BUS1MIS Management Information Systems Semester 1, 2012 Week 2 Lecture 1

Examples of IS and IT in Business A movie called Opportunities for Knowledge Workers will be displayed. This movie contains some great examples of companies that have used IT and IS to gain a competitive advantage. You can access the movie through the web site that accompanies your textbook ( If you have purchased a new textbook, check inside the cover of the textbook for instructions on how to access the web site. If you have purchased a second hand textbook you can pay to access the web site by contacting Customer Service Australia - phone (Toll free in Australia): or

How does Business Operate? Learning Objectives Identify the three common business types. List the seven departments commonly found in most business organisations. Explain a business process model. Describe the typical documentation used by a business. Before we can begin to understand MIS and how they can enhance the performance of a business, we must understand how business operates.

How does Business Operate? It is important to remember that the objective of any business is to maximise profit. i.e. maximise the difference between income and costs

How does Business Operate? How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? You could look at what type of business it is: Sole trader Partnership Company Size and complexity

How does Business Operate? Sole trader Owned by a single person who is responsible for all the profits and losses of the business For example - one person plumbing business

How does Business Operate? Partnership There is more than one owner. Each partner is responsible for profits and losses. A partnership agreement is a legal document that outlines the business issues e.g. contribution (capital) of each partner how the profits and losses are to be shared how the partnership is to be dissolved For example - corner shop run by 2 families

How does Business Operate? Company `legal entity’ business owners (shareholders)..with limited liability board of directors CEO Managers/departments/employees For example – Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

How does Business Operate? How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? You could look at how it is organised The Business Accounting Finance Human resources SalesMarketing Operations/production Management Information Systems See Appendix A “Business Basics” for a description of each

How does Business Operate? The Management Information Systems (MIS) department collects and stores: internal data from the accounting, operations, human resources and sales/marketing departments and processes the data for output, as well as external data such as industry analysis/trends, competitor analysis, etc., to support business processes and operations, and decision making.

How does Business Operate? How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example … 1.identify the business processes A business process is a set of standardised activities that accomplish a particular business task … processing a customer order … customer checkout process in a supermarket A business process transforms a set of inputs into a set of outputs (goods or services) by using people and tools … developing a new product

How does Business Operate? 2.identify the business transactions and the data associated with them A transaction is an exchange or transfer of goods, services, or funds that involves two or more people or entities. Documents will record the data associated with a transaction. How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example …

How does Business Operate? 3.Construct a process model How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example …

How does Business Operate?

customers suppliers tax office advertising agency orders manufactured goods invoices/statements purchase orders raw materials/parts product details invoices payments payroll tax tax return 4.Model the data flows How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example …

How does Business Operate? A typical supply chain 5.Study the supply chain How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example …

How does Business Operate? 6.Study the documents How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example … Customer Order Customer to Business

How does Business Operate? 6.Study the documents How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example … Purchase Order Business to Supplier

How does Business Operate? 6.Study the documents How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example … Invoice Supplier to Business Business to Customer

How does Business Operate? 6.Study the documents How might we view a business in order to understand what it does? We could look at how it operates, for example … Picking/Packing Slip Accompanies transport of products