INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-I

Instructor: Ms Shama Siddiqui

 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• The various hardware, software, networking and data

management components necessary for the system
to operate.
• It includes:
• Computer hardware technologies.
• Computer software technologies.
• Telecommunication network technologies.
• Data resource management technologies.
 Chapter # 1

Foundations of
Information Systems
in Business
 Learning Objectives
1. To explain why knowledge of information systems
is important for business professionals and identify
five areas of information systems knowledge they
need.

2. To illustrate with examples that how the business

applications of information systems can support a
firm’s business processes, managerial decision
making, and strategies for competitive advantage.
 Learning Objectives
3. To provide examples of several major types of
information systems from your experiences with
business organizations in the real world.

4. To identify several challenges that a business

manager might face in managing the successful and
ethical development and use of information
technology in a business.
 Learning Objectives
5. To provide examples of the components of
real world information systems. Illustrate
that in an information system, people use
hardware, software, data and networks as
resources to perform input, processing,
output, storage, and control activities that
transform data resources into information
products.
 System
• A system is a set of interrelated components, with a
clearly defined boundary, working together to
achieve a common set of objectives.
• Subsystem: Components which work under
centralized system.
 Information System
• It is an organized combination of people, hardware,
software, communication networks, data resources,
and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves,
transforms information in an organization.
 Main Purpose of IS
• Problem Solving
• Decision making
 Information Systems vs.
Information Technology
• Information Systems (IS) – All components and
resources necessary to deliver information and
information processing functions to the organization
i.e using available resources to support operations,
management, and decision making
• Information Technology (IT) – Any technology that
helps to produce, store, manipulate, communicate
and /or disseminate information
 Why Study Information Systems?
• Information technology can help all kinds of
businesses improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of their business processes,
managerial decision making, and workgroup
collaboration, thus strengthening their
competitive positions in a rapidly changing
marketplace.
 Why Study Information Systems
• Internet-based systems have become a
necessary ingredient for business success in
today’s dynamic global environment.

• Information technologies are playing an

expanding role in business.
 Computer based Information Systems

These systems use the following information

technologies.
• Computer Hardware Technologies
including microcomputers, midsize servers, and large mainframe
systems, and the input, output, and storage devices that support
them

• Computer Software Technologies

including operating system software, Web browsers, software
productivity suites, and software for business applications like
customer relationship management and supply chain management
Contd…
• Telecommunications Network Technologies
including the telecommunications media, processors, and
software needed to provide wire-based and wireless access
and support for the Internet and private Internet-based
networks (for very fast transmission as compared to postal
mails.)

• Data Resource Management Technologies

including database management system software for the
development, access, and maintenance of the databases of an
organization
 Components of IS
•Data
Input to produce information.

•Hardware
Components or peripheral devices.

•Software
Sets of instructions that tell the computer, how to take input,
perform and store.

•Telecommunications
Hardware and software that facilitate fast transmission of text,
pictures, sounds as a form of electronic data.
• People
IS professionals and users who analyze
organizational information needs, design and
construct IS, write computer programs, operate
the hardware and maintain software.
• Procedures
Rules for achieving optimal and secure
operations in data processing.
Frame work of IS for Business Professionals
• Foundation concepts
Fundamental behavioral, technical, business and managerial concepts about the
concepts and roles of IS.
• Information Technologies
Major concepts, developments and management of issues in information technology.
• Business Applications
The major uses of IS for the operations, management and the competitive advantage
of a business.
• Development processes
How business professionals, and information specialists plan, develop, and
implement IS to meet business opportunities.
• Management challenges
The challenge of effectively and ethically managing IT at the end user, enterprise,
and global levels of the business.
Roles of IS in Business
• Support business processes
Example: Most retail stores now use computer-based
IS to help their employees record customer purchases,
keep track of inventory, pay employees, and evaluate
sales trends.
• Support Decision Making
After an analysis provided by computer-based IS,
managers can make better decisions. For example,
what lines of merchandise are needed to be added or
discontinued, or what kind of investment that require.
• Support competitive advantage
Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors
requires innovative applications for IT.
For example: Online shopping
Trends in Information Systems
• MIS:
This is the concept of developing business applications for that
provides managerial end users with predefined management reports
that would give managers the informations they needed fro decision-
making purposes. For example: Sales managers may use their
networked computers and web browsers to get instantaneous
displays about the sales results of their products and to
access their corporate intranet for daily sales reports that
evaluate the sales made by each salesperson.
• DSS
This support can be tailored to the unique decisions, and
decision making styles, of managers as they confronted
specific types of problems in the real world.
• EIS
EIS provides information to top management
executives in easy-to-use diplays. For example, top
executives My use touchscreen terminals to instantly
view text and graphics displays that highlights key
areas of organizational and competitive
performance.
• End user computing
End users could now use their own computing
resources to support their job requirements instead of
waiting for the indirect support for the support of
centralized corporate information services
departments.
• Artificial Techniques
Business systems include intelligent software agents
that can be programmed and deployed inside a
system.
• Expert System
Can serve as consultants to users by providing
expert advice in limited subject areas.
• E-commerce
The buying, selling, marketing and servicing of
products, services over a variety of computer
networks.
Types of Information Systems
 Operation Support Systems
Definition:
• Information systems that process data
generated by and used in business operations
• Goal is to efficiently process business
transactions, control industrial processes,
support enterprise communications and
collaboration, and update corporate databases
 Examples of Operations Support Systems

• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) – process data

resulting from business transactions, update
operational databases, and produce business
documents.
A TPS is a basic business system. It:
– is often tied to other systems such as the inventory system
which tracks stock supplies and triggers reordering when
stocks get low;
– serves the most elementary day-to-day activities of an
organisation;
– supports the operational level of the business;
 Examples of Operations Support Systems
•supplies data for higher-level management decisions (e.g. MIS, EIS);
•is often critical to survival of the organisation;
•mostly for predefined, structured tasks;
•can have strategic consequences (eg airline reservation system);
•usually has high volumes of input and output;
•provides data which is summarised into information by systems used
by higher levels of management;
•need to be fault-tolerant.
Process Control Systems (PCS) – monitor and control industrial
processes.

Enterprise Collaboration Systems – support team, workgroup,

and enterprise communications an collaboration.
 Management Support Systems
Definition:
• Information systems that focus on providing
information and support for effective decision
making by managers
 Management Support Systems
• Management Information Systems (MIS) – provide
information in the form of pre-specified reports and
displays to support business decision making.
• Transactions recorded in a TPS are analyzed
and reported by an MIS.
• They have large quantities of input data and
they produce summary reports as output.
Used by middle managers. An example is an
annual budgeting system.
 Management Support Systems
• Decision Support Systems (DSS) – provide interactive ad hoc
support for the decision making processes of managers and other
business professionals.

• Helps strategic management staff (often senior managers) make

decisions by providing information, models, or analysis tools. For
support of semistructured and unstructured decisions (structured
decisions can be automated). Used for analytical work, rather than
general office support.
• They are flexible, adaptable and quick. The user controls inputs
and outputs. They support tare sophisticated modelling tools so
managers can make simulations and predictions.
• Their inputs are aggregate data, and they produce projections. An
example job for a DSS would be a 5 year operating plan
 Management Support Systems

• Executive Information Systems (EIS) – provide critical information

from MIS, DSS, and other sources tailored to the information needs of
executives
• Also known as an Executive Support System (ESS), it provides
executives information in a readily accessible, interactive format.
• They are a form of MIS intended for top-level executive use. An
EIS/ESS usually allows summary over the entire organisation and also
allows drilling down to specific levels of detail. They also use data
produced by the ground-level TPS so the executives can gain an
overview of the entire organisation.
• Used by top level (strategic) management. They are designed to the
individual. They let the CEO of an organisation tie in to all levels of
the organisation. They are very expensive to run and require
extensive staff support to operate.
 Managerial IS
• Expert Systems – provide expert advice for operational chores or
managerial decisions
• "a computer system or program that uses artificial intelligence techniques
to solve problems that ordinarily require a knowledgeable human. The
method used to construct such systems, knowledge engineering, extracts
a set of rules and data from an expert or experts through extensive
questioning. This material is then organized in a format suitable for
representation in a computer and a set of tools for inquiry, manipulation,
and response is applied. While such systems do not often replace the
human experts, they can serve as useful adjuncts or assistants. Among
some of the successful expert systems developed are INTERNIST, a medical
diagnosis tool that contains nearly 100,000 relationships between
symptoms and diseases, and PROSPECTOR, an aid to geologists in
interpreting mineral data."
 Operational & Managerial IS
Advantages of expert systems:
• The computer can store far more information than a human.

• The computer does not 'forget', make silly mistakes or get drunk
when it is most needed.

• Data can be kept up-to-date.

• The expert system is always available 24 hours a day and will never
'retire'.

• The system can be used at a distance over a network.

 Operational & Managerial IS
Knowledge Management Systems – support the creation, organization,
and dissemination of business knowledge to employees and managers
Knowledge Management Systems ("KMS") exist to help businesses create
and share information. These are typically used in a business where
employees create new knowledge and expertise - which can then be
shared by other people in the organisation to create further commercial
opportunities. Good examples include firms of lawyers, accountants and
management consultants.
KMS are built around systems which allow efficient categorisation and
distribution of knowledge. For example, the knowledge itself might be
contained in word processing documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint
presentations. internet pages or whatever. To share the knowledge, a KMS
would use group collaboration systems such as an intranet.
 What is E-Business?
Definition:
• The use of Internet technologies to work and
empower business processes, electronic
commerce, and enterprise collaboration
within a company and with its customers,
suppliers, and other business stakeholders.

