MCS 2020 Reading Notes PDF

MCS*2020 Reading Notes Chapter 1 - Information Systems in Global Business Today Five changes in management information systems: IT Innovations, New Business Models, E-Commerce Expansion, Management Changes Digital firm → significant business relationships with customers, suppliers and...

MCS*2020 Reading Notes Chapter 1 - Information Systems in Global Business Today Five changes in management information systems: IT Innovations, New Business Models, E-Commerce Expansion, Management Changes Digital firm → significant business relationships with customers, suppliers and employees Business processes → set of logically related tasks and behaviours that organizations develop over time to produce specific business results Business model → how a company produces, delivers and sells a product/service to create wealth Information technology (IT) → hardware and software that a firm needs to use in order to achieve business objectives Information system → collects or retrieves, processes, stores, and distributes information to support decision-making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization Data → raw facts representing occurring events in organizations or in the physical environment before they have been organized and arranged into a form that people can understand and use Input → captures or collects raw data from within the organization or from its external environment Processing → converts raw input into a meaningful form Output → transfers processed info to the people who will use it or to the activities it is required for Feedback → output that is returned to appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stage Information systems literacy → broad-based understanding of information systems that includes behavioral knowledge about organizations and individuals using information systems as well as technical knowledge about computers Computer literacy → knowledge about information technology, focusing on understanding how computer-based technologies work Management information systems (MIS) → study of information systems with use in business and management Senior management → people occupying the topmost hierarchy in an organization who are responsible for making long-range decisions Middle management → people in the middle of the organization hierarchy responsible for carrying out plans and goals of senior management Operational management → people who monitor day-to-day activities of the organization Knowledge workers → people who design products/services and create knowledge for the organization Data workers → people who organize paperwork Production or service workers → people who produce the products or services  Business functions → specialized tasks performed in a business organization, including manufacturing and production, sales and marketing, finance and accounting, and human resources Culture → assumptions about what products the organization produces, how and where they should produce them, and for whom they should be produced Computer hardware → physical equipment used for input, processing, and output activities in an information system Computer software → detailed, preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system Data management technology → software governing the organization of data on physical storage media Networking and telecommunications technology → physical devices/software that link various hardware components and transfer data from location to another Network → linking of two or more computers to share data or resources such as a printer Intranet → internal network based on internet and world wide web technology and standards Extranet → private intranet accessible to authorized outsiders World Wide Web → system with universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying info in a networked environment Information Technology Infrastructure (IT) → computer hardware, software, data, storage technology, and networks providing a portfolio of shared IT resources for the organization Complementary assets → assets required to derive value from primary investment Organizational and management capital → investments in organization and management such as new business processes, management behavior, organizational culture, or training Sociotechnical view → seeing systems as composed of both technical and social elements Chapter 2 - Global E-Business and Collaboration Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) → computerized systems that perform and record the daily routine transactions necessary to conduct the business; they serve the organization’s operational level Business intelligence → applications and technologies to help users make better business decisions Management information systems → specific category of information system providing reports on organizational performance to help middle management monitor and control the business Decision-support systems (DSS) → information systems at the organization’s management level that combine data and sophisticated analytical models or data analysis tools to support semistructured and unstructured decision-making  Executive support systems (ESS) → information systems at the organization’s strategic level designed to address unstructured decision-making through advanced graphics and communications Portal → web interface for presenting integrated personalized content from a variety of sources. Drilling down → move from summary data to lower levels of detail Digital dashboard → displays all of a firm’s key performance indicators as graphs/charts on a single screen to provide one-page overview of all the critical measurements necessary to make key executive decisions Enterprise applications → systems that coordinate activities, decisions and knowledge across many different functions, levels and business units in a firm. Customer relationship management systems → information systems that track all the ways in which a company interacts with its customers and analyze these interactions to optimize revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and customer retention Enterprise systems → integrated enterprise-wide info systems that coordinate key internal processes of the firm Supply chain management → information systems automating the flow of info between a firm and its suppliers in order to optimize the planning, sourcing, manufacturing and delivery of products/services Interorganizational system → for linking the company to customers, distributors or suppliers Customer relationship management → business and technology discipline that uses info systems to coordinate all of the business