Introduction To Information Systems (CIS Systems 1000) PDF

Introduction To Information (CISSystems 1000) Textbook: Ralph M. Stair, Thomas Chesney, George Walter Reynolds, Principles of Business Information Systems, Cengage Learning. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 1  Course Aim 1. Overview the f...

Introduction To Information (CISSystems 1000) Textbook: Ralph M. Stair, Thomas Chesney, George Walter Reynolds, Principles of Business Information Systems, Cengage Learning. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 1  Course Aim 1. Overview the five basic areas of information systems knowledge needed by business professionals, including the conceptual system components and major types of information systems. 2. Introduce fundamental concepts of competitive advantage through information technology. 3. Review history, trends, and developments in microcomputer, midrange, and mainframe computer systems; basic computer system concepts; and the major types of technologies used in peripheral devices for computer input, output, and storage. 4. Review the basic features and trends in the major types of application software and system software used to support enterprise and end-user computing. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 2  Course Aim 5. Introduce key database management concepts and applications in business information systems. 6. Present an overview of the Internet and other telecommunication networks, business applications, and trends and reviews technical telecommunications alternatives. 7. Understand the role of e-business, e-commerce and decision support systems. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 3  Grading System 7th Week Exam: 30 Marks (20+10) 12th Week Exam: 20 Marks (15+5) Term Work: 10 Marks Final: 40 Marks Total: 100 Marks Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 4  What is an Information System? What is a System? A system is a set of elements or components that interact to accomplish goals. The elements themselves and the relationships among them determine how the system works. Systems have inputs, processing mechanisms, outputs and feedback as in figure. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 5  System performance can be measured in various ways: Efficiency is a measure of what is produced divided by what is consumed. For example, the efficiency of a motor is the energy produced (in terms of work done) divided by the energy consumed (in terms of electricity or fuel). Effectiveness is a measure of the extent to which a system achieves its goals. It can be computed by dividing the goals actually achieved by the total of the stated goals. For example, a company might want to achieve a net profit of €100 million for the year with a new information system. Actual profits, however, might only be €85 million for the year. In this case, the effectiveness is 85 per cent (85/100 = 85 %). Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 6  Evaluating system performance also calls for using performance standards. A system performance standard is a specific objective of the system. For example, a system performance standard for a marketing campaign might be to have each sales representative sell €100 000 of a certain type of product each year. A system performance standard for a manufacturing process might be to provide no more than 1% defective parts. After standards are established, system performance is measured and compared with the standard. Variances from the standard are determinants of system performance. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 7  System Performance Standards (a) Sales broken down by sales person (b) Percentage of defective parts Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 8  What is an Information System? What is Information? In the 1940s, mathematician Claude Shannon defined it as: information is that which reduces uncertainty. Shannon was working on the technical problems involved in sending messages over communication networks, and his concept of information is actually quite different from what we in business information systems mean by ‘information’. Nevertheless, we can use his definition as a starting point. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 9  What is an Information System? What is Information? Imagine you are unsure of what today’s weather will be like. Getting out of bed you open the curtains to see that the sun is shining. You now know a bit more about what’s it’s going to be like: your uncertainty about the weather has been reduced. Therefore looking out the window gave you information. When you turn on your radio and hear a detailed weather report, your uncertainty has been reduced further. When you look at the temperature gauge in your car, again your uncertainty has gone down. According to Shannon’s definition, each of these events has therefore given you information. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 10  What is an Information System? What is Information? However his definition does not really capture what we would think of when we consider the information in, say, a management report. Therefore we simply define information as a collection of facts. These facts can take many forms. The temperature gauge in the car gives information in the form of a number. The radio gives audio information. Looking out of the window gives visual information. Other forms of information include text, images and video clips. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 11 What is data? Another term that is closely related to information is ‘data’. The traditional information systems view that the input to an information system is data, and the output from the system is information. This means therefore that the difference between them is to do with how much processing has been done. unprocessed facts are data, processed facts are information. Unfortunately, however, this distinction is of little practical use. Therefore we will simply use the terms ‘information’ and ‘data’ interchangeably and define them as a collection of facts which can come in a variety of formats. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 12  What is an Information System? Information System (IS) is a set of interrelated components that collect, manipulate, store and disseminate information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective. It is the feedback mechanism that helps organizations achieve their goals, such as increasing profits or improving customer service. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 13  What is an Information System? Input input is the activity of gathering and capturing data. In producing paycheques, for example, the number of hours every employee works must be collected before the cheques can be calculated or printed. In a university grading system, instructors must submit student grades before a summary of grades for the semester can be compiled and sent to the students. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 14  What is an Information System? Processing Processing means converting or transforming this input into useful outputs. Processing can involve making calculations, comparing data and taking alternative actions, and storing data for future use. In a payroll application, the number of hours each employee worked must be converted into net, or takehome, pay. Other inputs often include employee ID number and department. The required processing can first involve multiplying the number of hours worked by the employee’s hourly pay rate to get gross pay. If weekly hours worked exceed basic hours, overtime pay might also be included. Then tax must be deducted along with contributions to health and life insurance or savings plans to get net pay. