MIS impact on Organisational Performance in HSBC

Introduction

In this era of information technology, new innovations and modernization, the business world has for some time now had been facing diverse changes which seemingly have been affecting their overall competitive advantage. In addition, the commerce industry is stirring towards information founded management. Therefore, further and further corporations or rather companies are intensively focusing on putting into practice computerized systems or information systems which process facts or data and generate information to be applied in the process of organizational decision-making (Shim 2000).

Additionally, the majority of the industries have recognized the significance of Management Information System (MIS), which apparently is a process or even a system which provides the information which is fundamental so as to manage a business organization in an effectual manner. This system facilitates the improvement of communication amongst the human resources, distribution of complex substance all through the organization, supplying an objective structure for recording as well as amassing information, lessening of everyday expenditure that are linked to manual intensive activities and also supporting the organization’s direction and strategic goals (Comptroller of the Currency n.d.).

Management Information System (MIS) is basically the amalgamation of procedures, machine, and men for the progression of collecting noteworthy data from the domestic and peripheral sources of a company, and subsequently processes this data for the rationale of aiding the development of decision making (Kumar n.d.). Consequently, MIS focuses on propping up the resolution making functionality in the company plus it is an automated business dispensation system which assists in generating data for the human resources in the business organization to achieve their information requirements for the course of resolution making so as to realize the goals together with objectives of the whole company (Kumar n.d.).

Background information on HSBC

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) is a banking conglomerate which was established in 1965 by Scot T. Sutherland. Actually it is regarded as the biggest bank in China’s City of Hong Kong and apparently it has divergent bureaus in the region of Asia-Pacific and employs more than 312,000 personnel in different working levels.

The corporation for a long time now has been capable in managing to grow to become the leader amid numerous financial services corporations and banking institutions, regardless of the reality that the international banking industry has been demonstrating complexities, high stakes and also risks. The corporation essentially focuses on improved customer services and giving power to the personnel performance, collectively with their dedication for accountable management and extensive tenure victory of maintainable relations between their clients and more so other imperative stakeholders (HSBC n.d.).

With the aim of coming up with different company objectives, goals and strategies, HSBC centres on employing diverse strategies which are coupled with realization of divergent technologies which are available in the market. For that reason, the banking company had risen to turn into one of the highly sort after and known financiers in the industry which applies contemporary management structure (Rugman & Collinson, 2006; p.218).

MIS in HSBC: Data Sources, Software, and Hardware

The HSBC banking Group is amongst the leading financial service and banking organizations globally with over 9,500 bureaus in seventy six different territories as well as countries. The corporation has an Information Technology infrastructure which comprises of 300,000 computer desktops along with fifteen thousand Windows_® supported server workstations. Moreover, the HSBC has a single international forest Active Directory, a single way out for observing the vital Windows services that sustain the environment, and a sole desktop management elucidation for all computers running the original typical desktop image. Supposedly, the major benefit of this type of hardware is discussed below.

By executing the Microsoft System Hub resolutions as a fundamental element of the company’s Common Windows PC program, the HSBC Corporation had been capable to advance dependability as well as safety of its worldwide environment. In addition, it as well helped the corporation towards assisting the Information Technology service faction to offer enhanced service to domestic customers while similarly maximizing the cost reserves via the universal desktop.

The significance of this is due to the fact that the personnel using the desktop apparently will not have to linger and await for the IT department or rather the technicians so as to set up and perform updates on the different applications as well as software, for that reason growing the output of the ending user. Away from the efficiency, the corporation also accounted a totality profit of about ten per cent to fifteen percent which translated to an increase from USD 50 million to USD 75 million investments in during the year 2007 only, as a result of the unrelenting operation of the Common Windows PC setting to embrace 300,000 PCs (Microsoft Server Product Portfolio n.d.).

Among the most imperative MIS software used by the HSBC is the one called the International cash and Payments Management. This kind of software facilitated the banking corporation in establishing its business name as a primary giver of money management clarifications to the home corporation, transnational plus other chief financial organizations. It relates on four key features namely: Integrated Delivery Channels (IDC), Liquidity management Solutions, Integrated Payment Solutions (IPS), and Integrated Receivables Solutions (IRS) (HSBC n.d.).

