Transcript Slide 1

Introduction to Information
Systems
Lecture 01
Foundations of IS in
Business
Jaeki Song
Learning Objectives
1. Understand the concept of a system and how it
relates to information systems.
2. Explain why knowledge of information systems is
important for business professionals and identify
five areas of information systems knowledge they
need.
3. Identify several challenges that a business
manager might face in managing the successful
and ethical development and use of information
technology in a business.
4. Become familiar with the myriad of career
opportunities in information systems.
Why study Information Systems and
Information Technology?
• Vital component of successful businesses
• Helps businesses expand and compete
• Businesses use IS and IT
• To improve efficiency and effectiveness of business
processes
• For managerial decision making
• For workgroup collaboration
1-3
What is an Information System?
• A system
• Is a set of interrelated components
• With a clearly defined boundary
• Working together to achieve a common set of
objectives
• IS can be any organized combination of
• People, hardware, software, communications
networks, data resources, and policies and
procedures
• That stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates
information in an organization
1-4
Information System (IS) versus Information
Technology (IT)
• IS is all the components and resources
necessary to deliver information and
functions to the organization
• IT is hardware, software, networking and
data management
• In theory, IS could be paper based
• We will focus on Computer-Based Information
Systems (CBIS)
1-5
Key Questions
• How does the management of IT differ in scope and
complexity from the other business functions?
• Why does the view of IT by IT executives differ form
the views of other business executives?
• What has to be done to better manage the IT
resource?
• What are some of the key issues in the management
of IT organizations?
• Why is the successful management of IT important?
Primary Purpose of IT
• IT is important and necessary for a successful
organization
• As will be argued throughout the
course/semester, successful management of IT
is necessary for competitive advantage
Management of IT
• Strategic
• Pertinent to long-term attainment of goals and business as a
whole
• Tactical
• Needed to achieve strategic plans and goals to produce
changes for success
• Operational
• Process and actions that must be performed on a day-to-day
basis to maintain performance level
Role of IT
• Traditional view
• Supporting function
• No longer just serves a business
• Emerging views
• Integral in business strategy
• Impacts every area of business
• Complexity increases
• How does IT function vis-à-vis the entire organization
• Responsible for the integration of information
E-Biz and Globalization Enabler
• E-Biz
• All aspects of IT are more externally visible
• Serve as mediator among various functions
• Disintermediation, Reintermediation (Insurance, banking),
Hypermediation (Internet service provider), Infomediation
• Globalization
• Expands business presence beyond borders
• IT maintenance of Infrastructure and Technologies
Gap Between IT and Business
• IT/Business alignment critical
• Alignment
• Application of IT in an appropriate and timely manner, in
harmony with business goals, strategies, and needs
IT vs. Other Functions
• Encompasses entire enterprise
• Affects all business functions
• Extends beyond business boundaries
• Affects every level of management
• Impact affects entire value chain, including
suppliers and customers
• Creates synergy between departments
IS Knowledge Framework for
Business Professionals
1-13
What should a Business Professional
know about IS?
• Foundation Concepts: fundamental behavioral,
technical, business and managerial concepts
• Information Technology: Hardware, software,
networks, data management and Internet-based
technology
• Business Applications: Major uses of the IS in
the organization
• Development Processes: How to plan, develop
and implement IS to meet business opportunities
• Management Challenges: The challenges of
effectively and ethically managing IT
1-14
What does IS do for a
business?
1-15
Business Applications expanding role
over time
1-16
What is E-business?
• The use of Internet technologies
• to work and empower business processes, electronic
commerce, and enterprise collaboration
• within a company and with its customers, suppliers,
and other business stakeholders.
• An online exchange of value.
1-17
How e-business is being used
1-18
E-business use
• Reengineer internal business processes
• Enterprise collaboration systems: support
communications, coordination and
collaboration among teams and work
groups, e.g., virtual teams
• Electronic commerce: buying, selling,
marketing and servicing of products and
services over computer networks
1-19
Types of IS
1-20
Operations support systems
• What are they?
•
•
•
•
Efficiently process business transactions
Control industrial processes
Support communications and collaboration
Update corporate databases
1-21
Types of Operations Support
Systems
• Transaction Processing Systems
• Record and process data from business transactions
• Examples: sales processing, inventory systems,
accounting systems
• Process Control Systems
• Monitor and control physical processes
• Example: in a petroleum refinery use sensors to
monitor chemical processes
• Enterprise Collaboration Systems
• Enhance team and work group communications
• Examples: e-mail, videoconferencing
1-22
Two ways to process transactions
• Batch Processing:
• Accumulate transactions over time and process
periodically
• Example: a bank processes all checks received in a
batch at night
• Online Processing:
• Process transactions immediately
• Example: a bank processes an ATM withdrawal
immediately
1-23
Management Support Systems
• What are they?
