MGTA04 / 01
Chapter 3: Managing Information Systems and Communication Technology
Information Management: An Overview (pg 47 ± 48)
- Managers now turn to digital technology as an integral part of organizational resources and
as a means of conducting everyday business
- ;07\2,M471L72¶8-:8L3088,.9L;L9L08± designing services, ensuring product delivery and
cash flow, evaluating personnel, creating advertising are all linked to information systems
- Information managers are responsible for the activities needed to generate, analyze, and
disseminate information that a company needs to make good decisions
- Information management L8,3L39073,O4507,9L439K,9,77,3J089K01L72¶8L31472,9L43
resources to support business performance and outcomes
Data versus Information
- Data are raw facts and figures (e.g. the birth rate is rising slowly)
- Information is interpreted data that is meaningful
- The challenge for businesses is to turn a flood of data into information and to manage that
information to their best advantage
Information Systems
- Information system (IS) is an organized method of transforming data into information
that can be used for decision making
- IS managers must first determine what information is needed then they must gather the
data and apply the technology to convert data into information. They must also control the
flow of the information so it goes only to those who need it
- ,31472,9L436:,OL9\/0503/843,347J,3L],9L43¶890.K34O4JL.,O7084:7.08,3/439K0
people who manage the
New Business Technologies in the Information Age (pg. 48 ± 57)
- Employees at every level in the organization uses information systems to improve
performance (e.g. assists in scheduling day-to-day vehicle trips)
- The emergent role of IS results from rapid developments in electron technologies that
allow faster and broader flows of information and communications
The Expanding Scope of Information Systems
- The relationship between information systems and organizations is among the fastest-
changing aspect of business today
- In the past, IS applications were narrow in scope and technically focused (e.g. processing
payroll data), now managers use IS systems to analyze management problems especially
for control purposes, applying quality-control standards to production, comparing costs
against budgeted amounts, keeping records on employee absences and turnover
- ,3,J07874:9L30O\:80,$94/0.L/043,1L72¶8574/:.98,3/2,7N0981479K030[994
years (crucial in planning)
- Another change in organizations is an increased interdependence b09Z003,.425,3\¶8
business strategy and its IS (different choices of business strategy such as being the low-
cost provider or the high-quality provider requires an IS that can support that strategy)
www.notesolution.com MGTA04 / 02
Electronic Business and Communications Technologies
- The pressure to maintain better communications and information systems are increasing as
competition intensifies and as organizations expand into global and ebusiness operations
Electronic Information Technologies
- Electronic information technologies (EIT) are IS applications based on
telecommunications technologies. They use networks of appliances or devices (e.g. cell
phones & computers) to communicate information by electronic means
- EITs enhance the performance and productivity of general business activities by
performing two functions:
1. Providing coordination and communication within the firm
2. Speeding up transactions with other firms
- $L[419K0ZL/0O\:80/L334;,9L438L394/,\¶8/LJL9,O-:8L30888\89028,70
1. Fax machine: a machine that can quickly transmit a copy of documents or
graphics over telephone lines
2. Voice mail: a computer-based system for receiving and delivering incoming
telephone calls, this way, phone calls are never missed
3. Electronic mail (email) system: electronic transmission of letters, reports, and
other information between computers. Email substitutes flood of paper in offices
4. Electronic conferencing: allows people to communicate simultaneously from
different locations via telephone, video, or email group software. Two forms:
ƒ Data conferencing ± allows people in different locations to work on the
same document
ƒ Videoconferencing ± allows participants to see one another on a video
screen while the teleconference is in progress
5. Groupware: a system that allows two or more individuals to communicate
electronically between desktop PCs. Groupware is especially useful when members
work together regularly and rely on intensive information sharing
6. Digital information services ± provide online information for both special-purpose
topics (e.g. Lexis, specifically a source for legal-research information) and general
topics (e.g. America Online offers a variety of general-interest information)
Data Communication Networks
- Data communication networks are global networks that permit users to send electronic
messages quickly and economically (e.g. the internet)
- The Internet
o The internet is a gigantic network of networks that serves millions of computers,
offers information on business, science, and government, and provides communication
flows among more than 170,000 separate networks around the world
o The internet has gained popularity since it can transmit information quickly and at low
cost (eliminates long-distance phone calls, express mail, and fax machines as a
standard means of communication)
o Internet service provider (ISP) is a commercial firm that maintains a permanent
connection to the internet and sells temporary connections to subscribers for a fee
- The World Wide Web
o The world wide web is a system with universally accepted standards (common
language) for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information on the internet
o To access the web, users must specify the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (e.g. Air
,3,/,¶8/L8www.aircanada.ca)
www.notesolution.com MGTA04 / 03
o Each website opens with a home page which is a screen display that welcomes the
visitor and may include graphics, sounds, and visual enhancements
o Additional pages 574;L/0/09,LO8439K08543847¶8574/:.98,3/K4Z94.439,.9147K0O5
o The webmaster is the person who is responsible for maintai3L3J,347J,3L],9L43¶8
website
o Web servers are dedicated workstations ± large computers ± that are customized for
managing, maintain, and supporting websites
o Web browsers are software that enables a user to access information on the web
(popular browsers include: Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer)
o Directories are features that help people find the content they want on the web. The
user types in key words and the directory retrieves a list of websites with titles
containing those words (e.g. Yahoo!) [searches for similar titles]
o Search engine is a software for searching web pages that does not pre-classify them
into a directory (e.g. Google) [ searches for keywords in web pages]
- Intranets
o An intranet L8,.425,3\¶857L;,90309Z47N9K,9L8,..088L-O043O\94025O4\008;L,
entry through electronic firewalls
o Firewalls are hardware and software security systems that ensure that internal
computer systems are not accessible to outsiders
- Extranets
o An extranet L8,309Z47N9K,9,OO4Z84:98L/078OL2L90/,..08894,1L72¶8L39073,O
information system
o J-:\078,70,-O094039079K080OO07¶88\890294800ZKL.K574/:.98,70,;,LO,-O0147
sale and delivery thus providing product-availability information quickly to outside
buyers
New Op
More
Less
