Welcome to AB113 Information Technology

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Welcome toAB113 Information Technology

• Amit Dasaadas_at_ntu.edu.sg

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IT for personal and business use

• IT for personal productivity
• Success in school
• analysis, research, reports
• Success beyond school
• job hunting, presentations, networking
• IT in businesses
• IT to compete
• lower costs, higher quality, faster response,
• IT to innovate (new products / services)

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IT and you

• Pay for bus / MRT with EZ-link card
• Withdraw money from ATM
• Check course registration
• Buy groceries at NTUC
• Send SMS
• Make telephone calls
• Play video games

IT is everywhere
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IT and businesses

• Accounting information systems
• Human resource information systems
• Manufacturing information systems
• Marketing information systems
• Enterprise Resource Planning (all-in-one)

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Main Topics in AB113

• Technology
• Hardware, software, networks/Internet
• Databases
• Applications
• Organizational systems
• within organizations
• Electronic commerce
• between / among organizations

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Hardware, software, networks

• What are computers made of ?
• How many MP3 songs fit on a CD ?
• Which digital camera can take A4 pictures ?
• What software do businesses use ?
• How do we connect to NTU ?
• from the hostels (network)
• from outside campus (dialup, broadband, )
• Why is Internet telephony cheaper ?

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Databases

• How can we store large amounts of data
  efficiently ?
• How can we update information once and use it
  many times ?
• How can we extract information that meets certain
  criteria ?
• How do we design a database given a verbal
  description of a situation ?

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Organizational systems

• What kinds of decisions do managers at different
  levels of an organization make ?
• What information is needed to make these
  decisions ?
• What type of software is helpful to managers
  making these decisions ?

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E-commerce

• How do small and large companies benefit from
  e-commerce ?
• What are the risks in e-commerce and how might
  they be controlled ?
• As you perform e-commerce transactions on your
  computer, how do you protect yourself from
  security threats ?

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Schedule
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Course materials

• Text Information Technology Management
• by Thompson Cats-Baril (2nd edition)
• will be referred to as TC (after the authors)
• Additional readings
• To be circulated / posted on Blackboard
• For software labs / project
• SimNet computer-based training software
• For you to enhance your software skills

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Readings

• Read BEFORE coming to class
• on-line quizzes (will be announced)

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Assessment

• 50 - closed-book final exam
• 50 - coursework
• 30 - term projects (coming soon)
• 4-5 member teams
• all members may NOT get the same grade
• peer evaluations will be used
• 20 - seminar participation
• on-line quizzes, contribution to class discussion

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E-mail

• NTU contacts you at your NTU e-mail
• read your NTU e-mail (IC_at_ntu.edu.sg), or
• forward your e-mail to another account
• (remember to empty the NTU mailbox regularly)
• You can specify a non-NTU e-mail in your
  Blackboard profile
• When e-mailing your tutor / lecturer,
• identify yourself name, tutorial group, e-mail
  address
• include AB113 Seminar xx in subject line

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Blackboard

• Online learning software used at NTU
• Log on to edventure.ntu.edu.sg every day
• (userid IC, password matric number)
• Blackboard will be used to
• distribute course materials (notices, class
  notes, tutorial questions, project description,
  )
• post answers to tutorial questions
• submit assignments for marking
• discuss AB113 topics outside the seminar

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Look around

• The Computer Times supplement with every
  Wednesdays Straits Times
• and occasionally with the Today paper
• The advertisements for computers and other IT
  products (mobile phones, digital cameras, DVD
  players, handycams, MP3 players, )
• The IT-related job ads in the Straits Times on
  Wednesdays and Saturdays
• Classification 221 in the classifieds of the
  Straits Times (just kidding )

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The skills dimension

• What youll be able to do

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Buy computers wisely

• Should you buy the latest (and most expensive)
  Pentium 4 computer ?
• or a cheaper CPU more memory ?
• Will a notebook computer be able to play your
  favorite games ?
• Your hard disk is full of MP3 files. Can you
  store them somewhere else ?

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Create attractive documents

• Design for print / screen / web
• reports, presentations, web pages
• Host an attractive resume (bio-data) on NTUs web
  server (for free)
• Build spreadsheets with formulas to
  automagically calculate loan repayment
  schedules, foreign currency equivalents,

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Training on software

• SimNet computer-based training software bundled
  with text
• use it to brush up on your knowledge of MS-Excel
  and (especially) MS-Access
• In the tutorials, tasks requiring the use of
  software will be assigned
• performance on these tasks will count towards the
  grade for the course

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Manage data

• Maintain contact lists of friends / business
  associates
• Organize your music collection
• find songs by artist, title,
• Extract data from databases for research
• Compustat, CRSP, other financial data

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Connect computers into networks

• Move files from one computer to another
• Share a printer for multiple PCs
• Share a broadband Internet connection in your
  home
• Connect computers for multi-player action games

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Use communications tools effectively

• Send / receive files via e-mail
• Read / post messages from / to discussion groups
• Use chat programs (e.g. ICQ)
• Download music
• Shop online with confidence

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Motivation for the course

• Why you need IT

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Why you need IT

• Why do Acc/Bus graduates need IT ?
• Most work is performed through IT
• IT gives a business an edge over competition
• 10 15 more pay for tech savvy employees
• Singapore is a key player in global IT
• IT sector is a major employer
• IT is rapidly changing
• Good grasp of fundamentals essential

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Is IT a declining field ?

