Information technology for management

Unit 1:
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Technology has been defined as "systematic knowledge and action, usually of industrial
processes but applicable to any recurrent activity". In providing tools and techniques for action,
technology at once adds to and draws from a knowledge base in which theory and practice
interact and compact. At its most general level technology may be regarded as definable
specifiable way of doing anything. In other words, we may say a technology is a codified,
communicable procedure for solving problems. Technology, Manfred Kochen observed, impacts
in three stages. First, it enables us to do what we are now doing, but better, faster and cheaper;
second, it enables us to do what we cannot do now; and third, it changes our life styles.
Information technology is a recent and comprehensive term, which describes the whole range of
processes for generation, storage, transmission, retrieval and processing of information. In this
Unit, an attempt is made to discuss the components of information technology and to identify
elements that really matter m the investigation and implementation of new information
technologies in information systems and services.
1.2 DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Despite the impression often given that information technology has suddenly burst on the scene,
its roots could be traced well into the past.
12.1 Historical Perspective
The history of man-made information technology is one of slow evolution dating back to 5
Information Technology: 5,000 years. It has followed the mechanical and later electronic rather
than biochemical path, with primitive signs, hieroglyphics, the alphabet writing, the book
printing, and computer type-setting - a more or less linear development. More recently, the
telephone, radio, television, satellite transmission, transistor, the computer, and the
microprocessor represent distinct qualitative changes.
1.3.1 Processor Technology:
Computers consist of electronic components assembled in a design or "architecture" that will
perform necessary functions of input, output, and computation and control (control of both the
computer itself and of attached peripheral devices that perform input and output functions and
store the files).
 In the past, electronic components were expensive, so a minimum number were used in a
single processor that alternately performs input, control, processing and output. Besides,
the first generation of computers, operated by means of vacuum tubes or valves, were
relatively bulky and energy consuming.

 The first major innovation, leading to microelectronics was the discovery of transistor, a
product of solid state physics, which used semiconductor materials. The most important
development of these today is based on the non-metallic element `silicon'. Being much
smaller than the vacuum tube, the transistor quickly replaced it in all electronic
equipment. However, transistors and other equipment had to be wired together and a
single piece of equipment might have thousands of such components. The wiring and
assembly of such elements were a delicate and costly process.

 This naturally paved the way for research towards the concept of integrated circuit (IC).
At first IC’s were simple but, as the technology developed, they rapidly became smaller
and more complex. This led to the miniaturization and refinement.

 The central feature of micro-electronics is the development of micro- processor, a

special form of IC with functions of arithmetic, logic and control - similar to those of
Central Processing Unit (CPU) of a computer and contained in a single chip.

 In addition, the microprocessor includes units to interpret instructions from the stored
programme to supply the control memory the information necessary to retrieve
instructions and send out data as required.

 The microprocessor is the building block from which modem computer systems are
assembled. The microprocessor uses very, little energy and has few environmental
requirements of older machinery.

 Air conditioning, for example, might not be necessary for a general purpose computer
using microprocessor technology. The practical significance of this is that it is now
possible to bring the computer to the problem instead of bringing the problem to the
computer.
  The aspects referred to above form a major hardware component of a computer.

1.3.2 Storage Technology:

In the previous section, the, recent innovations relating to the processing aspects of computer
technology were discussed briefly. In considering some of the advances in devices for digital
information storage, it may be stated that most of the primary storage in computers is now
supplied by semi-conductor circuits.
 There have been significant developments in memory technology affecting three areas of
performance spectrum; the high speed, high performance; the midrange and the low
speed bulk memory systems. It is now possible that even a small computer system might
have cache memory, a small associative memory retaining most recently referenced
information and in a readily available place.

 In some cases, cache memory may be at the top of a hierarchy of memories having a
wide variety of characteristics. Memory management, dynamic memory allocation, and
virtual memory schemes, generally found in large computer systems, are now appearing
on computers which are small and less costly.

 The development of charge coupled devices (CCDs) and bubble memories has filled the
gap which previously existed in the continuum of memory devices such as fixed-head
magnetic disks and these are slower than other semi- conductor memories.

 These memories have advantage over magnetic disks in that they contain' no mechanical
parts and could be used to store significant amount of information and can be treated as a
structured file system.

 There has been a continuous improvement in recording densities of magnetic media.

Floppy disks and microfloppies provide a convenient media to store data. The
development of video Information Technology: disk has added a new dimension to the
information storage technology.

 Video disks could' be used to store large volumes of information in digital form. This
kind of mass storage devices are believed to be very useful in the development of
information storage and retrieval systems
  It May be stated that all these innovations in storage technology provide us a variety of
alternatives depending on the requirements of speed of operation.
These developments add more capabilities to the storage aspects and may be considered
advances in the storage technology.
1.3.2 Software Aspects:
Software is a generic term covering the concepts, procedures and instructions which enable
computer systems to do useful things. Usually, software is conceived in terms of computer
programs, discrete units of software which make the computer to carry out specific tasks, and or
systems or packages. The importance of software is obvious, since it is the software which
applies the power of the computer to solve the users' problems. Many of the users need a clear
understanding of the capabilities of software more than hardware aspects.
• It is known for some years now that the "rapid increase in the capabilities of computer systems
has not been matched by corresponding increases in the development and quality of software.
• This situation has caused much disenchantment with computer systems. The methods by which
computer software is produced have changed considerably in recent years with the emergence of
"software engineering", which enabled improvements in programming practice, such as
structured, or modular programming.

