Introduction to Information Systems

1
Introduction to Information Systems

• Class 1

2
Data vs. Information

• The eternal question
• Data
• Streams of raw fact representing events
  occurring in organizations or their environments
  before they have been organized and arranged into
  a form suitable for human interpretation
• Information
• Data that have been shaped into a form that is
  meaningful and useful

3
Data Vs. Information
392 Chocolate Chip Cookies 342 Coffee
Powder 341 Red Curry Paste 392 Chocolate Chip
Cookies 391 Keebler Fudge Sticks
Data

• Region Redmond
• Store QFC Store 32
• Item Description Units Sold
• Choc Chip Ck 2397
• YTD Sales
• 6972.78

Information
4
Information? Whats the big deal?

• Globalization
• Transformation of Industrial Economies
• The Changing Organization

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Emergence of Global Economy

• Management and control in a global marketplace
• Competition in global markets
• Global workgroups
• Global delivery systems

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From Industrial to Post-Industrial Societies

• Knowledge- and information-based economies
• Productivity
• New products and services
• Time-based competition
• Shorter product life-cycle
• Turbulent operating environment
• Limited employee knowledge base

7
Transformation of the Organization

• Flattening
• Decentralization
• Flexibility
• Location independence
• Low transaction and coordination costs
• Empowerment
• Collaborative work and team activities

8
So, what is an Information System, anyway?
9
What is a System?
10
A System
Competitors
Customers
Process
Output
Input
feedback
Suppliers
Government
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What is an Information System?

• a set of interrelated components that
• collect (or retrieve)
• process
• store
• distribute
• information in order to support
• decision making
• coordination and control

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Approaches to Information Systems
Technical Approaches
Computer Science
Operations Research
Management Science
Information Systems
Sociology
Psychology
Economics
Behavioral Approaches
13
Information Systems and the Organization

• Flattening organizations
• Separating work from location
• Reorganizing workflows
• Increased flexibility
• Changing management process
• Redefining organizational boundaries

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Information Architecture

• Levels within a firm
• Functional Areas
• Types of Systems
• Foundation of technology

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Levels within an Organization

• Operational
• Knowledge
• Management
• Strategic

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Functional Areas

• Finance
• Accounting
• Production
• Marketing
• Human Resources
• Public Relations

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strategic
Information Architecture
management
knowledge
oper
Finance
Marketing
Production
Personnel
Acctg
Hardware
Software
Data and Storage
Networks
IT Infrastructure
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Challenges Facing Managers

• The Strategic Business Challenge
• The Globalization Challenge
• The Architecture and Infrastructure Challenge
• The Investment Challenge
• The Responsibility and Control Challenge

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Senior management
Group Served
strategic
Kind of IS
Middle management
management
Knowledge and data workers
knowledge
Operational managers
oper
Finance
Marketing
Production
Personnel
Acctg
Functional Area
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Level of the System

• Operational-level systems
• Keep track of elementary activities and
  transactions
• Sales, receipts, payroll, etc.
• Purpose is to answer routine questions and track
  flow of transactions
• Knowledge-level systems
• Integrate new knowledge into the business
• Control flow of paperwork

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Level of the System

• Management-level systems
• Keep track of monitoring, controlling decision
  making, and administrative work of middle
  management
• Periodic reports
• Some may be used for non-routine decisions
• What-if analysis
• Typically draws information from operational
  systems
• Strategic-level systems
• Assist senior management in making long-term
  decisions
• Typically non-routine, unstructured decision
  making activities

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Types of Information Systems

• Executive Support Systems (ESS)
• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• Knowledge Work Systems (KWS)
• Office Automation Systems (OAS)
• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)

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Types of Systems

• Transaction Processing Systems
• serves operational needs
• performs/records daily and routine transactions
• span boundary of organization and environment
• major supplier of information to other IS
• examples
• airline reservation system
• payroll system
• plant scheduling

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Types of Systems (contd.)

• Knowledge Work Systems
• KWs are those whose job involves creating new
  information and knowledge (doctors, scientists,
  engineers, etc.)
• Use specialized systems such as workstations
• Office Automation Systems
• used to process information
• eg. document management, scheduling, communication

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Types of Systems (contd.)

• Management Information Systems
• serves activities of planning, controlling and
  decision-making at the management level
• usually take form of performance reports (such as
  exception or summary reports)
• limited analytical ability
• often (mistakenly) equated with IS

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Types of Systems (contd.)

• Decision Support Systems
• focussed on a specific type of problem
• more analytical ability than an MIS
• more interactive
• eg lease or buy in face of volatile interest
  rates
• Executive Support Systems
• used by senior management
• used for unstructured problems
• heavy graphics base

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Information System Integration
Strategic Level
ESS
Management Level
Management Level
MIS
DSS
KWS OAS
TPS
Knowledge Level
Operational Level
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Next Class

• Telecommunications