Information System

ITEC-422
4th Semester Second Year
Information Technology
Dr. Khalil-ur-Rahmen Khoumbati
Professor
Institute of Information and Communication Technology
University of Sindh, Jamshoro
Khalil.khoumbati@gmail.com
Lecture # 1-2
Course Description
• This is a comprehensive subject addressing
technical, organizational, and managerial
issues confronted by organizational
professionals in the selection,
implementation, and management of
information systems. The course further
explores current IS concepts and
technologies. Students will learn how
information systems give organizations a
competitive edge by providing
technologies that help managers plan,
control, and make decisions. 2
 Course Objectives
 To make students become familiar with the technologies that are shaping
business today and acquire tools that will help you assess technological trends.

 To develop an understanding on the:

need for management information systems (MIS)
importance of MIS in business
interrelations and interactions among management, information, and
systems;
impact of MISs and ISs for improving managerial, operational and strategy
making competencies; and hence achieving effectiveness, gaining
competitive advantage

 To give information on the

Types, content and logic of information systems that combine hardware,
software, data, people, and processes
How information systems support various levels and functions of
organization
processes of analyzing, building, managing and developing information
systems.

 To raise the awareness for the critical importance of :

IT competency in professional life

information systems security
Ethical and social issues related to information technology

3
 Course Schedule
Week 1-2
• Course Objectives and Overview
• Introduction to Information systemsManagement
• Information Systems Concepts
• Systems, Information, Data, Knowledge
• Week 3-4
• Information Systems in (Global) Business Today
• How Businesses Use Information Systems : Strategic use of Information Systems in
Digital Economy
• Week 5-6
• Information Systems in Organizations and Strategy Making
• Week 7
• Mid Term Examination
• Week 8-9
• Enterprise Systems
• Week 10-11
• E-Business and E-Commerce
• Week-12
• Business Intelligence and Decision Support

4
 Course Schedule
• Week 12-13
• IT Security : Securing Information Systems
• Week 14
• Knowledge Management
• Week 15
Overview and Conclusion

5
Schedule of assessment tasks for
students during the semester

Proportion
of
Assessment
No
Assessment task Week due Assessment
from 100
Marks
As announced by
1 Mid-term test 30%
university
2 Student Assingment 10th week 10%
3 Attendance Full Semester 10%
As announced by
4 Final test 50%
university

6
Reference Material
• TEXT BOOK
• Laudon K. C. & Laudon J. P., Essentials of
Management Information Systems, 15th
Edition, Pearson, 2018.
• Reference Book
• O’Brien J. A. and Marakas G. M.,
Introduction to Information Systems, 14th
Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2012.

7
 Introduction: Information Systems
What is Information Systems
• Information system is about the usage of
information technology tools by group of
people or staff in managing information.

• Information system is the collection of

technological components, users and data
into systems designed to produce
information to aid decision making.

8
Cont.
• Information system is an integrated set of
components for collecting, storing,
processing, and communicating
information.
• Business firms, other organizations, and
individuals in society rely on information
systems to manage their operations,
compete in the marketplace, supply
services, and enhance personal lives.

9
 Why study MIS?
• Micro view
– Studying MIS can provide you with essential
knowledge to ensure that how company
manages information systems with the highest
level of efficiency.
• Macro view
– Change of paradigm: information age

10
 What is MIS?
• M: Management
– Business Functions/Processes, Organizations,
and Human Behaviors
• I: Information
– Contents: Data, Information, Knowledge
– Processes: Create, Gather/capture/elicit,
Store, Organize, Consolidate & Condense,
Filter, Deliver, and Share
• S: System (Information Systems/Information
Technology)
– Input-Process-Output and Storage
– General Systems Theory (GST) 11
What is Management
Management is the process of achieving
goals and objectives effectively and
efficiently through and with the people.

"Management is a process of designing and

maintaining an environment in which
individuals work together in groups to
effectively and efficiently accomplish
selected aims".

