Information Systems Notes

Chapter 1: Introduction to Information Systems

Major Subjects

  • Why study Information Systems (IS)?
  • Management Information Systems (MIS) & Information Technology (IT) Jobs
  • Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge
  • Types of Information Systems
  • How IT impacts organizations
  • Importance of Information Systems to society

1.1 Why Study Information Systems?

  • The Informed User—You!
    • Benefit more when understanding IT applications.
    • Provide valuable input.
    • Recommend and help select IT applications.
    • Awareness of new technology.
    • Understand how IT improves performance.
    • Beneficial to entrepreneurs.
  • IT Offers Career Opportunities
    • Vital to modern business, providing lucrative career opportunities.
    • Examples: Programmers, business analysts, systems analysts, designers.
    • Chief Information Officer (CIO): Executive in charge of the IS function.
    • Career opportunities will remain strong.
  • Managing Information Resources

IT Career Opportunities: Job Rankings

  • U.S. News & World Report (out of 100):
    • #1 Information Security Analyst
    • #5 Software Developer
    • #6 Data Scientist
    • #11 IT Manager
    • #27 Computer Systems Analyst
    • #32 Web Developer
    • #38 Database Administrator
    • #48 Computer Network Architect
    • #52 Computer System Administrator
    • #68 Computer Support Specialist
  • Glassdoor (out of 50):
    • #1 User Interface Designer
    • #26 Business Analyst
    • #2 Java Developer
    • #27 Systems Engineer
    • #3 Data Scientist
    • #29 Scrum Master
    • #4 Product Manager
    • #32 Software Developer
    • #5 DevOps Engineer
    • #33 Cloud Engineer
    • #6 Data Engineer
    • #46 Automation Engineer
    • #7 Software Engineer
    • #49 Network Engineer
    • #18 Applications Engineer
  • Median Starting Salary:
    • #1 Data Scientist: 95,000
    • #2 Software Engineer: 90,000
    • #6 User Experience Designer: 73,000
    • #7 IT Consultant: 72,000
    • #8 Java Developer: 72,000
    • #9 Systems Engineer: 70,000
    • #10 Software Developer: 68,600

Managing Information Resources

  • Difficult and complex due to:
    • Enormous strategic value to organizations.
    • Expensive to acquire, operate, and maintain.
    • Evolution of the MIS function within the organization.
    • MIS personnel vs. end users.
  • Changing Role of the IS Department:
    • Traditional functions.
    • New (Consultative) functions.

Traditional Functions of the MIS Department

  • Managing systems development and systems project management.
  • Managing computer operations.
  • Staffing, training, and developing IS skills.
  • Providing technical services.
  • Infrastructure planning, development, and control.
  • Maintenance.

New (Consultative) Functions of the MIS Department

  • Initiating and designing specific strategic IS.
  • Incorporating the Internet and e-commerce into the business.
  • Managing system integration including Internet, Intranets, and Extranets.
  • Educating the non-MIS staff about IT.
  • Educating the MIS staff about the business.
  • Partnering with business-unit executives.
  • Managing outsourcing.
  • Proactively using business and technical knowledge to seed innovative IT ideas.
  • Creating business alliances with business partners.

1.2 Overview of Computer-Based Information Systems

  • Basic components (first four are IT components):
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Database
    • Network
    • Procedures
    • People

Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge

  • Data: Raw, unorganized facts.
  • Information: Data processed to be meaningful.
  • Knowledge: Understanding of information.
  • Example: Supermarket checkout data processed into total unit sales or revenue for dish detergent.

Interdependence Between Organizations and Information Technology

  • Changes in strategy, rules, and business processes require changes in IT components.
  • What the organization wants to do depends on what its systems permit.

Major Capabilities of Information Systems

  • Perform high-speed, high-volume numerical computations.
  • Provide fast, accurate communication and collaboration.
  • Store huge amounts of information in a small space.
  • Allow quick and inexpensive access to information worldwide.
  • Interpret vast amounts of data efficiently.
  • Automate business processes and manual tasks.

