IS 340
Management Information
Systems
Introduction:
A. Utilization of IS in almost EVERYTHING!
B. Need for IS personnel & high salaries
C. IS Knowledge needed by managers - YOU!
1. so managers can understand & work with
(IS) employees
2. so employees cannot “fake out” managers
III. How to
study for this course
A. READ & UNDERSTAND the Lecture Notes and
the Text
B. Read the Learning Objectives & Summaries
at the beginning/end of each chapter – do you understand the points?
C. Study the chapter outline at the beginning –
do you understand the material? Can you
fit the class notes, summary points, & cases into the outline?
D. My notes cover the important aspects, but I
will ask about more than just the notes.
E. Get together in small groups & discuss the issues of each chapter – and apply issues to the cases.
IV. Brief
history of computing
A. 1870’s – Jaquard’s Loom – first “computing”
machine, led to (Hollerith)
B. 1890 – Hollerith punch-card machines for
Census Bureau
C. 1940’s – first computers (ENIAC)
D. 1950’s – mainframes (Big Iron, IBM), Tubes
E. 1960’s – portable languages (COBOL, FORTRAN)
& minicomputers, Transistors &
Integrated Circuits (Chips)
F. 1970’s – Microcomputers (Apple), Microprocessors
G. 1980’s – Personal Computers (Apple II, IBM
PC, Mac, Microsoft)
H. 1990’s – Networks, Internet/WWW
I. 2000’s – International Business &
Connectivity, new laws, “rights”, risks/benefits
V. Six (6)
Main Points for all IS courses:
A. Definitions
1. Data – unorganized fact and figures (data can
be thought of as the raw material in the process of creating information, but
that is an insufficient definition by itself).
NOTE: Valacich tends to say data is “unformatted
information” – this is NOT correct for two (2) reasons: 1.
Formatting changes the way something looks (size, color, etc.), not its
value or structure; 2. Data is organized
into information, not the other way around (you cannot “un-bake a cake”).
2. Information – data organized in such a way
that it has value to the firm (data is Raw Material, Information is Finished
Product, but again, that is an insufficient definition by itself).
*** Data goes
into the Information Processor (the CBIS) and comes out as Information.
3. System – a group of inter-related elements
working together toward a common goal
4. Open/Closed Systems – interactions (or not)
with Environment
5. Open/Closed Loops – info processing
with/without Controls (Management)
6. Transaction – anything that occurs in the
course of doing business, of which you must keep a record
B. Information is a Resource which must be
managed:
1. Business - more complex today (legal,
ethical/moral, world-wide, cultural, short time frames)
2. Computer technology – continually providing
new/innovative/improved capabilities for businesses
C. 3 Critical Success Factors for IS:
1. Senior Management commitment;
2. End-User involvement
3. Understand/Work within your corporate culture
D. 5 types of Resources:
1.
Personnel [Tangible, Physical]
2.
Material
[Tangible, Physical]
3.
Machines (incl. facilities energy) [Tangible, Physical]
4.
Money
[Tangible, Physical]
5.
Information (& Data) [Intangible, Conceptual]
*** Managers use Conceptual resources to manage Physical
Resources
E. Dimensions (Qualities) of Information – How
good is our information?
1. Accuracy – Is it correct? How exact does if have to be? Is $2.9M close enough, or do we need to say
$2,900,142.67?
2. Timeliness – Did we get the information in
time for it to be useful? Or did it
arrive too late? Did we find out that
our customer service was poor in time to make it up to our customers & keep
them as customers, or did they go to another vendor before we had the chance to
make things right with them? Did we find
out about the new things our biggest competition was doing before we lost our
biggest customer to them?
3. Completeness – Is the information complete or
just sketchy? Did we get enough to help
us fix a problem, or not?
4. Relevance – Is the information relevant to
our situation? There will be a test next
Monday at 10am! But it is Math422, not
IS340, so it is not relevant to us in this class.
