RSM100Y1 Chapter 13: CHAPTER 13-Managing Information Systems and Communication Technology
CHAPTER
13:
MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS
AND
COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY
Information
Management:
An Overview
- today,
managers
turn to
technology
as a a
means
of conducting
everyday business. All business
activities
of a major firm are
linked
to
information systems
so the
management
of
information systems
is a core
business activity
that cannot be
delegated
to
technical
people
- the
information
of a
business
is a
private
asset
-
information managers
are
managers
who are
responsible
for the
activities
needed to
generate, analyze
and
distribute
information
that a company needs to make good decisions
-
information management
is an
internal operation
that
arranges
the firm¶s
information resources
to support
business performance
and outcomes
data vs information
- data is raw facts and figures
-
information
is
interpreted
data. A
manager
needs to
gather
data
(the inputs)
and sort it in a
meaningful
way
so that they can produce
information
that is important to their firm
Information systems
- this is the
response
to the
challenge
facing
managers
of
organizing
data into
information
and
managing
that
information
as best as possible
-
information
system
(IS)
is an
organized
method for
transforming
raw data into
information
and
transmitting
it
for use in
decision
making
- IS
managers have
to first decide what
information
is needed,
gather
the data, apply the
technology
to
convert data into
t=information. They
must control the flow of
information
so that it goes only to people who
need it
New
business technologies
in the
information
age
-
employees
at
ever level
in an
organization
use
information systems
to
improve
performance
- wide
range
of functions
The
expanding
scope of
information
systems
- at first,
information systems
were used only for
technology
purposes - ie
payroll, advertising
etc
- today, IS are used to
solve technical
problems and to
analyze management
problems,
especially
for control
purposes
like
comparing costs to budgeted amounts and
keeping
records on
employee
turnover
- IS is
crucial
for planning
-
databases
help
marketing analyze demographics, financial planning,
funds
transfers
etc
-
interdependence
between a company¶s
business strategy
and its IS. If you choose to be the low cost
leader (that
is your
strategy),
then your
information
system needs to be able to support that
strategy.
This
means
that
everything
must be integrated
Electronic
Business
and
Communications
Technology
- need
instantaneous communication
between
managers. Solution
is to use
electronic
information
technology
and
advanced
data
communication
networks
www.notesolution.com
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
(EIT):
this is an IS
application
that is based on
telecommunications
technology.
- use network of
devices
to
communicate information
by an
electronic
means
-
enhances
the
performance
and
productivity
of
general business activities
by
providing coordination
and
communication
within the firm and
speeding
up
transactions
with other firms
- fax
machine:
transmit and receive
digitized images
of text documents, drawing and photographs over a
telephone line
in seconds = written
communication available
over long
distances.
Low cost = user friendly
- voice
mail:
computer based system for receiving and
delivering incoming telephone calls. Incoming calls
are
never
missed
because
a voice responds to the
caller,
the
caller
records a
message
and the
message
is
stored
-
email: electronic transmission
of
letters,
reports and other
information
between computers regardless of
location. It is a substitute for paper and
telephone calls
between offices
-
electronic
conferencing: people can
communicate simultaneously
from
different locations. Highly
used
because it
eliminates travel
and
saves
money,
very accessible
and speeds up
information
flow. Data
conferencing
is a form of
teleconferencing
which
allows
people to work on the same document from
different locations. This
way, people can work as a team.
Video conferencing allows participants
to see one
another during a teleconference
-
groupware
= a system that
allows
two or more people to
communicate electronically.
It is a software that
links
people together from
different locations
and people can work from their own computers
-
digital information services
-
provides online information
that can be
internal
or
external
to the company
DATA COMMUNICATION NETWORKS:
these are global networks that
allow users
to
quickly
send electronic
messages
and other kinds of
digital
date
(like
photos,
videos,
sound clips)
-
internet:
gigantic network of networks that
serves millions
of computers,
offers information
on business,
science
government
and
provides communication
flows.
-
allows
for
personal
computers in any location to be
linked
together
-
efficient
tool for
information retrieval
that
makes available
an
immense wealth
of academic,
technical
and
business
information
- can transmit
information quickly
and at low cost so
internet
= most important
email
system in the
world
-
replacing
the
telephone,
fax
machine
and
express mail
as the standard
means
of communication
-
internet service provider
= a firm that
maintains
a
permanent
connection to the
internet
and sells
temporary
connections to subscribers
- the world wide web
(aka
the web): system with
universal
standards for storing,
retrieving,
formatting, and
displaying information
on the internet
-
makes
the
internet easy
to use and
allows users
to
communicate electronically
with
little
effort
-
provides
the common
language
that
enables
us to surf the internet
-
makes
the
internet available
to a
general audience
and not just
technical
users
-
URL
=
uniform resource
locator that points to the resource¶s
unique
address on the web.
- each website opens with a home page =
screen display
that
welcomes
the
visitor
and uses
graphics/sound/visual
to draw the user¶s
attention
to the site
-
additional
pages provide
details
on the products offered by the firm and
explains
how to contact
help in using the site
- person
responsible
for
maintaining
an
organization
¶
s
website = the webmaster
- web
servers
=
large
computers that are customized for
managing, maintaining
and supporting
websites
- web browser = a software that
enables
a user to access
information
on the web.
The
browser
supports the
graphics
and
links
it to the
applications
that are
necessary
to
navigate
the web
(example
of a browser = Firefox)
- web browser
offers additional
tools
(ie
search
engines)
for
navigating
the web ie Google
-
Google
has free to use directories of web content.
Directories
are
features
that help people find the
content they need on the web by typing in a key word and then the directory retrieves a list of
websites that match the key words
www.notesolution.com
Document Summary
Today, managers turn to technology as a a means of conducting everyday business. All business activities of a major firm are linked to information systems so the management of information systems is a core business activity that cannot be delegated to technical people. The information of a business is a private asset. Information managers are managers who are responsible for the activities needed to generate, analyze and distribute information that a company needs to make good decisions. Information management is an internal operation that arranges the firms information resources to support business performance and outcomes data vs information. A manager needs to gather data (the inputs) and sort it in a meaningful way so that they can produce information that is important to their firm. This is the response to the challenge facing managers of organizing data into information and managing that information as best as possible.
