SECTION A : CASE STUDY

The opening case, New Systems Help Eli Lilly Standardize as a Global Company, demonstrates that a global company has the same information system requirements as a domestic company, just on a larger, more complex, scale.

As a far-flung global company, Lilly had dozens of disparate local and regional information systems customized to support local business processes, and they were very difficult to coordinate. Imagine the data redundancies and inefficiencies when 40 different local controllers executed the month-end financial closing process on 40 different systems with different data standards! Old systems needed to be retired and replaced by a common IT platformin this case, a single enterprise-wide ERP system. Starting in 2010, Lilly began rolling out a single global instance of SAP to all its locations.

Today, essentially all of Lillys global business runs on SAP ERP and 17 other SAP software solutions, including systems for governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC). Of special importance was Lillys adoption in 2013 of SAP GRC Process Control for process automation. Previously, Lillys financial control group tried to manage the control structure regionally by using individual spreadsheets that identified controls for different locations. The companys master control matrix was a large workbook incorporating data from individual spreadsheets with color coding to manage changes to the file. It was both frustrating and time-consuming to identify which controls were in place at any point in time throughout Lillys global organization.

SAP GRC Process Controls is a tool that provides organizations with a continuous view of their key compliance activities across all business processes, such as compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), segregation of duties (SoD), and operational controls for managing the business. (SOX controls the accuracy and security of data reported within financial statements, and SoD assigns more than one individual to perform a single task to prevent fraud and error.) SAP GRC Process Control serves as a central repository to store data from a global control matrix for Lillys entire enterprise and improves management of those controls with automated monitoring. The Process Control tool can issue alerts when controls need to be tested, store testing and sign-off documentation, create and delegate remediation plans, and keep an audit trail of changes to controls. By standardizing and streamlining the execution of its process controls and business rules throughout the enterprise, Eli Lilly has become even more efficient and effective as a global company.

Question 1

What major factors are driving the internationalization of business?

Question 2

What are the alternative strategies for developing global businesses?

Question 3

What are the challenges posed by global information systems and management solutions for these challenges? [

Question 4

What are the issues and technical alternatives to be considered when developing international information systems?

Question 5

How will MIS help my career?

SECTION B: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question 1

What is the fourth industrial revolution and why should BMC students take note of it?

Question 2

Discuss the emergent information technologies under the fourth industrial revolution organisations can take advantage of to maximise their completion?

Question 3

a) Discuss management information systems(MIS)

b) Identify four different types of MIS,

c) Discuss how each MIS listed can be used in an organisation of your choice.