Information Systems (IS) Quiz

• Chapter 1 is an introduction to information systems (IS).

Why Should I Study Information Systems?

• Studying Information Systems is important for being an informed user, opening opportunities to career advancement in IT and learning to manage information resources.
• Understanding the "behind-the curtains" of IT applications is extremely beneficial.
• One can provide very useful input, suggest and help select IT applications while being aware of new technologies
• Enhancing knowledge of IT is important to improving performance and is very beneficial to entrepreneurs.

IT Offers Career Opportunities

• IT is essential to modern business, providing many lucrative career opportunities.
• Programmers, business analysts, systems analysts and designers are all a key part of IT
• The CIO, (Chief Information Officer) is in charge of the IS function
• Career opportunities in IT will remain strong in the future

Job Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report ranked Information Security Analysis as #1; Software Developer as #5 and Data Scientist as #6.
• Glassdoor ranked User Interface Designer as #1; Java Developer as #2, and Data Scientist as #3.
• According to median starting salary, Data Scientist is #1, with $95,000; and Software Engineer as #2, with $90,000.

Managing Information Resources

• Managing Information Resources is difficult and complex.
• This is because IS has an enormous strategic value to organizations
• IS's are very expensive to acquire, operate, and maintain
• The MIS function is evolving within organizations
• There's also differences between MIS personnel vs end users
• The role of the IS department is always changing
• Along with the traditional function of the MIS Department, there are new consultative functions of the department.
• Traditional functions included managing systems development, systems project management, computer operations, staffing, training and skills
• MIS also provides technical services, infrastructure planning, development, and control and Maintenance
• Consultative functions include the Internet and e-commerce integration, initiating designs, educating staff, managing outsourcing and creating business alliances.

Overview of Computer-Based Information Systems

• Basic components of computer-based information systems are hardware, software, databases, networks, procedures, and people.
• The first four of this list are called information technology components.

Data and Information

• Raw data from a supermarket checkout counter can be processed and organized to produce meaningful information.
• One example is the the total unit sales of dish detergent, or the total sales revenue from dish detergent for a specific store or sales territory.

Interdependence Between Organizations and Information Technology

• A growing interdependence exists between a firm's information systems and its business capabilities.
• Changes in strategy, rules, and business processes increasingly require changes in hardware, software, databases, and telecommunications.

Major Capabilities of Information Systems

• Information Systems perform high-speed, high-volume numerical computations
• They provide fast, accurate communication and collaboration within and among organizations
• ISs store huge amounts of information in an easy-to-access, yet small space
• They allow quick and inexpensive access to vast amounts of information, worldwide
• They interpret vast amounts of data quickly and efficiently
• ISs automate both semiautomatic business processes and manual tasks

Types of Computer-Based Information Systems

• Breadth of support of ISS and support for organizational employees.

Breadth of Support of Information Systems: FAIS

• Functional Area Information Systems (FAISS) include Accounting and Finance
• FAISS also includes Production & operations management, Marketing and HR.

Breadth of Support of Information Systems: ERP and TPS

• Two information systems support the entire organization: enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and transaction processing systems (TPS).
• ERP Systems provide communication among functional area ISs.
• TPS support the “real time” monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from the organization's day-to-day operations.

Breadth of Support of Information Systems IOS

• Interorganizational information systems (IOS), supports many interorganizational operations.
• Examples of IOS are supply chain management (SCM), and electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems.

Support for Organizational Employees

• Clerical workers, knowledge workers, and functional area information systems are all supported
• Business analytics (BA) or business intelligence (BI) are great tools for organizational employees.
• Expert systems expert assists in employee work

Types of Organizational ISs

• Processes transaction data from terminal. An example would be a Walmart checkout point.
• Integrates all functional areas of the organization such as Oracle, SAP system and Microsoft Office.
• Supports the activities within specific functional area like a system for processing payroll.
• Provides access to data and analysis tools.
• Mimics human expert in a particular area and makes decisions
• Presents structured, summarized information about aspects of business important to executives.
• Manages flows of products, services, and information among organizations.
• Enables transactions among organizations and between organizations and customers.

How Does IT Impact Organizations?

• IT impacts entire industries, and reduces the number of middle managers
• Manager's job changes with IT being integrated heavily in the work place.
• IT is speculated to eliminate jobs and impacts employees in several ways.
• IT impacts many industries like; Book, Music, Video, Software, Videogame, Marketing, Recruiting, Financial Services, Mobile Picture and Animation.
• Many other industries are also affected, like; Automobile, Agriculture, Fashion, Education and Legal Profession.
• IT makes middle manager’s more productive, and changes the way managers make decisions, while also impacting efficiency and speed.

Will IT Eliminate Jobs?

• The competitive advantage of replacing people with IT and machines is increasing rapidly.
• Increasing the use of IT in business creates new job categories, and requires more employees with IT knowledge and skills.

IT Impacts Employees at Work

• IT impacts Employees’ Health & Safety - there can be Job Stress, and from Long-term use of the keyboard & mouse
• IT Provides Opportunities for People with Disabilities, such as Speech-recognition, and Audible screen tips

Importance of Information Systems to Society

• IT affects the quality of life, revolutionizing robot industries and impacting healthcare significantly
• IT has changed the way you work, with smartphones providing constant access to communications
• The lines between time at work and leisure time at home have blurred
• Surveys indicate employees take laptops and smartphones on vacation

The Robot Revolution is Here Now

• Baxter, LoweBots, Walmart shopping cart robots, drones, and Autonomous Vehicles are all part of the robot revolution.

IT Impacts Healthcare

• IT can make better/faster diagnoses and streamline the process of researching & developing new drugs
• IT enhances the work of radiologists, allows surgeons to use virtual reality to plan complex surgeries & use robots to remotely perform surgery
• The Emergence of Cognitive Computing: IBM Watson

Test your knowledge of Information Systems (IS) with questions covering benefits, management, and career opportunities. Explore the challenges of managing information resources and the role of integrated systems in organizational communication. This quiz helps assess your understanding of real-time monitoring and IT trends.