Student Guide In Introduction to Information Systems Prepared By Prof Dr Abdul Hamid M Ragab Dept of Information Systems College of Computing and Information Technology King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah Ref. Book : Introduction to Information

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Student Guide In Introduction to
Information Systems Prepared By Prof
DrAbdul Hamid M RagabDept of Information
SystemsCollege of Computing and Information
TechnologyKing AbdulAziz University,
JeddahRef. Book Introduction to Information
Systems, 14e ,James A. O'Brien ,2008
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Learning Objectives

1. Understand the concept of a system and how it
   relates to information systems.
2. Explain why knowledge of information systems is
   important for business professionals and identify
   five areas of information systems knowledge they
   need.
3. Give examples to illustrate how the business
   applications of information systems can support a
   firms business processes, managerial decision
   making, and strategies for competitive advantage.

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Learning Objectives

• Provide examples of several major types of
  information systems from your experiences with
  business organizations in the real world.
• Identify several challenges that a business
  manager might face in managing the successful and
  ethical development and use of information
  technology in a business.

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Learning Objectives

• 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.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the myriad of career
  opportunities in information systems.

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Case 1 Sew What? Inc. The Role of IT in Small
Business Success

• Sew What? provides custom theatrical draperies
  and fabrics for stages, concerts, fashion shows,
  and special events worldwide.
• After launching the company web site, they
  acquired clients from all over the world and
  their revenue has been growing more than 45 per
  year.
• Sew What? runs most of its business with Intuits
  Quick-Books Enterprise Solutions Dell PowerEdge
  servers.
• Recently, the National Federation of Independent
  Businesses (NFIB) and Dell Inc. presented Sew
  What? Small Business Excellence Award in
  recognition of its innovative use of technology
  to improve its customers experience.

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Case Study Questions

1. How do information technologies contribute to the
   business success of Sew What? Give several
   examples from the case regarding the business
   value of information technology that demonstrate
   this conclusion.
2. If you were a management consultant to Sew What?
   Inc., what would you advise Megan Duckett to do
   at this point to be even more successful in her
   business? What role would information technology
   play in your proposals? Provide several specific
   recommendations.
3. How could the use of information technology help
   a small business you know be more successful?
   Provide several examples to support your answer.

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Real World Internet Activity

• Search the Internet to help you evaluate the
  business performance of Sew What? Inc. and its
  competitors at the present time.
• What conclusions can you draw from your research
  about Sew What?s prospects for the future?
• Report your findings and recommendations for Sew
  What?s continued business success to the class.
• Small businesses have been slower to integrate
  information technology into their operations than
  larger companies.
• Discuss the reasons for this state of affairs,
  identifying several possible IT solutions and
  their business benefits that could help small
  businesses be more successful.

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Why study Information Systems and Information
Technology?

• Vital component of successful businesses
• Helps businesses expand and compete
• Businesses use IS and IT
• To improve efficiency and effectiveness of
  business processes
• For managerial decision making
• For workgroup collaboration

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What is a system?

• A system
• Is a set of interrelated components
• With a clearly defined boundary
• Working together to achieve a common set of
  objectives

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What is an Information System?

• An organized combination of
• People
• Hardware
• Software
• Communications networks
• Data resources
• Policies and procedures
• That stores, retrieves, transforms, and
  disseminates information in an organization

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Information System (IS) versus Information
Technology (IT)

• IS is all the components and resources necessary
  to deliver information and functions to the
  organization
• IT is hardware, software, networking and data
  management
• In theory, IS could be paper based
• But we will focus on Computer-Based Information
  Systems (CBIS)

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IS Knowledge Framework for Business Professionals
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What should a Business Professional know about IS?

• Foundation Concepts fundamental behavioral,
  technical, business and managerial concepts
• Information Technology Hardware, software,
  networks, data management and Internet-based
  technology
• Business Applications Major uses of the IS in
  the organization
• Development Processes How to plan, develop and
  implement IS to meet business opportunities
• Management Challenges The challenges of
  effectively and ethically managing IT

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Fundamental Roles of IS in Business

• Support of business processes and operations.
• Support of decision making by employees and
  managers.
• Support of strategies for competitive advantage.

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What does IS do for a business?
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Trends in Information Systems
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What is E-business?

• 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.

