IT for Managers

Module 1 Foundation Concepts

Chithambar Gupta V Associate Professor MBA Department Reva ITM, Bangalore

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Recommended Books
MIS - Managing Information Systems in Business, Government and Society - Rahul De, 1/e, Wiley India, 2012 Introduction to Information System, James A. O Brien, Tata McGraw Hill, 12th Edition Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm - Loudon, Kenneth C., and Jane P. Loudon. 10/e, Prentice-Hall, 2007
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Module Outline
Foundations of Information Systems (IS) in Business Data & Information Information as a resource Information in Organizational functions System Concepts Components of an IS IS Resources Fundamental roles of IS applications in Business Trends in IS
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Organisations
Organisation - The organization is defined as a collection of people engaged in interactions who have shared goals The world today consists of many organizations that have collections of people with shared goals Modern Organisations are IT enabled, Networked, Dispersed, Knowledge Organisations
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The Emerging Digital Firm

Modern Organisations: Knowledge Organisation

Modern organisations consist of knowledge workers whose main job is to access and deal with knowledge and information A major task of modern organisations is to process information Information is like glue that binds the organization and its functions together Information is stored, processed and converted into forms that make it an integral part of an organization. This is referred to as the Organisations Knowledge Base.
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What are Information Systems?

Information Systems (IS) are collections of computers, networks, software and people who create, store, modify and distribute data and information in any organisation. Information Technology (IT) are the tools such as computers, software and networks that constitute the IS.

Information Systems Are More than Computers

Brief History of Computing

Charles Babbage conceived of computers in 1820 Babbage designed a mechanical device that could make computations Babbage's device was called the Difference Engine Ada Lovelace helped create the instructions for Babbage's device; Lovelace invented the idea of software Electronic computers were built independently in Germany, the UK and the USA around 1940s The first general purpose computer was called the ENIAC, built in the USA in 1946 First commercial computers appeared in 1950s Widespread development of hardware and software around the world
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Brief History of Computing

First computer arrived in India in 1956 at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata Development of computer networks began in 1960s Artificial Intelligence efforts were started to write software that emulated human capabilities Personal computers became widely available in the 1980s Early 1980s also saw the emergence of Free Software, software that was openly available 1990s growth of the Internet and widespread computing around the globe
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Brief History of Computing

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The Internet and Web

The Internet is a massive network of millions of computers The World Wide Web (or Web) is an information sharing technology built on the Internet The Internet enables many services to run, which include
The World Wide Web E-mail E-commerce

The Internet enables new ways of doing business

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Growth of the Internet

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Managing in the Internet Era

Challenge for organisations find and use most relevant and useful data Organisations have to create a presence on the Internet Organisations have to decide whether to use services on the Internet The Internet presents many security challenges

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The IT Interaction Model

Challenge of managing IS in organisations
Organisations do not remain static; they have to change to respond to the environment IS too continuously evolves

Important to understand organisations interact

how

IS

and

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IT Interaction Model

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IT Interaction Model
When an organisation builds an information system, the system may be
Used or not used Which may lead to positive or negative outcomes

Whether an IS is successful is largely dependent on

The competitive environment of the firm The competitive strategy that the firm follows The work culture of the firm The structure of the organisation
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IT Interaction Model
Information systems may impact the organisation by
Changing work processes and functions Automate manual processes Eliminate some work processes

Building an IS requires choices to be made

Build the system, if internal skills are available Buy the system

Initiation requires understanding the need for the IS Analysis is required to understand the specifications for the system A new system has to be introduced and integrated within the organisation
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Data and Information

Data and Information are key resources that have to be managed in organisations. Data is a raw collection of facts collected and used by all major functions in an organisation. Streams of raw facts representing events such as business transactions Information is processed data, created across the organisation. It can be treated as raw data when used for further processing. Clusters of facts meaningful and useful to human beings in the processes such as making decisions
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Data Versus Information

Data are raw facts about physical phenomena or business transactions Information is data that has been converted into meaningful and useful context for end users
Data Process Information

Examples:
Sales data is names, quantities, and dollar amounts Sales information is amount of sales by product type, sales territory, or salesperson
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Data and Information

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

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Transformation of Data
Data

Information

Knowledge

Business Intelligence
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Levels in a Firm

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Transformation of Data
Data Information Knowledge
Business Intelligence

Facts without context is Data Data processed in context is Information Information processed in context is Knowledge Knowledge in context of application is Know-How Know-how in context of right use is a Wisdom Data/Information/ Knowledge/ Knowledge Assets & supporting infrastructure of systems, and Tools to use it is a Business Intelligence
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Measuring Data
Data is stored as basic data called bits (1s and 0s), aggregated into bytes (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit and 64-bit). Memory capacities are designed in kilo-bytes, mega-bytes or giga-bytes, using 8bit byte units. Organisations commonly have total storage capacities of terabytes.