The Integrated Receivables Solutions (IRS) program basically operates on the diverse application and software which focuses mainly on electronic compilations, which facilitates the banking firm to allow their clients received finances via home and global fund transmittance facilities, direct withdrawals and other interrelated transactions.

Besides that, the program also integrates the role of the national system collections commonly termed as NNC and this offers the corporation in providing competent paper and check collection services to the bank clients. This system also allows the HSBC proffer Wholesale Lockbox (WLB) and this offers depositing, tracking, and warehousing services for all the post-dated financial checks. Further significance is that it aids in keeping trail of returned, deposited, as well as outstanding checks via the application of the management data reports.

On top of that, it as well assists the corporation in handling the receivable management scheme, which in this case is the compilations data management structure which permits the customer to observe and then download the collection reports. The entire information gotten through every one of the collection conduits is then conveyed and merged into a central database, which basically provides online transaction inquisition, system integration, computerized accounts receivable settlement, and consolidated reporting for every paper and electronic collections (HSBC, n.d.).

With correlation to the above afore mentioned systems, the corporation is furthermore implementing Management Information System which comprise of international funds and inter-account transfers, E-Tax, payroll, ACH, and Domestic RTGS. More so, there has been the application of a service on Check Outsourcing which lets complete outsourcing mechanisms of check payout supplies and also is liable for producing the company’s checks, as well as local and international cashier’s orders (HSBC, n.d.).

Seemingly, the HSBC has implemented a structure which basically focuses on the system of marketing management. This system focuses mainly on the incorporated delivery channels (IDC). A major platform of this is that of Internet banking which offer real time and secure admittance to both cash management and financial information solutions across compounded geographies.  It facilitates the end user to enter into their specific Internet banking financial account through a log on interface and then accessing their respective online financial account all through the day, and more so wherever the client is globally.

The corporation moreover provides a safety and secure computerized, two-way information transfer service between a client’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems with the corporation. This system is designed in a way to permit the business and institutional customers manage the transmitting of massive volumes of data along with transaction order to the corporation (HSBC, n.d.).

This has enormous significance in that it facilitates the banking company towards supplying the ever shifting environment of international banking. An increasingly large numbers of people worldwide are turning to be more reliant on computer and more so the usage of the Internet and therefore the installation and usage of computer-based management information systems including online marketing and database marketing have significantly changed the approach of conventional marketing globally (Joia 2002; n.p.).

The whole lot of the mentioned systems, hardware as well as software enables the HSBC corporation gather data which is imperative in the process of decision-making. The feature of the diverse accounts receivable allows the corporation scrutinize the divergent transactions which are generally completed by their clients. Besides, it can assist them in focusing on the prominent services frequently transacted by the bank’s clients; thus, enabling them to have an essential catalogue of customers. Consequently, the corporation will be proficient to uphold the eminence of their banking and financial services and more so enables them grow to be more attached to their clients.

The incorporation of different software and hardware into the running of the company have been significant factors which facilitated the sustenance of security along with quality of their banking system and principally those dealings which are carried out online. Therefore, the corporation is able to uphold its public image and this seemingly helps in improving customer contentment which subsequently drives customer trustworthiness.

Communications Networking

During the applying of the Management Information System in the HSBC, it is quite essential to employ Internet Solutions so as to communicate efficiently, which then can facilitate in improving the company’s competitive advantage (Ulrich & Lake n.d., p. 271). In addition, it is too vital to centre on the diverse managerial matters within the corporation since it has an immense blow or rather impaction on the accomplishment of the MIS. The corporation is executing incorporated management structure, which facilitates it assume quality management so as to shun replicating the divergent efforts put forward by the company, while having contradictory objectives.

