1. Information Systems Defined
Chapter 2
Information Systems Defined
Basic definitions and foundational Information Systems concepts
© Akhilesh Bajaj, 2013

2. IPad Menus at McDonald’s
Customers order at table and pick up order after it is made.
They can surf the Internet, and read the news right from the table
Good idea? Bad idea?
-Customers will stay longer, they may mess up orders, most customers
already have a device to browse web and only need a wi-fi connection,
Maybe an app to order food may be better?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

3. IS versus IT
Businesses need information and use the technology of the day to store and retrieve it. E.g. centuries old businesses like wineries.
People tapping into a system like Facebook: not an IS. Our book calls it an informal IS.
IS involves: IT, people, process and structure.
IT: H/w, s/w. S/w features, h/w features may support certain capabilities. Spreadsheets versus databases.
© Akhilesh Bajaj

4. Component #2: Process
The series of steps necessary to complete a business activity
Examples: Order in a store
Does the same process always involve the same steps, in the same sequence?
How can IT support processes?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

5. Informal versus formal activities
Business Process
Informal Process
check the inventory and identify the needed items
call individual suppliers for quotes and delivery dates
compare the various quotes
select one or more suppliers for each of the needed items based on the terms of the agreement
call these suppliers and place the orders
receive the goods upon delivery, checking the accuracy and quality of the shipped items
pay the suppliers.
Restocking the inventory
What the book calls informal business process, is also called Workflow Title
What the book formal business process, is also called Activities in workflow
© Akhilesh Bajaj

6. Component #3: People
Those individuals or groups directly involved in the information system
End-users
Managers
IT professionals
Addressing their needs and goals are critical for success of your IS
What is the root cause of failure of an IS?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

7. Component #4: Structure
The organizational design
Hierarchy, decentralized, loose coupling
The reporting configuration
Functional, divisional, matrix
The organizational relationships
Communication and reward mechanisms
Organizational Culture
E.g., Sales Force Automation system in an old fashioned sales organization.
Knowledge management system with no incentives for knowledge sharing
© Akhilesh Bajaj

8. Why build an IS? Store and retrieve data
Visibility and availability of information to all roles
Reduced data redundancy and other efficiencies
Data versus Information versus Knowledge
© Akhilesh Bajaj

9. Information Systems Success
How do we measure the success of an IS?
Technical?
Business?
End-user satisfaction?
Other stakeholders satisfaction?
Cost/benefit analysis?
Strategic value?
Positive - including employees’ empowerment and the widening scope of their responsibility
Negative - including deskilling (i.e., the reduction of the scope of an individual's work to one, or a few, specialized tasks), loss of responsibility, and the creation of a monotonous working environment.
© Akhilesh Bajaj

10. IS Success is often Elusive
© Gabriele Piccoli

11. Same IS does not fit All Different strategies: Microsoft versus Apple
Different Culture: Microsoft versus Apple
Facebook versus Google?
Different Infrastructure: Google versus Microsoft versus Apple
Examples of same IS working in one company but failing in another? Sales Force Automation example in chapter 1?
© Akhilesh Bajaj

12. Bringing it all Together: Information Systems in Context
Different labor laws, taxes
© Gabriele Piccoli

13. Automate, Informate, transform
Automate: Process and Technology are affected. Tasks are automated.
Interface is changed.
Informate: People are affected. Roles may change.
E.g., customers can place orders on their own now,
manage their own information in the system. Check in-kiosks at check-in gates.
Self-serve at grocery stores.
Transform: The organization changes at the strategic level down.
The industry may be transformed. A new business model is created.
E.g., Amazon and books. iTunes and music. Wikipedia and reference information.
Angie’s list and referrals. Craig’s list and online classifieds.
© Gabriele Piccoli

14. Culture & IS
Culture: the unwritten rules of the social game that are shared by the members of some group
National Culture
Organizational Culture
© Gabriele Piccoli

15. National Culture
Collectivism: feeling interdependent & bound to role by rules of position, loyalty and relatedness.
Hierarchy: the degree to which subordinate people accept their position as natural
Aggression: the corresponding dimension is called Masculinity versus Femininity.
Otherness: Anxiety in the face of the unknown
China & Anglo countries are uncertainty tolerant, latin & slav countries are uncertainty avoiding.
Context: Short (African) - versus Long-term (Asian) Orientation.
Happiness: Indulgence (Central America, Anglo countries) versus Restraint (SE Asia)
Firm culture may be a reflection of the national culture. The IS should be designed keeping these questions in mind: “who decides what?”
And “what is the decision making process?”
© Gabriele Piccoli

16. China Britain tie-up Case
Chinese workers like fixed contracts, security, valued guanxi (relationships).
British workers liked planning, capturing data, cash when promised. They loved their ERP system.
What’s the solution?
© Akhilesh Bajaj