Information Systems Week 1

1
Information Systems Week 1

• Introduction
• Module handbook
• Plans for the semester
• Overview of module content Anyone doing BS3912?
• Goals of the assignment
• This week
• What is an Information System?
• Why use Information Systems?
• Case Studies Contracting Services (in Boddy et
  al), Marks Spencer, Zilkha exploration,
  amazon.com

2
Having a Bad Day?
Information Systems cant always help
Not from a Hollywood movie Photo, taken near
during a military exercise by the Royal Navy
3
What is an Information System?

• Laudon and Laudon give this definition
• Interrelated components working together to
  collect, process, store and disseminate
  information to support decision making,
  coordination, control, analysis, and
  visualization in an organization
• Need information about environment
• Customers, Suppliers, Regulators, Competitors
• ..and internals of organization
• Resource management, human and physical
• Optimization of work flow
• Financial management
• Requires milking raw data for information content

4
Information Systems Assessment

• In a team of three (or two if you must), Select
  and study a business that has developed (or is
  developing) a strategy for integrating IT
  systems, or for pursuing new opportunities by
  using IT
• Marking Individual 70 to cover
• Your Contribution to the presentation and
  materials
• Individual notes reflecting on what actually
  happened
• Other materials handed in (information you
  collected about the chosen business, plus your
  findings)
• Team 30 to cover
• Project planning
• Coherence of study as demonstrated in presentation

5
Information systems in Business

• Many occupations concerned with the handling
  processing, provision or transmission of
  information
• The business IS information management
• Examples found in insurance, banks, health,
  police, government, defence, agriculture
• Most organizations need information systems to
  prosper and to survive in the market place
• need to manage risk
• handle defensive society
• cut costs
• gain competitive advantage

6
Examples

• In Medicine
• Waiting lists treatments gone wrong
• Cost and effectiveness of procedures
• Purchasers may redirect contracts elsewhere if
  dissatisfied with the local trust
• Private Sector
• The battle between the supermarket giants
• Tesco direct
• Sainsburys Home Delivery Service
• ASDA, Waitrose, Ocado (Iceland no longer uses
  web)
• Future of online shopping
• http//www.sean.co.uk/a/science/customisation.shtm

7
Informed Society

• More information on products
• Winchester courses many open for the world to
  inspect
• Amazon web-site tells you more than Books in
  Print
• Labelling has become important
• GM Free, Low fat
• Distinguishable features important
• mark of excellence
• Associations important
• organic, green etc

8
Access to information important

• Web Access
• Examples of medical web sites that provide a
  wealth of clinical information onlinehttp//www.a
  hrq.gov/clinic/ (USA) http//www.ciap.health.nsw.g
  ov.au/ (Australia)
• E-mail
• Can access office e-mail from anywhere
• Outlook web access to College e-mail
• ISP access like https//netmail.pipex.net/adsl/
• Hotmail, GoogleMail etc. available to anyone
  from anywhere

9
Relentless Pressure on Business

• Three powerful influences
• Emergence of the Global Economy
• Transformation of industrial Economies
• Transformation of the Business Environment
• Strong drive to reduce business costs
• Inventory, labour, transaction cost
• One way is through IT
• Use IT to cut out the middle menwithout losing
  the competitiveness they enforced

10
Internet Coverage is Global

• We can now assume that everywhere well do
  business with probably has the Internet available
• Growth from 1991 to 1997 was tracked by Larry
  Landweber see http//mappa.mundi.net/maps/maps_01
  1/

1991
1997
11
Global Internet Coverage
Coverage has improved since 1997
apart from temporary loss of Nepal in Feb 2005)
see http//som.csudh.edu/cis/lpress/netstate/selec
ted/landweber.htm
12
1. Emergence of the Global Economy

• Communicating with distributors and suppliers
• Operating 24 hours a day
• Servicing local and international needs
• Example amazon.com
• Threat to domestic business firms customers
  can now
• shop in a worldwide marketplace
• obtain price and information reliably 24 hours a
  day
• demand better quality of service
• Ever increasing supply capabilities
• Dont carry large stocks buy just in time

13
2. Transformation of economies

• In traditional industrial economy
• Many people worked in manual or unskilled jobs
• Raw materials were key input
• But now
• Manufacturing has been moving to low wage
  countries
• Kenwood, Dyson, Rover, Sony
• Falling employment in manufacturing
• Increase in professional management jobs
• Trend in West is towards knowledge and
  information based service economies
• Information and creativity are key inputs
• Dyson, ARM, Time-Warner-AOL
• See http//www.globalization101.org/uploads/File/T
  rade/tradeall.pdf?PHPSESSIDf

14
US Labour Force Composition 1900-1996
UK probably more extreme, especially since Foot
Mouth
Source Laudon Laudon 1999
See also http//www.bls.gov/cps/labor2005/chart1-1
0.pdf
15
Knowledge Businesses

• Sales
• Education
• Healthcare
• Banks
• Insurance firms
• Publishers
• Broadcasters
• Software houses
• Games developers

All concerned with creating, processing
distributing information
16
3. Transformation of the Enterprise

• Third major change in the business environment
  is the very nature of organization and management
• Enterprises used to have deep hierarchies
• Many layers of management
• The new style of business is
• flattened (less hierarchical)
• decentralized
• a flexible arrangement of generalists
• who rely on nearly instant information to
  delivermass customized products and services
  geared to specific markets and customers

