1. CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Information Systems

2. CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Information Systems
1.1 Why Should I Study Information Systems? 1.2 Overview of Computer-B2ased Information Systems 1.3 How Does IT Impact Organizations? 1.4 Importance of Information Systems to Society
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Begin the process of becoming an informed user of your organization’s information systems.
Define the terms data, information, and knowledge, and give examples of each.
Define the terms information technology, information system, computer-based information system, and application, and give examples of each.
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4. LEARNING OBJECTIVES (continued)
Identify three ways in which you depend on information technology in your daily life.
Discuss three ways in which information technology can impact managers and three ways in which it can impact non-managerial workers.
List three positive and three negative societal effects of the increased use of information technology.
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OPENING CASE
CASE 1.1 Will Blackberry Survive?
THE PROBLEM
In 2012, BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion or RIM) was losing money. The Canadian company laid off thousands of employees in an attempt to reduce costs by as much as $1 billion. After several other wireless products, RIM, founded in 1985, had a highly successful BlackBerry service in BlackBerry is no longer an only player. Instead, we have seen several competitors constantly introduce new smart phones (hardware) and the operating systems and applications that run on them (software). The problem is that the environment for smart phones changed dramatically; how will Blackberry respond to the increased competition?
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Opening Case
The IT Solution
RIM must compete with Apple and Android phones, providing the functionality of the iPhone, while leading in its corporate stronghold. In early 2013, RIM renamed its company BlackBerry and launched new smart phones that focused on its traditional strengths. They were well-built phones with a versatile message centre. The new BlackBerry phones were accompanied by an aggressive marketing campaign, which included marketing to software developers to encourage them to develop more apps for the phone.
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Opening Case
The Results
Media coverage of the 2013 BlackBerry phones was high, with articles about features and reviews comparing the BlackBerry with other phones (such as the Apple iPhone 5) resulting in favourable comments for the BlackBerry. BlackBerry (as a company) is still alive, selling its phones and talking about more new products to come.
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Opening Case
Discussion
Think about the effect of competition in the marketplace. What could Blackberry (RIM) have done earlier to be maintain their market position against competitors who entered the market later?
Can a company rely on one product in order to survive? Why or why not?
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OPENING CASE
What we learned from this case?
The opening case illustrates how rapid changes in information technology can make products obsolete and drive non-responsive businesses to the brink of destruction. It is you, the consumer, who drives this demand.
Case 1.1 is a dramatic example of the far-reaching effects of IT on individuals, organizations, and our planet. In this textbook, there are other examples of the significant impacts of IT on individuals and societies, the global economy, and our physical environment.
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DEFINITIONS
Information technology (IT): relates to any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and to support the information and information-processing needs of an organization.
Information system: (IS): collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific purpose.
The purpose of IS: to get the right information to the right people at the right time in the right amount and in the right format to support business process and decision making.
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E-MEALZ
© Alex/iStockphoto
IT’s about (small) business 1.1
In 2003, Jane created a meal-planning service, E-Mealz (now called eMeals, that she could both use herself and offer to other families.. Jane and a few employees create a weekly meal plan for different-sized families. They then draw up a grocery list with prices from various grocery stores. Customers pay for the service—in January 2013, the cost was $1.25 to $1.75 a week—and they receive their grocery list at the beginning of the week.
The eMeals website promotes her products and convinces customers to sign up for her service. She uses Twitter and Facebook, and visitors can submit their own recipes. Members can sign up for newsletters, and they can manage their accounts to determine which particular plan they will join. The website offers plans for couples and families, and it provides information about a host of nutritional needs, all of which is updated weekly.
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E-MEALZ
Discussion
Provide two examples of how Jane uses information technology to provide her service.
Provide two additional examples of how Jane might use information technology to improve her service. Be specific.
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13. 1.1 WHY SHOULD I STUDY INFORMATION SYSTEMS?
Homo Conexus
You are the most connected generation in history.
You practice continuous computing.
You are surrounded by a personal, movable information network.
