Management information system

International Information Systems: Challenges & Obstacles The advent of information age, has brought about significant transformations in the manner in which organizations operate and function, causing simultaneous and equally radical changes in almost all aspects of our everyday lives. The sheer extent and outreach of IT enabled services and the worldwide web combined, has caused individuals, customers and businesses to come together like never before. The increased use and reliance of such technology-oriented services has given rise to a decentralized global network.
Today, there is a steady rise in businesses partaking in international ventures and earning considerable returns due to their activities overseas. Organizations are so involved in reaping the benefits afforded by this highly globalized society, that they are now compelled to bear the repercussions of the same. The internal as well as external organizational environment has changed significantly due to the presence and use of Information technology. It has not only made access of firms to international markets easier and faster, but also offered immense support to such firms with regard to managing and learning to manoeuvre the anxieties and proliferation of data in the most effective manner possible (Oz, 2008).
Increased investment in multinational ventures, by local and private businesses back home, including airlines, financial institutions and even grocery stores, have made it all the more crucial to rely on these global networks for information. This is imperative for local businesses operating beyond their local and national geographical boundaries, as international dimensions begin to permeate the local corporate structures, gradually compelling such firms to adopt a more globally viable approach to business and make respective changes in their advertising and marketing policies in a way that is more acceptable to its growing multicultural customer base (Dlabay & Scott, 2005).
Fig. 1: International Information Systems Architecture
Referring to various challenges faced by companies, as they prepare to venture into international markets, Flynn (1994: 142) remarked, that when a company moves into international markets, “the management now faces multilingual and multicultural climates, many different governments with different regulations and political systems. It also finds different currencies, multiple time zones, and many different approaches to IT and IS education”. International markets differ from the domestic ones in a broad range of aspects including drastic differences in culture, social expectations, and political and economic laws, on a general level and differences in availability and type of infrastructure available, at a specific level (Laudon & Laudon, 2014).
In my personal experience, I have observed the manner in which, companies may face public backlash for lack of knowledge regarding their socio-cultural practices. For instance, the multinational coffee chain giant, Starbucks faced severe public backlash in the Middle East, since its logo was as claimed by an Egyptian cleric, was strikingly similar to Queen Esther, the Queen of the Jews (The Star, 2009).
Venturing into multinational markets hence imposes severe burden on the management who are now expected to cope with the demand, tastes and preferences of the local customers, and be highly aware of the socio-cultural aspects that are likely to impact their brand image. Increased cultural and social sensitivity is imperative for the management operating in international markets or face the wrath of the public due to non-compliance with the same. Since businesses cannot function in isolation, divorced from the socio-cultural aspects of business and only dedicated on earning profits, it is highly crucial for organizations to take into consideration the likely challenges and obstacles they may face in the process.
References:
Dlabay, L., Scot, J., (2005). International business. Thousand Oaks, CA: Engage Learning Publication.
Laudon, K., & Laudon, J. (2014). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm. Boston: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-305069-1
Oz, E., (2008). Management Information Systems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cengage Learning Publication
The Star (2009). Logo lands Starbucks in Middle East brew-haha [online] Available at: [Accessed: Nov 23, 2014]