1. What is the importance of information system to STARS?
Although STARS appears to have maintained the highest standards in recruiting highly trained professionals for its team, these high standards have not been the case previously with regard to information systems. The former CIO was not a member of the permanent staff but a consultant who just focused on his own assignments. Department managers had to deal with the system problems on their own. Senior executives do not seem to have had any clear vision as to the importance of IS and the commensurate need for professional leadership.
According to the communication with the managers by CIO, one argument raised was that even if a lengthy information system outage occurs, information systems are not truly critically important because helicopters and medical teams can still fly to accident sites and rely on the cell phone for communication purpose. That is, STARS basic operations will still function even in the absence of information system support.
However, the STARS mission is measured in human lives and not simply by the timely dispatch of a helicopter and medical team. Much of the critical information regarding accident victims, site conditions , availability of the chain of survival partners and even factors related to aircraft safety cannot be successfully communicated by cell phone, these information, in turn, can directly affect the survival rate of patients and the safety of the aircrews. In fact, ELC heavily relies on computer technology because verbal communications was inadequate.
Besides, Khan needs to look to the future. Given the lack of focus on IS that has occurred in the past, numerous IS-dependent opportunities for improving the organization’s capabilities have likely never been thought of previously, simply because on one in the organization ever seriously considered the potential of IS to support the STARS mission.
2. Develop a list of the three or four most critical challenges facing...