Description
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
E-commerce Department
Student Name:
Student ID:
Course Title: Management Information Course Code: MIS201
System
Academic Year/ Semester:
CRN:
Instructor Name:
Student Grade:
Grade Level:
Low/ Middle / High
The College of Administrative and Finance Sciences
E-commerce Department
Marking policy for assignments
General marking policy
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Students should be given three attempts for submitting their assignments
(before the deadline). First attempt must provide the student with SafeAssign
match report for plagiarism level. So, the student gets the chance to revise their
assignments by using the additional attempts.
Mark will be awarded for the last submission attempt. This must be clarified to
the students.
No more attempts or marks for resubmitting the assignment should be given to
the students after the marks are shown on BB.
If the instructor requested additional requirements for the course’ assignments,
these requirements must be clearly clarified verbally to the students during a
course’s session and posted on BB.
One mark will be deducted for not including the cover page with all required
information. In case the student included the cover page with some missing
information, (0.5) mark will be deducted.
20% of the total grade will be deducted for providing a poor structure of the
assignment. For example, if the assignment is marked out of 15, the student
provided an excellent content and answer that met all the requirements of the
assignment’s question with poor writing structure. Then the student will get 15
based on the content and you will deduct up to 20% (3 marks) from the total
grade (5% for paper style, 5% spelling and grammar errors, 5% for referencing
and 5% for word count).
No email submission is accepted.
ONLY WORD file format is accepted. Other file formats (PDF, JPG…etc.), the
assignment will award ZERO mark.
Marks will be available on BB after one week of due dates.
Plagiarism marking policy:
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If the SafeAssign match report equals 20% and above, the assignment must be
reviewed by the instructor.
The cover page and assignment’ questions match percentage must be
excluded from the overall match percentage of SafeAssign report.
80% and above of the answer is plagiarised, the assignment will award ZERO
mark. (including identical assignments, both students award ZERO mark)
20-79% of the answer is plagiarised, these plagiarised parts should be
highlighted, and only non-plagiarised parts must be marked.
Late submission policy
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It aims to ensure that all students are treated equitably and do not gain an unfair
advantage by choosing to submit their work late.
Penalties for late submission shall be 10% of the total mark of the assignment
for each day of late submission up to six calendar days after the due date.
Assignments will not be accepted after the sixth day and the student will award
ZERO mark.
All late submissions must be made electronically through BB.
Example if the assignment is marked out of 20, deduction of 10% means a
deduction of 2 marks per day.
This policy does not cover “Extenuating Circumstances”. Examples;
circumstances outside of the control of a student.
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
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Saudi Electronic University
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
E-commerce Department
Student Name:
Student ID:
Course Title: Management Information
System
Course Code: MIS201
Academic Year/ Semester:
CRN:
Instructor Name:
Student Grade:
Grade Level:
Low/ Middle / High
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
2
Table of Contents
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM…………………………………………………………………………… 2
1.0 Executive summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
2.0 Organization profile …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
3.0 Strategies …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
3.1 cost leadership strategy …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
3.2 Differentiation strategy …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
3.3 Focus strategy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
4.0 Technology involved………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
4.1 Hardware ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
4.2 Software ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
4.3 Telecommunication………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
4.4 Network ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
4.5 Information security ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
abdulaziz murad
2021-10-18 10:17:17
——————————————-Table of contents and the executive
summary
houldbe in its’
s
own page.
SAUDI
ARAMCO
INFORMATION
SYSTEM
1.0 Executive summary
This project provides a detailed analysis of Saudi Aramco company’s IT infrastructure and
its information systems. Aramco’s IT infrastructure is made of hardware, software,
telecommunication, network, and information security. The company’s information system
enhances performance and competitiveness through automation and improvement of all business
areas. The company leverages information systems to promote efficiency, scalability, and
reliability of it business processes to meet customer expectation. Moreover, the management
information system has enabled the company to improve its decision-making process as managers
can easily access share reliable data. However, the company has faced challenges such as cyber
and virus attacks on its information system that negatively affected its operations. These challenges
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
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can be addressed by implementing a robust MIS, encryption, data backup, and an effective
business continuity plan.