• An online exchange of value.

 IS Classifications by Scope
• Functional Business Systems – support basic business
functions such as accounting, marketing, finance,
HRM,etc.

• Strategic Information Systems – support processes that

provide a firm with strategic products, services, and
capabilities for competitive advantage

• Cross-functional Information Systems – integrated

combinations of information systems
 Enterprise Collaboration Systems
Definition:
• Involve the use of software tools to support
communication, coordination, and
collaboration among the members of
networked teams and workgroups.
 What is E-Commerce?
Definition:
The buying and selling, and marketing and
servicing of products, services, and
information over a variety of computer
networks.
 Measures of Success
• Efficiency
– Minimize costs
– Minimize time
– Minimize the use of information resources

• Effectiveness
– Support an organization’s business strategies
– Enable its business processes
– Enhance its organizational structure and culture
– Increase the customer business value of the enterprise
Developing IS Solutions
• Investing the economic or technical feasibility of
the proposed application.
• Analyzing the business requirements of the
organization.
• Designers and end users design the IS.
• Implementing the system by acquiring and
learning the necessary softwares.
• Maintaining the business value of the system by
making improvements.
Ethical Challenges of IT
 IT Career Trends
• Rising labor costs have resulting in large-scale movement to
outsource programming functions to India, the Middle East and
Asia-Pacific countries.

• More new and exciting jobs emerge each day as organizations

continue to expand their wide-scale use of IT.

• Frequent shortages of qualified information systems personnel.

• Constantly changing job requirements due to dynamic

developments in business and IT ensure long-term job outlook
in IT remains positive and exciting.
 The IS Function represents…
• A major functional area of business equally as
important to business success as the functions
of accounting, finance, operations
management, marketing, and human resource
management.

• An important contributor to operational

efficiency, employee productivity and morale,
and customer service and satisfaction.
 The IS Function represents…

• A major source of information and support

needed to promote effective decision making
by managers and business professionals.

• A vital ingredient in developing competitive

products and services that give an
organization a strategic advantage in global
marketplace.
 The IS Function represents…
• A dynamic, rewarding, and challenging career
opportunity for millions of men and women.

• A key component of the resources,

infrastructure, and capabilities of today’s
networked business enterprise.
 What is a System?
Definition:
A group of interrelated components, with a
clearly defined boundary, working together
toward a common goal by accepting inputs
and producing outputs in an organized
transformation process.
 System Components
• Input – capturing and assembling elements
that enter the system to be processed

• Processing – transformation steps that convert

input into output

• Output – transferring elements that have been

produced by a transformation process to their
ultimate destination
 Cybernetic Systems
Definition:
a self-monitoring, self-regulating system.

• Feedback – data about the performance of a

system

• Control – monitoring and evaluating feedback

to determine whether a system is moving
toward the achievement of its goal
A Business System
IS MODEL
 Information System Resources
• People – end users and IS specialists

• Hardware – physical devices and materials

used in information processing including
computer systems, peripherals, and media

• Software – sets of information processing

instructions including system software,
application software and procedures
 Information Systems Resources (con’t)

• Data – facts or observations about physical

phenomena or business transactions

• Network – communications media and

network infrastructure
 Data vs. Information
• Data – raw facts or observations typically
about physical phenomena or business
transactions

• Information – data that have been converted

into a meaningful and useful context for
specific end users
 Network Resources
• Communications Media – examples include
twisted-pair wire, coaxial and fiber-optic cables,
microwave, cellular, and satellite wireless
technologies

• Network Infrastructure – examples include

communications processors such as modems and
internetwork processors, and communications
control software such as network operating
systems and Internet browser packages.
 Information Systems Activities
• Input of Data Resources
• Processing of Data into Information
• Output of Information Products
• Storage of Data Resources
• Control of System Performance
 Recognizing Information Systems

Fundamental Components of IS
• People, hardware, software, data and network
resources used

• Types of information products produced

• Input, processing, output, storage and control

activities performed
 Summary
• There is no longer a distinction between an IT
project and a business initiative.

• Information systems are an important

contributor to operational efficiency,
employee productivity and morale, and
customer service and satisfaction.
 Summary

• Information systems are a major source of

information and support needed to promote
effective decision making by managers and
business professionals.

• Information systems can be categorized based

on their intended purpose.
 Summary
• Managing and using information systems can
pose several challenges including the
development process and ethical
responsibilities.