processes surrounding the firm’s interactions with its customers in sales, marketing and service Knowledge management system → supports the creation, capture, storage and dissemination of firm expertise and knowledge Electronic business → digital technology to do business E-commerce → buying and selling goods/services electronically involving transactions using the internet, networks and other digital technologies E-government → use of the internet and related technologies to digitally enable government and public sector agencies relationships with citizens, businesses and other arms of government Collaboration → working with others to achieve shared and explicit goals Teams → formal group whos members collaborate to achieve specific goals Social business → use of social networking platforms, including facebook, twitter and internal corporate social tools, to engage employees, customers or suppliers Information systems department → formal organizational unit responsible for the information systems function in the organization Programmers → highly trained specialists who write computer software instructions Systems analysts → translate business problems and requirements into info requirements and systems, acting as a liaison between info systems department and rest of organization Info system managers → leaders of various specialists in the info systems department Chief Information Officer → senior manager in charge of information systems function  Chief security officer → security function for organization and responsible for the security policy Chief privacy officer → ensures company complies with existing data privacy laws Chief knowledge officer → senior executive in charge of organization’s knowledge management program Chief data officer → responsible for enterprise-wide governance and utilization of info to maximize the value the organization can realize from its data End users → representatives of departments outside the information systems group for whom applications are developed IT Governance → strategy and policies for using infotech to support strategies and objectives Chapter 3 - Information Systems, Organizations, and Strategy Organization → stable, formal social structure that takes resources from the environment and processes them to produce outputs Routines → rules, procedures and practices that have been developed to cope with virtually all expected situations Disruptive technologies → substitutes that perform better than anything currently produced Transaction cost theory → economic theory stating that firms grow larger because they can conduct marketplace transactions internally more cheaply than they can with external firms in the marketplace Agency theory → economic theory that views the firm as a nexus of contracts among self-interested individuals who must be supervised and managed Competitive forces model → model used to describe the interaction of external influences, specifically threats and opportunities that affect an organization’s strategy and ability to compete Product differentiation → competitive strategy for creating brand loyalty by developing new and unique products/services that competitors do not easily duplicate Efficient customer response system → links consumer behaviour and production and supply chains Mass customization → tailored products using mass production resources Customer experience management → management of all the interactions between a customer and a company throughout their entire business relationship Switching costs → expense a customer or company incurs in lost time and expenditure of resources when changing suppliers or systems Value chain model → model that highlights the primary or support activities that add a margin of value to a firm’s products/services where information systems can be best applied to achieve competitive advantage Primary activities → activities most directly related to the production and distribution of a firm’s products/services Support activities → make the delivery of a firm’s primary activities possible. Consist of the organization’s infrastructure, human resources, technology and procurement  Benchmarking → involves comparing the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes against strict standards Best practices → consulting companies, research organizations, government agencies and industry associations Value web → collection of independent firms that use info tech to coordinate their value chains to produce a product or service Core competency → activity for which a firm is a world-class leader Network economics → market situations where the economic value being produced depends on the number of people using a product Virtual company → organization using networks to link people, assets, and ideas to create and distribute products/services without being limited to traditional organizational boundaries or physical location Business ecosystem → loosely coupled but interdependent network of suppliers Platforms → business providing information systems, technologies and services that thousands of other firms use Chapter 8 - Securing Information Systems Security → policies, procedures and technical measures used to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, theft or physical damage to information systems Controls → methods, policies, and organizational procedures that ensure the safety of the organization’s assets War driving → eavesdroppers drive by buildings or park outside and try to intercept wireless network traffic Malware → computer viruses, worms and trojan horses Computer virus → rogue software program that attaches itself to software programs or data files Worms → independent computer programs that copy themselves from one computer to others through networks Drive by-downloads → malware coming with a download file Trojan horse → causes hidden damage SQL injection attacks → exploit vulnerabilities in poorly coded web application software to introduce malicious program code into a company’s systems and networks Ransomware → extorts money from users by taking over their computer Keyloggers → records every keystroke made on a computer Hacker → individual who intends to gain unauthorized acces to a computer system Cybervandalism → intentional disruption, defacement or destruction of a website or corporate info system Spoofing → fake email addresses or pretending to be someone else Sniffer → eavesdropping program that monitors information travelling over a network Denial of service (DoS) attack → hackers flood a network server/web server with many thousands of false communications or requests for services to crash the network