Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Part 5 Managing Technology and information

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 15 Using Technology to Manage Information

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter Objectives 1.Distinguish between data and information. 2.Explain the role of management information systems in business. 3.Identify and briefly describe the different types of information system programs. 4.Describe the hardware and software used in managing information. 5.Identify how different types of software can help businesspeople. 6.Explain the importance of special network technologies. 7.List the ways that companies can protect themselves from computer crimes. 8.Explain the steps that companies go through in anticipating, planning for, and recovering from information system disasters.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Management Information System (MIS)— organized method for providing past, present, and projected information on internal operations as well as external intelligence to support decision making. Chief Information Officer (CIO)—executive responsible for directing the firm’s MIS and related computer operations.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Increasing Speed of Technology Acceptance

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Databases Database—centralized integrated collection of data resources.  Can contribute to information overload— too much data for people to absorb, or data that are not relevant to decision making

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Information Overload

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Information Systems for Decision Making Challenge has shifted from acquiring data to sorting through it to find the most useful elements

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Information Systems for Decision Making Decision Support System (DSS)— information system that quickly provides relevant data to help businesspeople make decision and choose courses of action Executive Information System—system that allows top managers to access a firm’s primary databases. Expert system—computer program that imitates human thinking through complicated sets of “if... then” rules

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Trends in Information Systems Local Area Networks and Wide Area Networks  Local area networks (LANs)—computer networks that connect machines within limited areas, such as one building or several buildings near each other  Wide area networks (WANs)—tie larger geographic regions together by using telephone lines and microwave and satellite transmission

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Trends in Information Systems Wireless Local Networks  Wi-Fi—wireless network that connects various devices and allows them to communicate with one another through radio waves; short for wireless fidelity.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Trends in Information Systems Enterprise resource planning (ERP)— information system that collects, processes, and provides information about an organization's various functions. Application service provider—specialist in providing both the computers and the application support for managing information systems of business clients.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Management Information Systems Trends in Information Systems Application service provider—specialist in providing both the computers and the application support for managing information systems of business clients.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Costs of Outsourcing Information Systems

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software A few decades ago, computers were considered exotic curiosities, used only by scientists and the military Today, they are indispensable—not only to businesses but to households as well

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software Types of Computer Hardware Hardware—the tangible elements of a computer system—the input devices, the machines that store and process data and perform required calculations, and output devices that present the results to information users

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Types of Computers

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software Types of Computer Hardware Mainframe—largest type of computer system with the most extensive storage capacity and the fastest processing speeds Supercomputers—especially powerful mainframes Minicomputer—more compact and less expensive than a mainframe, but also slower and with less memory

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software Types of Computer Hardware Personal computers (PCs) —have earned increasing popularity due to their ever- expanding capabilities to handle many of the functions that cumbersome mainframes performed only a few decades ago Notebook—computer that is small enough to slip into a briefcase, yet more powerful than many desktop computers that are two or three years old Tablet PC—a notebook computer with a detachable screen you can write on.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software Types of Computer Hardware Handheld devices—Even smaller than notebook computers—fit in a shirt pocket and run on ordinary AA batteries  Can run common applications like word processing and database software  Some can link up through wireless modems to stationary systems as well as the Internet

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Computer Hardware and Software Types of Computer Software Software—sets of instructions that tell the computer hardware what to do Operating system—software that controls the basic workings of a computer system Applications Software—program that performs the specific tasks that the user wants to carry out—like writing a letter or looking up data

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Affects contemporary business in three primary ways: Improve the speed and effectiveness of decision making Make accurate, unbiased data available to all interested parties Support team decision making at low levels of an organization’s hierarchy

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Integrated software (software suites): combine several applications into a single package that can share modules for data handling and processing Example: Microsoft’s Office software suite

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Word Processing—software that uses a computer to input, store, retrieve, edit, and print various types of documents. Desktop Publishing—employs computer technology to allow users to design and produce attractively formatted printed material

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Spreadsheet—software package that creates the computerized equivalent of an accountant’s worksheet, allowing the user to manipulate variables and see the impact of alternative decision on operating results.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How a Spreadsheet Works

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Electronic Mail Direct computerized communications with company colleagues as well as customers, suppliers, and others outside their organization Presentation Graphics Presentation software— a program that includes graphics and tools for manipulating them to create a variety of charts, graphs, and pictures

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Examples of Visuals Grated with Presentation Software

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Multimedia and Interactive Media Multimedia computing—technologies that integrate two or more types of media, such as text, voice, sound, video, graphics, and animation into computer-based applications.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Groupware—software that combines information sharing through a common database with communication via so that employees can collaborate on projects.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Intranets, Virtual Private Networks, and Broadband Technology Intranets—company network that links an organization’s employees via Internet tools using Web Browsers.  Firewall—software that blocks outsiders without valid passwords from entering a network

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved How Computers Help Business Intranets, Virtual Private Networks, and Broadband Technology Virtual Private Networks —secure connections between two points on the Internet—use firewalls and programs that encapsulate data to make them more secure during transit Broadband technology—digital, fiber- optic, and wireless network technology that compresses data and transmits them at blinding speeds.

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Types of Broadband Technologies

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Protecting Information Systems Computer Crime Common computer crimes involve stealing or altering data in several ways: Changing or inventing data to produce inaccurate or misleading information Changing computer programs to create false information or illegal transactions, or to insert viruses Unauthorized people accessing computer systems for their own illicit benefit or knowledge, or just to see if they can get in

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Protecting Information Systems Computer Crime Encryption software—prevents system users from reading sensitive information, by encoding or scrambling, messages

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved Protecting Information Systems Computer Viruses Programs that secretly attaches itself to other computer programs or files and changes them or destroys data. Disaster Recovery and Backup Disaster recovery planning—deciding how to prevent system failures and continue operations if computer systems fail