Foundations of Information Systems
Introduction
In the foundations of information systems, there are five basic areas of information system knowledge that need be incorporated in business by business professionals. Such incorporation is vital in the current internetworked working environment as it serves the purpose of promoting e-business and e-commerce operations, as well as enterprise administration and cooperation. In addition, the strategic success of global business and business management is dependent on such information systems.
For business professionals, IS knowledge that one needs to know include foundation concepts in the likes of management concepts such as competitive strategies and system functions and components; knowledge of information technology in the range of concepts, development or management issues subject to software, hardware data management and other strategies. Others include: business applications like the major use of IT to promote business’s competitive advantage; advancement processes like the manner in which IS experts and clients establish and implement effective business solutions to challenges resulting to business; finally is the ethical and effective management of challenges as well as the IT resources necessary to achieve the overall best performance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the information systems in business.
Trends Information Systems and Types
Trends in information systems
An information system is a collection of people, hardware communication networks, software and data resources that gathers, converts and dispenses information within a given organization (Sachenko 2003). Despite the continued use of computers in business organizations, the field of information technology continues to experience rapid technological advancement as well as changing user requirements more so in the recent past. Some of these changes include the multimedia support, client-server networking, object-relational and object-oriented database management systems, decentralization, and workflow management systems all of which aim at the provision of advanced likelihoods and probabilities as well as associated challenges and risks.
Some of the recent trends in business are the global perspective of businesses and hence information systems, innovation, information systems integration process, as well as social and cultural related issues. According to Sachenko (2003), the applications of information systems in business dates as early as 1960 and since then, the development of information systems have taken several trends. The first trend was between 1950’s to 1960s when businesses used electronic data processing systems to process data inform of transactions, accounting and keeping of records as well as other electronic data processing applications (EDP). The second trend was in the 1970s and1980s when organizations embraced the decision support systems for provision of managerial consumers with support information for the sake of making decisions subject to the problem at hand (Sachenko 2003).
The next trend was in the1980s to 1990s when enterprises embraced the end user and strategic support which allowed end users to utilize their own resources for the sake of their job requirements involving computing rather than depending on the corporate information services. In this type of information system, the end user computing systems provide the necessary support to boost productivity and collaboration within workgroups (Sachenko 2003).
The executive information system (EIS) serve the purpose of availing an easy way to obtain important information wherever they need it. Other systems included the expert systems (ES) and knowledge-Based systems whose role is offering consultation services to end users through advices in restricted areas. Next are the information systems (SIS) whose role was to assist the company gain competitive advantage in the global environment. Lastly in the year 1990s and 2000 was the development of the electronic business and commerce systems which, with the steady advancement in internets, intranet, and extranet, has resulted to uprising of the management and operations currently (Sachenko 2003).
Types of information systems
There are conceptually two types of information systems: the operations support systems and the management support systems (Sachenko 2003). The operations information systems (OSS) support data engendered and utilized in business operations and yields numerous information products for use within and without the business organization, while the management support systems (MSS) avail information necessary to support the decision making process by management. The OSS includes transactions processing systems (TPS), process control systems (PCS) and enterprise collaboration systems (ECS) and the main responsibilities are effective processing of transactions of the business, controlling industrial processes, keeping the corporate database up-to date and supporting organization’s cooperation and communications.
The TPS is responsible for the recording and processing of the transactions as a result of business such as trade, purchases, and inventory adjustments among others (Sachenko 2003). From the records TPS also generates information products like paychecks for employees, sales receipts, and customer statements. The main divisions of TPS are Batch processing, where data is first accumulated before being processed within a given time span, and Real-time processing or online processing where transactions are processed immediately after incurrence.
The PCS is responsible for the control of continuing physical processes through the use of computers which are set to make decisions involuntarily which in return regulate the physical process of production. Finally is the ECS which is responsible for organization of people to work together through collaboration, resources distribution and coordination of both formal and informal teams (Sachenko 2003).
The MSS is divided into management information system (MIS), Executive information system (EIS) and Decision Support systems (DSS). DSS provide information when necessary to both the management and the end user. EIS provide prompt and accessible information to top and middle level managers mainly concerning the principle elements gearing to the attainment of the organization’s strategic goals. Lastly, the most common is the MIS which provides information products necessary for the routine requirements in decision making for managerial end users (Sachenko 2003).
Information Systems Resources and Activities
The major components and activities of an information system are well illustrated by the information system model. There are five main resources of an information system namely: people, software, network, hardware, and data resources (Sachenko 2003). The activities of information systems information processing activities like input activities, output activities, storage activities and control activities (Sachenko 2003).
The people resources include the end users-who use information generated by an IS, as well as the information system specialists-who establish and manage an IS. The hardware resources represent all the tangibles devices and materials required to process information (Sachenko 2003) for instance, computers, network devices, computer processing units and peripherals like mouse keyboard and monitor.
Software resources include all put instructions necessary for information processing in the likes of programs and procedures (Sachenko 2003). Data is the most valuable resource in an organization that must be accurately managed for the sake of the necessary end users for a given organization. Such management involves the use of databases and knowledge bases. In an organization, data represents raw facts while information represents processed data. Network resources include internet, extranet and intranet that promote electronic business and commerce processes. These include communication media and network support.
