Essay on the Architecture of the Domains of a Company

The architecture of the process domain of a company is defined as the type of processes that it contains and the relationships amongst these processes (Chen, Doumeingts, & Vernadat, 2008). It relates to the procedures, processes, tools that are required to support the core organizations environment. The core environment for Pizzeria Rustica is serving customers for pizza. The new information system for the company will be capable of managing client orders and ensure that the orders are delivered. The process starts with ordering the raw materials from various suppliers. These include vegetables, baking flours, baking soda, meat, and fish among other materials. They are then transported to the joint where they are prepared for the customers. As such, the process entails the use of a simplified supply chain system.

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The strengths of the process domain is that the raw materials will arrive in time and the customers in most of the occasions are served almost immediately. In essence, this is opposed to the old system where the customers have to order through the waiters and waitresses. In essence, this offers the customers with convenience and quality of the service they need. The information system advantage is that it can track the inadequacy of the materials in the store, and in effect, the store manager can order them from the various suppliers. However, the store manager has to feed in the information directly to the system, signifying what materials have been used, and thus, estimating the appropriate replenishment volume. Therefore, the information system will be capable of meeting the organization needs, where it is capable of dealing with the business processes. This is opposed to the old system where the company had manual records, and the store manager had to ensure that they record manually of the materials which had been used, and which were remaining. In addition, the customers can order it via an automated system. In essence, this is an improvement from the older system where the customers ordered through the waitresses and waiters. For this reason, the advantage of the system is that it will be faster and clients will be served within a short period of time, hence ensuring that the company enjoys a competitive advantage. Once they place an order, which they can pay using their credit cards, it is reflected in the system, and immediately, the customer is assigned a specific sit. The chef prepares the pizza almost immediately. Once it is ready, the waiter or waitress presents it to the customers. For instance, it is estimated that the waiting period will be cut by ten minutes, which ensures that the company has a competitive advantage. The following figure shows the ordering process.

The weaknesses of the system are that the supply chain is not automated and is not connected to the suppliers. For this reason, suppliers need to be notified by the store manager. However, in some instances, this may cause delays. Also, on some occasions, the system can fail, but the IT manager, who is available can rectify the necessary errors, and thus, ensure that the system is operating optimally. There is a need to eliminate these shortcomings as they decrease the competitiveness of the firm and adversely affects the core goals, which are providing a quality service and convenience to the customer. In addition, the contingency is reverting to the manual system in case that the system fails in a period more than 20 minutes. In case that the payment system fails, the system is designed to ensure that the clients can place manual orders with the waiters.

The systems process domain has an opportunity for improvement. The supply chain can be connected with the various suppliers so that it can provide real-time information about the availability of the raw materials. In effect, they can replenish it without any problems or the store manager calling them. Besides, it will eliminate any instances of delays, thereby, increasing the likelihood that the company will meet its core goals of providing a quality service to the customers. The system can be used to enhance the management strategy by reducing the number of waiters by almost a half, which will subsequently cut down on costs and enhance the companys profitability. The management will therefore adopt a fully automated strategy where it can convert from cash to cashless strategy.

Regarding the risks, the company can be negatively impacted by the lack of coordination amongst the stakeholders. For instance, if the waiters are not fast in serving customers, the quality of the service can deteriorate, meaning that the needs of the customers are not met. For this reason, they needs to be trained. Also, when there is an influx of the customers, the staff available may not be enough, and thus, the company should outsource manpower. In terms of agility, the system will be able to ensure that it can manage an influx of customers without failing. In essence, the process domain will be able to serve more than the current capacity of the pizza joint to ensure optimal performance. Also, pertaining to extensibility, the domain will be able to allow for future improvements, such as the inclusion of customer feedback to ensure that the clients are satisfied via the implementation of improvements pointed out by the clients. In terms of agility, the system can easily evolve to take into consideration of the changes, such as price increase or decrease, which can be implemented with ease.