F.
Your boss always wants three (3) things from you with any project you
do:
1. Faster
2. Cheaper
3. Higher Quality
Note:
you can have any two (2) of the three, but NOT all three (3)!!!!!
I. Introduction
A.
Applications
1.
First major computer application - Data Processing
2.
Subsequent applications: MIS, DSS, OA, ES
3.
All together referred to as CBIS
B.
People
1.
First C-people were programmer/user (all-in-one)
2.
Specialists - experts in 1 or 2 areas, did work for users
3.
End-user computing - users developing/running/maintaining their own systems w/
minimal help
III.
Information & Management
A.
5 types of Resources:
1.
Personnel
[Tangible, Physical]
2.
Material
"
3.
Machines (incl. facilities energy) "
4.
Money "
5.
Information (& Data)
[Intangible, Conceptual]
***
Managers use Conceptual resources to manage Physical Resources
B.
Increasing interest in Information Management in recent years:
1.
Business - Increasingly Complex
a.
Increasing influence of International Economics
b.
Worldwide competition
c.
Increasingly complex technology
d.
Shrinking time frames - JIT supplies, telephone orders, automation, telephone
and Internet banking, etc.
e.
Social constraints - Changing morality (vs. Ethics), legalities, products &
services considered desirable/undesirable by society.
2.
Computers have increased capabilities & are easier to use.
C.
Users/Managers - MIS started as producing Management info, but wound up
producing Problem Solving info that can be used at ALL levels - so Who are
the actual Users?
1.
Users - ANYONE who utilizes output from the system
a.
Managers
b.
Non-Managers
c.
Persons & Organizations in the firm's environment
2.
Managers - found at all levels
a.
Communications skills
b.
Problem solving skills
c.
Computer literacy
d.
Information literacy - IMPORTANT!
e.
Interest in IS due to Increased business complexity
1.
Economics
2.
Worldwide competition
3.
Increased technological complexity
4.
Shrinking time frames
5.
Social constraints (ethical & legal issues, environment)
f.
3 levels of mgmt.
1.
Strategic level - Planning
2.
Management Control level - Organize
3.
Operational Control level - Direct
D.
Improved IS capabilities - IS is part of every office, not a luxury
IV. Systems - a group of elements that are
integrated with the purpose of achieving an objective.
Open-loop - no feedback, no controls / Closed-loop -
feedback for control
A.
Supersystems, Systems, Subsystems
B.
Physical vs. Conceptual Systems
C.
Systems View - sees business operations as systems within a larger environment
1.
Prevents manager from getting lost in organizational complexity and job details;
2.
Recognizes necessity of good objectives;
3.
Emphasizes importance of all parts of org. working together;
4.
Acknowledges interconnections of org. & environment;
5.
Places high value on feedback (must have closed-loop system).
V. Info. = Organized Data; data must be gathered
& processed into info.
A.
Data = raw facts
B. Information
Processor - transforms data into information
C.
Early focus was on Data Processing, now on MIS, DSS & OA, AI, ES (all 5
subsystems combined = CBIS)
VI. End-User Computing - end user develops/maintains
his own systems; IS personnel moving to role of Consultant
A.
Increased computer literacy
B.
Info. services backlog
C.
Low-cost hardware
D.
Prewritten software
VII. CBIS - comprised of all 5: DP(or EDP), MIS, DSS,
OA, ES
A.
Justification - cost of CBIS must make sense
1.
Personnel Transferred, not Displaced
2.
Increased efficiency (payroll)
3.
Reduced investment (inventory)
B.
Life cycle (SLC) - USER responsible for SLC!!
1.
Planning
2.
Analysis
3.
Design
4.
Implementation
5.
Use
C.
Context - question today is not whether to use CBIS, but how extensively (just
accounting? communications? problem solving?)
D.
Cost how to place $value on info-oriented subsystems, subjective values are
increasingly used.