Introduction to Functional Areas of Management Unit 8

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Questions and Answers

What was the main occupation of prehistoric people?

Factory workers

Clerical workers

Nomadic hunters and gatherers (correct)

Farmers

What triggered the industrial revolution?

The rise of clerical workers

Technological advances (correct)

The growth of urban factories

The invention of the plow

In what century did the transformation to an agricultural economy take place?

10,000 years ago (correct)

10th century

19th century

20th century

What is another name for the information economy?

Post-industrial economy Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of workers in the U.S. work in the information economy?

70% Signup and view all the answers

What is a common problem associated with the growth of cities in the industrial economy?

Pollution Signup and view all the answers

What was the main result of the agricultural revolution?

A society in which most people lived and worked on farms Signup and view all the answers

What is a key factor that contributed to each of the major paradigm shifts?

Advances in technology Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of a system?

To accomplish a specific purpose Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between robots and other computers?

The input and output peripherals Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of inbound logistics in a business organisation?

To receive and store supplies and materials Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of information technology in business?

To make business processes more efficient Signup and view all the answers

What is a business organisation according to the value chain model?

A system designed to create products and services for customers Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of an information system?

To produce and distribute information products and services Signup and view all the answers

Who are referred to as information system users or end users?

All members of an organisation Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of system designers in an information system?

To define the structure and design of the system Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of feedback in a system?

To monitor and correct the system’s performance Signup and view all the answers

What are the five primary activities in the value chain model?

Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing, and service Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary objective of creating cross-functional information systems by reengineering or combining and integrating two or more transaction processing systems?

To support an organisation’s operational business processes Signup and view all the answers

What is used to draw product or process designs on the screen?

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Signup and view all the answers

What retrieves the design specifications of the product from the CAD database?

Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Signup and view all the answers

What concept or management philosophy emphasizes the co-ordination of CAD and CAM systems?

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Signup and view all the answers

What refers to both legal and ethical behaviour?

Social responsibility Signup and view all the answers

What guidelines were developed by Donn B. Parker, a leading expert on computer ethics?

Informed consent, The “higher ethic”, Most restrictive action, Universality rule, Change in rule, Owner’s conservative rule, and User’s conservative rule Signup and view all the answers

What is a company obliged to provide to its employees?

Personal respect, healthy working conditions, fair wages, and employment continuity Signup and view all the answers

What is the concept that emphasizes the integration of CAD, CAM, and other information systems in an organisation?

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of managers in an organisation?

To decide how resources should be allocated Signup and view all the answers

What are the four categories of tasks in an organisation?

Communication, decision-making, operations, and strategic management Signup and view all the answers

What does information refer to?

Facts, statistics, or other data that are valuable or useful to a person Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of information technology in the context of business?

To perform five information functions Signup and view all the answers

What are the benefits of information systems to a firm?

High-quality information, access to information, utilisation of information, and better products and services Signup and view all the answers

What is a transaction processing system (TPS)?

A firm's basic accounting and record-keeping system Signup and view all the answers

What are the five steps in the transaction processing cycle?

Entering the data, processing the data, storing and updating the data, document and report preparation, and user inquiry Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of data warehousing software?

To create and maintain very large databases Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of enterprise resource planning?

To integrate transaction processing systems across functional areas Signup and view all the answers

What is the output of one subsystem in enterprise resource planning?

The input to another subsystem Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Paradigm Shifts

Humanity experienced two major paradigm shifts before the 20th century: the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution.
These shifts resulted in new ways of seeing the world and transformed human society.

The Agricultural Economy

The transformation to an agricultural economy took place over several centuries around 10,000 years ago.
This shift resulted in a society where most people lived and worked on farms, exchanging goods and services in nearby towns.
The agricultural age lasted until about a century ago, when technological advances triggered the industrial revolution.

The Industrial Economy

By the end of the 19th century, the world was dominated by an industrial economy in which more people worked in urban factories than on farms.
Increasingly, more wealth was in the hands of fewer people.
Crime, pollution, and other urban problems grew with the growth of towns into cities.

The Information Economy

Twentieth-century information technology produced what's been called a second industrial revolution, as people turned from factory work to information-related work.
In today's information economy (sometimes called a post-industrial economy), clerical workers outnumber factory workers, and most people earn their living working with words, numbers, and ideas.
Approximately 70% of workers in the U.S. economy are information workers whose jobs require them to create, process, use, or distribute information.
There are two types of information workers: knowledge workers and data workers.

Sectors in which computers are used

Computers have changed many jobs in various sectors, including:
- Entertainment
- Publishing
- Medicine
- Airlines
- Science

Systems and Organizations

A system is a set of interrelated parts that work together to accomplish a purpose.
A system performs three basic functions: input, processing, and output, and has two additional functions: feedback and control.
A system has a boundary that defines its limits, and anything outside the system's boundary is part of the system's environment.
A business organization is a system designed for the purpose of creating products and services for the consumer.

The Value Chain Model of a Business Organization

The value chain model consists of five primary activities:
- Inbound logistics
- Operations
- Outbound logistics
- Marketing and sales
- Service
The value chain model also includes four support activities:
- Management and other administrative services
- Human resources
- Research and technology development
- Procurement

Information Systems

An information system is a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce, distribute, and use information products and services.
An information system uses people, hardware, and data resources for input, processing, output, storage, and control activities to produce valuable information for users.
Information systems can be categorized into four areas:
- Communication among people in the organization
- Making decisions within the organization
- Operations of the organization
- Strategic management of the organization

Tasks and Information

Tasks can be categorized into four areas (mentioned above).
Information refers to facts, statistics, or other data that are valuable or useful to a person for accomplishing a task.
Information is organized and represented in some physical or digital form.

Benefits of Information Systems

A firm can reap the following benefits from information systems:
- High-quality information
- Access to information
- Utilization of information
- Perform organizational work efficiently
- Better communication and decision-making
- Better products and services for customers

Information Systems for Business Transactions

A transaction is an event that occurs in any of the primary activities of the company.
A transaction processing system (TPS) is a firm's basic accounting and record-keeping system that keeps track of routine daily transactions necessary to conduct business.
The transaction processing cycle consists of five steps:
1. Entering the data
2. Processing the data
3. Storing and updating the data
4. Document and report preparation
5. User inquiry

Enterprise Resource Planning

Transaction processing systems exist in all functional areas of a business.
Each subsystem is itself a transaction processing system.
Many managers in organizations look for ways to create cross-functional information systems by reengineering, or combining and integrating, two or more transaction processing systems.

Automated Information Systems for Design and Manufacturing

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is used in a wide variety of industries to draw product or process designs on the screen.
Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) is used to automate the manufacturing process.
Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is a concept, or management philosophy, emphasizing the coordination of CAD and CAM systems along with other information systems in the company.

Social responsibility refers to both legal and ethical behavior.
Laws define a society's proper, or legal, behavior and outline the actions a government can take in response to improper behavior.
Ethics are sets of principles or moral standards that help guide behavior, actions, and choices.
Social responsibility applies to a company as a whole as well as to individuals.
Some guidelines for computer ethics include:
- Informed consent
- The "higher ethic"
- Most restrictive action
- Universality rule
- "Change in" rule
- Owner's conservative rule
- User's conservative rule

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Description

Learn about the major paradigm shifts in human history, from the agricultural revolution to the industrial revolution and into the information age.