• As one of the solutions to the software problem increased production and availability of
packaged software is encouraged. Another solution to the problem is the use of fourth generation
languages and flexible integrated software to produce prototypes of programmes to meet the user
needs.

• It is hoped that these solutions would be able to meet fairly standard requirements. For the
average user they mean that there will be an increasing number of packages to meet most of his
needs.

1.4 COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

The development of communications technology is, in a sense, a symbol of man's effort to
communicate rapidly over great distances. Communications technology is older than computer
technology. It has grown as rapidly as the computer technology in recent times. These two
technologies are now fusing into `compunications'.
 This newly emergent technology is changing our life styles as few technologies have
before. This new technology has probable and important uses in the home, office, factory,
community and in information exchange system and holds prospects of immediate
relevance to information profession.

 Some of the significant aspects of information transmission technology are discussed

briefly in the following paragraphs. A communication system can establish paths over
which messages can be sent between any two instruments in specified locations at desired
times.

 This type of system is generally known as switched .network.' Communications

technology has advanced to the extent that now it is possible to hire services from a
commercially operated network.

 Hence, there is a steady growth of computer-to-computer data traffic. Also, computer

manufactures are offering network architectures which together offer multiple operating
systems running on families of similar computers.

 A terminal of a computer network may have access to any of the computers within the
network, if it is authorized to do so. A computer serves as a terminal when connected for
providing computation, information retrieval, etc., in accordance with the request of the
terminal.
  A multi-lateral access capability allows the users of the terminal to share these resources.
Such networks are characterized by a new technique known as packet switching in which
the message is divided into a number of message blocks called packets and are
transmitted between nodes in store and forward basis.

 Among the information resources to be shared are the data bases. A number of
information systems have come into operation based on this concept.

As a result of rapid technological progress, a variety of services, which have traditionally been
considered separate, are now becoming increasingly similar. This tendency is generally referred
to as convergence of service modes.
Telecommunications can now handle not only speech and data but also visual information in a
unified manner. Broadcasting is now capable of providing two-way or selective dissemination of
audio and visual information by way of broad-band cables in addition to conventional one way
dissemination.
With the result, two traditionally separate 'services, telecommunications and broadcasting tend to
merge together in their mode of operation and thereby provide users with diversified types of
information more efficiently.
This innovation could be utilized for the publication of journals through the extensive use of
techniques like facsimile text processing and word processing. Library and information services
may also be included into the integrated whole. To handle the economy of scale, the concept of
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is evolving very rapidly.

THE GENERATION OF THE COMPUTER

A generation refers to the state of improvement in the development of a product. It also is used
for major state of different advancements/achievements of computer technology. With each new
generation, the circuitry has become smaller and more advanced than the previous generation
before it. The time span of era of computer generation may vary in different prospects.
a. The First Generation: 1946 – 1958 (The Vacuum Tube Years)
The first generation of computers was huge, slow, expensive and often undependable and used
Vacuum Tubes in CPU’s. In 1946 two Americans, Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, built the
ENIAC electronic computer which used vacuum tubes instead of mechanical switches of the
Mark I. The ENIAC used thousands of vacuum tubes, which took up a lot of space and gave off
a great deal of heat.
First generation computers relied on machine language to preform operations and they could
only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper taps and output
was displayed on printouts.
b. The Second Generation: 1959 – 1964 (The Era of the Transistor)
33 Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. In
1947 three scientists, John Barden, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain, working at AT&T’s
Bell Labs, invented the transistor which functions like a vacuum tube. The transistor was faster,
more reliable, smaller and much cheaper to build than vacuum tube.
Second generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic or
assembly languages. High level programming languages such as versions of COBOL and
FORTRAN were also developed at this time.
c. The Third Generation: 1965-1970 (Integrated Circuits – Miniaturizing the Computer)
Integrated Circuits (IC) have started replacing transistors. The integrated circuits, or as it is
sometimes referred to as semiconductor chip, packs a huge number of transistors onto a single
wafer of silicon. Placing such large numbers of transistors on a single chip vastly increased the
power of a single computer.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through
keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allow the device to run
may different applications at one time with a central programme that monitored the memory.
Computers, for the first time, became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller
and cheaper than their predecessors.
d. The Fourth Generation: 1971- Today (The Microprocessor)
This generation can be characterized by both the jump to monolithic integrated circuits (millions
of transistors put onto one integrated circuit chip) and the invention of the microprocessor.
By putting millions of transistors onto on a single chip, more calculation and faster speeds could
be reached by computers. Microprocessors moved out of the realm of desktop computers and
into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As
these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw
the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.
e. Fifth Generation – Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence:
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
through there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The
use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.

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