Information Systems for

Managers - S02

Previous session
Management, functions of
management
Levels of management
Framework for information
systems
Stages of new information
technology growth
2

Introduction
Systems Concepts.
Systems Characteristics
Systems and their environment
How a system works
Systems approach to problem
solving
Transition to learning
organization
3

Systems Concepts
A system is an integrated
set of components, or entities
that interact to achieve a
particular function or goal.

Systems Characteristics 01
System boundaries Every system
has a boundary that defines its
scope of activities
Systems and sub-systems
Systems may consist of numerous
sub-systems which has elements,
interactions and objectives. E.g. In a
business system, marketing, finance
and HR are examples of sub-systems
5

Systems Characteristics 02
Outputs and inputs The inner
workings of a system or subsystem are organized to produce
outputs from inputs
Interfaces An interface is a
connection at system or subsystem boundaries. E.g two
independent systems can interact
with each other using web services.
6

Systems and their

environment - 01
The systems environment
consists of people, organizations
and other systems that supply
data to or that receive data
from the system.
Various kinds of systems may
interact with the environment in
different ways.
7

Systems and their

environments - 02
Open systems - Open systems
operate in an external
environment and exchange
information and data with that
environment.
Closed systems - Closed system
is relatively self contained. It
doesnt exchange information
with its environment.
8

Systems and their

environments - 03
System feedback Feedback is an
indicator of current performance
when compared to a set of standards.
With effective feedback, continuous
adjustments in the activities of a
system can be made to assure that
the system achieves its goals
System Entropy Entropy is a
measure of disorder. Systems run
down if they are not maintained
9

Systems and their

environments - 04
System stress and change
Systems change over time.
Changes can occur because
of identified problems, new
business opportunities and
new management directives.

10

How a system works - 01

System concepts in business Systems
approach is a way of analyzing business
problems. It views the business organization
as a system of interrelated parts designed to
accomplish goals. Managers must
understand the goals of the total system
and design the functions of the sub-system.
Information system as a system The
major purpose of an information system is
to convert data into information
information is data with meaning

11

How a system works - 02

Information system as a system An
information system contains elements
such as hardware, software, personnel,
databases and procedures to
accomplish its objectives. Hardware
consists of computer devices and
communication equipment. Software
consists of instructions that the
hardware uses. Software consists of
application software and systems
software
12

How a system works - 03

Sub systems Each sub-system
performs a specialized task that
supports the business objectives. If
one of the sub-systems breaks down,
the overall business will feel the effect.
Outputs and Inputs An information
system receives inputs of data and
instructions, processes the data
according to instructions and produces
outputs.
13

How a system works - 04

Hierarchy of sub-systems The subsystems within an information system
can be organized into a hierarchy to
represent their functions within the
overall system. Each sub-system
performs a specialized function.
System feedback An information
system provides system feedback to a
manager about day-to-day activities and
about deviations from planned activities.

14

How a system works - 05

Sub-system interfaces
Interfaces exist between the
sub-systems of an
information system. Generally
the sub-systems are loosely
coupled.

15

How a system works - 06

Internal controls Input control
ensures that data is processed
accurately. Password security is
used to ensure unauthorized
access.
Structure of an enterprise
Based on the structure of an
enterprise, the various subsystems are designed.
16

Systems approach to
problem solving - 01
Systems approach to problem solving
involves the following steps
Define the problem.
Gather the data describing the problem
Identify alternative solutions
Evaluate these alternatives
Select and implement the best
alternative
Follow up to determine whether the
solution is working
17

Systems approach to
problem solving - 02
Define the problem
Defining the problem is one of
the most important parts of
the system study, because if
the wrong problem is
identified, the entire effort to
change the system will be off
track.
18

Systems approach to
problem solving - 03
Gather data describing the
problem. The business owner
may study the environment,
current standards,
management, input resources
and internal procedures to
gain an understanding of the
problem and gather data.
19

Systems approach to
problem solving - 04
Identify alternative solutions
The business owner needs
to identify alternative
responses to address the
problem. Each alternative
may support a different
strategy. E.g. Order to Cash
vs GCAP for Reuters
20

Systems approach to
problem solving - 05
Evaluate the alternatives The
business owner evaluates the
extent to which each alternative
enables the organization to
achieve its objective.
Select and implement the best
alternative Use various
parameters to evaluate and
select the best alternative
21

Systems approach to
problem solving - 06
Follow up to determine
whether the solution is
working Every manager
needs feedback to determine
if the goals of the system are
being achieved

22

Transition to learning
organization - 01
The most successful organizations
will be the learning organizations,
and the ability to learn faster than
the competition will be the key to
maintaining a sustainable
competitive organization.
Corporations can use the systems
approach to become learning
organizations.
23

Transition to learning
organization - 02
Five disciplines of the learning
organization
Personal Mastery
Mental models
Building shared vision
Team learning
Systems thinking
24

Transition to learning
organization - 03
Learning disabilities that interfere with
systems thinking
Individuals focus on their own position
Individuals blame someone else when
problems arise
Reactiveness instead of Proactiveness
Individuals spend time on events rather
than processes
Functional hierarchies

25

Transition to learning
organization - 04
Corporations can use the
systems approach to analyze
and understand the problems
that occur in business
systems

26

Transition to learning
organization - 05
Feedback in the learning organization
Balancing feedback is a type of
feedback that tries to achieve
stability. In balancing a system, you
make corrective adjustments to
maintain some goal or to achieve
some target. E.g. Training need
analysis based on 360 degree
feedback

27

Summary
Systems Concepts.
Systems Characteristics
Systems and their environment
How a system works
Systems approach to problem
solving
Transition to learning
organization
28