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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Managing
Information
Systems and
Technology
17
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information and the Manager
? Data,raw facts such as the number of customers,
? Information,data arranged in a meaningful fashion,
Good information possesses these attributes,
?Information Quality,measures information accuracy
and reliability,
?Timeliness,information is needed when managerial
action is taken,
? Real Time Information,reflects the current condition,
?Completeness,manager has the information to act,
?Relevance,information matches the managers specific
needs at hand,
? Irrelevant information does not apply
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Attributes
High
Quality
Relevant Timely
Relatively
Complete
Useful
Information
Figure 17.2
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Systems & Technology
? Information System,acquires,organizes,stores,
manipulates and transmits information,
?A Management Information System is the plan and
design of an Information System to provide managers
with information,
? Can be paper or computer-based,
?Information technology,is the means for acquiring,
organizing,storing,manipulating,and transmitting
information,
? Information technology power has increased rapidly,
?Information and Decisions,managing has to do with
making decisions,
? Good Information allows effective decision making,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Using Information
? Information and control,control allows managers to
regulate the efficiency and effectiveness of the
organization,
?Effective control requires good information,
? Information technology in the form of computers allows
managers quick access to information,
?Information and Coordination,managers must
coordinate departmental actions to achieve goals,
? Information Systems provide information on suppliers,
production schedules,and orders to allow coordination,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Technology Revolution
? Information Technology began with early computers,
? Computers are called hardware and use digital 1’s and
0’s to represent data,
?Modern computers use microprocessors such as the
Pentium to access information,
? Computer cost has dropped dramatically while the power
of computers has risen,
?Computers cost less and do more than ever before,
?Connecting one computer to another is also much easier
and cheaper,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Price Performance Ratio of Computers
$400k
$300k
$200k
$100k
$3k
1980 1984 1988 1994
Cost per MIP
Figure 17.3
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Computer Communications
? Wireless communications,connects managers and
computers together without wires,
? Cellular has grown rapidly to over 20 million users,
? Wireless modems connect one computer to another,
? Networks,share information between computers,
?Server Computer,powerful computer that relays
information to client computers,
? Servers and other computers are connected on a Local
Area Network or LAN
?Mainframe,large computers processing vast amounts
of information,
?Internet,a world wide network of computers,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
3 Tier Information System
Server
Server
Server
Client
Client
Client
Client
Mainframe
Hub
Wireless
Link
Laptop
Figure 17.4
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Software Developments
? Operating system software,tells the computer how to run
itself,
? Applications software,provide for functions such as
word processing,spreadsheets,and graphics,
?The new software provides far better access to
information for managers,
? Artificial Intelligence,behavior by a machine that can be
called intelligent,
?Computers evaluate problems & act on simple tasks,
? Speech Recognition,allow a computer to hear and act on
spoken commands,
?Powerful programs are still being developed,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Information Systems
? Transaction Processing Systems (TPS),designed
to handle large volumes of routine transactions,
?The first computer-based Information System,
? Billing,payroll,supplier payments are examples,
? Operations Information Systems (OIS),gathers
comprehensive data,organizes it and summarizes it
in a form valuable to managers,
?Can help managers with non-routine decisions
such as customer service and productivity,
? Provides sales,inventory & performance oriented
data,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Information Systems
? Decision Support Systems (DSS),provides
interactive models to help managers make better
decisions,
?Excellent for unusual,non-programmed decisions
? Analyzes investment potential,new product pricing,
? Often used by middle and upper managers,
? Executive Support System (ESS),sophisticated
version of a DSS to match top manager’s needs,
? Focus on user friendly features,
? Expert Systems,employees human knowledge
captured in a computer to solve problems usually
requiring human insight,
?Use Artificial Intelligence to recognize,
formulate,solve problems,and learn from
experience,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Information Systems
Transaction
Processing
Systems
Operations
Information
System
Decision
Support
Systems
Expert
Systems
Programmed
Decision
Making
Non-Programmed
Decision
Making
Figure 17.5
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Systems Impacts
? Information Systems have provided managers with better
information,enabling better decision making,
? Effective Information Systems can be a source of
competitive advantage,
? Computer-based information systems are associated with
decentralization of managerial decision making,
? Flattening the Organization,information systems
reduce the need for the hierarchy to control the firm,
? Managers control and coordinate using the system,not
workers,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Systems Impacts
? Horizontal Information Flows,Information networks
can bridge functional departments,
? Allow information to flow horizontally between
departments,
? Can lead to much higher productivity,quality,and
innovation,
? Virtual products,firms can use their information system
to custom tailor goods and services to each customer,
? Systems can allow this at no increase in cost,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Information Systems Impact on
Organizational Hierarchy
Before
Tall structure
primarily up and
down
communication
After
Flat structure both
up-down and
lateral
communication
Figure 17.6
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Barriers to Information Systems
? Technological factors,consistent standards for systems
do not exist,
? Makers of hardware use different standards,
? Makes it hard to share information between systems,
? Resistance by Individuals,many managers do not use
the system fully,
? Some managers are afraid of technology or do not
understand it,
? Political Resistance,the information system changes the
way information flows in the firm
? Some managers feel threatened by it,
? Managers may think they will be laid-off,
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Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Limitations to Information Systems
? Loss of the human element,information systems cannot
present all kinds of information accurately,
? Thick information,which is rich in meaning and not
quantifiable,is best suited to human analysis,
? Example,employee evaluations need face-to-face
communication to convey all information,
? Difficult installations,Information systems can be hard
to develop,
? To avoid problems,
? list major organization goals,
? build support for the system with workers,
? create formal training programs,
? emphasize that face-to-face contact is important,