Distributed denial of service attack → numerous computers inundating and overwhelming a network from numerous launch points  Botnet → group of computers that have been infected with bot malware without users’ knowledge, enabling a hacker to use the amassed resources of the computers to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks, phishing campaigns or spam Identity theft → theft of personal info, like credit card or sin number Phishing → fake websites or emails of legitimate businesses Evil twins → wireless networks pretending to be legitimate to get passwords Pharming → redirects users to a bogus web page Click fraud → individual clicks on an ad without learning about the advertiser Cyberwarfare → cripple another nation by penetrating computers Social engineering → tricking ppl to revealing passwords pretending to be a company Zero day vulnerabilities → security vulnerabilities in software, unknown to the creator, that hackers can exploit before the vendor becomes aware of the problem Patches → small pieces of software to repair others without disrupting the operation HIPAA → medical security and privacy rules/procedures for simplifying the administration of healthcare billing and automating the transfer of healthcare data Gramm-leach-bliley act → law passed in 2002 that imposes responsibility on companies and their management to protect investors by safeguarding the accuracy and integrity of financial info that is used internally and released externally Computer forensics → scientific collection, examination, authentication, preservation and analysis of data held on or retrieved from computer storage media in such a qay that the info can be used in the court of law General controls → control environment governing the design, security and use of computer programs and the security of data files Application controls → only authorized data is processed by an application Risk assessment → level of risk to firm if a specific activity is not properly controlled Security policy → statements ranking info risks, acceptable security goals and mechanisms for achieving these goals Acceptable use policy → acceptable uses of the firm’s info resources and computing equipment Disaster recovery planning → planning for the restoration of computing and communication after disruption Business continuity planning → planning that focuses on how the company can restore business operations after a disaster strikes Information systems audit → identifies all controls governing individual systems and assessing their effectiveness Identity management → keep track of users and their system privileges Token → physical device designed to prove identity of single user Smart card → access permission and other data Biometric authentication → fingerprint, irises, voices, etc to grant access Two factor authentication → increases security thru multistep verification Intrusion detection systems → full-time monitoring tools placed at the most vulnerable points/hot spots of corporate networks Unified threat management → comprehensive security management tool that combines security tools  Secure sockets layer → management of encryption and description activities securely S-HTTP → encrypting data flowing thru internet Public key encryption → one share and one private Digital certificate → protection of online transactions Fault-tolerant computer systems → systems that contain extra hardware, software and power supply components Managed security provider → provides security management services for subscribing clients Digital → digital resilience of an organization and business processes in the digital environment Chapter 4 - Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems Profiling → use of computers to combine data from multiple sources and create digital dossiers of detailed information on individuals Nonobvious relationship awareness → technology that can find hidden connections Due process → related feature of law-governed societies and is a process in which laws are known and understood Immanuel kant categorical imperative → if an action is not right for all to take it is not right for anyone Slippery slope rule → if an action cannot be taken repeatedly it is not right to take at all Utilitarian principle → you can prioritize values in a rank order and understand the consequences of various actions Risk aversion principle → taking actions that produce least harm Ethical no-free lunch rule → all tangible and non tangible objects are owned by someone else Fair information practices → set of principles governing the collection and use of information of individuals General data protection regulation → updates and unifies data privacy laws across the european union, expanding privacy rights Cookies → small text files deposited on a computers hard drive when a user visits websites Web beacons→ tiny software programs keeping record of users online clickstreams Spyware → secretly installs itself on a computer and sends unsolicited material Trade secret → work or product belonging to the business and not released in the public domain Digital millennium copyright act → illegal to copy technology-based protections of copyrighted material Computer crime → commiting illegal acts against or through a computer Digital divide → large disparities in access to computers and the internet among different social groups and locations Chapter 5 - IT Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies Mainframe → largest category of computer  Minicomputers → middle range computer used in universities, factories or research laboratories Wintel → computer that uses intel microprocessors and a windows operating system client/server computing → splits processing between clients/servers on a network, assigning functions to the machine most able to perform the function Multitiered client/server architecture → the work of the entire network is balanced over several different levels of servers Web server → manages requests for web pages on the computer where they are stored and that delivers the page to the user’s computer Application server → handles all application operations between browser-based computers and a company’s back-end business applications or databases Cloud computing → computer processing, storage, software and other services are provided as a shared pool of virtualized resources over a network Moore’s law → the number of components on a chip doubles each year Technology standards → establishes the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate in a network Unix and Linux → operating systems for corporate servers and supports multiuser processing, multitasking