The focal advantages of the foresaid management system or communication networking include that of helping the managers become improved leaders, reducing the cost plus increasing competitiveness. Besides, it smoothen the advancement of diverse management strategies and priorities, while removing incompatible systems. Additionally, it eliminates different uncertainties about the accountability which enables harmonizing performance procedures. On top of that, it can aid in creating, establishing and recognizing the linkages linking different actions, a complete and informed resolution making will apparently be available with the objectives, therefore the goals will be realized by building in consensus-building through removing replication and records efforts, while improving the customer insight (HSBC 2005).

With the aim of supporting the fore mentioned organizational behaviour, culture, and internal policies, technologies were as well used so as to make certain that instantaneous communication of the many units and departments within the corporation, regardless of the differences in geographic locations.

The corporation is utilizing several appliances like click-to-meeting, click-to-talk, and dial-by-name amongst other applications which are available on mobile phones, laptops, and desktops of the working staff which facilitate the management panel to work collectively in a more competent manner. Furthermore, the corporation permits travel working, home working as well as hot desking. This actually is an element of the integrated communication system of the corporation which is intended at unification of the main bodies in the process of decision-making of the HSBC which facilitates them in personalizing and controlling their communication setting.

The application of text, video, and voice communication or rather contact for the clients or personnel is deemed as the solution to working as one bank, HSBC, therefore enhances the overall competitive advantage within the corporation on international scale. Due to fact that the corporation incorporated communication key offer the clients the present potential, and this facilitates them see whether the individual they want to get in touch with is accessible in instant mode, and thereafter will be capable to use the application of click-to-talk direct from their PC.

Moreover, such solution makes possible the mentioned abilities to be straightforwardly joined from the company applications, thus enabling an individual or rather the user in determining whether they can communicate to another person in appropriate manner. The incorporated communications set also conveyed the performance measure of the investment’s measure or rather Return on Investment (ROI) which rose close to 178 per cent amid 30 percent investments on the sector of mobile communications (Evans 2008).

Further support on the acknowledged hardware and software reveals that the integrated communication facilitates the different departments and units within the corporation to be joined anytime. This phenomenon is quite significant in that troubles within the corporation cannot at all times be predictable, and furthermore there are several unavoidable things which come about. The mentioned technology facilitates the entire lot of the resolution making bodies within the company to be joined anytime, particularly at the times when their services or rather decisions are seriously needed.

Shortcomings & Drawbacks

The HSBC has had seemingly a successful implementation of their hardware and software systems in their move towards Management Information System (MIS) initiative but the road hasn’t been that smooth since the corporation has also encountered several drawbacks together with shortcomings in the process of implementation. Many people may have access to internet globally but there have also been difficulties in the penetration of information technology in some geographic localities like Africa, and some parts of the southern Asia like Pakistan and Afghanistan. This has prevented the full integration of the corporation’s MIS approach towards banking thus creating a setback.

On the other hand, technology itself comes with challenges such as usage and its application whereby for instance the hardware or the software application maybe hard to use or even prone to damages which then requires constant maintenance. Moreover, the installation of the MIS is quite an expensive undertaking for the HSBC and bearing in mind that the bank has had financial issues with the UK and USA governments together with its personnel. For instance, the U.S. government fined the corporation close to £1.25 billion subsequent to the accusations of money laundering for drug cartels and rogue states in its U.S. division (STRAUS 2013).  More so, the remunerations increased from $6.7 million in 2011 to $7 million in 2012 and also incurred further $1.7 billion for covering the expenses of massive mis-selling of the protection insurance (PPI) and thus these issues strained the corporation’s finances thus putting pressure on the implementation of the MIS (BBC News - HSBC pays $4.2bn for fines and mis-selling in 201. 2013).

Conclusion

The meaning of information system actually is further than just mere software or hardware in an organization. The mainly vital and imperative constituents of the entire system in reality are the stakeholders or basically the designers of the system, the maintenance crew, as well as the end user. Whilst the general system has to meet a range of wants in terms of performance and power, it has to be utilizable for the HSBC’s human resources. Therefore if the daily operation of the system is too demoralizing for the personnel, then in fact system’s aspirations won’t be unrealized. The MIS has greatly improved the overall performance of the corporation towards service delivery to the clients and more so has smoothened up the efficiency and competency within thus creating a humble working environment.

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