2.0 Organization profile
Saudi Aramco officially referred to as Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi public
corporation dealing with natural gas and petroleum. The company is headquartered in Dhahran. In
2020, Aramco was one of the biggest corporations in the world by revenue. The company
possesses one of the largest crude oil reserves at more than 270 billion barrels (Wanasinghe et al.,
2020). It boasts of the largest daily oil output in the world. The company runs the largest
hydrocarbon network in the world, the Master Gas System. The company operates over 100 oil
and gas fields in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company also runs the Ghawar Field and
Safaniya Field, the world’s largest onshore and offshore oil fields, respectively.
Saudi Aramco was set up in 1933 by the Standard Oil Co. of California when the company
wanted a concession by the Saudi government. In 1950, Aramco built a pipeline to move oil from
KSA to the port of Sidon, Lebanon. In 1951, the company established its first offshore field in the
Middle East. In 1981, the company constructed a pipeline destined to the Persian Gulf. In the
1970s and 80s, the Saudi government gradually began to take control of the company. In 1988, the
government completed the takeover and renamed the company Saudi Aramco. The company
moved public in November 2019 when it opened its initial public offering (IPO). The company
employs over 65,000 people globally.
Saudi Aramco operates on a vertical hierarchical organizational structure. The company’s
chain of command runs executive and senior management to employees in the lowest level. The
Aramco structure is characterized by a pyramidal structure where the chain of command is a topbottom approach. The state-owned company runs on a bureaucratic structure where formal
approaches apply in all operations and processes. Decision-making in Saudi Aramco company is
hierarchical, where executives and top management levels are responsible for major decisions
(Alghamdi, 2018). The managers make specific decisions and pass them to their respective
subordinates. The company applies a hierarchical organizational structure to all its global
functions. Saudi Aramco is a highly centralized organization where functions are supervised and
monitored by different managers across the organization. Top leadership makes all the decisions
that employees at all levels must follow.
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
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The company is headed by a chief executive officer who is the president of the board. The
company is divided into several functional areas that are headed by members of the corporate
management. The company is divided into key business areas: exploration & production, gas
operations, refining & marketing, industrial relations & affairs, finance, and engineering &
operations services. The head of these business areas offers instructions and delegates duties to
their subordinates, passing the message to general staff.
3.0 Strategies
According to Islami, Mustafa & Latkovikj (2020), competitive advantage refers to a factor
that enables a company to perform than its rivals in a competitive business environment.
Competitive advantage is the ability acquired by an organization through resources and unique
aspects to perform better than other companies in the same market or industry. Competitive
advantage may be gained through factors such as exclusive access to natural resources, talented
employees, new technology, strategic location, product quality, and high entry barriers. There are
three generic strategies for competitive advantage: cost leadership, differentiation, and
focus/market segmentation. These strategies apply to all products or services in all sectors and
enterprises of all sizes.
3.1 cost leadership strategy
The first strategy is cost leadership. This strategy focuses on the production of products or
services at a low cost compared to other players in the industry. The strategy leverages economies
of scale to produce a large volume of products at low costs. Cost leadership can be achieved
through efficient production processes, a low-cost base (materials, labor, facilities), logistics,
access to capital and technology required to bring costs down (Islami, Mustafa & Latkovikj, 2020).
Cost leadership enables companies to take advantage of the economies of scale to produce and sell
products at low cost than competitors, thereby gaining a competitive advantage. Cost leadership
can be attained through continuous improvement.
3.2 Differentiation strategy
Differentiation entails making unique products or services and making them attractive to
those of rival companies. It ensures an organization offers products or services that are difficult to
imitate. Differentiation can be achieved through excellent research, innovation, and development,
the ability to offer quality products or services, a strong brand name, and effective sales and
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
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marketing (Prasetyo & Dzaki, 2020). An organization focused on differentiation strategy should
stay agile with its product development processes to avoid the risk attack on many fronts by rivals
pursuing market segmentation.
