Chapter 2: IS Defined

Information systems

 Formal sociotechnical, org systems designed to collect, process, store and distribute info

• Formal IS: Companies' supply chain

• Informal IS: Snapchat

4 Components of IS

• Technology (Technical System) 

• Process (Technical System) 

• People (Social System)

• Structure: (Social System)

Process (Component of IS)

• Technical component of IS

• Defined as the series of steps necessary to complete a business activity

• The same activities can be performed using a variety of diff business processes

People (component of IS)

• Social component of IS

• Individuals or groups directly involved in the IS 

  • End users, managers, IT professionals 

• Understanding of the people involved, including skills, interests, motivations is necessary when designing and implementing a new IS

Structure (Component of IS)

• Social component of IS

• The org design (Hierarchy, decentralized), reporting (functional, divisional), relationships 

• The implicit or explicit rules that govern relationships between the people involved in the IS 

• Understanding structure component is crucial because user resistance, incentive systems, and relationships are often silent enemic of IS

Technology (Component of IS)

• Defined as hardware, software and telecommunication equipment

• IT is a cornerstone of any modern IS

• IT enables and constrains action through rules of operation that stem from its design

IS Fail

• common cause of Information Systems (IS) failure: the disconnect between how a business process is designed (on paper or in software) and how people actually carry it out in real life.

• When designing a new IS or when confronted with IS failure, it helps to think about what possible obstacles exist that make it difficult for employees to accurately follow the business process

IS Outcomes

• IS does not only effect financial aspects but also effects positively and negatively on people

  • Positive: empowers employees and widening the scope of their responsibility

  • Negative: deskilling loss of responsibility, and the creation of a monotonous working environment

IS In The Org Context

• Every org is unique

  • Firm Strategy: how the org intends to achieve its objectives

  • Firm Culture: The collection of beliefs, expectations, and values shared by the members of an org

  • Infrastructure: The set of shared IT resources and services of the firm, constrains and enables opportunities for future information systems implementations

First Order Change: Automate

• First order change only affects the technical system

• Occurs when an IT innovation is introduced that modifies how an existing process is performed

• Managing it is

  • Easiest to envision

  • Easist to justify

  • Easiest to manage

• First ogre change requires little executive sponsorship or involvement

Second Order Change: Informate

• Second-order change affects the people component

  • The way individuals perform processes and the manner in which they interact with the technology cange 

• It occurs when the information intensity of the process being performed changes substantially due to the introduction of new IT

• Key challenges on managing it are: 

  • Provide appropriate training

  • Overvome the human tendency to resist change

Third Order Change: Transform

• Third-order change affects the structure component

  • Tehnology: a change in the way the org selects, uses, and manages technology

  • People: a change in the reporting and authority structure of the org

  • Process; a novel way of task accomplishment or a new set of task

Implications

• IT product should not be the point of departure but rather the point of arrival for your IS design effort

  • Strategu may be inspired, not driven, by IT

• Never forget the systemic effects: They all affect one and another

• A IS should Never designed once and for all, should be open to changes 

• Orgs are dynamic: IS goals and needed information processing functionalidies need to be revaluated often 

• The design and use of an IS should be seen as an iterative process involving: 

  • The cyclical evaluation of individual IS components

  • The assessment of how diff org systems work together to support the business

  • A reevaluation of the current IS design any time a major change occurs

• Optimize the IS as a whole, not the components individually

Purpose of IS

• Fulfilling org info processing needs

• Improving efficiency and effectiveness while reducing cost

  • Doing things right and doing the right things while reducing cost 

• Achieving an IS goal