Why?
17
The New Style

• Is still evolving
• Direction is clear customer orientation
• Must shorten time to market
• Production has to follow demand(Benneton vs
  Marks Spencer, though MS are learning)
• Teams and individuals need to network
• Sharing information without delays
• Information Systems make this possible

18
Strategic Pattern

• Amazon.com
• Virtual bookstore solely internet based
• Started making a profit as late as 2006 but has
  long had high utilization and good customer
  relationship
• growing steadily and diversifying
• Good in one area then moved into other areas
• CDs Popular music, then classical
• Videos and DVDs Computer software
• Second-hand book-selling and auctions
• Alliances to move into Computer hardware, Toys,
  Audio-Visual

19
Where should Amazon go next?

• Amazon to sell cars online said NY Times in
  2000
• Amazon is investing in good customer relationship
• In practice, decided to go into electronics
  instead
• Recent survey showed big increase in online book
  purchases
• New model is not without its risks but
  information is all important
• One of the biggest risks is dependence on systems
• If the site is down, the 24-hour bookstore is
  closed and I cant even read the catalogue
• We need to think about robustness and scalability

20
New England Pottery

• Has 100 employees, and sells flower pots to
• Thousands of small garden centres in the US,
  Mexico Canada
• Retail chains like Wal-Mart, Home Depot and
  K-mart
• Largest global vendor in the garden pottery
  industry
• increasing sales at a rate of 20 per year
• Does not make the products it supplies
• Succeeded because
• Able to respond quickly to changing demand
  communicates with partners in Asia Europe and
  retail customers
• e-mails images of its products for clients to
  view items without having to wait for physical
  samples
• What clients like most can customize orders and
  products to take advantage of sales trends

21
Information Systems in business activities

• Marketing, sales, sales promotion, pre-sales,
  supply
• Commercial transactions
• ordering
• delivery
• payment
• Product service and maintenance
• Transport
• Accounting
• Human Resources
• In Finance and Insurance, the business is IS

22
Specific business benefits from IS

• Lower advertising costs
• Better focus on potential customers
• New media
• Reduced delivery costs
• Design and manufacturing costs reduced
• Faster progress from design to market
• Inventory costs slashed by JIT (just in time)
  supplies
• Improved marketing and planning
• Access to new markets
• Customer involvement
• Potential for mass customization (see BBC
  programme)

23
Some Reservations for the Medium Term

• Use of computers becoming more extensive
• Spending more time, Longer hours
• e-mail overload
• Impact on the family
• May be inducing health problems
• Risk to employers if staff don't have enough
  breaks
• RSI, eye strain, tension
• Threats to systems
• Computer virus (examples?) Denial-of-Service
  attacks
• Serious if system is business-critical
• Threat to privacy

24
Summary

• Information Systems have transformed business
• Cutting communication costs and delays
• Eliminating distance as a factor in information
  flow
• Changing management structures
• Fostering globalization
• Also created new industries
• Typically information rich
• Mainly light on natural resource consumption
• Mobile phones are computers and depend on
  computers
• Downside
• IT-enabled pursuit of cost-cutting can be
  dehumanizing

25
The competitive business environment
When theywant it
What they don't want
What they want

• CONSUMER/ CUSTOMER

Why they want it
How they want it
How do we get the Information to satisfy
customers?
26
Additional Materials

• Think about these for discussion
• Consider the Case Studies too

27
Example Hospital Trust Connections
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
PURCHASER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
SENIOR CLINICIANS
GENERAL MANAGERS
FINANCE DIRECTOR
ADMINISTRATORS/SUBMANAGERS
28
Example Hospital Trust CEO
Act on directives from Central government
Deals with long term strategy
Directives for risk assessment
Minimizes risk in service
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Often responsible for the quality of service
Secure contracts with local purchasers (e.g.
GPs/primary care)
29
Information needs of Chief Executive

• Trends within the service
• Trends on treatment
• Directives from government
• Trends on referrals to obtain funding, and to
  suggest ways the service should be developed
• Clinical outcome information

30
Information needs of Finance director

• Financial and other reports
• monitor the performance of the organization
• Chief Executive and general managers
• annual statement of accounts

From general managers budgetary monies
FINANCE DIRECTOR
Monies coming into the organization from
government and other bodies
31
Information needs of General Managers

• Ensure contracts agreed by Chief Executive and
  external bodies are carried out
• Need to know whether have staff, infrastructure
  (buildings and facilities), treatments etc
• Ascertain spending budget from finance director
• Could be separate budgets for building, drugs etc

GENERAL MANAGER

• Provide Director with details on how budget spent

32
Information Needs at Next Level
Deal with directives from general managers on
policy requirements

• Deal with everyday clinical and staffing activity

ADMINISTRATORS and SUBMANAGERS
Supply information on contracting, staff
sickness, health and safety issues etc to general
managers
33
Possible information needs of Clinicians

• Previous and current treatment from GPs

Require information on the service (beds, staff)
and proposed future developments
Require up to date information on latest
treatments
CLINICIANS
Provide information to patients and carers on
their condition, treatment and services
Return information to GPs on treatment, discharge