and networking Operating system → manages the resources and activities of the computer Chrome os → lightweight operating system for users who do their computing on the internet Android → upgradeable mobile device platform Multitouch → interface that features the use of one or more finger gestures to manipulate lists or objects on a screen without using a mouse or keyboard Web hosting service → company with large web server computers to maintain the websites of fee-paying subscribers Legacy system → system that has been in existence for a long time and continues to be used to avoid high cost of replacing/redesiging it Tablet computers → mobile handheld computer that is larger than a mobile phone and operated primarily by touching a flat screen BYOD → “bring your own device” and refers to employees using own devices in workplace Consumerization of IT → new information technology originating in the consumer market spreading to business organizations Quantum computing → use of principles of quantum physics to represent data and perform operations on data, with ability to be in different states at once Virtualization → presenting a set of computing resources so they can be accessed in ways that are not restricted by physical configuration or geographic location Software-defined storage → software to manage provisioning and management of data storage independent of the underlying hardware Infrastructure as a service → computing infrastructure provisioned and managed as a cloud computing service Software as a service → delivers and provides access to software remotely as a web-based service  Platform as a service → provides a platform for customers to develop, run, and manage applications without having to build and maintain the infrastructure typically associatged with developing an application Public cloud → owned and maintained by a cloud service provider and provided to general public Private cloud → proprietary network or data center tying together servers, networks, data and applications as a set of virtualized services that are shared by users inside a company On-demand computing → firms off-loading peak demand for computing power to remote, large-scale data processing centers, investing to handle and process average loads and paying for only as much additional computing power as the market demands Hybrid cloud → firms use both their own IT infrastructure and also cloud computing services Edge computing → performing some data processing on a set of linked servers at the edge of the network, near the source of data Green computing → practices and technologies for designing, manufacturing, using and disposing of computers, servers and associated devices such as monitors, printers, storage devices and networking and communications systems to minimize impact on the environment Multicore processor → has integrated circuit to which two or more processor cores have been attached for enhanced performance Open source software → software that provides free access to its program code, allowing users to modify the program code to make improvements or fix errors Java → delivers only software functionality needed for a particular task, such as a small applet downloaded from a network HTML → specifies how text, graphics, video and sound are placed on a web page Web services → set of universal standards using internet technology for integrating different applications from different sources without time-consuming custom coding XML → general purpose language describing the structure of a document and can perform presentation, communication and storage of data, allowing data to be manipulated by the computer Service oriented architecture → built on a collection of software programs that communicate with each other to perform assigned tasks to create a working software application Software package → prewritten, precoded, commercially available set of programs eliminating the need to write software programs for certain functions Service level agreement → formal contract between customers and service providers defining responsibilities of the service provider and level of service Mashups → composite software applications depending on high-speed networks, universal communication standards and open source code Scalability → ability of a computer, product, or system to expand to serve a large number of users without breaking down  Mobile device management → software that monitors, manages, and secures mobile devices that are deployed across multiple mobile service providers and operating systems Total cost of ownership → designates the total cost of owning technology resources, including initial purchase costs, the cost of hardware and software upgrades, maintenance, technical support and training Chapter 6 - Foundations of Business Intelligence: Databases and Information Management Bit → compter unit of data Byte → 8 bits Field → grouping of characters into a word, group of words, or a complete number such as name/age Entity → person, place, thing, event Attribute → piece of info describing an entity Data redundancy → presence of duplicate data in multiple data files Data inconsistency → presence of different values for same attribute when the same data are stored in multiple locations Program-data dependence → close relationship between data stored in files and the software programs that update and maintain those files. Any change in data organization or format requires a change in all the programs associated with those files Database → collection of data organized to service many applications at the same time by storing and managing data so they appear to be in one location Database management system → special software to create and maintain a database and enables individual business applications to extract the data they need without having to create separate files or data definitions in their computer programs Relational DBMS → logical database model that treats data as if they were stored in two-dimensional tables. Can relate data stored in one table to data in another as long as the two tables share a common data element Tuples → row or record in a relational database Key field → field in a record that uniquely identifies instances of that record so it can be retrieved, updated or sorted Foreign key → field in database that enables users to find relayed info in another database table Data definition → DBMS capability specifices the structure and content of database Data dictionary → automated or manual tool for storing and organizing information about data maintained in a database Data manipulation language → language associated with a database