Types of Computer-Based Information Systems

  • Functional Area Information Systems (FAISs)
    • Support activities within specific functional areas (Accounting, Finance, Production & operations management, Marketing, HR).
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems
    • Provide communication among functional area ISs.
  • Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
    • Support real-time monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from day-to-day operations.
  • Interorganizational Information Systems (IOS)
    • Support interorganizational operations.
    • Examples: Supply Chain Management (SCM), Electronic Commerce (e-commerce).

Support for Organizational Employees

  • Clerical workers
  • Knowledge workers
  • Functional area information systems
  • Business analytics (BA) or business intelligence (BI)
  • Expert systems (ES)
  • Dashboards (aka digital dashboards)

Acronyms

  • EIS (Executive Information Systems)
  • DSS (Decision Support Systems)
  • MIS (Management Information Systems)
  • TPS (Transaction Processing Systems)
  • ES (Expert Systems)
  • AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  • BA/BI (Business Analytics/Business Intelligence)
  • ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Systems
  • KMS (Knowledge Management Systems)
  • SCM (Supply Chain Management)
  • CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Types of Organizational Information Systems - Figure 1.4

Type of SystemFunctionExample
Transaction processing systemProcesses transaction data from terminal business events.Walmart checkout point-of sale
Enterprise resource planning systemIntegrates all functional areas of the organization.Oracle, SAP system
Functional area ISSupports the activities within a specific functional area.System for processing payroll
Decision support systemProvides access to data and analysis tools.“What-if” analysis of changes in budget
Expert systemMimics a human expert in a particular area and makes decisions.Credit card approval analysis
Executive dashboardPresents structured, summarized information about aspects of the business important to executives.Status of sales by product
Supply chain management systemManages flows of products, services, and information among organizations.Walmart Retail Link system connecting suppliers to Walmart
Electronic commerce systemEnables transactions among organizations and between organizations and customers.www.dell.com

1.3 How Does IT Impact Organizations?

  • IT impacts entire industries.
  • IT reduces the number of middle managers.
  • IT changes the manager’s job.
  • Will IT eliminate jobs?
  • IT impacts employees at work.

Impact Examples

  • Book Industry
  • Music Industry
  • Video Industry
  • Software Industry
  • Videogame Industry
  • Marketing Industry
  • Recruiting Industry
  • Financial Services Industry
  • Motion Picture Industry
  • DreamWorks Animation
  • Automobile Industry
  • Agriculture Industry
  • Fashion Industry
  • Education
  • Legal Profession

IT and Middle Managers

  • IT makes middle managers more productive.
  • Reduces the number of middle managers required.

IT and the Manager's Job

  • Decision making is the most important managerial task.
  • IT changes the way managers make decisions.
  • IT provides near-real-time information.
  • Managers have less time to make decisions.
  • IT provides tools for analysis to assist in decision making.

Will IT Eliminate Jobs?

  • The competitive advantage of replacing people with IT & machines is increasing rapidly.
  • Increasing the use of IT in business also:
    • Creates new job categories.
    • Requires more employees with IT knowledge and skills.

IT Impact on Employees

  • IT Impacts Employees’ Health & Safety
  • Job Stress
  • Long-term use of the keyboard & mouse
  • IT Provides Opportunities for People with Disabilities
  • Speech-recognition for employees unable to type due to physical impairment
  • Audible screen tips for employees who are visually impaired

1.4 Importance of Information Systems to Society

  • IT Affects Our Quality of Life
  • The Robot Revolution Is Here Now
  • IT Impacts Healthcare

IT and Quality of Life

  • IT has changed the way we work.
  • Smartphones provide constant access to text, email, and voice communications.
  • The lines between time at work and leisure time at home have become blurred.
  • Surveys indicate employees take laptops and smartphones on vacation.

The Robot Revolution

  • Baxter
  • LoweBots
  • Walmart shopping cart robots
  • Drones
  • Autonomous Vehicles
  • Alibaba’s keyless and cashless hotel

IT Impacts Healthcare

  • IT used in Healthcare to:
    • Make better/faster diagnoses.
    • Streamline the process of researching & developing new drugs.
    • To enhance the work of radiologists.
    • Allow surgeons to use virtual reality to plan complex surgeries & use robots to remotely perform surgery.
  • The Emergence of Cognitive Computing: IBM Watson