Chapter 1 Information Systems in Global Business Today

Competitive Advantage

Doing things better than your competitors, charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales and higher profits that your competitors cannot match.

digital firm

one in which nearly all of the organization's significant business relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees are digitally enabled and mediated.

business model

describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth

Middle management

carries out the programs and plans of senior management

Manufacturing and production

Producing and delivering products and services

network

links two or more computers to share data or resources, such as a printer

World Wide Web

service provided by the Internet that uses universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a page format on the Internet

Complementary assets

assets required to derive value from a primary investment

sociotechnical view

optimal organizational performance is achieved by jointly optimizing both the social and technical systems used in production

INFORMATION SYSTEM

SET OF INTERRELATED COMPONENTS

DATA

STREAM OF RAW FACTS

INFORMATION

DATA SHAPED IN MEANIFUL FORM

THREE ACTIVITIES OF IS

INPUT, RPOCESSING, OUTPUT

INPUT

CAPTURES RAW DATA FROM AN ORGANIZATION

PROCESSING

CONVERT DATA INTO MEANINGFUL FORM

OUTPUT

TRANSFERS PROCESSED INFORMATION TO PEOPLE OR ACTIVITIES FOR WHICH IT WILL BE USED

FEEDBACK

output that is returned to appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stage

Core business processes

accomplished through digital networks spanning the entire organization or linking multiple organizations

Business processes

set of logically related tasks and behaviors that organizations develop over time to produce specific business results and the unique manner in which these activities are organized and coordinated

Key corporate assets

intellectual property, core competencies, and financial and human assets—are managed through digital means

Time shifting

business being conducted continuously, 24/7

Space shifting

work takes place in a global workshop, as well as within national boundaries

Operational Excellence

Businesses continuously seek to improve the efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher profitability

New Product s, Service s, and Business Models

Information systems and technologies are a major enabling tool for firms to create new products and services, as well as entirely new business models.

Customer and Supplier Intimacy

When a business really knows its customers, and serves them well, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more.

Improved Decision Making

Many business managers operate in an information fog bank, never really having the right information at the right time to make an informed decision.

Survival

Business firms also invest in information systems and technologies because they are necessities of doing business. Sometimes these "necessities" are driven by industry-level changes.

Information technology (IT)

consists of all the hardware and software that a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives.

information systems literacy

refer to this broader understanding of information systems, which encompasses an understanding of the management and organizational dimensions of systems as well as the technical dimensions of systems

Computer literacy

focuses primarily on knowledge of information technology

management information systems (MIS)

deals with behavioral issues as well as technical issues surrounding the development, use, and impact of information systems used by managers and employees in the firm.

Senior management

makes long-range strategic decisions about products and services as well as ensures financial performance of the firm

operational management

responsible for monitoring the daily activities of the business

Knowledge workers

create new knowledge for the firm

data workers

assist with scheduling and communications at all levels of the firm

Production or service workers

produce the product and deliver the service

business functions

specialized tasks performed by business organizations, consist of sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, and human resources

Sales and marketing

Selling the organization's products and services

Finance and accounting

Managing the organization's financial assets and maintaining the organization's financial records

Human resources

Attracting, developing, and maintaining the organization's labor force; maintaining employee records

Unique Business Culture

fundamental set of assumptions, values, and ways of doing things, that has been accepted by most of its members

Unique Business Process

formal rules that have been developed over a long time for accomplishing tasks

Organizational Politics

conflict over how the company should be run and how resources and rewards should be distributed

Management

make sense out of the many situations faced by organizations, make decisions, and formulate action plans to solve organizational problems

Information Technology

one of many tools managers use to cope with change

Computer hardware

physical equipment used for input, processing, and output activities in an information system

Computer software

consists of the detailed, preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system

Data management technology

consists of the software governing the organization of data on physical storage media

Networking and telecommunications technology

consisting of both physical devices and software, links the various pieces of hardware and transfers data from one physical location to another

Internet

world's largest and most widely used network

intranets

Internal corporate networks based on Internet technology

extranets

Private intranets extended to authorized users outside the organization

information technology (IT) infrastructure

provides the foundation, or platform, on which the firm can build its specific information systems

Organizational assets

Supportive organizational culture that values efficiency and effectiveness
Appropriate business model
Efficient business processes
Decentralized authority
Distributed decision-making rights
Strong IS development team

Managerial assets

Strong senior management support for technology investment and change
Incentives for management innovation
Teamwork and collaborative work environments
Training programs to enhance management decision skills Management culture that values flexibility and knowledge-based decision making.

Social assets

The Internet and telecommunications infrastructure
IT-enriched educational programs raising labor force computer literacy
Standards (both government and private sector)
Laws and regulations creating fair, stable market environments
Technology and service firms in adjacent markets to assist implementation

TECHNICAL APPROACH

emphasizes mathematically based models to study information systems, as well as the physical technology and formal capabilities of these systems

Computer science

concerned with establishing theories of computability, methods of computation, and methods of efficient data storage and access

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

An important part of the information systems field is concerned with behavioral issues that arise in the development and long-term maintenance of information systems

these actors produce what we call management information systems

suppliers of hardware and software (the technologists); business firms making investments and seeking to obtain value from the technology; managers and employees seeking to achieve business value (and other goals); and the contemporary legal, social, and cultural context (the firm's environment)

Behavioral Approach

An important part of the information systems field is
concerned with behavioral issues that arise in the
development and long-term maintenance of information
systems.