The Technologies That Support Information Systems

Objective one: To identify the computer systems and peripherals recommend for a business of your choice.
Trends in Computer Systems. Today's computer systems come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and computing capabilities. Rapid hardware and software developments and changing end user needs continue to drive the emergence of new models of computers, from the smallest hand-held personal digital assistant for end users, to the largest multiple CPU mainframe for the enterprise. Categories such as mainframes, midrange computers, and micromputers are still used to help up express the relative processing power and number of end users that can be supported by different types of computers.
Computer Generations. It is important to realize that major changes and trends in computer systems have occurred during the major stages of computing, and will continue into the future. The first generation of computers developed in the early 1950s, the second generation blossomed during the late 1960s, the third generation took computing into the 1970s, and fourth generation has been the computer technology of 1980s and 1990s. A fifth generation of computers that accelerates the trends of the previous generations is expected to evolve as we enter the 21 century.
Micro-computer Systems. are the most important category of computer systems for end user. Though usually called a personal computer, or PC, a microcomputer is much more than a small computer for use by an individual. The computing power of microcomputers now exceeds that of the mainframes of their cost. Thus, they have become powerful-networked professional workstations for endusers in business.
Some microcomputers are powerful workstation computers that support applications with heavy mathematical computing and graphics display demand such as computer-aided-design (CAD) in engineering. Other microcomputers are used as network servers. They are usually more powerful microcomputers that coordinate telecommunications and resources sharing in small local area network, and Internet and intranet.
Midrange Computer Systems. Including minicomputers and high-end network servers, are multi-user systems that can manage networks of PCs and terminals. Though not as powerful as mainframe computers, they are less costly to buy, operate, and maintain that mainframe systems, and thus meet the computing needs of many organizations.
Midrange computers first became popular as microcomputers for scientific research, instrumentation systems, engineering analysis, and industrial process monitoring and control. Midrange computers are also used as front-end computers to assist mainframe computers in telecommunications processing and network management.

Operations Support Systems

Information systems have always been needed to process data generated by, and used in, business operations. Such operating support systems produce a variety of information products for internal and external use. However, they do not emphasize producing the specific information products that can best be used by managers. Further, processing by management information system is usually required. The role of business firm's operations support systems is to efficiently process business transactions, control industrial processes, support enterprise communications and collaboration, and update corporate databases. Operation support systems include the major categories are: Transaction processing systems, Process Control Systems and Enterprise Collaboration Systems.
Transaction Processing Systems record and process data resulting from business transactions. Transaction processing systems process transaction in two ways. In real-time processing, data is processed immediately after a transaction occurs.
Process Control Systems operations support system also make routine decisions that control operational process. Examples are automatic inventory reorder decisions an production control decisions. This includes a category of information systems, which decisions adjusting a physical production  process are automatically made by computers.
Enterprise Collaboration Systems are information systems that use a variety of information technologies to help people work together. Enterprise collaboration systems help us collaborate-to communicate ideas, share resources, and coordinate our cooperative work efforts as members of the many formal and informal process an project teams and other workgroups that are a vital part of today's organizations. For example, many businesses from teams of engineers, marketing specialists, and other knowledge workers to develop new products or improve existing ones. They may form virtual teams of people from several departments and locations within a company, and include outside consultants as a team members. Such teams would make heavy use of the Internet, corporate intranets and extranets, and collaboration software know as groupware. Then they could easily collaborate via electronic mail, discussion forums, data and video conferencing, and multimedia project web sites on the company's intranet. In this way, a product development team could efficiently communicate with each other and coordinate their work activities, and effectively collaborate in the development or improvement of products and services.

Management Support Systems

When information systems focus on providing information and support for effective decision making by managers, they are called management support system. Management support system began when the concept of management information systems (MIS) originated in the 1960s.
The concept of MIS was developed to counteract such inefficient development and ineffective use of computers. Though tarnished by early failures, the MIS concept is still recognized as vital to efficient and effective information systems in organizations for two major reasons:

• It emphasizes the management orientation of information technology in business. A major goal of computer-based information systems should be the support of management decision-making, not merely the processing of data generated by business operations.
• It emphasizes that a systems framework should be used for organizing information systems applications. Business applications of information technology should be viewed as interrelated and integrated computer-based information systems and not as independent data processing jobs.

