Unit 1.2.pdf

INFORMATION SYSTEMS: THEN AND NOW UNIT 1.2, BU1173 TEXTBOOK: CHAPTER 1 (Kizza, pp. 1-14) Defining Information Systems Almost all programs in business require students to take a course in something called information systems. But what exactly does that term mean? Let’s take a look at some of the more...

INFORMATION SYSTEMS: THEN AND NOW UNIT 1.2, BU1173 TEXTBOOK: CHAPTER 1 (Kizza, pp. 1-14) Defining Information Systems Almost all programs in business require students to take a course in something called information systems. But what exactly does that term mean? Let’s take a look at some of the more popular definitions, first from Wikipedia and then from a couple of textbooks: Definition: Information Systems Today Managing in the Digital World, fourth edition. Prentice-Hall, 2010. Definition: Wikipedia “Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.” Definition: Management Information Systems, twelfth edition, Prentice-Hall “Information systems are interrelated components working together to collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization.” The Five Components of Information Systems Information systems are made up of different components that work together to provide value to an organization. #1: Hardware Information systems hardware is the part of an information system you can touch – the physical components of the technology. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, iPads, and flash drives are all examples of information systems hardware. #2: Software Software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. Software is not tangible – it cannot be touched. When programmers create software programs, what they are really doing is simply typing out lists of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. There are several categories of software, with the two main categories being operating-system software, which makes the hardware usable, and application software, which does something useful. Examples of operating systems include Microsoft Windows on a personal computer and Google’s Android on a mobile phone. Examples of application software are Microsoft Excel and Angry Birds. #3: Data You can think of data as a collection of facts. For example, your street address, the city you live in, and your phone number are all pieces of data. Like software, data is also intangible. By themselves, pieces of data are not really very useful. But aggregated, indexed, and organized together into a database, data can become a powerful tool for businesses. In fact, all of the definitions presented at the beginning of this chapter focused on how information systems manage data. Organizations collect all kinds of data and use it to make decisions. These decisions can then be analyzed as to their effectiveness and the organization can be improved. #4: People When thinking about information systems, it is easy to get focused on the technology components and forget that we must look beyond these tools to fully understand how they integrate into an organization. A focus on the people involved in information systems is the next step. From the front-line help-desk workers, to systems analysts, to programmers, all the way up to the chief information officer (CIO), the people involved with information systems are an essential element that must not be overlooked. #5: Process A process is a series of steps undertaken to achieve a desired outcome or goal. Information systems are becoming more and more integrated with organizational processes, bringing more productivity and better control to those processes. Businesses hoping to gain an advantage over their competitors are highly focused on this component of information systems. The Role of Information Systems Over the Years We might say that one of the roles of information systems is to take data and turn it into information, and then transform that into organizational knowledge. As technology has developed, this role has evolved into the backbone of the organization. To get a full appreciation of the role information systems play, we will review how they have changed over the years. The Mainframe Era From the late 1950s through the 1960s, computers were seen as a way to more efficiently do calculations. These first business computers were room-sized monsters, with several refrigerator-sized machines linked together. The PC Revolution In 1975, the first microcomputer was announced on the cover of Popular Mechanics: the Altair 8800. Its immediate popularity sparked the imagination of entrepreneurs everywhere, and there were quickly dozens of companies making these “personal computers.” During the 1980s, many new computer companies sprang up, offering less expensive versions of the PC. This drove prices down and spurred innovation. Microsoft developed its Windows operating system and made the PC even easier to use. Common uses for the PC during this period included word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. These early PCs were not connected to any sort of network; for the most part they stood alone as islands of innovation within the larger organization. Client-Server In the mid-1980s, businesses began to see the need to connect their computers together as a way to collaborate and share resources. This networking architecture was referred to as “client-server” because users would log in to the local area network (LAN) from their PC (the “client”) by connecting to a powerful computer called a “server,” which would then grant them rights to different resources on the network (such as shared file areas and a printer). Software companies began developing applications that allowed multiple users to access the same data at the same time. This evolved into software applications for communicating, with the first real popular use of electronic mail appearing at this time. The World Wide Web and E-Commerce First invented in 1969, the Internet was confined to use by universities, government agencies, and researchers for many years. While the first e-mail messages on the Internet were sent in the early 1970s, companies who wanted to expand their LAN-based e-mail started hooking up to the Internet in the 1980s. Companies began connecting their internal networks to the Internet in order to allow communication between their employees and employees at other companies. It was with these early Internet connections that the computer truly began to evolve from a computational device to a communications device. In 1989… Tim Berners-Lee developed a simpler way for researchers to share information over the network at CERN laboratories, a concept he called the World Wide Web. This invention became the launching point of the growth of the Internet as a way for businesses to share information about themselves. As web browsers and Internet connections became the norm, companies rushed to grab domain names and create websites. In 1991… The National Science Foundation, which governed how the Internet was used, lifted restrictions on its commercial use. The year 1994 saw the establishment of both eBay and Amazon.com, two true pioneers in the use of the new digital marketplace. A mad rush of investment in Internet-based businesses led to the dot-com boom through the late 1990s, and then the dot-com bust in 2000. Web 2.0 As The World Became More Connected, New Questions Arose… The Post-PC World After thirty years as the primary computing device used in most businesses, sales of the PC are now beginning to decline as sales of tablets and smartphones are taking off. Just as the mainframe before it, the PC will continue to play a key role in business, but it will no longer be the primary way that people interact and do business. The limited storage and processing power of these devices is being offset by a move to “cloud” computing, which allows for storage, sharing, and backup of information on a massive scale (present time to future). Walmart Uses Information Systems to Become the World’s Leading Retailer Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, earning $15.2 billion on sales of $443.9 billion in the fiscal year that ended on January 31, 2012. Walmart currently serves over 200 million customers every week, worldwide. Walmart’s rise to prominence is due in no small part to their use of information systems. (Bourgeois, et al. 2019) Images: https://pixabay.com/ https://www.freepik.com/ wikipedia.com psychologytoday.com https://medium.com/dichotomies-in-design/ethics-a-desgin-dichotomy-dc6ee0b4c5e9 https://www.kincounseling.com/blog/getting-off-the-hedonic-treadmill https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/hedonic-treadmill/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hedonic-treadmill-we-chasing-rainbows-forever-amit-gupta/ https://www.perfectpotion.com.au/blog/the-scent-of-happiness.html https://mappalicious.com/2016/06/19/feel-good-vs-feel-purpose-hedonia-and-eudaimonia-as-separate-but-connectedpathways-to-happiness/ References: Bourgeois, David T.; Smith, James L.; Wang, Shouhong; and Mortati, Joseph, "Information Systems for Business and Beyond" (2019). Open Textbooks. 1. https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/open-textbooks/1 Kizza, J. M. (2023). Ethical and social issues in the information age. 7th Edition. ISBN 978-3-031-24862-7 Resources: Teacherspayteachers.com