• Provide information and support for effective decision
making by managers
1-24
Types of Management Support
Systems
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Provide reports and displays to managers
• Example: daily sales analysis reports
• Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• Provide interactive ad hoc support for decision
making
• Example: A what-if-analysis to determine where to
spend advertising dollars
• Executive Information Systems (EIS)
• Provide critical information for executives and
managers
• Example: easy access to actions of competitors
1-25
Operational or Management Systems
• Expert Systems
• Provide expert advice
• Example: credit application advisor
• Knowledge Management Systems
• Support creation, organization and dissemination of
business knowledge throughout company
• Example: Intranet access to best business practices
1-26
Classifications of IS by scope
• Functional business systems
• Focus on operational and managerial applications of
basic business functions
• Examples: support accounting, finance or marketing
• Strategic information systems
• Help get a strategic advantage over its customers
• Examples: shipment tracking, e-commerce web
systems
• Cross-functional information systems
• Systems that are combinations of several types of
information systems
• Provide support for many functions
1-27
Challenges and Opportunities of IT
1-28
Measuring success of an IS
• Efficiency
• Minimize cost, time and use of information resources
• Effectiveness
•
•
•
•
Support business strategies
Enable business processes
Enhance organizational structure and culture
Increase the customer and business value
1-29
Developing IS Solutions
1-30
Ethical challenges of IT applications
1-31
Ethical responsibilities
• What uses of IT might be considered
improper or harmful to other individuals or
society?
• What is the proper business use of the
Internet or a company’s IT resources?
• How can you protect yourself from
computer crime?
1-32
IT Careers
• Outsourcing of basic programming to
India, the Middle-East and Asia-Pacific
countries
• Strong employment opportunities in other
areas in IS
• Shortage of qualified IS personnel
• Long-term job outlook positive and exciting
1-33
Career Opportunities in IS
1-34
Job growth
• Among the fastest growing occupations
through 2012
•
•
•
•
•
Systems Analyst,
Database administrators,
Other managerial-level positions
Network specialists
Information security
1-35
What is a system?
• A system
• Is a set of interrelated components
• With a clearly defined boundary
• Working together to achieve a common set of
objectives
• By accepting inputs and producing outputs in an
organized transformation process
1-36
Systems have three basic functions:
• Input involves capturing and assembling
elements that enter the system to be
processed
• Processing involves transformation
process that convert input into output
• Output involves transferring elements that
have been produced by the
transformation process to their ultimate
destination
1-37
A business as a system
1-38
Information systems model
1-39
Components of an IS
• People
• End users: the people who use the IS or the
information from the IS
• IS specialists: the people who develop and operate IS
• Hardware Resources
• All physical devices used in information processing
• Machines, data media, peripherals
• Software Resources
• All information processing instructions including
programs and procedures
• System software, application software and
procedures
1-40
Components of an IS (cont.)
• Data Resources
• Facts about the business transactions
• Processed and organized information
• Databases of organized data
• Network Resources
• Communications media
• Network infrastructure: hardware and software
• The Internet, intranets and extranets
1-41
Data versus Information
• Data are raw facts about physical
phenomena or business transactions
• Information is data that has been
converted into meaningful and useful
context for end users
• Example:
• Sales data is names, quantities and dollar amounts
• Sales information is amount of sales by product type,
sales territory or salesperson
1-42
IS Activities
• Input of data resources
• Data entry activities
• Processing of data into information
• E.g., calculate, compare, sort, classify, summarize
• Output of information products
• Messages, reports, forms and graphic images
• Storage of data resources
• Data elements and databases
• Control of system performance
• Monitoring and evaluating feedback
1-43
Recognizing IS
• As a business professional, you should be
able to look at an IS and identify
• The people, hardware, software, data and network
resources they use
• The type of information products they produce
• The way they perform input, processing, output,
storage and control activities
1-44
Management Concerns
• Rankings
1. IT and business alignment
2. IT strategic planning
3. Security and privacy
4. Retaining IT professionals
5. Measuring the value of IT investment
6. Measuring the performance of IT
7. Creating an information architecture
8. Complexity reductions
9. Speed and agility
10.IT governance
Management Concerns
• Rankings
11.BPR
12.Introducing rapid business solutions
13.Evolving CIO leadership role
14.IT asset management
15.Managing outsourcing readership
16.Leveraging the legacy investment
17.…
18.Globalization
19.Offshore outsourcing
20.Societal implication of IT