ITIS 2P91 Midterm Prep

Information Technology (IT)

Development, maintenance, and use of computer software, systems, and network.

Information System

study of how people put data into computers to create useful information

Purpose of IS

get the right info to the right people @ the right time in the right amount in the right format

informed user

a person knowledgeable about information systems and information technology

digital nomad

someone who uses information technologies such as smart phones, wireless Internet access, and Web-based applications to work remotely from anywhere.

end-user computing

a way for people (the end user) to create what they want for themselves.

2 components of end-user computing

1. data entry

2. development

data

an elementary description of things, events, activities, and transactions that are recorded, classified, and stored but are not organized to convey any specific meaning

information

Data converted into a meaningful and useful context - organized data

knowledge

consists of data and/or information that have been organized and processed to convey understanding and purpose - actionable information

Wisdom/ Intelligence

Applied knowledge - greater understanding of that knowledge and reflection upon it.

Computer-based information system

an information system that uses computer technology to perform some or all of its intended tasks

components of computer-based IS

1. hardware

2. software

3. database

4. network

5. procedures (non-IT component)

6. people (non-IT component)

IT platform

IT components of hardware, software, networks, and databases

Functional Area Information Systems (FAIS)

departmental information system - deals with problems in one particular area only.

IT services

IT Personnel use IT Components to develop IS's, oversee security & risk, and manage data.

IT infrastructure

IT components, IT personnel, IT services

Application

a computer program designed to support a specific task or business process

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

designed to correct a lack of communication among the FAIS

Transaction Processing System (TPS)

supports the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data a business collects from its day-to-day operations for basic transactions.

transaction

a business activity that changes the firms database

Inter-organizational IS (IOS)

IS that connect 2 or more organizations - capable on linking different organizations (ex. Supply chain management, e-commerce)

Electronic commerce systems

enable B2B & B2C transactions - internet based

clerical workers

support managers at all levels of the organization (ex. secretary, assistant)

lower level managers

handle day-to-day operations

middle managers

carry out tactical decisions ––> short-term

Senior managers

make long-term decisions for organization

knowledge workers

experts in a particular subject area (ex. doctor)

Office automation systems

typically support the clerical staff, lower and middle managers, and knowledge workers, enabling them to develop documents, schedule resources, and communicate.

business intelligence systems

provide information for employees and non-written tasks - provide computer-based support for complex, non-routine decisions, primarily for middle managers and knowledge workers

expert system

attempt to duplicate/ mimmick the work of human experts by applying reasoning capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain

dashboard

a BI application that provides rapid access to timely information and direct access to management reports

E-discovery software

can quickly find documents using relevant search terms

linguistic software

can either find & sort info using specific search words or using a large number of interrelated word & phrase definitions

sociological applications

can add inferential analysis

How does IT impact organizations?

IT reduces the number of middle managers and increases # employees reporting to a single manager

How does IT change a manager’s job?

decision-making is most important task - get real-time information therefore less time to make decisions

Will IT eliminate jobs?

NO

Ergonomics

The science of designing a job to fit the worker to minimize injury & illness

Importance of IS to Society

Affects quality of life, robot revolution is on the way, improvements in healthcare

Baxter robot

robotic design and can do repetitive tasks (packaging, putting caps on jars)

LoweBots

machinery on the factory lines

Cognitive computing

processing information the way we do as humans

1. understand human language

2. learn and absorb new information as humans do

3. formulate hypotheses

4. understands context of the question

business process

ongoing collection of related activities that create a product or a service of value to the organization, its business partners, and/or its customers

organizational strategy

planned approach that the organization takes to achieve its goals and its mission statement

2 fundamental metrics in assessing processes

1. efficiency

2. effectiveness

efficiency

doing things right - carry out processes where you do not have waste, things running smoothly

effectiveness

doing the right things - focusing on things that are important to organization/ give customers joy

cross-functional business processes

no single functional area is responsible for their execution

procurement process

how firms purchase goods they need to produce goods for consumers

customer facing process

results in a product or service that is received by an organizations external customer

business-facing process

invisible to external customer but essential to effective management of the organization (worker training)

fulfillment process

concerned with processing customer orders

competitive advantage

advantage over competitors in some measure

Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Cost leadership, differentiation, innovation, operational effectiveness, customer orientation