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How e-business is being used
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E-business use

• Reengineer internal business processes
• Enterprise collaboration systems support
  communications, coordination and collaboration
  among teams and work groups, e.g., virtual teams
• Electronic commerce buying, selling, marketing
  and servicing of products and services over
  computer networks

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Types of IS
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Operations support systems

• What are they?
• Efficiently process business transactions
• Control industrial processes
• Support communications and collaboration
• Update corporate databases

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Types of Operations Support Systems

• Transaction Processing Systems
• Record and process data from business
  transactions
• Examples sales processing, inventory systems,
  accounting systems
• Process Control Systems
• Monitor and control physical processes
• Example in a petroleum refinery use sensors to
  monitor chemical processes
• Enterprise Collaboration Systems
• Enhance team and work group communications
• Examples e-mail, videoconferencing

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Two ways to process transactions

• Batch Processing
• Accumulate transactions over time and process
  periodically
• Example a bank processes all checks received in
  a batch at night
• Online Processing
• Process transactions immediately
• Example a bank processes an ATM withdrawal
  immediately

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Management Support Systems

• What are they?
• Provide information and support for effective
  decision making by managers

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Types of Management Support Systems

• Management Information Systems (MIS)
• Provide reports and displays to managers
• Example daily sales analysis reports
• Decision Support Systems (DSS)
• Provide interactive ad hoc support for decision
  making
• Example A what-if-analysis to determine where
  to spend advertising dollars
• Executive Information Systems (EIS)
• Provide critical information for executives and
  managers
• Example easy access to actions of competitors

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Operational or Management Systems

• Expert Systems
• Provide expert advice
• Example credit application advisor
• Knowledge Management Systems
• Support creation, organization and dissemination
  of business knowledge throughout company
• Example Intranet access to best business
  practices

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Classifications of IS by scope

• Functional business systems
• Focus on operational and managerial applications
  of basic business functions
• Examples support accounting, finance or
  marketing
• Strategic information systems
• Help get a strategic advantage over its customers
• Examples shipment tracking, e-commerce web
  systems
• Cross-functional information systems
• Systems that are combinations of several types of
  information systems
• Provide support for many functions

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Challenges and Opportunities of IT
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Measuring success of an IS

• Efficiency
• Minimize cost, time and use of information
  resources
• Effectiveness
• Support business strategies
• Enable business processes
• Enhance organizational structure and culture
• Increase the customer and business value
• Whats the difference between Efficiency and
  Effectiveness?

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Developing IS Solutions
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Ethical challenges of IT applications
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Ethical responsibilities

• What uses of IT might be considered improper or
  harmful to other individuals or society?
• What is the proper business use of the Internet
  or a companys IT resources?
• How can you protect yourself from computer crime?

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Challenges of IT Careers

• Outsourcing of basic programming to India, the
  Middle-East and Asia-Pacific countries
• Strong employment opportunities in other areas in
  IS
• Shortage of qualified IS personnel
• Long-term job outlook positive and exciting

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Career Opportunities in IS
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Job growth

• Among the fastest growing occupations through
  2012
• Systems Analyst,
• Database administrators,
• Other managerial-level positions
• Network specialists
• Information security

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IS Function represents

• Major functional area of business
• Important contributor to operational efficiency,
  employee productivity, morale, customer service
  and satisfaction
• Major source of information and support for
  effective decision making
• Vital ingredient in developing competitive
  products and services in the global marketplace
• Dynamic and challenging career opportunity
• Key component of todays networked business

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Case 2 Autosystems The Business Value of a
Successful IT System for a small Manufacturer

• Autosystems is an automotive lighting designer
  and manufacturer located in Belleville, Ontario.
• A few years ago it installed the ActivEntry shop
  floor reporting system to move shop floor
  information into the manufacturing planning and
  control system.
• They now have the ability to capture labor,
  efficiency, production, scrap, etc., on time and
  by work center, for every cell, and are able to
  talk about that every day in their team meetings.
• Production managers can review information from
  all three plants.

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Case Study Questions

• Why did Autosystems decide to install the
  ActivEntry system? Why did the company feel it
  was necessary to integrate it with its TRANS4M
  system?
• Which three business benefits, of the many that
  resulted from the use of ActivEntry, gave the
  company the most business value? Defend your
  choices.
• What changes are already being planned to improve
  the use of ActivEntry? What other improvements
  should the company consider? Why?

