Publication on Designing Interactive Systems †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Publication on Designing Interactive Systems. Answer: Introduction This essay is written to focus on the importance and roles of informatics in modern business and how they can be applied in real business cases. Sika AG case study will be used to explain how informatics can be used to turn the business around. The team's model will be introduced so as to show the challenges facing the organization and its goals. The five classic themes of informatics will then be discussed theoretically and then applied in real business cases. The point of discussion, in this case, will be to use informatics to provide solutions for the challenges facing Sika AG (Gammack, Hobbs, and Pigott, 2011, p. 18). Sika AG is a multinational company situated in Baar, Switzerland. It has many operating subsidiaries in 94countries. Sika AG works in Chemical and Construction industry. The products offered by this firm include fire protection systems, waterproofing system, roofing, floor and wall coating systems, steel corrosion protection system, structural strengthening system, grouting and anchoring system, sealants and adhesives, specialty mortars, concrete repair and protection system, sealing and bonding products, industrial manufacturing and automotive and even automotive aftermarket products. Sika AG is the holding company which includes Sika organization worldwide, Sika services AG which are for supporting corporate functions in all Sika AG organizations worldwide and then Sika Technology AG for research and developments of the firm. Sika AG concentrates on delivering added value to the target market served. This is the reason it focuses its resources on markets that can provide more oppor tunities for creating more value that will help in sustaining profitable growth. Problem identification The main aim of Sika AG is to provide its customers with the best high-quality products that are durable and will fully meet their construction needs. Customer satisfaction is one of the goals which this organization cannot fail to achieve. The clients of this firm should always be supplied with the right quantity and quality at the right time, place and price. To achieve this, a lot of effort is needed because it's hard to produce high-quality products and sell them at a low cost. This becomes a challenge because the firm has to do so so as to compete with the low-cost competitors. Operating in this competitive environment also poses a significant challenge. This is because the firm has to employ the right mechanisms all the times so as to compete effectively. There is also the problem of keeping up with the technology regarding innovations that help a firm to function effectively. Retaining the most skilled employees also pose a great challenge to Sika AG. Losing these valuable employees will result in losing valuable skills that could have been used to propel the firm forward and also save training charges. There is also the problem of change. This occurs when the company shifts its production activities to other plants or factories. This may take place so as to expand or even embrace new technologies. Coordinating global sales and achieving efficiency in all production facilities remains the top goals. Application of Classic Themes of informatics. Naming involves giving information and other objects identity. Knowing, on the other hand, means understanding the aspects in question. This forms the fundamental basis for all problems which need to be addressed adequately. This is because without knowing the problem, no solution can be found. Information in Sika AG is very useful, and that's why informatics is used to name this information and classify it into correct classes for easier retrieval when needed to be processed. The informatics gives reference numbers to this information for easy recognition and also to avoid using the information wrongly (Gammack, Hobbs and Pigott, 2011, p. 18). Sika AG has different naming hierarchies in its IT-systems for particular categories of data. For example, financial transaction information has a different naming from other non-financial information, and this helps to avoid mixing vital information. Sika AG also has used informatics to ensure raw material, work in progress and finished goods have a different naming system. This helps when accounting for the goods in question and this prevents theft of valuable goods in the organization as the naming follows certain criteria that can notify the relevant authority when some products are missing. This firm also uses informatics to reference its employees. This shows the name of the employee, address, phone number, job department and description. The organizational structure also uses this naming system to give its services identity (Gammack, Hobbs, and Pigott, 2011, p. 18). All forms of communication are based on words. This means that the language employed in the workplace should be understandable by the involved parties. This language is critical as it allows the exchange of information from the sender to receiver. Sika AG has employed informatics to ensure that language and communication in this organization are useful. This is because communication must not go against cultural beliefs of some communities or even employees. Sika AG being multinational uses English as their primary business language that is used for communication purposes and also by its ERP system. This is because this style is well-known by many managers. Company information and official documents and even presentations are all done in the English language. Sika AG uses both analog and digital means of communication to pass information to its employees. The digital means include intranet, TV screens and newsletters while analog means consist of employee meeting and employee newspapers. Sika AG also does all its controlling and reporting tasks in English (Gammack, Hobbs, and Pigott, 2011, p. 18). Discovery and representation. Discovery involves detecting or realizing new knowledge which can be very useful in various stages of producing quality products. This new insights can be achieved through reasoning, experiences, and even deductions. This achievement requires several techniques and processes to be applied during experiments. The representation aspect of the informatics then handles the process of distributing the gained knowledge to the required parties. This is done through the use graphics and diagrams (Schalley, 2012, p.129). Sika AG uses trial and error method to achieve these discoveries in laboratories when they want to manufacture a unique product that can satisfy its customer needs by experiments. They also perform car crash tests when producing automotive aftermarket products so as to ensure that they produce the best products. After this stage, the task of development is then taken to its tool shop where CAD programs are applied to provide a finer discovery. After the solution is achieved, the prototype is developed by the factories. This prototype is then taken to the customer quality checks to ascertain if it can meet the needs of the client. If its meets all the requirements, Sika AG produces it and introduces it to the target market (Schalley, 2012, p.129) After the discovery of knowledge, it has to be stored. This starts by selecting valuable information to be stored and also selecting the medium. Remembering on the other hand deals with the management of the storage system, media and organization of the stored information for the information to be available in future. The storage media should also be efficient and cost effective because the information is to be stored over an extended period. This recording helps Sika AG to avoid repeating trial and error method each time they want to produce a commodity (Arnone, 2012, p.25). Sika AG factories and plants need this remembering so as to be able to provide needed products to its customers for automotive and other products which were produced many years ago. This helps to maintain customer loyalty. This knowledge has to be stored in knowledge database systems so as to store vital knowledge from retiring researchers or professors because human beings are not immortals. This helps the firm to deal well with the retirement of its top scientists who will not be available in future when needed. Financial reporting also depends on historical data to make plans and projections, and this is also a good reason why Sika AG has an excellent recording and remembering system (Arnone, 2012, p.25) Systemization and construction. Records and data have to be organized in a systematic manner for easy retrieval of the information. Different data has to be organized in different categories. For example, operational data should be in a different category from financial information. Each dataset should have a primary key and other unique characteristics for easy identification and retrieval of information e.g. customer number (Panetto, Jardim-Goncalves, and Molina, 2012, p.287). Conclusion This essay has shown clearly how the classic themes of informatics can be used in a real business. Through embracing the five magical themes of informatics, Sika AG can achieve its top goals which include Coordinating global sales and achieving efficiency in all production plants and factories remains the top goals. This could not be possible without embracing informatics in its management. This has enabled it to have subsidiaries in 94 countries because it can venture into markets which can guarantee it the creation of value from its raw material. List of References Arnone, F., 2012. Remembering William Alwyn: despite leaving behind a swath of admired works and film scores, the flutist and composer William Alwyn never enjoyed the public recognition he sought during his lifetime. Nearly three decades after his death, Alwyn continues to command high esteem, inspiring ongoing concerts, lectures, and even a week-long William Alwyn Festival held in the fall of 2011. Flutist Quarterly, 37(4), pp.22-27. Elsden, C., 2014, June. Situated remembering with digital technology. 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