l Management Information Systems & The MIS Challenge l Factors Shaping Business Today l The Role of IT in the Information Age l Information as a New Business Resource l Your Role as a Knowledge Worker Chapter 1 Introduction THE INFORMATION AGE IN WHICH YOU LIVE Changing the Face of Business

We Are in the Information Age. A Time When... l Knowledge is power l Knowledge workers outnumber all other workers by a 4 to 1 margin Introduction A KNOWLEDGE WORKER works with and produces information as a product. As a knowledge worker, how do you work with and produce information?

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)... deals with the planning for, development, management, and use of information technology tools to help people perform all tasks related to information processing and management. Three Important Organizational Resources: 1. Information 2. Information technology 3. People (the most important).

WHAT DO BUSINESSES DO? They service their customers. Never forget the customer is number one. 3 Parts to the The MIS Challenge

CUSTOMER MOMENT OF VALUE is providing service... 1.When the customer wants it (time) Continental..the world on time. 2.Where the customer wants it (location) Ford in Asia 3.How the customer wants it (form), and Henry Ford - any color you want, as long as you want black. 4.Guaranteed to the customer (perfect delivery)..Fed Ex - guaranteed to be there 3 Parts to the The MIS Challenge

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information technology (IT) is a set of tools that can help provide the right people with the right information at the right time. REMEMBER: What you don’t know may put you out of business. 3 Parts to the The MIS Challenge

FACTORS SHAPING BUSINESS TODAY l Globalization l Competition l Information as a Key Resource l The Virtual Workplace and Telecommuting l Electronic Commerce l Knowledge Worker Computing Factors Shaping Business1-11

GLOBALIZATION l Few businesses today are wholly domestic. l There are 260 million consumers in the U.S. l There are 5 billion consumers world-wide. Factors Shaping Business A TRANSNATIONAL FIRM is a firm that produces and sells products and services in countries all over the world.

COMPETITION l It’s everywhere. l Globalization has increased competition. l IT helps small firms compete against larger ones. l Competition is good for consumers. Factors Shaping Business

INFORMATION AS A KEY RESOURCE l We are in the information age. l Knowledge is power. l You must know your competition. l You must know your customers. l We operate in a wants-driven economy. So, you have to know what people want. Factors Shaping Business

VIRTUAL WORKPLACE Factors Shaping Business Among the various ways to restructure, many organizations are choosing to create a virtual workplace and/or have their employees telecommute. l VIRTUAL WORKPLACE - a technology-enabled workplace. No walls or boundaries. Work anytime, anyplace, linked to other people and information. l TELECOMMUTING - the use of communications technology to work in a place other than a central location. A person who works via telecommuting is called a TELECOMMUTER.

SOME TELECOMMUTING STATISTICS l Over 15 million people in the U.S. telecommute. l That number is expected to grow by 20% for several years. l Every industry is planning to increase their use of telecommuting (Figure 1.5 page 15). Factors Shaping Business Would you rather telecommute or drive through traffic everyday to work?

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Factors Shaping Business A modern methodology that addresses the use of information technology as an essential enabler of business. EXTERNAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE - the use of IT to support how a business interacts with the marketplace. INTERNAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE - the use of IT to support internal processes, functions, and operations.

Electronic Commerce Includes: l Transactions over the Internet. l Transactions through electronic data interchange (EDI). l Gathering customer and competitor information (competitive intelligence). l Distributing information electronically. Factors Shaping Business

KNOWLEDGE WORKER COMPUTING Factors Shaping Business Places technology, technology power, software, information, and technology knowledge in the hands of those who need it - knowledge workers. Technology knowledge is most important. To participate in knowledge worker computing, you must learn how to use technology.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ITS ROLE IN THE INFORMATION AGE Information Technology INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support information-processing needs of an organization. Businesses Use Information Technology in 3 Ways: 1. To support information-processing tasks. 2. As an enabler of innovation - thinking outside of the box. 3. As a collapser of time and space. (Efficiency)

TO SUPPORT INFORMATION- PROCESSING TASKS 1. CAPTURING information - at its point of origin. 2. CONVEYING information - in its most useful form. 3. CREATING information - to obtain new information. 4. CRADLING information - for use at a later time. 5. COMMUNICATING information - to other people or another location. Information Technology

AS A COLLAPSER OF TIME AND SPACE l A typical CD-ROM can hold 650 million characters of information. That’s: –325,000 pages of text, or – sheet reams of paper. l In early 1997, the typical home computer was capable of performing 130 million instructions per second. How fast are they today? Information Technology1-25

INFORMATION AS A NEW BUSINESS RESOURCE Information Information is a key resource in The MIS Challenge. But what is information? DATA - are any raw facts or observations that describe a particular phenomenon. INFORMATION - is simply data that has a particular meaning within a specific context. 1-26

DIMENSIONS OF INFORMATION - DEFINING VALUE l TIME DIMENSION - Current, available l CONTENT DIMENSION - Accurate, relevant l FORM DIMENSION - Level of detail Information You can determine the value of information by evaluating its dimensions. 1-27

YOUR ROLE AS A KNOWLEDGE WORKER l The true nature of information (its dimensions). l How to be an information-literate knowledge worker. l Your ethical responsibilities of working with information. Knowledge Workers To be successful today as a knowledge worker, you need to understand:

INFORMATION-LITERATE KNOWLEDGE WORKER 1. can define what information is needed 2. knows how and where to obtain information 3. understands the meaning of information 4. can act appropriately on information to achieve the greatest advantage. Knowledge Workers In all instances, he or she uses information according to legal and ethical constructs. 1-30

As a Knowledge Worker, You Have 5 Charges 1.Define what information you need. 2.Know how and where to obtain information. 3.Understand the meaning of information. 4.Act appropriately based on information. 5.Use information adhering to both legal and ethical constructs. Knowledge Workers1-31

l Ethics are often different from laws. l Laws require or prohibit some action on your part. l Ethics are more of a matter of personal interpretation. l What may be ethical to one person is not necessarily to another. l As an information-literate knowledge worker, your actions with respect to using information should always be both legal and ethical. Knowledge Workers