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Storage of data resources

Data are organized into fields, records, files and databases.
Field: is a group of character, each character is a byte. 1 Byte=8bits. E.g. RAMA Records: is a collection of interrelated fields. E.g. Ramas pay roll record consist of name, ID, Dept, shift, designation, salary. File: is a collection of interrelated records. E.g. Pay roll file records of all employees in a firm. Databases: it is an integrated collection of interrelated records . E.g. personnel database might contain pay roll, performance review, career development files.
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Information as a resource
Organisations process information which forms a valuable organisational asset that has to be managed and used for different purposes.
These information stores are by-products of the processes of the organisation and are stored in various forms in databases or in some compressed form through the process of archiving.
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Information in Organisational functions

In modern organisations, information, data and information systems are used extensively within and across organisational functions, across hierarchies.

Major Business Functions rely on Information Systems

Sales & Marketing Manufacturing & Operations Finance & Accounting Human Resources & Information Systems management.

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What is a System?
A system is
A set of interrelated components
With a clearly defined boundary Working together To achieve a common set of objectives By accepting inputs and producing outputs

In an organized transformation process

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Basic Functions of a System

Input
Capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed

Processing
Transformation process that converts input into output

Output
Transferring transformed elements to their ultimate destination
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A Business as a System

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What is an Information System?

An organized combination of
People Hardware and software Communication networks Data resources Policies and procedures

This system
Stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization
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IMS Model

Input
Data, Standards, Specifications Information, Knowledge, Rules, Policies, Practices, Strategy

Information Management System (IMS) Output Display

Output Data Information, Knowledge, Decisions, Results, Exceptions

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Information Technologies
Information Systems
All the components and resources necessary to deliver information and functions to the organization Could be paper based

Information Technologies
Hardware, software, management networking, data

Our focus will be on computer-based information systems (CBIS)

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Components of an IS

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Information System Resources

People Resources
Specialists End users

Hardware Resources
Machines Media

Software Resources
Programs Procedures
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Information System Resources

Data Resources
Product descriptions, customer employee files, inventory databases records,

Network Resources
Communications media, communications processors, network access and control software

Information Resources
Management reports and business documents using text and graphics displays, audio responses, and paper forms
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IS Activities
Input of data resources
Data entry activities

Processing of data into information

Calculations, comparisons, sorting, and so on

Output of information products

Messages, reports, forms, graphic images

Storage of data resources

Data elements and databases

Control of system performance

Monitoring and evaluating feedback
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Functions of an Information System

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Fundamental Roles of IS in Business

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Recognizing Information Systems

Business professionals should be able to look at an information system and identify
The people, hardware, software, data, and network resources they use The type of information products they produce The way they perform input, processing, output, storage, and control activities

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What is E-Business?
Using Internet technologies to empower
Business processes Electronic commerce Collaboration within a company Collaboration with customers, suppliers, and other business stakeholders

In essence, an online exchange of value

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Categories of Electronic Commerce

By looking at the nature of the participants in the e-commerce transaction, the three major electronic commerce categories are:
Business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce involves retailing products and services to individual shoppers. Business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce involves sales of goods and services among businesses. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic commerce involves consumers selling directly to consumers. 43

How E-Business is Being Used

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E-Business Use
Reengineering
Internal business processes

Enterprise collaboration systems

Support communications, coordination and coordination among teams and work groups

Electronic commerce
Buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products and services over networks

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Measuring IT Success
Efficiency
Minimize cost, time, and use of information resources

Effectiveness
Support business strategies Enable business processes Enhance organizational structure and culture Increase customer and business value

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The IS Function
The IS function is
A major functional area of business An important contributor to operational efficiency, employee productivity, morale, customer service and satisfaction A major source of information and support for decision making

A vital ingredient in developing competitive products and services in the global marketplace
A dynamic and challenging career opportunity

A key component of todays networked business

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Challenges for the Manager

A manager who has to manage the IS of an organisation faces many challenges

What systems to build?

Choose from many possible needs of the organisation

See what competitors are doing

How much to spend on IS? What level of capabilities should be created with the IS?

Support one department or many departments The systems should be both scalable and flexible

How centralized should the services be? What security levels are required?

Security has to be adequate without being cumbersome and expensive

What is the technology Road Map for the organisation?

Plan for the evolution of the IS in the organisation

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The basic system including keyboard, mouse and monitor.

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What is in the box? Motherboard

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Typical parts of a motherboard.

ABIT SE6

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Cabling

For items in or attached to a system to work properly they must be securely connected.

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Install/reinstall and update system software and drivers

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Internet Applications
BROWSERS

Netscape
Internet Explorer

http: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol edu: Education (gov, org, com, ...)

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Types of Telecommunications Networks

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Telecommunications Media

Twisted-pair wire Coaxial cable

Minimizes interference and distortion Allows high-speed data transmission

Glass fiber that conducts pulses of light generated by lasers Size and weight reduction Increased speed and carrying capacity

Fiber optics

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Introduction to Computer Networks

Networking Devices

HUB, Switches, Routers, Wireless Access Points, Modems etc.

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