For the information system resources, input data resources are responsible for data entry activities targeted to confine and set up data for processing like editing (Sachenko 2003) processing of data takes the form of calculations, sorting, comparison, and summarizing among others. The processed data is then made available to the end user in the form of output and this can later be stored in computer memory or external storage devices like magnetic tapes and flash disks. Control activities are concerned with regulating system performance by providing responses concerning all the other activities.
Competitive strategies and role in IT
Despite being a set of technologies that support competent business operations, an information system can transform the way a business competes and hence can be viewed as a critical tool in organizational renewal, technology investment and computer network that assist a firm to survive in the dynamic e-business setting (Sachenko 2003). Every company aims at providing services, capabilities and products that place provide it with a competitive advantage in the global environment.
The five competitive strategies that facilitate this are differentiation, innovation, growth, alliance, among other strategies (Sachenko 2003). The five forces that shape competition include bargaining supply power, bargaining consumers’ power, new entrants and substitute’s threat and rivalry from veteran competitors within the market (Sachenko 2003).
Cost leadership or low cost strategy establishes means by which consumers or suppliers minimize their expenses like the manufacturing, and manpower costs, while elevating the competitors cost (Sachenko 2003). The differentiation strategies is responsible for discovering ways to create a variation in form between one’s products and services and the competition which may allow one to serve the market gap and reduce competitor’s differentiation advantage. Innovation strategy is responsible for finding ways of operating business by production of outstanding services and products, serving unique market, establishing fresh business coalition and inventing new product and services distribution and producing ways. The growth strategy is responsible for increasing the capability of a company in products and services production capacities, as well as expansion into worldwide markets and diversification and integration into novel products and services (Sachenko 2003).
Alliance strategy comes up with new alliances and associations with customers, competitors and other mergers, joint ventures or virtual companies among others. Other strategic advantages are establishment of switching costs of time, money, inconvenience and efforts that would be incurred by a customer or supplier while fitting into competitors business; leveraging investment in IT which allows business to embrace strategic opportunities (Sachenko 2003). Others include the establishment of relationships with customers and suppliers to ensure they are locked up to a company’s products and services.
Computer Systems: End User and Enterprise
An end user is basically anyone who can use information system or the information yielded from an information system. The end user is therefore important in any business organization and should be provided with relevant information and training to enable them effectively and accurately utilizes such information (Sachkem 2003. One way to provide such is the provision of user documentation. This is a written material that explains to someone who with little or no exposure to something like a database what they really need to do to access information, or input information into an application as well as how to get reports out of such application as database.
Such a document should be written in such a way that it is readable to the user and with easy to implement step by step descriptions of the working of the applications (Sachkem 2003. Apart from the use of end user documentation, an organization can provide training to transfer knowledge to the users of a given application probably using safe environments where users are allowed to make as many mistakes as they can while alienating the anxiety or the new application and enable users to pay attention to being part of the new application rather than remaining disoriented.
In the implementation of such strategies, the enterprise is responsible for investing in the training of the end users, that is, department managers and frontline staff. The training should integrate design, prototyping and testing techniques.
Computer Peripherals: Input, Output, and Storage Technologies
Computer peripherals are the electronics equipments connected to a computer through a cable and to the computer system unit or the cabinet (Sachkem 2003. Therefore computer peripherals consist of all inputs, outputs and storage devices. The input devices are responsible for retaining information. Some of the technologies used in information systems include HVD, HDD, BLU RAY, USB Disks and Disk Array among others. The main factors considered in the classification of the above devices are the capacities, and data rate for each. For instance, the HDD technologies can store up to a few terabytes or perabytes while USBs can only hold up to a few GBs of data.
The input technologies used for information systems are those that assist one to capture data into a computer for processing. Some of these input devices are mouse, keyboard, scanners, barcode readers, webcam and microphones among others like joystick and touch screen. In information systems, the output technologies are responsible for presenting information for the user to access (Sachkem 2003. This information can be formatted data or the outcomes of a process. Some of these technologies include graphics cards which are a computer accessory responsible for displaying graphics in a computer. Others include monitors with the latest technology being the TFT or LCD monitor, printers, sound and network cards and speakers. Network cards allow the user to connect to an internet card.
Application Software: End User Applications
Computer software is a set of computer programs and associated data that supply instructions to the computer telling it what needs to be done and how exactly that should be done. Software can also refer to one or more programs and data held in the computer memory and currently serving a given function in the computer (Sachkem 2003. Software or application is contrary to the tangibles or hardware of a computer and so means all intangibles that facilitate the functioning of a computer. An application program on the other hand is software designed to perform specific function directly for the user or through another application. Such end user software includes database programs, web browsers among others. Web browsers are the most important as users can use them to check emails, download software, hold video conferences and so on.
System Software: Computer System Management
Computer software is divided into two main categories which are computer system software and computer application software. The system software is further subdivided into two categories the software management programs and the system development programs (Sachkem 2003). The software management programs include the operating systems, the network management systems and the database management systems, application servers, performance and security and system utilities.
The computer system management is made possible by the presence of programs that control and maintain a computer system and its information processing activities (Sachkem 2003). The system management programs include the operating system that manages the central processing unit, manages the input and output, user interface, task, file and resource management, as well as utilities and support services (Sachkem 2003). The database management system develops uses and maintains databases, utility programs for housekeeping a functions and system security which control the use of the system and prevent unauthorized use.
References
Sachenkem, A., (2003). Information systems. Retrieved: 10-08-2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/396857/Computer-Software last updated: 2003
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