Management Information Systems (MIS) are the most common from of management support systems that use the integrated resources of hardware, software, network, database management and people to perform input, processing, output, storage, and control activities that transform data resources into information products. They provide managerial and users with information products that support much of their day-to-day decision-making needs. MIS provide a variety of reports and displays to management. The contens of these information products are specified in advance by managers so that they contain information that managers need. MIS retrieve information about internal operations from databases that have been updated by transaction processing systems. They also obtain data about the business environment from external sources.
Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a natural progression from information reporting systems and transaction processing systems. DSS are interactive, computer-based information systems that use decision models and specialized databases to assist the decision-making processes of managerial end users. They differ from MIS, which focus on providing managers with prespecified information (report) that can be used to help them make more effective, structured types of decisions.
Executive Information Systems (EIS) are management information systems tailored to strategic information needs of top management. Top executives get the information they need from many sources, including letters, memos, periodicals, and reports produced manually as well as by computer systems. The goal of computer-based executive information systems is to provide top management with immediate and easy access to selective information about key factors that are critical to accomplishing a firm's strategic objectives.

Feedback and Control

The system concept becomes even more useful by including two additional components: feedback and control. A system with feedback and control components is sometimes called a cybernetic system, that is, a self-monitoring, self-regulating system.

• Fedback is data about the performance of a system. For example, data about sales performance is feedback to a sales manager.
• Control involves monitoring and evaluating feedback to determine whether a system is moving toward the achievement  of its goal. The control function then makes necessary adjustment to a system's input and processing components to ensure that it produces proper output. For example, a sales manager exercises control when he or she reassigns salespersons to new sales territories after evaluating feedback about their sales performance.

Components of an Information System. An information system depends on the resources of people (end-user and IS Specialist), hardware (machines and media), software (programs and procedures), data (data and knowledge bases), and networks (communications media and network support) to perform input, processing, output, storage, and control activities that convert data resources into information products.
Trend in Information System. Until the 1960s, the role of information system was simple: transaction processing, record-keeping, accounting and other electronic data processing (EDP) applications. Then another role was added, as the concept of MIS was conceived. This new role focused on providing managerial end users with predefined management reports that would give managers the information they needed for decision-making purposes.
By the 1970s, it was evident that the prespecified information products produced by such management information systems were not adequately meeting many of the decision-making needs of management. So the consept of decision support system (DSS) was born. The new role for information system was to provide managerial end users with ad hoc and interactive support of their decision-making processes. This support would betailored to the unique decision-making styles of managers as they confronted specific types of problem in the real world.

Business Process Reengineering

Businesses have used information technology for many years to automate business process and support the analysis and presentation information for managerial decision making. However, business process reengineering is an example of how information technology is being used to restructure work by transforming business processes. A business process is any set of activities designed to produce a specified output for acustomer or market. The new product development process and customer order fulfillment process are typical examples.
Competitive Advantage with IT. Information technology can play a major role in implementing such strategies. This might  include:

• Cost Strategies: Using IT to help you become a low-cost producer, lower your customers' or suppliers' costs, or increase the costs your competitors must pay to remain in the industry.
• Differentiation strategies: Developing ways to use IT to differentiate your company's product or services from your competitors' so customers perceive your products or services as having unique features or benefits.

System Concepts. What is a system? A system can be simply defined as a group of interrelated or interacting elements forming a unified whole. Many examples of systems can be found in the physical and biological sciences, in modern technology, and in human society. Thus, we can talk of the physical system of the sun and its planets, the biological system of the human body, the technological system of an oil refinery, and the socioeconomic system of a business organization. However, the following generic system concept provides a more appropriate framework for describing information systems:
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. Such a system (sometimes called a dynamic system) has three basic interacting components or functions:

• Input involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed. For example, raw materials, energy, data, and human effort must be secured and organized for processing.
• Processing involves transformation processes that convert input into output. Examples are manufacturing process, the human breathing process, or mathematical calculations.
• Output involves transferring elements that have been produced by transformation process to their ultimate destination. For example, finished products, human services, and management information must be transmitted to their human users.

