Information Systems in Organizations

Computer Concepts 4th EditionParsons/Oja

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Organizational StructureSection A

Information Systems in Organizations


Section D

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Describe the activities that take place in a typical business

Provide examples of the computer’s role in TQM, employee empowerment, rightsizing, BPR, and e-commerce

Section PREVIEW

You will be able to:



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An information system collects, maintains, and provides information to people.

An organization is a group of people working together to accomplish a goal.

Many organizations use computers to operate more effectively, gather information, and accomplish tasks.



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An organization is a group of people working together toward a goal.

A business is an organization that seeks profit by providing goods and services.

The written expression of an organization’s mission is called a mission statement.– describes goals– way goals will be accomplished

Types of OrganizationsWhat’s the difference between an organization and a business?


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Mission statements are published in corporate reports and on the Web.

Types of OrganizationsWhat’s the difference between an organization and a business?

Course Technology’smission statement


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Organizational ActivitiesAre there activities that most organizations have in common?

Most organizational activities can be classified into four functional groups as shown below.

Operations

Sales and Marketing

Financial Management

Human Resources Management


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Organizational ActivitiesAre there activities that most organizations have in common?

The primary activities of an organization are called production or operations.

Tracking the flow of money through an organization is referred to as accounting or financial management.

Advertising and promoting an organization are the jobs of sales and marketing or public relations.

Keeping track of employees is referred to human resources management.


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Trends and ChallengesCould an organization function without computers?

Computers are an important aspect of organizational activities.

Organizations exist in a competitive environment where opportunities and threats abound.

In response to threats, an organization can:– become better at what it does– change the structure of an industry– create a new product or service


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Automation is the use of electrical or mechanical devices to improve manufacturing or other processes.

Computerization - implementing a computer system in an organization

TQM (total quality management) is a strategy in which an organization makes a commitment to analyzing and improving the quality of its products and services.


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Employee empowerment means giving employees the authority to make business decisions.

Rightsize means to find the most effective configuration for human and computer resources.

Business process redesign requires radical changes to existing business practices to achieve improvements in performance.

Just-in-time inventory management - a way to reduce inventory costs


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People, Decisions and InformationSection B

Information Systems inOrganizations


Section D

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Describe the information needs of executives, managers, and workers

Section PREVIEW




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Every organization requires people. Workers are the people who carry out the

organization’s mission. Managers determine organizational goals and

plan what steps to take to achieve those goals.– both need to make decisions



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WorkersDo workers use information systems?

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A high percentage of workers use information systems and other computer or communications technologies.

Information workers - produce and manipulate information

Service workers - deliver services to customers Goods workers - create and manipulate physical

objects


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WorkersDo workers use information systems?

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Worker classificationin the organizationalpyramid


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ManagersWhat managerial tasks are enhanced by information systems?

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Executive managers - set long range goals for organization called strategic planning

Middle managers - design ways to achieve plans laid out by executive managers, known as tactical planning

Supervisors - deal primarily with day-to-day operations, known as operational planning


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Problems and DecisionsHow do workers and managers use information systems?

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To solve a problem, a worker must:– recognize the problem– devise possible solutions– select an action or solution

Problems– structured (every day, routine)– semi-structured (less routine, uncertain)– unstructured (require human intuition)


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Problems and DecisionsHow do workers and managers use information systems?

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Computer information systems help people solve structured, semi-structured, and unstructured problems.


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Information Analysis ToolsWhere do computers get information that they supply to workers and managers?

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Organizations generate internal information :– inventory– cash flow– personnel

• stored in an information system External information is collected from outside

sources.– not permanently stored in information system


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It is easy to collect external information using Internet resources and other communications capabilities.

Zacks Web siteprovides informationabout businesses


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Most information systems produce a fixed set of reports (daily cash receipts).

Information analysis tools help people model problems then find a solution or decision.


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CriteriumDecisionPlussoftware


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Information SystemsSection C



Section D

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Provide examples of office automation that make significant improvements in ways that organizations operate

Describe the transaction processing systems that are typically used in businesses

Differentiate between an MIS and a DSS Explain how an expert system works

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An information system must have one or more of the following components:– office automation system– transaction processing system– management information system

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An office automation system “automates” or computerizes, routine office tasks.– word processing software– spreadsheet software– scheduling software– e-mail software

Office AutomationCan an information system automate routine office tasks?

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In an information system context, a transaction is an event that requires a manual or computer-based activity.

A transaction processing system (TPS) keeps track of the transactions for an organization by providing a way to collect, store, display, modify, or cancel transactions.

Transaction ProcessingHow does an organization collect information on production or operations?

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Examples of transaction processing systems:– point of sale system records items

purchased at each cash register – order-entry/invoice system provides a way

to input, view, modify, and delete orders– general accounting system records financial

status of business– e-commerce system - collects online orders

and processes credit card payments


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Data that is used by a transaction processing system is stored in files or databases


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Transactionprocessingsystem


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Managers need sophisticated reports to help them understand and analyze data.– created by a management information system

Management information system can be a synonym for the term “information system” or refer to a type of information system.– characterized by production of routine reports

that managers use for structured and routine tasks

Management Information SystemsCan data collected by transaction be presented in a format conducive to decision making?

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One of the major goals of an MIS is to increase the efficiency of managerial activity.

A managerial information system produces several types of reports.

Detail report - organized list Summary report - combines or groups data Exception report - show information outside

normal or acceptable ranges

Management Information SystemsCan data collected by transaction be presented in a format conducive to decision making?

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A decision report system (DSS) allows users to:– manipulate data directly– incorporate data from external sources– create data models and “what if” scenarios– designed to make non-routine decisions

Decision Support SystemsCan managers get information about unanticipated problems?

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A decision model is a numerical representation of a realistic situation.

A decision query is a question or set of instructions describing the data that needs to be gathered to make a decision.

A decision support system “supports” the decision maker but does not make the decision.

Decision Support SystemsCan managers get information about unanticipated problems?

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Information systems do not make decisions. The manager analyzes the data and reaches a decision.

An expert system, sometimes referred to as a “knowledge-based system”, is a computer system designed to analyze data and produce a recommendation or decision.– uses a set of facts or rules

Expert Systems and Neural NetworksDo information systems ever make decisions?

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Expert system


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Knowledge base - set of facts and rules, stored in a computer file– manipulated by inference engine software

An expert system is not a general-purpose problem solver or decision maker.

An expert system shell is a software tool that helps in developing expert system applications.– contains an inference engine– expert system without rules


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Expert systems are designed to deal with imprecise data or problems that have more than one solution.

Using a technique called fuzzy logic, an expert system can deal with imprecise data by asking for a level of confidence.

A neural network uses computer circuitry to simulate the way in which a brain might process information.


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User Focus Expert System Facts and Rules



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An expert system has the ability to make inferences based on the rules and data in a knowledge base.An expert system can “think for itself” to draw conclusions from a set of facts.

User Focus

User Focus Expert System Facts and Rules


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FactsHow do I write the facts for a knowledge base?

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A fact is a basic building block of a knowledge base.

Once facts are in a knowledge base, you can search through facts to produce an answer.

The way you write facts for a knowledge base depends on the development tool you use.

Predicate logic is a shorthand notation system used to construct your expert system.

User Focus


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RulesCan I use predicate logic for rules?

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The way that you enter facts depends on the development tool you use.– most do not allow free-form English– too ambiguous

A development tool requires you to use IF...THEN format or predicate logic to write rule.

When creating an expert system, the goal is to hide all of the details of a decision from the user.

User Focus

Information Systems in Organizations

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