Regarding deployment, the process domain should have central control by the management. However, the system has to take into consideration the smooth change into the automated system. For this reason, the staff should be trained to ensure that they are aware of how to operate the system, as well as ensuring that they comprehend the ordering process. The centralized model will be used as it supports efficient load balancing and fault tolerance, and ensures a centralized administration of the various decisions and processes. It also supports high-speed mainframe connections, which are necessary for optimal performance of the process domain. The decentralized model adopts an independent approach, which is not effective for the restaurant operation. Since there is no need for information sharing among the different business lines, the federated model is not effective for the business. However, in future, a combination of the centralized and the federated models will be vital so that the various lines of businesses can be interconnected to allow for the automation of the supply chain system. In effect, this will eliminate delays from the suppliers, hence increasing the companys competitiveness.

b. Information/Knowledge Domain

This domain is related to the business data (raw and managed) used in the operation of the organizations business venture. As Shah and El Kourdi (2007) points out, it entails information flow management. In the Pizzeria Rustica information domain, an information flow exists that conveys what is needed to communicate with the parties involved, as well as ensuring that the processes are coordinated. This is shown in the figure below:

Information flows are necessary for the operation of the company. In essence, the business cannot operate without this domain. The strengths of the information domain is that the company has a strong managements and the managers are experienced in managing the company. In the company, this is made possible by the information system. In essence, the various parties can input information into the system, and thus, initiate the information flow. This allows for a fast ordering process. In essence, once the client orders the pizza, the system responds, and subsequently the client pays for the pizza. That information is send to the cashier who notifies the chef to prepare the order, and then, once it is easy, it is presented to the client. The store manager can view this information, and replenish the raw materials once depleted. As such, the system allows for competitive advantage as the information flow is fast and the customers are served immediately with short waiting periods. The interrelations between the stakeholders is linked by the information, and thus, the message is not broken, which allows the pizza joint to meet the needs of the customer. The design feature capable of ensuring that the knowledge domain operates optimally is use of credit policy service control, which allows for authentication of the payment, as well as ensuring that the cashier can approve the payment and process the order.

Regarding weaknesses, suppliers are yet to be included in the information flow, which makes it difficult for them to avail the required raw materials within a short period of time, especially during high demand, which is in a position to reduce the competitiveness of the company. Also, when the system is operating at slow speeds, there is a likelihood that the delays will cause reduction of service quality, which is detrimental to the firm. To eliminate this, the company needs a strong internet connection, preferably Wi-Fi, to ensure that the information speeds are not adversely affected. Also, all stakeholders in the information flow of the company, including the suppliers, should be included. As such, in modifying these problems, there needs to be a strong internet connection, as well as inclusivity of all stakeholders in the system. In addition, to promote marketing, information delivery is paramount to ensure that the consumers get coupons and discounts, thereby marketing the services, usually via emails, and short messaging.

Regarding the opportunity, the knowledge domain, the company can optimize information flow using data integration that focus on real-time integration needs, such as change data capture, message driven, event driven, as well as change data capture. To enhance the management strategy of a quality service, the information domain can also make use of big data, such as use of social media platforms, and also feedback from the customers to ensure that their needs and preferences are met.

The risks involved include security issues, where the information system is prone to viruses. However, the system will integrate various protection measures, including antivirus software, which will protect the software used against potential viruses, malware, and Trojan horses. In terms of agility, the information domain can include big data in marketing and incorporating customer feedback. Also, the information domain is fast to communicate any changes regarding matters of the company, such as schedules. Pertaining to extensibility, the knowledge domain will be able to allow for future improvements, such as allowing for customer feedback inclusion to track needs and preferences. In terms of scalability, the system will allow for multiple datasets, such as incorporation cloud-based storage.

In terms of deployment, the impact of the information domain is that it will ensure ha the system is fast, and the stakeholders can easily participate in information sharing, which allows for faster decision-making process. In this case, implementing the federal deployment model is most appropriate as the various shareholders can easily share the information and allow different lines of business, such as the ordering of the customers or ordering of the raw materials re integrated. The centralized model is not effective in this case because it does not incorporate sharing of information that is not effective in managing the restaurant. However, a plan that integrates both is paramount for the company. In essence, this plan will allow for sharing of information between the va...