Three major roles of information systems

Information system also help store managers make better decisions and attempt to gain a strategic competitive advantage. For example, decisions on what lines of merchandise need to be added or discontinued, or on what kind of investment they require, are typically made after an analysis provided by computer-based information systems. This not only supports the decision making of store-managers but also helps them look for ways to gain an advantage over other retailers in the competition for customers.
Three major roles of information systems:

1. Support of Strategic Advantage (Competition strategy)
2. Support of Managerial decision-making
3. Support of Business Operation

Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative use of information technology. For example, store managers might make a decision to install computerized touch-screen catalog ordering systems in all of their stores, tied in with computer-based telephone ordering systems and an Internet-based computer shopping network. This might attract new customers and lure customers away from competing stores because of the ease of ordering merchandise provided by such innovative information systems. Strategic information systems can help provide strategic products and services that give a business organization a comparative advantage over its competitors.

The New Role of Information Systems in Organizations

Information systems cannot be ignored by managers because they play such a critical role in contemporary organizations. Digital technology is transforming business organizations. The entire cash flow of most Fortune 500 companies is linked to information systems directly affect how managers decide, how senior managers plan, and in many cases what products and services are produced (and how). They play strategic role  in the live of the firm. Responsibility for information systems cannot be delegated to technical decision makers.
Why Business Need Information Technology, Information Technology is reshaping the basics of business. Customer service, operations, product and marketing strategies, and distribution are beavily, or sometimes even entirely, dependent on IT. The computers that support these functions can be found on the desk, on the shop floor, in the store, even in briefcase. IT, and its expense, have become an everyday part of business life.
Information system perform three vital roles in any type of organization:

1. Support of business operations.
2. Support of managerial decision-marking.
3. Support of strategic competitive advantage.

Let'stake a retail store as an example to illustrate this important point. As a consumer, you have to deal regularly whit the information systems that support business operations at the many retail stores where you shop. For example, most retail stores now use computer-based information system to help them record customer purchases, keep track of inventory, pay employees, buy new merchandise, and evaluate sales trends. Store operations would grind to a halt without the support of such information systems.

Information System Resources and Technologies

An Information system is an organized combination of people, hardware, software, communication networks, and disseminates information in an organization.
Anyone who uses an information system or the information it produces is an end user. This usually applies to most people in an organization, as distinguished from the smaller number of people who are information system specialists, such as systems analysts or professional computer programmers. A managerial end user is a manageer, entrepreneur, or managerial-level professional who personally uses information system. So most managers are managerial end users.
Today internetworked information systems play a vital role in the business succes of an enterprise. The Internet, intranet can provide the information infrastructure a business needs for efficient operations, effective management, and competitive advantage.
We are living in an emerging global information society, with a global economy that is increasingly dependent on the creation, management, and distribution of information resources over interconnected global networks like the Internet. The Internet, intranets, extranets, and other telecommunications networks create global internetworked society of universal connectivity.

A Framework for Business End Users

The useful conceptual framework that organizes the knowledge in this outlines what end users need to know about information systems. It emphasizes that you should concentrate your efforts in 5 areas of knowledge:

• Fundamental behavioral and technical concepts that will help you understand how information systems can support tha business operations, managerial decision-making and strategic advantage of business firms and other organizations.
• Major concepts, developments, and management issues in information technology.
• The major uses of information systems for the operations, management, and competitive advantage of an enterprise.
• How end users or information specialists develop information systems solutions to business problem using fundamental problem-solving and developmental methodologies.
• The challenges of effectively and ethically managing the resources and business strategies involved in using information technology at the end users, enterprise, and global levels of a business.

Information system and information technology

Tha's the sama as asking why anyone should study accounting, finance, operations managemant, marketing, human resource management, or any other major business function. Information systems and technologies have become a vital component of successful businesses and organizations. They thus constitute an essential field of study in business administration and management. That's why most business major must take a course in information system. Since you probably intend to be a manager, entrepreneur, or business professional, it is just a important to have a basic understanding of information systems as it is to understand any other functional area in business.