if there are "holes in a workflow", then are you under the presumption that a workflow is a finite, universally idealized thing? I'm not sure if there's a one-size-fits-all requirement for all photographers, but I suppose there are some bare essentials that everyone relies on, regardless of what sort of photographic process requirements they have.
I think that Photoshop is a reasonable place to start. I've personally found it extremely valuable, and its RAW conversion is easy and produces good results. Another cheaper option is Paint Shop Pro, which (arguably) has more intuitive menu organization for photographers than photoshop. Although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Photoshop, you can nonetheless produce excellent results with the program, and it accepts a large portion of Photoshop plugins. Photoshop plugins and Automated commands are essential to me, because many of them surpass the related Photoshop tools... Focalblade, Focus Magic, and Pk Sharpener blow Photoshop's Unsharp Mask out of the water in terms of performance, and the latter is a "complete sharpening workflow". Plugin programs such as Neatimage or Noise Ninja beat Photoshop's noise reduction, hands down. Interpolation programs for outputting large prints, such as Genuine Fractals or S-Spline (photozoom pro) provide greater quality enlargements than Photoshop's bicubic interpolation.
And that's only the beginning. What you first need is something like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. Learn the essential tools... do some research, and figure out what sort of plugins you might require to improve your results. Whatever works best for you, is your "workflow". In my personal opinion, after the necessity of the photo application itself, always have a recently updated RAW converter (Adobe Camera Raw is free, and well updated), a noise reduction program such as Neat Image to subtract sensor noise after RAW conversion, a filter plugin pack which offers high quality Polarization, B&W conversion if desired, etc.(such as nik Color Efex Pro 2 or Power Retouche Pro 6), and an effective sharpening plugin for final output, such as Focus Magic and/or PK sharpener. This might all seem overwhelming, but this is my sort of "workflow"... none of this is required, but the most important thing is to begin with a program such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop. As soon as you become familiar with the program, and you have a desire to keep on improving your craft, you'll learn what you require for your workflow.
And... do you really think you need to jump into a photo organization program, such as iView media pro? If you're not a photojournalist or professional photographer, cranking out thousands of photos a month, do you think shelling out the extra bones is worth it? Why not begin with organising your photos manually in folders? It'll cost you nothing, and it's no difficult task when you're a hobbyist photographer. If I were you, I would prioritize the image editing program over a photo organization program, and then decide if you truly need a program like iView.