• Definitely not
• Singapore still has a large deficit of IT skills
• Modern businesses heavily invested in IT
• IT spending is still rising steadily
• IT sector still growing faster than most others
• Other growth industries (biotech, financial
  services, ) depend on progress in IT

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Is IT for engineers only ?

• No way
• Proper use of IT requires business knowledge
• Programming (coding) is only a small part
• Need to bridge the gap between users and
  developers of technology
• Much of IT can be learnt by self-learning and
  hands-on experimentation

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IT and Organizations

• How organizations use IT

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The organizational view

• Understand how rapid changes in the environment
  are forcing companies to be more responsive.
• Appreciate the Interplay between strategy and
  informational technology capabilities
• Understand how information technology is enabling
  organizations to broaden their perspectives to
  encompass global goals
• Appreciate some of the ethical dilemmas raised
  through the use of information technology

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Competitive Strategy

• A Business Model is how a specific business is
  able to capture and retain monetary value
• Business strategies are developed and implemented
  to ensure that the business can compete
  effectively
• A competitive analysis is used to determine how
  well positioned the company is and how likely
  they are to succeed

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Organizational Responsiveness

• Organizational responsiveness implies being aware
  of environmental changes and doing something
  about them.
• Organizational environment is turbulent
• Organizations need to be responsive to critical
  elements
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Competitors
• Governing agencies and regulations

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Global Perspective

• Many organizations are expanding their operations
  beyond national borders.
• Organizations do not have to a head office
  located in any one country.
• Information technology allows for communications
  and information dissemination.
• Networks and communications allow information to
  move around the globe unimpeded.

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A formal definition of IT

• What is Information Technology
• Information Technology is the hardware and
  software that are packaged as a device for
  capturing, storing, processing, and outputting
  digital content

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Characteristics of IT

• Information technology
• Continues to advance at a rapid pace
• Rate of advancement has slowed, doubling every 18
  to 24 months
• Has played a substantial role in most
  organizations
• Has altered the concept of time and distance
• May have implications for managers
• May potentially impact society

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An Information System

• The purpose of an information system is to
  accomplish a task utilizing information
  technology
• Content --The data, graphics, sound, images, and
  video that are processed by information technology

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Communication Technologies

• Optional, but common to most Information Systems
• Are specialized Information Technology
• Subset of Information Technology used for
  transmitting content between devices over a
  distance

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Information System components

• Purpose
• Information Technology
• Content
• Communication Technology
• Roles
• Procedures

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Roles and procedures

• Roles -- People interact with I/S in a variety of
  ways, including acting as user or developer. It
  is possible to have a system that does not
  require people (fully automated system)
• Procedures -- The instructions for users of an
  I/S how the user role interacts with the I/T

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Measuring IT performance

• Advances in information technology are measured
  based on performance criteria
• Potential performance criteria for a given price
  level are
• Storage capacity
• Data access speed
• Data transfer rate

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Processing Capacity

• Processing Capacity refer to the load that a
  computer system can manage
• Web site capacity issues
• How many user may access the site
• How much content is being requested by each user

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Wireless Technologies

• Telecommunications is a major area of
  technological advancement
• Wireline
• Copper
• Telephone lines
• Fiber optic
• Wireless
• Satellite
• Radio frequency
• More people have wireless devices than wired ones

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Wireless Technologies

• WAP, wireless application protocol is a standard
  for accessing the content on the Internet using
  wireless devices
• 20 of the worlds population will have mobile
  devices by 2005
• Many applications for wireless devices were
  originally targeted at consumers
• Benefits of the mobile Internet are significant
  for most organizations

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IT Infrastructure

• The term information technology infrastructure is
  used to describe the combination of computers,
  networks, and software applications used to
  process and distribute information
• Information technology can have wide ranging
  influences on organizations and individuals

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Ethical Issues

• IT has a tremendous impact on the issues
  surrounding the rights of the individual versus
  the rights of the organization
• Computerized monitoring
• Individuals right to privacy
• Intellectual property

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ITs Impact on Careers

• Organizations no longer pay people to simply
  oversee others and pass along information
• Information technology has impacted many jobs and
  created new ones
• CAD/CAM
• Chief Privacy Officer
• Lobbyist

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The music Industry

• Traditional distribution channel
• Music retailers, Rack jobbers, Music clubs,
  Direct Marketers
• Shift from analog to digitized content
• benefits what caused the shift ?
• who benefited most ?
• where does the money from a CD sale go ?

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The MP3 format

• Audio CDs store audio in .wav format (10
  MB/minute)
• MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer 3) is a compressed format that
  gives comparable quality with smaller file size
  (1 MB/minute)
• CD buyers can rip their music to MP3 format
  using their PCs

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File sharing and Napster

• Smaller file size increasing data capacity of
  the Internet file sharing
• Napster connected individuals for peer-to-peer
  file sharing
• but Napster was centralized, so shut down
• new forms (Gnutella, eDonkey, Kazaa, ) more
  distributed harder to shut down

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Music piracy ?

• Individuals built up large collections of MP3
  files by downloading from others
• use of database software to manage MP3 libraries
  was an AB113 project topic
• Record companies insist that global music sales
  are depressed by piracy
• legal action taken against file-sharers
• do you feel that file-sharing is piracy ?

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Deterring piracy

• Spot and sue file-sharers
• with co-operation of ISPs
• Copy-protected CDs
• see list at http//ukcdr.org/issues/cd/bad/
• Add bad files to file-sharing networks
• Digital Rights Management
• only licensed music can be played
• Apple iTunes sells DRM-protected music for iPods
• Where is the music industry going ?