management system that end users and programmers use to manipulate data in the data base Normalization → process of creating small stable data structures from complex groups of data when designing a relational database Referential integrity → rules to ensure relationships between coupled database tables remain consistent  Nonrelational database management systems → database management system for working with large quantities of structured and unstructured data that would be difficult to analyze with a relational model Distributed database → database stored in multiple physical locations Blockchain → distributed ledger system that stores permanent and tamper-proof records of transcations and shares them among a distributed network of computers Big data → data sets with volumes so huge they are beyond the ability of typical relational DBMS to capture, store and analyze, data is often unstructured or semistructured Data warehouse → database with reporting and query tools that stores current and historical data extracted from various operational systems and consolidated for management reporting and analysis Data mart → small data warehouse containing only a portion of organizations data for a specified function or population of users Hadoop → open source software framework enabling distributed parallel processing of huge amounts of data across many inexpensive computers In-memory computing → technology for rapid analysis and processing of large quantities of data by storing the data in the computer’s main memory rather than in secondary storage Analytic platforms → preconfigured hardware-software system that is specifically designed for high-speed analysis of large data sets Data lake → repository for raw unstructured data or structured data that has not been analyzed Online analytical processing → capability for manipulating and analyzing large volumes of data from multiple perspectives Data mining → analysis of large pools of data to find patterns and rules that can be used to guide decision making and predict future behaviour Text mining → discovery of patterns and relationships from large sets of unstructured data Sentiment analysis → mining text comments in an email, blog, social media conversation, or survey form Web mining → discovery and analysis of useful patterns from web Database server → computer in a client/server environment that is responsible for running a DBMS to process SQL statements Data governance → policies and processes for managing the availability, usability, integrity and security of the firm’s data Data quality audit → survey and/or sample of files to determine accuracy and completeness of data in an information system Data cleansing → activities for detecting and correcting data in a database or file that are incorrect, incomplete, improperly formatted or redundant Chapter 7 - Telecommunications, The Internet and Wireless Technology Broadband → high-speed transmission technology, designating a single communications medium that can transmit multiple channels of data simultaneously  Network operating system → special software routing and managing communications on the network and coordinating network resources Hubs → simple devices connecting network components Switch → device to connect network components that has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination Router → specialized communications processor that forwards packets of data from one network to another network Software-defined networking → using a central control program separate from network devices to manage the flow of data on a network Packet switching → technology that breaks messages into small, fixed bundles of data and routes them in the most economical way through any available communications channel Protocol → set of rules and procedures that govern transmission between the components in a network Transmission control protocol/internet protocol → dominant model for achieving connectivity among different networks. Provides universally agreed-on method for breaking up digital messages into packets, routing them ot the proper addresses and reassembling them Modem → device for translating a computer’s digital signals into analog form for transmission over analog networks or for translating analog signals back into digital form for reception by a computer LAN → encompasses a limited distance, usually one building or several buildings in close proximity Peer-to-peer → network architecture that gives equal power to all computers on the network, used primarily in small networks Wide area network → telecommunications network spanning into large geographical distance and consists of a variety of cable, satellite, and microwave technologies Hertz → one hertz is equal to one cycle of the medium Bandwidth → capacity of a communications channel as measured by the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies transmitted by the channel Internet service provider → commercial organization with permanent connection to the internet selling temporary connections to subscribers Digital subscriber line → a group of technologies providing high-capacity transmission over existing copper telephone lines T1 lines → high-speed guaranteed level data lines leased from communications providers such as T-1 lines Internet protocol → four-part numeric address indicating a unique computer location on the internet Domain name → english-like name corresponding to unique 32-bit numeric internet protocol address Telnet → network tool allowing someone to log on to one computer system while doing work on another File transfer protocol → tool for retrieving and transferring files from a remote computer  Unified communications → integrates disparate channels for voice communications, data communications, instant messaging, email, and electronic conferencing Virtual private network → secure connection between two points across the internet to transmit corporate data Hypertext transfer protocol → communications standard used to transfer pages on the web. Defines how messages are formatted and transmitted Uniform resource locator → address of a specific resource on the internet Semantic search → search technology capable of understanding human language and behavior Personal area networks → computer network for communication among digital devices that are close to one person Radio frequency identification → tiny tags transmits short-distance radio signals to special RFID readers that pass the data on to a computer Near field communication → short-range wireless connectivity standard using electromagnetic radio fields to enable two compatible devices to exchange data