to the green it and the EU code of conduct for data centres
is to ensure that a sustainable environment is fostered through being more conscious
on matters regarding environmental wastes and the emission of green house gases(Joshi
& Kumar, 2012).
Additionally, more
energy like electricity will be saved and its use subsequently regulated. This
because companies are being urged to account for their ventures in regards to
the society and ecology and the economic effects the equipments have on the people
(O’neill, 2010). In this case therefore, in a bid to conform to the above, the companies
will have top promote designs that are more ecologically accepted in a bid to minimize
on the economic costs.
On the other hand however,
if a company choose to implement on the use of both the E.U code of conduct for
data centres and on the use of green it, then they should be ready to undergo
the related costs associated
(Worthington, 2009). This is because these ventures are very expensive
to use and to install. Additionally, the return on investment to using these it
trends is very low and is attainable at a very slow pace. Thus a company may
have to wait for long before any profits may start to initialize (Murugesan & Gangadharan 2012).
Relevant case study:
It is apparent
that Google green, the environment comes first. It is essential that they
operate with; less impact on the environment as possible. It is stated that Google
less energy to sustain their users on you tube compared to the energy it takes
to do a load of laundry.
Their data centres
use half the energy used by a typical data centre as their consumption rate is
only at 50% compared to the other data centres. In addition, the total
electricity it uses is about 0.01% of the world’s total electricity (Google).
This has therefore led to the award of external certification by the United
States data centre due to the high level of environmental concern exhibited in
their processes.
In order to
eliminate the effects on the environment, the company has positioned various solar
panels at the roofs of their buildings to carry out their operations. This way,
an equivalent of about 16,000 metric tones of wastes is eliminated especially
in regards to carbon dioxide gases. Alternatively, the energy produced by the
1.7mw of solar panels is equivalent to about 3 million kilo watts per hour of
clean energy (Google).
Reflection on issues of social responsible computing
The advancement in
technology has enhanced development of ideal incentives that are critical in
the reduction of environmental preservation. Environmental preservation is an
extremely beneficial aspect because it results in the establishment of global
sustainability. The establishment of social responsible computing is one of the
attributes of innovation that has ensured that computing services are not
detrimental to the environment. It is a fact that computers consumer
significant amount of energy and also emit significant amount of energy to the
environment. In this regard, the establishment of social computing involves the
aspect of devising ideal measures of preserving energy and also reducing
emission of substances to atmosphere. Additionally, social responsible
computing involves using computers to reduce poverty, ease surfing, enhance
empowerment and improve the environment.
Potential issues in the future
The potential
issues in the future relating to green I.T and the E.U code of conduct for data
centres is well apparent that the level of clean energy will increase thus
eliminating the subsequent wastes associated with other forms of energy. The
aspects of social responsible computing will be adopted across the globe by the
leading technological companies and this will enhance environmental development
because the usage of green energy will prevail.
Relevance of the content:
In regards to
strategic information systems feel that the unit is important in highlighting
the role in planning in regards to information systems in the performance of an
organisation in regards to meeting its goals and objectives. The assignment on
the other hand seeks to show that despite being a corporate organization of great
standing, it is very important to consider how your processes impact on the
environment and how you can also give back to the communities that support your
business from time to time.
Conclusion:
The above
discussed issues prove that a company is voluntary subjected to play a part in
social responsibility in order to show a sense of appreciation or to show that
they can identify with the challenges that the people in the community in which
they operate face. Not only will these improve their social standing in the
long run but also increase their returns in the future through the attraction
of various parties that matter. Issues of environmental concern through green
IT and the E.U code of conduct are demonstrated. The main concerns however is
how a company dealing with information systems can make as much profits as it
can use minimal costs while still ensuring that its operations are not
detrimental to the environment in which it operates in (Lamb, 2009).
Bibliography
Baroudi, C, Hill, J, Reinhold, A, Senxian, J 2009, Green IT for Dummies, New York, Wiley publishers.
Google, n.d, The big picture: Google green. Retrieved from www.google.co.ke/green/bigpicture/
Grankvist, P, 2013, Coca Cola Company: The
corporate social responsibility. Retrieved from http://:www.voices.yahoo.com/the-socially-responsible-marketing-co.United
States
Joshi, Y, and Kumar, P, 2012, The Efficient
Thermal Management of Data Centers, Seattle, Springer
publishers
Kim, J, H, Lee, M, J, 2011, Green IT
technologies and Applications
Lamb, J, P, 2009, The greening of IT: How
companies can make a difference for the environment, Newyork, Pearson.