Your personal information network is created by constant cooperation between:
the digital devices you carry;
the wired and wireless networks that you access as you move about;
Web-based tools for finding information and communicating and collaborating with other people.
You can pull information from the Web and push your ideas back to the Web.
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THE INFORMED USER – YOU!
An informed user is a person knowledgeable about information systems and information technology
Figure 1.1 IT skills open many doors because IT is so widely used.
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WHY BE AN INFORMED USER?
Reasons why you should be an informed user:
You will benefit more from your organization’s IT applications because you will understand what is “behind” those applications.
You will be in a position to enhance the quality of your organization’s IT applications with your input.
Even as a new graduate, you will quickly be in a position to recommend the IT applications that your organization will use.
Being an informed user will keep you abreast of both new information technologies and rapid developments in existing technologies.
You will understand how using IT can improved your organizations performance and teamwork as well as your own productivity.
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16. BUILD YOUR OWN MULTINATIONAL COMPANY
If you want to run a multinational company, you no longer need to rent office space and hire an army of employees. More small businesses are operated inside someone’s home, with functions such as software development, accounting, support services, and design work being outsourced to professionals around the globe thanks to the technology that allows remote working.
© Alex Gumerov/iStockphoto
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DIGITAL NOMADS
A digital nomad is someone who uses information technologies such as smart phones, wireless Internet access, and Web-based applications to work remotely from anywhere.
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18. IT OFFERS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
IT is vital to the operation of modern business, it offers many employment opportunities such as:
Chief Information Officer (CIO), IS Director, Project Manager, Systems Analyst, Database Administrator, Operations Manager, Webmaster
For further details about current careers in IT see:
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19. MANAGING INFORMATION RESOURCES
Traditional Functions of MIS Department
Example: manage systems development and systems project management
Consultative Functions of MIS Department
Example: create business alliances with business partners
Factors for dividing responsibility for developing and maintaining information resources between the MIS department and the users: the size and nature of the organization, the amount and type of IT resources, the organization’s attitudes toward computing, the attitudes of top management toward computing, the maturity level of the technology, the amount and nature of outsourced IT work, and even the countries in which the company operates.
The MIS department deals with the planning for—and the development, management, and use of—information technology tools to help people perform all the tasks related to information processing and management.
Information technology relates to any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and to support the information and information-processing needs of an organization.
An information system collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific purpose. It has been said that the purpose of information systems is to get the right information to the right people, at the right time, in the right amount, and in the right format.
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20. COMPUTER-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Figure 1.2 Binary code, the foundation of information and knowledge is the key to making complex decisions.
Data Items. Elementary description of things, events, activities and transactions that are recorded, classified and stored but are not organized to convey any specific meaning.
Information. Data organized so that they have meaning and value to the recipient.
Knowledge. Data and/or information organized and processed to convey understanding, experience, accumulated learning and expertise as they apply to a current problem or activity.
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21. COMPUTER-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Figure 1.3 It takes technology with appropriate procedures to make a CBIS
Computer-based information systems are information systems that use computer
technology to perform some or all of their intended tasks.
The basic components of computer-based information systems are:
Hardware is a device such as a processor, monitor, keyboard or printer
Software is a program or collection of programs that enable hardware to process data.
Database is a collection of related files or tables containing data.
Network is a connecting system (wireline or wireless) that permits different computers to share resources.
Procedures are the set of instructions about how to combine the above components in order to process information and generate the desired output.
People are those individuals who use the hardware and software, interface with it, or uses its output.
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22. TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Figure 1.4 Information Technology Inside an Organization
Information technology platform. Include the IT components of hardware, software, networks (wireline and wireless), and databases.
Information technology services . IT personnel use these components to develop information systems, oversee security and risk, and manage data.
Information technology infrastructure are the IT components plus IT services.
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APPLICATION PROGRAMS
An application (or app) is a computer program designed to support a specific task or business process.
An application (or app) is a computer program designed to support a specific task or business process. (A synonymous term is application program.)