12
 What is Information

• Information as a concept has a

diversity of meanings, from everyday
usage to technical settings. Generally
speaking, the concept of information is
closely related to notions of
constraint, communication, control,
data, form, instruction, knowledge,
meaning, mental stimulus, pattern,
perception, and representation.
13
 Cont.
• There are several ways to define
“information”
– Subjective: People develop models of
their environment. Information
created by people makes those models
more accurate.
– Thing/artifact: Information is what’s
captured in a book, web page, or other
resource.
• More information is digital
14
 What is System
– A set of elements or components that work
together and interact to accomplish goals
• A desktop publishing system is a
computer running desktop publishing
software.
– A combination of components working
together
• a computer system includes both
hardware and software.
– An organization or methodology
• The binary numbering system, for
instance, is a way to count using only two
digits. 15
 System Components and
Concepts
• System boundary
– Defines the system and distinguishes it from
everything else
Systems are not independent. They are a part of their
environments.
Information systems:generally integrated and interact with
other systems.
But they are not open ended

16
 System Types
• Simple vs. complex
• Simple systems
– possible to define system outputs from known inputs
– Does not require high level system analysis and review
– Chair, with not moving parts
• A Complex System
– Multitude of parts and relationships
– involves a number of elements, arranged in structure(s)
which can exist on many scales.
– go through processes of change that are not describable
by a single rule nor are reducible to only one level of
explanation, these levels often include features whose
emergence cannot be predicted from their current
specifications. Ex: Genetic Algorithms, Neural Networks-
learn by example.
– Requires high system analysis and review

17
 System Types
– Open vs. closed :
• Open system
– regularly exchanges feedback with its external
environment
– porous boundaries through which useful feedback can readily be
exchanged and understood.
– continuously exchange feedback with their environments,
analyze that feedback, adjust internal systems as needed to
achieve the system’s goals, and then transmit necessary
information back out to the environment.
• Closed system:
– have hard boundaries through which little information is
exchanged. (nearly no interaction with environments)
– Organizations that have closed boundaries often are
unhealthy. Examples include bureaucracies, monopolies
and stagnating systems.
orgs-open-systems.pdf

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 System Types
• Adaptive vs. nonadaptive
• Adaptive system:
– Adoptive to environment
– agents (which may represent cells, species,
individuals, firms, nations) acting in parallel,
constantly acting and reacting to what the other
agents are doing.
– ability to recognize the shape of a problem and
tailor its responses, changes its behavior based on
its environment.
– handle complex problems
• Non-adaptive System
– Fail to adopt to environment
– Steady

19
 System Performance and
Standards
• Efficiency
– A measure of what is produced divided by what is
consumed
• Effectiveness
– A measure of the extent to which a system achieves its
goals
• System performance standard
– A specific objective of the system

20
 System Variables and
Parameters
• System variable
– A quantity or item that can be controlled
by the decision maker
– E.g. the price a company charges for a
product
• System parameter
– A value or quantity that cannot be
controlled by the decision maker
– E.g., cost of a raw material
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 A Business Perspective on Information Systems
Why Information Systems?

Complementary Assets
• Assets required to derive value from a
primary investment
• Can be organizational, managerial, or
social assets
• Technology investments supported by
investment in complementary assets
receive superior returns

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 Why Information Systems?
Organizational Assets

• Supportive organizational culture valuing

efficiency and effectiveness
• Efficient business processes
• Decentralized authority
• Distributed decision-making rights
• Strong IS development team

23
 Why Information Systems?
Managerial Assets
• Strong senior management support for
technology investment and change
• Incentives for management innovation
• Teamwork and collaborative work
environments
• Management training programs
• Management culture valuing flexibility and
knowledge-based decision making

24
 Why Information Systems?
Social Assets
• The Internet and telecommunications
infrastructure
• IT-enriched educational programs
• Governmental and private-sector standards
• Laws and regulations creating fair, stable
market environments
• Technology and service firms in adjacent
markets to assist implementation

25
 Contemporary Approaches to Information Systems
Social Assets
• Technical approach: emphasizes
mathematically based models, physical
technology, and formal capabilities of
systems

• Behavioral approach: studies issues arising

from development and maintenance of
systems, such as business integration and
utilization

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Contemporary Approaches to Information Systems

Contemporary approaches to information systems

Figure 1-8
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 Contemporary Approaches to Information Systems

Sociotechnical Systems

• Management Information Systems (MIS)

• System performance optimized when

technology and organization adjust to each
other for a satisfactory fit

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 Learning to Use Information Systems

The Challenges of Information Systems: Key Management issues

Positive Impacts of Information Systems

• Faster calculations and paperwork

• Analysis of customer purchase patterns
and preferences
• More efficient business services
• Medical advances
• Instant global distribution of information

29
 Learning to Use Information Systems

The Challenges of Information Systems: Key Management issues

Negative Impacts of Information Systems

• Automation leading to job elimination

• Privacy concerns
• System outages and shutdowns
• Health problems, repetitive stress injury
• Illegal distribution of intellectual property

30
 Information System - Elements
An information system (IS) collects, processes, stores,
analyzes, and disseminates information for a specific
purpose “Application”.