Murugesan, S and Gangadharan, G, R
2012,Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, Seattle, John
Wiley & sons.
O’Neill, M, 2010, Green it for sustainable
Business practice: An Iseb Foundation guide, British comp society series, Chicago, BCS, The chartered institute.
Puneet, S., & Ashish, N. (2012). Social Responsibility and ISO
26000 Standards: A New Beginning. Advances
in Management, 5(6), 7-13.
Pojasek, R. B. (2011). ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility. Environmental
Quality Management, 20(3),
85-93. doi:10.1002/tqem.20292
Worthington, T, 2009, Green technology
Strategies, Chicago, Tomw communications pty ltd
Appendices
- Kim, J, H, Lee, M, J, 2011, Green IT technologies and Applications
This source contains adequate
research materials highlighting the aspects of green information technology and
its contributions towards the realization of social responsibility. It focuses
on the challenges of technical aspects in Green It and these are based on the
survey and research conducted by a group of international professionals. This
book is divided into three parts that include green communication, green
computing and smart and grid applications. This book is beneficial in this
report because it provides in green IT and its contribution in enhancing social
responsibility.
- Worthington, T, 2009, Green technology Strategies, Chicago, Tomw communications pty ltd
In this document, Worthington
argues that the internet has become a tool for the establishment of development
across the globe. As such, there is dire for the establishment of
accessibility, accountability and sustainability. The establishment of these
aspects will enhance sustainability and further result in the enhancement of
social responsibility. This book is crucial for this research because it
highlights some of the benefits of green technology by stating that it is more
advantageous to adopt green technology because it preserves the environment.
- Pojasek, R. B. (2011). ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility. Environmental Quality Management, 20(3), 85-93. doi:10.1002/tqem.20292
The consideration of adopting
the practices of social responsibility is extremely crucial because the organizations
and corporations must pay back to the community. The aspect of initiating
social responsibility in the management of the organizations is crucial because
it has the aspect of developing the society. This is the core concept of this
book and also the attributes of the research. Furthermore, the establishment of
this incentive is in an accordance with regulations of ISO standards that is
responsible organizational operations. Therefore, this book is relevant with
the righting of this report.
- Puneet, S., & Ashish, N. (2012). Social Responsibility and ISO 26000 Standards: A New Beginning. Advances in Management, 5(6), 7-13.
This book by Puneet and
Ashish is beneficial in the establishment of social responsibility because they
depict the aspect of social responsibility as the benchmark for gauging the
performance of the industries. According to this book, corporations and
organization must engage in the attributes of production with the needs and
requirements of the society in mind. There are norms, values and practices that
the organizations an corporation must uphold because this will help the
community in attaining development. In this regard, the management of various
organizations must ensure that ideal policies and measures are enacted to enhance
development. Most importantly, the book notes that the measures and policies
enacted must be in accordance with the ISO 26000 standards. Therefore, this
book is very relevant in the research.
- Grankvist, P, 2013, Coca Cola Company: The corporate social responsibility. Retrieved from http://:www.voices.yahoo.com/the-socially-responsible-marketing-co.United States
The development and
proceedings of this source are extremely critical for the research about global
corporate social responsibility. Coca cola is a global corporation and it is
extremely to ascertain if it’s social responsible. Analysis of the evidence
derived from this source is extremely beneficial because they depict
significant examples highlighting the cases to support that coca cola is socially
responsible. With the establishment of these factors, it is important to draw a
conclusion that coca cola corporation is social responsible.
- Google, n.d, The big picture: Google green. Retrieved from www.google.co.ke/green/bigpicture/
The information from this web
site has proven to be extremely beneficial thereby leading to the completion of
this research. From the website, Google Corporation has highlighted the
measures they have used in adopting the technology that is responsible for
preservation of energy. This consideration is beneficial because it leads to
the preservation of energy and the environment. Ideally, this is one measure of
enhancing social responsibility. Therefore, this website is extremely
beneficial for the completion of the research.
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