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Real world activities

• Go to the Infor Global Solutions Web site,
  www.infor.com, to find other stories that
  describe the business value of manufacturing
  planning and control systems.
• Discover any common reasons for the success of
  these companies with their systems?
• Present your findings to the class.
• Search the Internet for examples of problems that
  companies have had with manufacturing systems.
• Discuss your findings and what solutions you can
  propose to help companies avoid the problems you
  discovered.

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Real World Group Activity

• Search the Internet for examples of problems that
  companies have had with manufacturing systems.
• Discuss your findings and what solutions you can
  propose to help companies avoid the problems you
  discovered.

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What is a system?

• A system
• Is a set of interrelated components
• With a clearly defined boundary
• Working together to achieve a common set of
  objectives
• By accepting inputs and producing outputs in an
  organized transformation process

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Systems have three basic functions

• Input involves capturing and assembling elements
  that enter the system to be processed
• Processing involves transformation process that
  convert input into output
• Output involves transferring elements that have
  been produced by the transformation process to
  their ultimate destination

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Cybernetic system

• All systems have input, processing and output
• A cybernetic system, a self-monitoring,
  self-regulating system, adds feedback and
  control
• Feedback is data about the performance of a
  system
• Control involves monitoring and evaluating
  feedback to determine whether a system is moving
  towards the achievement of its goal

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A Cybernetic system
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A business as a system
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Information systems model
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Components of an IS

• People Resources
• End users the people who use the IS or the
  information from the IS
• IS specialists the people who develop and
  operate IS
• Hardware Resources
• All physical devices used in information
  processing
• Machines, data media, peripherals
• Software Resources
• All information processing instructions including
  programs and procedures
• System software, application software and
  procedures

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Components of an IS (cont.)

• Data Resources
• Facts about the business transactions
• Processed and organized information
• Databases of organized data
• Network Resources
• Communications media
• Network infrastructure hardware and software
• The Internet, intranets and extranets

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Data versus Information

• Data are raw facts about physical phenomena or
  business transactions
• Information is data that has been converted into
  meaningful and useful context for end users
• Example
• Sales data is names, quantities and dollar
  amounts
• Sales information is amount of sales by product
  type, sales territory or salesperson

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IS Activities

• Input of data resources
• Data entry activities
• Processing of data into information
• E.g., calculate, compare, sort, classify,
  summarize
• Output of information products
• Messages, reports, forms and graphic images
• Storage of data resources
• Data elements and databases
• Control of system performance
• Monitoring and evaluating feedback

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Recognizing IS

• As a business professional, you should be able to
  look at an IS and identify
• The people, hardware, software, data and network
  resources they use
• The type of information products they produce
• The way they perform input, processing, output,
  storage and control activities

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Case 3 Heidelberg, Honeywell and Eaton Using
IT to Build Smart Products and Services

• Today it will not be enough for a companies to
  offer valuable services for their products but
  they will have to provide smart services.
• To provide smart services, companies must use
  information technology to build smart products,
  products with awareness and connectivity into the
  products themselves.
• Typically, smart products can detect that a part
  is approaching failure and alert users, thus
  giving the company opportunity to provide
  maintenance services and enjoy the resulting
  benefits.

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Case Study Questions

1. Why should manufacturing companies build smart
   products and provide smart services? What
   business benefits can they gain? Provide several
   examples beyond those discussed in this case.
2. What information technologies are used by the
   companies in this case to build smart products
   and provide smart services? What other IT
   components might be used? Give examples of the
   capabilities they would provide.
3. What are some limitations of a smart products and
   smart services strategy? Give several examples of
   challenges that a business might encounter, and
   explain how it might overcome them.

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Real World Internet Activity

• Use the Internet to investigate how Heidelberg,
  Honeywell, and Eaton are proceeding in their use
  of smart products and services.
• Discover if they are expanding this approach and
  what benefits they are claiming for this
  strategy.
• Now expand your Internet investigation to other
  manufacturing companies to find several that are
  building smart products and offering smart
  services.
• What business value are they claiming for
  themselves and their customers?
• If this search is fruitless, select several
  companies from your Internet research and explain
  how and why they might employ a smart products
  and services strategy.

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Real World Group Activity

• What security and privacy concerns might
  consumers have about Eatons Home Heartbeat
  service?
• Discuss the rationale for these concerns, and
  consider what could be done to reduce any threats
  to security and privacy posed by such services
  while also improving the value of this new use of
  information technology.