Seminars in IT for Businesses Introduction By Dr Sadaf Sajjad

Dr. Sadaf Sajjad Ph.D. (HCI) Computer Science, Faculty of Computing, UTM, Malaysia. M.E Dept of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, MIT, Japan. M.Sc and Advanced Diploma in Clinical Psychology from Pakistan.

Relevant Experience to this course Project Director (3D GIT lab) Funded ICT R&D project Company CEO (PSYTAG private limited) Invited Talks Commission for Thematic research in ICT, Turkey (May 2012) Department of Computer Science, Germany Paderborn University (November 2012)

Frontier of Information Technology, Pakistan (December 2012) Commission for Thematic Research in ICT, Ghana (May 2013) Invited talk on making business Plan for 3D GIT game (1 -15 June –2013) -MIT Boston, USA -Silicon Valley, USA -Washington DC (embassy of Pakistan), USA -US State department, USA -US Commerce Department, USA

Purpose of this course To introduce and discuss the emerging technologies used today in the boundary-less business worldwide.

Course Outline Social Aspects of technical use Technical aspect of Information technologies in organizational settings. The way in which organizations collect, process and exchange information. Technologies used to handle information's in organizations Technological and Societal factors that affect Information Processing goals.

Meaning of Seminars, business in IT Seminar refers to a course or subject of study for advanced graduate students. It is relatively informal as compared to the lecture systems but it do contains the academic information. Business An organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money.

Business----cont Every form of business requires  some form of investment  Enough customers to whom its output can be sold on a consistent basis in order to make a profit. Businesses can be privately owned, or state owned. Example may be Pepsi CO or MOM private catering enterprises.

The Evolution of the Information Age Agricultural Age: The period up to the 1800s, when the majority of workers were farmers whose lives revolved around agriculture. Industrial Age: The period from the 1800s to 1957, when work processes were simplified through mechanization and automation. l

The Evolution of the Information Age (Continued) Information Age: The period that began in 1957, in which the majority of workers are involved in the creation, distribution, and application of information. – Knowledge Workers: Workers involved in the creation, distribution, and application of information.

The Evolution of the Information Age (Continued)

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued) An information-based society has arisen. – Information Society: A society in which more people work at handling information than at agriculture and manufacturing combined. Businesses depend on information technology to get their work done.

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued) Work processes are being transformed to increase productivity. – Work Processes: The combination of activities that workers perform, the way they perform those activities, and the tools they use. – Productivity: The relationship between the results of an activity (output) and the resources used to create those results (inputs). – Effectiveness: The extent to which desirable results are achieved.

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued) Information technology provides the means to rethink/recreate/reengineer conventional business processes. – Reengineering: The reshaping of business processes to remove barriers that prohibit an organization from providing better products and services and to help the organization capitalize on its strengths. – Business Processes: Collections of activities, often spanning several departments, that take one or more kinds of input and create a result that is of value to a company’s customers.

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued)

The Characteristics of the Information Age Success in business is largely determined by the effectiveness with which information technology is used. Information technology is embedded in many products and services.

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued) Reengineering efforts to attain greater productivity: – Industrial Age - Division of Labor: Separation of work process into component task, with different workers specializing in each of the tasks. – Information Age – Teamwork, Interconnection, and Shared Information.

The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued)

Information Technology IT is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business and other enterprise.

What is Information Technology? continued A term used to refer to a wide variety of items and abilities used in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information. Its three main components are computers, communications networks, and know-how.

What is Information Technology? Definition (Continued) Data: Raw facts, figures, and details. Information: An organized, meaningful, and useful interpretation of data. Knowledge: An awareness and understanding of a set of information and how that information can be put to the best use.

What is Information Technology? Definition (Continued)

What is Information Technology? Computers An electronic system that can be instructed to accept, process, store, and present data and information. Computers come in four sizes: – Microcomputers – Midrange computers – Mainframes – Supercomputers

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) Microcomputers: A relatively compact type of computer, the most common of all, easily outsells all other types of computers annually for use in business and at home. Five types of Microcomputers: – Desktop Computers – Notebook Computers/Laptop Computers – Tablet PCs – Personal Digital Assistants – Palm PCs

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) Midrange computers and Mainframes: A computer uses to interconnect people and large sets of information. More powerful than a microcomputer, the minicomputer is usually dedicated to performing specific functions. Supercomputers: The most powerful of all computers, supercomputers were designed to solve problems consisting of long and difficult calculations

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) Hardware: The computer and its associated equipment. Program: A set of instructions that directs a computer to perform certain tasks and produce certain results. Software: The general term for a set of instructions that controls a computer or a communications network.

