1. Chapter 15: Information Management Systems
© 2008 Thomson/South-Western All rights reserved.

2. Learning Objectives
After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Describe the seven characteristics of useful information
Describe the three functions of an effective information system (IS)
Describe the five guidelines for establishing an information system (IS)
Describe the basic functions of a computerized information system (CIS)
Describe the two basic data-processing modes

3. Learning Objectives (Cont.)
After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Discuss the various methods used for linking computer systems
Explain the purposes of decision support systems (DSSs)
Discuss the four challenges that must be met by managers of an information system

4. Information Management Systems
Technology
Manual and electronic means for creating and handling intellectual capital and facilitating organizational communication
Information
System
An organizational subsystem enabling an organization to share intellectual capital and create and maintain a working environment in which employees can exploit it

5. Information and the Manager
Data
Unprocessed facts and figures
Information
Data that have been deliberately selected, processed, and organized to be useful to an individual manager
Digital Data
Data expressed as a string of 0’s and 1’s and transmitted or stored with electronic technology,
usually computers and the Internet

6. Figure 15.1 Characteristics of useful information
Understandable
Reliable
Relevant
Complete
Concise
Timely
Cost-effective

7. Management Information Systems2
Management Information
System (MIS)
A subsystem within an organization’s IS designed to serve the specific information needs of all decision makers
A formal collection of processes that provides managers with quality information to allow them to make decisions, solve problems, and carry out their functions and operations effectively and efficiently
Functions of an Effective Information System (IS) 1 3
Assist organizations and their members in achieving their objectives 2
Facilitate information access.
Facilitate information flow.

8. Figure 15.2 A simplified MIS for an oil company

9. Guidelines for Developing an Information System (IS)3
Guidelines for establishing an IS
Involve users in the system’s design
Establish clear lines of authority and leadership for the IS personnel
Establish clear procedures for gathering, sorting, interpreting, displaying, storing, and distributing data, and for interacting with the system.
Where technical specialists are used, ensure that both they and the people they support fully understand each specialist’s function and role.
Build an IS and MIS staff of sufficient quantity and with sufficient skills needed to adequately provide services.

10. Computerized Information Systems4
Computerized Information System (CIS)
An MIS built on computer hardware and software to collect and process data and store and disseminate the resulting information
The Basic Function of a CIS
Computer operations
Application maintenance
System programming
Data management
Data entry
Communication management
Application development
End-user computing

11. Evolution of the Computer
1960s
Used by banks to automate check processing
1970s/80s
Used to send and receive purchase orders, invoices, and shipping notifications
1980s
Enabled engineers to work on design specifications, drawings, etc.
1990s
Made electronic commerce affordable. Enabled company communication networks

12. Figure 15.3 The basic function of a CIS4
FUNCTION
DESCRIPTION
Computer Operations
Runs the system; involves starting jobs, mounting the proper input and output volumes, and responding to problem conditions
System Programming
Installs and maintains the operating system and associated system software
Data Entry
Enters data in machine-readable form
Application Program Development
Writes new application systems
Application Program Maintenance
Corrects and updates existing application systems
Data Management
Assures data security, access, integrity, and usability
Communications Management
Configures and maintains the network
End-User Computing
Helps and educates users
Source: From Managing an Information System by James R. Mensching and Dennis A. Adams, p. 56. © 1991 by Prentice Hall Inc. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ,

13. Computerized Information Systems (cont’d)
Data Center
A unit of a decentralized CIS that operates to serve its unit’s members with their own sets of
hardware, software, and specialists (machine operators and programmers)
End-user Computing
The use of information technology (IT) by people who are not controlled and directed by top management
Office Automation System (OAS)
A collection of technologies to operate offices efficiently
Database
A collection of computerized data arranged for ease and speed of retrieval; sometimes called a data bank

14. Computer Operations Operating System Application Program
An extensive and complex set of instructions that manages the operation of a computer and the application programs that run on it
Application Program
A computer program designed to execute specific sets of tasks such as word processing

15. Transactional Processing Transaction Processing System (TPS)
Data Processing Modes 5
Batch Processing
A computer procedure in which data are collected over time and entered into databases according to prescribed policies and procedures
Transactional Processing
Data are received about a company’s ongoing operations and entered into data banks as each
transaction occurs
Transaction Processing System (TPS)
A computer-based information system of a company’s routine business activities

16. Linking Computer Systems6
Networking
The electronic linking of two or more computers
Protocols:
SMTP
NNTP
Usenet news groups
FTP
File transfer
DNS
Server exchange
World Wide Web
HTML and HTTP

17. Decision Support System
CIS Management Tools 7
Decision Support System
(DSS)
A specialized variant of a CIS; an analytic model that joins a manager’s experience, judgment, and intuition with the computer’s data access, display, and calculation processes; allows managers to interact with linked programs and databases via the keyboard
Expert System
A specialized end-user decision support program that stores the knowledge of a group of authorities for access by nonexperts faced with the need to make topic-related decisions

18. CIS Management Tools (cont’d)7
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The ability of a machine to perform those activities that are normally thought to require intelligence; giving machines the capability to learn, sense, and think for themselves
Knowledge Management (KM)
The merging of a company’s human and technical knowledge assets
Group Decision Support
System (GDSS)
A variant decision support system that allows groups focusing on a problem to interact with one another and to exchange information, data, and ideas

19. Figure 15.4 Knowledge Management at Xerox

20. CIS Management Tools (cont’d)7
Executive Information System (EIS)
A decision support system custom designed to facilitate executive decision making; may
include forecasting, strategic planning, and other elements
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System
A broad-based software system that integrates multiple data sources and ties together the various processes of an enterprise to enable information to flow more smoothly

21. Figure 15.5 Information systems and users

22. Managing Information Systems8
Challenges
Deciding what operations to keep and what to outsource
Evaluating the results of the system’s operations
Enabling employees to use the system
Overcoming resistance to new and different

23. Key Terms application program expert system
artificial intelligence (AI)
batch processing
computerized information system (CIS)
data
data center
database
decision support system (DSS)
digital
end-user computing
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system
executive information system (EIS)
expert system
group decision support system (GDSS)
information
information system (IS)
information technology (IT)
knowledge management (KM)
management information system (MIS)
networking
operating system
transactional processing
transaction processing system (TPS)