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 15  What is an Information System? Processing After these calculations and comparisons are performed, the results are typically stored. Storage involves keeping data and information available for future use, including output. Output Output involves producing useful information, usually in the form of documents and reports. Outputs can include paycheques for employees, reports for managers, and information supplied to stockholders, banks, government agencies and other groups. In addition, output from one system can become input for another. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 16  What is an Information System? Output For example, output from a system that processes sales orders can be used as input to a customer billing system. Computers typically produce output on printers and display screens. Output can also be handwritten or manually produced reports, although this is not common. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 17  What is an Information System? Feedback Feedback is information from the system that is used to make changes to input or processing activities. For example, errors or problems might make it necessary to correct input data or change a process. Consider a payroll example. Perhaps the number of hours an employee worked was entered as 400 instead of 40 hours. Fortunately, most information systems check to make sure that data falls within certain ranges. For number of hours worked, the range might be from 0 to 100 hours because it is unlikely that an employee would work more than 100 hours in a week. The information system would determine that 400 hours is out of range and provide feedback. The feedback is used to check and correct the input on the number of hours worked to 40. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 18  What is an Information System? Feedback Feedback is also important for managers and decision makers. For example, a furniture maker could use a computerized feedback system to link its suppliers and manufacturing plants. The output from an information system might indicate that inventory levels for mahogany and oak are getting low – a potential problem. A manager could use this feedback to decide to order more wood from a supplier. These new inventory orders then become input to the system. In addition to this reactive approach, a computer system can also be proactive – predicting future events to avoid problems. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 19  What is an Information System? Forecasting This concept, often called forecasting, can be used to estimate future sales and order more inventory before a shortage occurs. Forecasting is also used to predict the strength of hurricanes and possible landing sites, future stock-market values and who will win a political election. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 20  The Characteri stics of Valuable Informatio n Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 21 Manual and Computerized Information Systems Manual IS For example, some investment analysts manually draw charts and trend lines to assist them in making investment decisions. Tracking data on stock prices (input) over the last few months or years, these analysts develop patterns on graph paper (processing) that help them determine what stock prices are likely to do in the next few days or weeks (output). Some investors have made millions of euros using manual stock analysis information systems. Of course, today, many excellent computerized information systems follow stock indexes and markets and suggest when large blocks of stocks should be purchased or sold to take advantage of market discrepancies. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 22 Manual and Computerized Information Systems A Computer-Based Information System (CBIS) A computer-based information system (CBIS) is a single set of hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, people and procedures that is configured to collect, manipulate, store and process data into information. For example, a company’s payroll, order entry or inventory-control system are examples of a CBIS. CBISs can also be embedded into products. Some new cars and home appliances include computer hardware, software, databases and even telecommunications to control their operations and make them more useful. This is often called ‘embedded’, ‘pervasive’ or ‘ubiquitous’ computing. CBISs have evolved into sophisticated analysis tools. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 23 The Components of a CBIS Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 24  Computer-Based Information System (CBIS) Information Technology Information technology (IT) refers to hardware, software, databases and telecommunications. Business’s Technology Infrastructure A business’s technology infrastructure includes all the hardware, software, data bases, telecommunications, people and procedures that are configured to collect, manipulate, store and process data into information. The technology infrastructure is a set of shared IS resources that form the foundation of each computer-based information system. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 25  The Components of a CBIS Hardware Any machinery (most of which uses digital circuits) that assists in the input, processing, storage and output activities of an information system. Software The computer programs that govern the operation of the computer. Database An organized collection of electronic information. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 26  The Components of a CBIS Telecommunications, Networks, and the Internet Telecommunications The electronic transmission of signals for communications; enables organizations to carry out their processes and tasks through effective computer networks. Networks Computers and equipment that are connected in a building, around the country or around the world to enable electronic communications. Internet The world’s largest computer network, actually consisting of thousands of interconnected networks, all freely exchanging information. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 27  The Components of a CBIS Cloud Computing A computing environment where software and storage are provided as an Internet service and are accessed via a web browser. Intranet An internal company network built using Internet and World Wide Web standards and products that allows people within an organization to exchange information and work on projects. Extranet A network based on web technologies that allows selected outsiders, such as business partners, suppliers or customers, to access authorized resources of a company’s intranet. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 28  The Components of a CBIS People People are the most important element in most computer- based information systems. The people involved include users of the system and information systems personnel, including all the people who manage, run, program and maintain the system. Procedures The strategies, policies, methods and rules for using a CBIS. Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 29 1. What is an information system? What are some of the ways information systems are changing our lives? 2. How would you distinguish data and information? 3. Identify at least six characteristics of valuable information. 4. What is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness? 5. What are the components of any information system? 6. What is feedback? What are possible consequences of inadequate feedback? 7. How is system performance measured? 8. What is a knowledge management system? Give an Example.30 Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 9. What is a computer-based information system? What are its components? 10. What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet? 11. What are some of the benefits organizations seek to achieve through using information systems? Dr. Mahmoud Ashry 31