V Basic Information Concepts and Definitions Need for Information

and Information Systems (IS) in an organization Ȅ characteristics

of Information and Organization with respect to organization
form, structure , philosophy, hierarchy etc
d (2 Sessions)
V ’ypes of Ȅ ’ransaction, Operational Control, Management
Control, Decision Support. Executive Information Systems.
d (1 Session)
V Determining Information Needs for an Organization / Individual
ManagerȄoverview of use of data flow method, analysis of
information of decision processes etc.
d (1 Session)
i Strategic use of Information and IS Ȅ Use of Information
for Customer Boding, for Knowledge Management, for
innovation, for Managing Business Risks, for Creating a
new business models and new business reality.
i (2 Sessions)
V Information SecurityȄ Sensitize students to the
need (or information security, concepts such as
confidentiality, Integrity and Availability. ’ypes
of threats and like; overview of some of the
manual, procedural and automated controls in
real life I’ environments. (1 Session)
Chapter 1
V Basic Information Concepts and Definitions
V Need for Information and Information
Systems (IS) in an organization
d characteristics of Information and Organization
with respect to organization form, structure ,
philosophy, hierarchy etc
V A system is a group of interrelated
components working together toward a
common goal by accepting inputs and
producing outputs in an organized
transformation process.
A system does not exist in a vacuum; rather, it exists and functions in an ?
 ? 
containing other systems.
V à
A system that is a component of a larger system, where the larger
system is its environment.
V à
 A system is separated from its environment and other
systems by its system boundary.
V Õ Several systems may share the same environment. Some of these
systems may be connected to one another by means of a shared boundary, or
interface.
V 2 àA system that interacts with other systems in its environment is
called an open system (connected to its environment by exchanges of inputs and
outputs).
V ½ àA system that has the ability to change itself or its
environment in order to survive is called an adaptive system.
Any organized combination of people,
hardware, software, communications
networks, and data resources that stores,
retrieves, transforms, and disseminates
information in an organization.
ë Manual (paper-and-pencil) information systems
ë Informal (word-of-mouth) information systems
ë Formal (written procedures) information systems
ë Computer-based information systems
V Õ
 
 
(or data processing)
activities that occur in information system
include the following:
d Input of data resources
d Processing of data into information
d Output of information products
d Storage of data resources
d Control of system performance
Õ 
  
:
V Data about business transactions and other events must be
captured and prepared for processing by the   activityÀ Input
typically takes the form of
 ?  activities such as recording
and editing.
V Once entered, data may be transferred onto a machine-readable
medium such as magnetic disk or type, until needed for
processing.
^

  
Õ
 

V Data is typically subjected to 
 activities such as
calculating, comparing, sorting, classifying, and summarizing.
’hese activities organize, analyze, and manipulate data, thus
converting them into information for end users.
V A continual process of correcting and updating activities must
maintain quality of data stored in an information system.
2  
Õ
 
^
 
V Information in various forms is transmitted to end-
users and made available to them in the
 
activity. ’he goal of information systems is the
production of appropriate 
 
 
  for
end users.
à
 
  

à
  is a basic system component of information
systems.
V Storage is the information system activity in which
data and information are retained in an organized
manner for later use.
p


à^
 
V An important information system activity is the


 of its performance.
V An information system should produce feedback
about its input, processing, output, and storage
activities.
V Feedback must be monitored and evaluated to
determine if the system is meeting established
performance standards.
V Feedback is used to make adjustments to
system activities to correct deficiencies.
V People Ȃ end users and IS specialists
V Hardware Ȃ physical devices and materials
used in information processing including
computer systems, peripherals, and media
V Software Ȃ sets of information processing
instructions including system software,
application software and procedures
V Data Ȃ facts or observations about physical
phenomena or business transactions
V Network Ȃ communications media and
network infrastructure
V Data Ȃ raw facts or observations typically
about physical phenomena or business
transactions

V Information Ȃ data that have been converted

into a meaningful and useful context for
specific end users
V ’hink of m
as a "raw material" - it needs to
be processed before it can be turned into
something useful?
V Hence the need for "data processing".
V Data comes in many forms - numbers, words,
symbols.
V Data relates to transactions, events and facts.
On its own - it is not very useful.
’hink of the data that is created when you buy a
product from a retailer.
d ’ime and date of transaction (e.g. 10:05 ’uesday 23
December 2003)
d ’ransaction value (e.g. Rs 55.00)
d Facts about what was bought (e.g. hairdryer,
cosmetics pack, shaving foam) and how much was
bought (quantities)
d How payment was made (e.g. credit card, credit card
number and code)
d Which employee recorded the sale
d Whether any promotional discount applied
V Information is data that has
been processed in such a way as to
be meaningful to the person who receives it.

video
V Businesses and other organizations need
information for many purposes:
d Planning
d Recording
d Controlling
d Measuring
d Decision-making
^ 
V ’o plan properly, a business needs to know what resources it has (e.g. cash, people,
machinery and equipment, property, customers). It also needs information about the
markets in which it operates and the actions of competitors. At the planning stage,
information is important as a key ingredient in decision-making.


V Information about each transaction or event is needed. Much of this is required to be
collected by law - e.g. details of financial transactions. Just as importantly, information
needs to be recorded so that the business can be properly managed.
p


V Once a business has produced its plan it needs to monitor progress against the plan - and
control resources to do so. So information is needed to help identify whether things are
going better or worse than expected, and to spot ways in which corrective action can be
taken
©  
V Performance must be measured for a business to be successful. Information is used as the
main way of measuring performance. For example, this can be done by collecting and
analysing information on sales, costs and profits

 
Information used for decision-making is often categorised into three types:






 used to help plan the objectives of the business
as a whole and to measure how well those objectives are being
achieved. Examples of stategic information include:
ë Profitability of each part of the business
- Size, growth and competitive structure of the markets in
which a business operates
- Investments made by the business and the returns (e.g.
profits, cash inflows) from those investments
a
 
 


 this is used to decide how the
resources of the business should be employed.
Examples include:
- Information about business productivity (e.g. units
produced per employee; staff turnover)
- Profit and cash flow forecasts in the short term
- Pricing information from the market
a


 


 this information is used to
make sure that specific operational tasks are carried out
as planned/intended (i.e. things are done properly). For
example, a production manager will want information
about the extent and results of quality control checks
that are being carried out in the manufacturing process.