Business Process Reengineering

a radical redesign of a business process that improves its efficiency and effectiveness, often by beginning with a "clean sheet" (revolutionary)

business process improvement

incremental approach - redesigning existing business operations (ex. 6Sigma)

Business process management

Used to support continuous BPI initiatives for core business processes over time - includes methods and tools to support the design, analysis, implementation, management, and optimization of business processes

important components of business process mgmt

Process modelling, web-enabled technologies, business activity modelling

Business process management suite (BPMS)

inegrated set of applications used for BPM

process modelling

standardized graphical model of a sequence of activities

Web-enabled technologies

display and retrieve data via a web browser

business activity monitoring

real time approach for measuring and managing business processes

business environment

the combination of social, legal, economic, physical, and political factors in which businesses conduct their operations

3 major types of business pressures

1. Market pressure

2. technology pressure

3. societal pressure

extranets

help people face things head-on better (help companies link up and face challenges)

digital divide

wide gap b/w those who have access to info & communications technology & those who don’t

organizational social responsibility

efforts by organizations to solve various social problems

Responses to pressures

1. Strategic systems

2. customer focus

3. make to order & mass customization

4. E-business and c-commerce

strategic systems

provide organizations with advantages that enable them to increase their market share and/or profits, to better negotiate with suppliers, and to prevent competitors from entering their markets.

customer focus

Organizational attempts to provide superb customer service can make the difference between attracting and retaining customers versus losing them to competitors. Numerous IT tools and business processes have been designed to keep customers happy.

make-to-order

the strategy of producing customized products and services

mass customization

a company produces a large quantity of items, but it customizes them to match the needs and preferences of individual customers

e-business

buying and selling of goods and services as well as servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and performing electronic transactions within an organization

e-commerce

the buying and selling of goods over the internet

Competitive Strategy

A statement identifying a business's approach to compete, it's goals, and the plans and policies required to attain those goals.

strategic IS

provide a competitive advantage by helping a organization implement its strategic goals & improve its performance & productivity

Porter's 5 Forces

• Rivalry among competitors

• threat of new entrants

• threat of substitute products

• bargaining power of buyers

• bargaining power of suppliers

porter’s competitive forces model

If you have money, and you want to find a suitable industry to go in and see whether the industry is right for you.

value chain

a sequence of activities through which the organization's inputs, whatever they are, are transformed into more valuable outputs

porter’s value chain model

looks at business internals and operations  - what can I do to be better at what I do (internally)

primary activities

Relate to the production and distribution of products and services

• inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing & sales, customer service

support activities

business activities that do not add value directly to a firm's product or service under consideration but support the primary activities that do add value

value system

A system that includes the producers, suppliers, distributors, and buyers, all with their value chains.

transaction costs

glue that holds value chains together

database

collection of related data files or tables containing data

difficulties in managing data

-Data increases exponentially with time, multiple sources, data rot, data security, government regulation, inconsistent, scattered

data governance

an approach to managing information across an entire organization - helps organizations manage IT operations to align with business strategies.

master data management

a process that spans all organizational business processes and applications

master data

a set of core data that span the enterprise information systems

transaction data

generated and captured by operational systems, describe the business's activities, or transactions

Ethics

Involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.

ethical framework

standards used to develop general frameworks for ethics or ethical decision making

utilitarian

provides the most good or does the least harm

rights

best protects and respects the moral rights of the affected parties

fairness

treats all humans equally, or if unequally, then fairly, based on some defensible standard

common good

respect and compassion for all others is the basis for ethical actions

deontology

the morality of an action regardless of outcomes

Four general categories of ethical issues related to IT

1. privacy - collecting, storing, and disseminating information

2. accuracy - authenticity, fidelity, and accuracy

3. property - ownership and value of information

4. accessibility - who should have access

Opt-in model

collects personal info only when customer specifically authorizes it (says yes right away)