3.3 Focus strategy
This strategy enables companies to focus on a specific market niche to understand the
dynamics of that segment and customer needs within it to produce well-specified products or
uniquely low-cost products for the segment. The strategy enables companies to produce products
suited to a particular market segment based on cost leadership or product differentiation.
Cost leadership and differentiation are the most appropriate strategies for competitive
advantage that will improve Aramco’s performance. Cost leadership will ensure the company will
preserve and increase its market share through efficient value chain management to lower product
costs. It will enable the company to produce affordable products, thereby increasing its sales. The
company can leverage its enormous oil reserves and financial resources to lower production costs
and prices of its products to enhance competitiveness (Islami, Mustafa & Latkovikj, 2020).
Moreover, cost leadership will enable Aramco to gain brand recognition, expand its customer base
globally, encourage consumption and meet sales targets through product affordability.
Aramco can also gain a competitive advantage through a differentiation strategy. The
company can expand its customer base by offering unique products. It can leverage the strategy to
diversify its products lines to meet the changing customer demands and need for new/alternative
products to improve performance and gain a competitive advantage (Prasetyo & Dzaki, 2020).
Aramco can also use differentiation to leverage a strong reputation, history, and brand name to
gain a competitive advantage over rivals.
4.0 Technology involved
Saudi Aramco company is yet to fully leverage IT in its operations. The company has
initiated digital transformation to integrate IT into key operations. The company has an IT
infrastructure that comprises hardware, software, telecommunication, networks, and information
security.
SAUDI ARAMCO INFORMATION SYSTEM
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4.1 Hardware
The company has a complex IT hardware infrastructure composed of servers, desktops,
laptops, data storage devices, keyboards, printers, CCTV, and routers. Aramco utilizes intel
processors in its hardware. Most of the hardware is used in workstations and is comprised of
desktops, laptops, and tablets.
4.2 Software
Aramco uses the following software. One is the application software that is used to gather
and process information in key functional areas. Application software to manage transactions,
inventory, and process customer information. The company uses software applications such as
mobile apps and websites that enable the company to communicate with clients. The company is
also leveraging cloud computing technology and services in its Jazan Refinery Complex. Aramco’s
software infrastructure is aimed at digitally transforming the company’s operations and enhance
operational excellence (Yousef, 2021). Saudi Aramco also uses operating systems software. It uses
Microsoft operating system and Linux operating system in its hardware infrastructure.
4.3 Telecommunication
Aramco leverages telecommunication technology to link its hardware components into a
computer network. The company uses telecommunication devices such as wireless hotspots, fiber
optic cables, Ethernet cables, hubs, switches, and routers to create a network that allows computers
in different offices to communicate. Furthermore, Aramco uses the internet to connect computers
in different refineries and offices across the globe. It is also leveraging cloud computing services.
4.4 Network
The company’s network comprises numerous workstation devices such as desktop
computers, servers, laptops, printers, and tablets. Most devices are connected via a local area
network, a wide area network, and the internet. Devices run multi-user operating systems to enable
sharing resources such as printers, storage devices, and processers. The company is also leveraging
cloud computing technologies to create efficiency, reliability, and scalability of its network
resources.
4.5 Information security.
Aramco’s information security is of paramount importance to its operations. The company’s
information system holds millions of critical data about the company’s operations. Information
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such as the inventory, transaction, and customer details is stored in the company’s databases and
servers. The company’s information security has been compromised on some occasions by hackers
and malicious codes. For instance, a 2012 attack on Aramco’s network compromised more than 30
000 workstation computers and paralyzed the company’s information system (Somepalli, Tangella
& Yalamanchili, 2020).
Aramco uses threat mitigation measures such as encryption of essential data. The cyber
security team has implemented complex encryption algorithms to protect critical data from hackers
and cyber terrorists. The company also has an array of antivirus, antimalware, and spyware
software applications to protect its networks from virus and malicious-code attacks.
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