The collection of application systems in a single department is usually referred to as a departmental information system (also known as a functional area information system). For example, the collection of application systems in the human resources area is called the human resources information system (HRIS).
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24. MAJOR CAPABILITIES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Table 1.3
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IT’S ABOUT BUSINESS
E-Discovery Software
E-discovery software can quickly find documents using relevant search terms. But some go beyond that, extracting relevant concepts without having specific terms, and deducing patterns of behaviour that may have gone unnoticed by lawyers examining millions of documents.
E-discovery software generally operates using either a “linguistic” or a “sociological” approach. Linguistic software can either find and sort information using specific search words or using a large number of interrelated word and phrase definitions. In contrast, sociological applications take a broader approach. They can add inferential analysis, closely resembling human reasoning.
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26. TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Figure 1.5 Information Systems Among Multiple Organizations
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27. TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Breadth of Support of Information Systems
Functional area information systems
Enterprise resource planning system
Transaction processing systems
Interorganizational information systems
Supply Chain
Electronic Commerce (e-commerce)
Functional area information systems (FAIS, groups of application systems) are supporting pillars for the information systems, namely, business intelligence systems and dashboards. (Figure 1.4)
Enterprise resource planning systems are designed to correct a lack of communication among the functional area ISs. (Figure 1.4)
Transaction processing systems support the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of
data for a particular functional area. (Figure 1.5)
Interorganizational information systems connect two or more organizations
Supply chain is the flow of materials, information, money, and services from suppliers of raw materials through factories and warehouses to the end customers.
Electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems are another type of interorganizational information system. E-commerce systems typically are Internet-based.
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28. TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS (CONTINUED)
Support for Organizational Employees
Knowledge Workers
Office automation systems
Business intelligence systems
Expert systems
Dashboards
Knowledge workers are professional employees such as financial and marketing analysts, engineers, lawyers, and accountants. All knowledge workers are experts in a particular subject area. They create information and knowledge, which they integrate into the business.
Office automation systems typically support the clerical staff, lower and middle managers,
and knowledge workers, enabling them to develop documents, schedule resources, and
communicate.
Business intelligence systems provide computer-based support for complex, non-routine
decisions, primarily for managers and knowledge workers.
Expert systems attempt to duplicate the work of human experts by applying reasoning
capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain.
Dashboards provide rapid access to timely information and access to structured information
in the form of reports.
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29. 1.3 HOW DOES IT IMPACT ORGANIZATIONS?
Reduces the number of middle managers
Changes the manager’s job
May eliminate jobs
Impacts employees at work
Impacts employees’ health & safety
Provides opportunities for people with disabilities
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ERGONOMIC PRODUCTS
The science of designing machines and work settings that minimize injury and illness is called ergonomics.
Examples of ergonomically designed products are:
Wrist support
Back support
Eye-protection filter
Adjustable foot rest
Source: Media Bakery
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31. 1.4 IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO SOCIETY
IT is important to our society as a whole:
IT Affects Our Quality of Life
Robot Revolution on the Way
Improvements in Healthcare
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THE ROBOT REVOLUTION
See video of Big Dog robot in action
See products in the field of robotics -
See video of telepresence robot in action
A telepresence robot has both a video camera and a video screen embedded in its “head.” It also has wheels and can be moved around remotely by computer. It is designed to steer its way clear of obstacles and people.
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33. IMPROVEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE
See video of daVinci Surgical Robot
See video of Laerdal Sim Man in action
IT has brought about major improvements in health care delivery. Medical personnel use IT to make better and faster diagnoses and to monitor critically ill patients more accurately. For example, with the Laerdal Sim Man two physicians perform a procedure on a simulated human (mannequin)
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CHAPTER CLOSING
MIS supports all other functional areas in an organizations.
MIS Is responsible for providing the information that each functional area needs in order to make decisions.
The objective of MIS personnel is to help users improve performance and solve business problems using IT.
MIS personnel must understand both the information requirements and the technology associated with each functional area. They must think “business needs” first and “technology” second.
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