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) System: A set of components that interact to accomplish a purpose. Information System: A business information system designed to produce the information needed for successful management of a structured problem, process, department, or business.

What is Information Technology? Computers (Computers)

What is Information Technology? Communications Networks Communication: The sending and receiving of data and information over a communications network. Communications Network: A set of locations, or nodes, consisting of hardware, programs, and information linked together as a system that transmits and receives data and information. Data Communication: The transmission of data and information through a communications medium.

What is Information Technology? Know-How The capability to do something well. Information technology know-how consists of: – Familiarity with the tools of IT; including the Internet – Possession of the skills needed to use these toolsAn understanding of when to use IT to solve a problem or create an opportunity

The Principles of Information Technology The Functions of Information Technology

The Principles of Information Technology The Functions of Information Technology (Continued) Capture: The process of compiling detailed records of activities. Processing: The process of converting, analyzing, computing, and synthesizing all forms of data or information. – Data Processing – Information Processing – Word Processing – Image Processing – Voice Processing

The Principles of Information Technology The Functions of Information Technology (Continued) Generation: The process of organizing information into a useful form, whether as numbers, text, sound, or visual image. Storage and Retrieval: Storage is the computer process of retaining information for future use. Retrieval is the process by which a computer locates and copies stored data or information for further processing or for transmission to another user.

The Principles of Information Technology The Functions of Information Technology (Continued) Transmission: The computer process of distributing information over a communications network. – Electronic Mail, or – Voice Messaging, or Voice Mail

The Principles of Information Technology The Benefits of Information Technology

The Principles of Information Technology The Opportunities of Information Technology Helping People Solving Problems – Problem: A perceived difference between an existing condition and a desired condition. – Problem Solving: The process of recognizing a problem, identifying alternatives for solving it, and successfully implementing the chosen solution.

The Principles of Information Technology Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives Television Education Training Entertainment Shipping

The Principles of Information Technology Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives (Continued) Paperwork Money and Investments Agriculture Taxation and Accounting Health and Medicine

The Principles of Information Technology Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives (Continued) Manufacturing Journalism Energy Sports

The Principles of Information Technology The Responsibilities of Using Information Technology To be Informed To Make Proper Use of IT To Safeguard

Impacts of IT Does IT have only positive effects? Ethical issues Organizations Individuals Society

Ethical Issues Framework Protecting privacy Electronic surveillance Personal information in databases Information on bulletin boards

Ethical Issues Transfer of data across borders Privacy codes Privacy policy - a sample Protecting intellectual property Internal aspects

Ethics Framework Privacy Accuracy Property Accessibility

Impacts on Organizations Structure, Authority, Power, and Job Content Flatter organizational hierarchies Staff-to-line ratio Centralization of authority Power and status Job content

Impacts on Organizations Structure, Authority, Power, and Job Content Role ambiguity and conflict Personnel issues Employee career ladders Changes in supervision Manager’s job

Impacts on Individuals at Work Job satisfaction Dehumanization and psychological Health and safety – Job stress – Repetitive strain injuries Lessening the impact on health and safety

Societal Impacts and the Internet Community Opportunities for people with disabilities Quality of life improvements Quality of life Crime fighting The internet electronic community

The Internet Electronic Community Communities of transaction Communities of interest Communities of relations Communities of fantasy

Information Technology and the Employment Level Arguments that support massive unemployment Arguments contradicting massive unemployment 7-51

Telecommuting Advantages Increased productivity – Decrease absenteeism Decreased office costs Decrease pollution Decreased traffic

Telecommuting Disadvantages Isolation Loss of fringe benefits Lower pay Workplace visibility - slower promotions Lack of socialization

Other Impacts Challenge to free speech versus Internet indecency Social responsibility International implications

Managerial Issues Lawsuits - repetitive strain injuries Different cultures - ethics Privacy Technological development Impact of EC Massive layoffs Telecommuting

Much More to Discuss in upcoming Lectures Thankyou