1. Information Systems Management
Chapter 11
Information Systems Management
© 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall, Experiencing MIS, David Kroenke

2. This Could Happen to You
Dee wants to restrict access to blog
Easiest way is to put it on Emerson’s server
Needed permission and help of IT department
Used manager to force submission
Exposed Emerson to enormous security risk
Consultant could have misused system
Dee didn’t understand the problems
Different approach could have elicited more supportive response
Interact in a more effective way

3. Study Questions Why do you need to know about the IT department?
What are the responsibilities of the IT department?
How is the IT department organized?
What IS-related job positions exist?
How do organizations decide how much to spend on IT?
What are your rights and responsibilities?
How does knowledge from this chapter help you at Emerson or DSI?

4. Why Do You Need to Know about the IT Department?
Need to understand the responsibilities and duties of the IT department
More effective consumer
Obtain services, equipment, and systems needed
Need to know about functions of IT department to be IS-savvy
Better understand how to integrate disparate companies or offices
Can raise IT issues early in merger or acquisition
Better understand needs of IT department in supporting new initiatives

5. What Are the Responsibilities of the IT Department?
Plan for information systems and IT infrastructure
Develop and adapt information systems and IT infrastructure
Maintain information systems and operate and maintain IT infrastructure
Protect infrastructure and data

6. Plan for Information Systems
Further organization’s competitive strategy
Align activities with primary goals and objectives of organization
Adapt infrastructure and systems to new goals
Assess new technologies to determine possible applications
Agile enterprise
Organizations that can adapt quickly to changes in external factors

7. Develop and Adapt Information Systems
IT department must create, develop, and adapt information systems
Create and adapt infrastructure
Computer networks, servers, data centers, data warehouses, data marts
Create systems infrastructures
, VPN, instant messaging, blogs, net meetings
Specify standard computer systems

8. Maintain Information Systems and Infrastructures
Operate and maintain infrastructure
Networks and servers must be monitored, tuned, and repaired
System outages are expensive
Respond to threats to infrastructure

9. Protect Infrastructure and Data from Threats
Threats to infrastructure and data from:
Human error and mistakes
Malicious human activity
Natural events and disasters
IT department helps organizations manage risk
Identify potential threats
Estimate financial and other risks
Specify safeguards
Determine which level of risk to assume

10. How Is the IT Department Organized?
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Principal manager
Reports to CEO, COO, or CFO
Technology office
Head: Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Investigates new information systems technologies for possible application at organization
Operations
Manages computing infrastructure

11. How Is the IT Department Organized?, continued
Development
Manages process of creating new information systems
Maintains existing system
Outsourcing relations
Handles affairs with outsourced systems
Data administration staff functions
Establishes data standards and data management practices and policies

12. What IS-Related Job Positions Exist?
Systems analyst
Programmer
PQA test engineer
Technical writer
User support representative
Computer technician
Network administrator
Consultant
Sales
Small-scale project manager
Large-scale project manager
Database administrator
CIO
CTO

13. Position Requirements
Most positions require business knowledge
Many require university degrees
Most require good verbal and writing skills
Think dual majors with IS!
Accounting
Marketing
Management

14. Guide: Jumping Aboard the Bulldozer
Recent media reports blame overseas outsourcing on US job loss
Real culprit is increased productivity because of information technology
Creative destruction
Unneeded jobs removed
No new hiring
Be a business professional
Use technology and information systems to help the organization
Define yourself more generally

15. How Do Organizations Decide How Much to Spend on IT?
Analyze costs and benefits of system
Estimate dollar costs
Value tangible benefits
Lifetime value of customers lost by not having support system
Anticipated customer support cost savings
Value intangible benefits
Value of system
Compute costs and tangible benefits to see if project is justified
If not, then compute intangibles

16. What Are Your Rights? Rights include:
Having resources to perform work proficiently
Having reliable network and Internet services
Secure computing environment
Participating in requirements meeting for applications
Reliable systems development and maintenance
Prompt attention to problems, concerns and complaints
Effective training

17. What Are Your Responsibilities?
Responsibilities include:
Learning basic computer skills and techniques
Following security and backup procedures
Using computer resources in a manner consistent with employer’s policies
Making no unauthorized hardware modifications
Installing only authorized programs
Installing computer patches and fixes
Treating informational systems workers professionally

18. Ethics Guide: Using the Corporate Computer
Computers, , and the Internet are to be used primarily for official company business. Small amounts of personal can be exchanged with friends and family, and occasional usage of the Internet is permitted, but such usage should be limited and never interfere with your work
You are a manager at a company with the above policy. You find out that an employee has been:
Playing computer games during work hours
Playing computer games before and after work
Responding to s from an ill parent
Watching DVDs during lunch and breaks
Sending s to plan a party that mostly involves people from work

19. Ethics Guide: Using the Corporate Computer, continued
Sending s to plan a party that mostly involves no one from work
Searching the Web for a new car
Reading the news on CNN.com
Checking the stock market over the Internet
Bidding on items for personal use on eBay
Selling personal items on eBay
Paying personal bills online
Paying personal bills online when traveling on company business
Buying an airplane ticket for an ill parent over the Internet
Changing the content of a personal Web site
Changing the content of a personal business Web site
Buying an airplane ticket for a personal vacation over the Internet

20. How Does Knowledge from This Chapter Help You at Emerson or DSI?
How does this knowledge help you at Emerson:
Understand the need to protect network infrastructure
Suggest alternatives
Hire bonded consultant
Puzzling situation at DSI:
Sole IT person can not perform all jobs
Users are performing some of the work
Some jobs are not getting done
No one seems to be thinking strategically about IS

21. Active Review Why do you need to know about the IT department?
What are the responsibilities of the IT department?
How is the IT department organized?
What IS-related job positions exist?
How do organizations decide how much to spend on IT?
What are your rights and responsibilities?
How does knowledge from this chapter help you at Emerson or DSI?