What is an information system? Role of information system in Business! Types of Information Systems Operation Support Systems Examples of Operations Support Systems Management Support Systems Operational & Managerial IS IS Classifications by Scope Measures of Success What is a System? System Components Cybernetic Systems A Business System Information System Resources Data vs. Information Network Resources Information Systems Activities Recognizing Information Systems

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Foundations of
Information Systems
in Business
Chapter
1

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What is an Information System?
Any organized combination of people,
hardware, software, communications
networks, and data resources that stores,
retrieves, transforms, and disseminates
information in an organization.

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Roles of IS in Business

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Types of Information Systems

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Operation Support Systems
Definition:
• Information systems that process data
generated by and used in business
operations
• Goal is to efficiently process business
transactions, control industrial processes,
support enterprise communications and
collaboration, and update corporate
databases

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Examples of Operations Support Systems
• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) –
process data resulting from business
transactions, update operational databases, and
produce business documents.
• Process Control Systems (PCS) – monitor and
control industrial processes.
• Enterprise Collaboration Systems – support
team, workgroup, and enterprise
communications an collaboration.

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A Transaction Processing System Example

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Management Support Systems
Definition:
• Information systems that focus on
providing information and support for
effective decision making by managers

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Management Support Systems
• Management Information Systems (MIS) –
provide information in the form of pre-specified
reports and displays to support business
decision making.
• Decision Support Systems (DSS) – provide
interactive ad hoc support for the decision
making processes of managers and other
business professionals.
• Executive Information Systems (EIS) – provide
critical information from MIS, DSS, and other
sources tailored to the information needs of
executives.

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A Decision Support System Example

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Operational & Managerial IS
• Expert Systems – provide expert advice
for operational chores or managerial
decisions
• Knowledge Management Systems –
support the creation, organization, and
dissemination of business knowledge to
employees and managers

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IS Classifications by Scope
• Functional Business Systems – support basic
business functions
• Strategic Information Systems – support
processes that provide a firm with strategic
products, services, and capabilities for
competitive advantage
• Cross-functional Information Systems –
integrated combinations of information systems

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Measures of Success
• Efficiency
• Minimize costs
• Minimize time
• Minimize the use of information resources
• Effectiveness
• Support an organization’s business strategies
• Enable its business processes
• Enhance its organizational structure and culture
• Increase the customer business value of the
enterprise

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What is a System?
Definition:
A group of interrelated components, with
a clearly defined boundary, working
together toward a common goal by
accepting inputs and producing outputs in
an organized transformation process.

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System Components
• Input – capturing and assembling
elements that enter the system to be
processed
• Processing – transformation steps that
convert input into output
• Output – transferring elements that have
been produced by a transformation
process to their ultimate destination

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Cybernetic Systems
Definition:
a self-monitoring, self-regulating system.
• Feedback – data about the performance
of a system
• Control – monitoring and evaluating
feedback to determine whether a system
is moving toward the achievement of its
goal

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A Business System

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Information System Resources
• People – end users and IS specialists
• Hardware – physical devices and
materials used in information processing
including computer systems, peripherals,
and media
• Software – sets of information processing
instructions including system software,
application software and procedures

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Information Systems Resources (con’t)
• Data – facts or observations about
physical phenomena or business
transactions
• Network – communications media and
network infrastructure

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Data vs. Information
• Data – raw facts or observations typically
about physical phenomena or business
transactions
• Information – data that have been
converted into a meaningful and useful
context for specific end users

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Network Resources
• Communications Media – examples
include twisted-pair wire, coaxial and
fiber-optic cables, microwave, cellular,
and satellite wireless technologies
• Network Infrastructure – examples include
communications processors such as
modems and internetwork processors,
and communications control software
such as network operating systems and
Internet browser packages.

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Information Systems Activities
• Input of Data Resources
• Processing of Data into Information
• Output of Information Products
• Storage of Data Resources
• Control of System Performance

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Recognizing Information Systems
Fundamental Components of IS
• People, hardware, software, data and
network resources used
• Types of information products produced
• Input, processing, output, storage and
control activities performed