Chapter 1: Intro to information systems

Information technology: Computer based tool that people use to work with information and support an organization’s information and information processing needs


Information systems: Collects, processes, stores, analyzes and disseminate information for a specific purpose.


1.1 - Why should I study info systems

  1. Become an informed user of technology

    1. You benefit more when you understand what is behind IT applications

    2. You can recommend and help select IT applications

    3. You will be aware of new technology

    4. You will understand how IT improves performance

    5. Understanding IT is beneficial to entrepreneurs

  • Digital transformation: The business strategy that leverages IT to dramatically improve employee, customer, and business partner relationships.

  • Technologies that enable digital transformation include:

    • Big data

    • Social computing

    • Cloud computing

    • Artificial intelligence

    • And more


  1. IT offers career opportunities

Vital to modern businesses, providing many lucrative career opportunities that include:

  • Programmers, business analysts, system analysts, designers

The IS field includes:

  • Designers / builders of IS

  • Users of IS

  • Managers of IS

  • On top: CIO - Chief information officer

Career opportunities will remain strong in the future.


  1. Managing information resources

Managing IS in modern orgs is difficult and complex

  • ISs have an enormous strategic value to organizations 

  • ISs are very expensive to acquire, operate, and maintain

  • Evolution of the MIS function within the organization

Responsibility for Managing Information Technologies


1.2 - Overview of computer based information systems


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

Ex: (3.11, 2.96, 3.56, 1.99, 3.95)

Ex: (B, A, R, C, A, D, G, C)

Data: 3.11


Information: data that have been organized so that they have meaning and value to the recipient

Ex: 3.11 + John Jones = GPA (context: uni)

(a GPA by itself if data, but student name coupled with their GPA is information)


Knowledge: data and/or information that have been organized and processed to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning, and expertise as they apply to current business problems.

Example

  • Data: 3.11

  • Information: 3.11 + John Jones = GPA (context: uni)

    • Knowledge: * Job prospect

(Students with grade point averages over 3.0 have experienced the greatest success in its management program)



Computer Based Information Systems (CBIS)

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

  • Consists of hardware, software, databases, networks, procedures and people.


Breadth of Support of Information systems 

  • Each department or functional area within an organization has its own collection of application programs, or information systems 

  • Functional Area information systems (FAIS). (also, departmental information systems)

    • Examples: HR IS, Accounting IS, Finance IS, Marketing IS

  • 2 information systems support the entire organization

    • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems

      • Provide communication among functional area IS’s through an integrated database.

    • Transaction PRocessing Systems (TPS)

      • Support the monitoring, collection, storage, processing of data from the organizations day to day operations for basic business transactions

  • Interorganizational information systems (IOS): information systems that connect 2 or more organizations 

    • Support many interorganizational operations

    • Examples: Supply chain management, Electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems



Support for Organizational Employees

All types of workers require support from information systems

  • Clerical workers

  • Managers 

  • Knowledge workers

  • executives



1.3 - How does IT impact organizations

For most organizations, if their information systems fail then they cease operations until the problems are found and fixed.


IT impacts Entire Industries

  • Software is impacting every industries

  1. Industries where software disrupted the previous market-leading companies and

  2. Industries where a new company used software to achieve a competitive advantage

  • Examples

    • Book industry, music industry, video industry, software industry, video game industry, marketing industry, fashion industry, financial services, agriculture industry, automobile industry, legal profession, photography industry


IT reduces the number of middle managers. It makes managers more productive and increases the number of employees reporting to a single manager. 


IT changes the manager’s job

  • Decision making is the most important managerial task

  • IT changes the way managers make decisions

    • Provides near real-time information 

    • Managers have less time to make decisions

    • Provides tools for analysis to assist in decision making and in handling high volumes of information 


IT impacts employee’s health and safety

  • Both positive and negative

    • Negative:

      • Job stress/work life balance

      • Eye strain and repetitive strain injuries (RSI)

    • Positive:

      • Remote work and flexibility

      • Provides opportunities for people with disabilities

      • Ergonomics office designs


1.4 - Importance of information systems to society

  • IT affects our quality of life

    • IT has changed the way we live and work

      • Easier access to everything

      • Mobile banking, shopping, GPS, etc

      • Smartphones provide constant access to text, email, voice communications

      • Lines between time at work and leisure time at home have become blurred

  • The robot revolution is here now

    • Autonomous devices have become more common

    • Ex: drones, autonomous vehicles

  • IT impacts health care

    • Used to make better and faster diagnoses

    • Streamline the process of researching and developing new drugs

Allow surgeons to use virtual reality to plan complex surgeries and use robots to remotely perform surgery.