McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Chapter Managing Information Systems Managing Information Systems McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: z Understand the difference between data and information, and how firms use each to achieve organizational goals. z Integrate the components of a firm’s information technology. z Compare different types of networks, including local area networks, intranets, extranets, and the Internet. z Understand the role of software and how it changes business operations. z Discuss the ethical issues involved with the use of computer technology. z Understand how productivity, efficiency, and responsiveness to customers can be improved with information technology. McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Two Perspectives z This chapter looks at information from two perspectives: ¾ How the firm’s information systems and information technology are part of management. ¾ How management information systems are used by managers. McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Management Skills for Information Systems Management z Analytical Skills—Managers need to be able to gather, synthesize, and compare data about their firms and about the options available to them. z Organizational Skills—Managers need to be able to make sense of information by organizing data to facilitate analysis and comparison. z Flexibility and Innovation Skills—Managers must be able to be flexible in adapting standard business practices to new information technologies. McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Information Related to MIS z Management information systems provide access to important information used in many other chapters: ¾ Planning process (chapter 5) ¾ Decision making (chapter 6) ¾ Human resource management (chapter 10) ¾ Communication (chapter 15) ¾ Control (chapter 16) ¾ Operations management (chapter 17) McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Data and Information z Data—raw facts, such as the number of items sold or the number of hours worked in a department. z Information—data that have been gathered and converted into a meaningful context. z Useful information is: ¾ High quality ¾ Timely ¾ Relevant ¾ Comprehensive McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Data and Information (continued) z Databases—computer programs that assign multiple characteristics to data and allow users to sort the data by characteristic. z Data warehouses—massive databases that contain almost all of the information about a firm’s operations. z Data mining—the process of determining the relevant factors in the accumulated data to extract the data that are important to the user. McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Information Technology z Technology is the means of transforming inputs into products. z Technology has improved operations management, including productivity, efficiency, and customer responsiveness. z A firm’s information technology may incorporate its operations technology. z Six Functions of Information Technology: ¾ Captures data, Transmits data, Stores information, Retrieves information, Manipulates information, Displays information © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill Equipment z Local area networks (LAN) link computers in a firm so users can share information z Servers store information for users linked to them z Wireless equipment—computers no longer require a physical connection, instead satellites or central locations create links McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. [...]... of e-commerce McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Implementing MIS Consider the organization’s principle goals and information needs Evaluate current MIS for accuracy, reliability, timeliness, and relevance of information Create employee support for the change by showing how it will help employees Make the technology user-friendly Consider the human element McGraw-Hill... The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Factors for Successful MIS Implementation User involvement Management support Time and cost evaluations Phased implementation Thorough testing Careful training and documentation System backup during the transition McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Applications: Management is Everyone’s Business—For the Manager Beware... Business—For the Manager Beware of outsourcing IT - in many cases, it results in dissatisfaction Managers should analyze very carefully the pros and cons of outsourcing before agreeing to enter an IT outsourcing relationship Be aware of trade-offs between owning the IT function or giving up control of it to an outside party McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Applications:... show consideration and respect McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Ways to Implement Security User names and passwords Encryption – use of software that scrambles data Firewalls – a combination of hardware and software that controls access to and transmission of data and information contained in a network McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved... information systems: Process control systems Office automation systems Transaction-processing systems Expert systems Neural network systems McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Management Information Systems Management information system (MIS): an information system that provides information to managers to use in making decisions Types of MIS used by businesses: Information... systems McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved MIS and Organizational Structure Flatter management hierarchies Horizontal information flows now viable Reduction in time to make management decisions Reduction in the number of employees needed to perform many organizational activities Elimination of barriers between departments McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies,... McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Types of Software Operating system software tells the computer hardware how to run Applications software is developed for a specific task Artificial intelligence performs tasks as such as searching through data and e-mail Speech recognition software allows customers to speak numbers when placing orders over the phone McGraw-Hill... services McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Computer Systems and Management Issues Computer Ethics—The analysis of the nature and social impact of computer technology and the development of policies for its appropriate use Security—Controlling access to and transmission of data and information contained in the firm’s network McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies,... time McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Ten Commandments for Computer Ethics Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s files Thou shalt not use a computer to steal Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies,... phone McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Combines all of a firm’s computerized functions into a single, integrated software program that runs off a single database This allows various departments to easily share information and communicate with each other McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved . McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Chapter Managing Information Systems Managing Information Systems McGraw-Hill. many other chapters: ¾ Planning process (chapter 5) ¾ Decision making (chapter 6) ¾ Human resource management (chapter 10) ¾ Communication (chapter 15)