• Hardware
Hardware
• Software
Software
• Data Application
Data
• Network People
• People

31
Cont.

32
 Cont.
• The information system model shown on the slide highlights the
relationships among the components and activities of information
systems:
• People Resources. People are required for operation of all ISs.
People resources include:
• End Users. As mentioned, these people use the IS or the
information it produces.
• IS Specialists. These people develop and operate the IS.
• Hardware Resources. These include all the physical devices
and materials used in information processing, including all
machines and data media. Key components include:
• Computer Systems. These are the CPUs and their related
peripherals, such as terminals and networked PCs.
• Computer Peripherals. These are input and output devices
like keyboards, monitors, and secondary storage.
• Telecommunications Networks. These are the computer
systems interconnected by various telecommunications media
33
 Cont.
• Software Resources. These include all sets of information
processing instructions. Software resources include:
• System Software. This controls the computer.
• Application Software. These are for a specific end user
task, such as word-processing.
• Procedures. These are the operating instructions for the
people who use the IS.
• Data Resources. Data is both the raw material of and
among the most valuable organizational resources in the IS.
Data can be in alphanumeric, text, image and/or audio form.
Data are typically organized into either Databases - which
hold processed and organized data; or Knowledge bases -
which hold knowledge in a variety of forms such as facts
and rules of inference about a given subject.

34
 Data versus Information
• Data:
• Data is the plural of datum, though data commonly
represents both singular and plural forms.

• Data are raw facts or observations, typically about physical

phenomena or business transactions.

• Data should be viewed as raw material resources that are

processed into finished information products.
• Data are usually subjected to a value-added process (data
processing or information processing) where
• Its form is aggregated, manipulated, and organized
• Its content is analyzed and evaluated
• It is placed in a proper context for a human user. 35
 Data versus Information
• Information:
• Information can be defined as data that have been
converted into a meaningful and useful context for specific
end users.

• Information should be viewed as processed data which has

been placed in a context that gives it value for specific end
users.

36
Cont.
• Generating Information
– Computer-based ISs take data as raw material,
process it, and produce information as output.

37
Cont.

Monthly Sales Report

for West Region
Sales Rep: Charles Mann
Emp No. 79154
Item Qty Sold Price
TM Shoes 1200 $100

38
 Activities in an IS

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

FEEDBACK

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 History of the of information systems

1950-1960 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990 1990-2000

Data Management Decision Strategic & Electronic

Processing Reporting Support End User Commerce

Electronic
Data Management
Processing Information
- TPS Decision
Systems
Support
Systems End User
- Ad hoc Computing
Reports Exec Info Sys Electronic
Expert Systems Business &
Commerce
-Internetworked
E-Business &
Commerce

40
Cont.
• Data Processing: 1950s - 1960’s:
Electronic data processing systems.
Transaction processing, record-keeping,
and traditional accounting applications

• Management Reporting: 1960s -

1970’s:
Management Information systems.
Management reports of prespecified
information to support decision making.
41
Cont.
• Decision Support: 1970s - 1980s:
Decision Support systems. Interactive ad
hoc support of the managerial decision-
making process.
• Strategic and End User Support: 1980s
- 1990’s:
End User computing systems. Direct
computing support for end user
productivity and work group
collaboration.
42
Cont.
• Electronic Business and Commerce:
1990’s - 2000’s:
• Internetworked e-business and e-
commerce Systems. Internetworked
enterprise and global e-business
operations and e-commerce on the
Internet, intranets, extranets, and other
networks.

43
Cont.
• Today forward:
• The increase in internet bandwidth
over recent years has led to a
substantial reliance on cloud
computing, Internet of things and
block chain technology.
• Today, practically any employee is
now in a position to make informed
decisions with tools that are readily
available across multiple platforms.
44
Discussion

45