6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology1 of 19 Class 1 The Importance of Information Technology & Systems Management Asper School of Business - MBA Program 6150 Management of Information Systems & Technology April-June 2007 Instructor: Bob Travica Updated April 2007

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology2 of 19 Outline Importance of Management of Information Technology & Systems Concepts of IT and of IS What ISes affect your professional life? (practice link, discussion) Organizational and IS themes & Trends Historical development of IS function in organizations Concepts of data, information, and knowledge Guidelines in study of Management of Information Technology & Systems Summary

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology3 of 19 Importance of Management of Information Technology & Systems Management of information technology (IT) and information systems (ISes) is similar to “Management Information Systems” (MIS) Managing IT/IS as a management vehicle for accomplishing organizational goals (strategic perspective) vs. Managing IT/IS at operational level IT/IS as asset, “strategic weapon”, tool, “nervous system”, commodity… More…

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology4 of 19 What do we mean by IT? Any tool for manipulating information in broad sense – electronic (computer software and hardware, paper trail) What do we mean by IS? (see next slide)

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology5 of 19 What do we mean by information system (IS)? Information Technology (IT) (Computer & Other* Hardware, Computer Software) Users (Organizational members: Managers, Professionals, Clerks) Data, Information, Knowledge Use Procedures IS Often neglected part Use Task, Process Perform on ”Supports” * Other Hardware = “paper trail”

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology6 of 19 What ISes affect your professional life?  Practice link What do the ISes support? How do the ISes affect you? What is good about the systems? What could be improved? These question can also initiate your thinking about a topic of your paper.

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology7 of 19 Electronic Commerce/Business (Internet, linking back-end systems to Internet interface b/w organization and environment) Globalization (markets and trade; global computer networks) Focus on intellectual capital, knowledge (knowledge tech, communication tech.) Changes in organizations (teams, flattening, any time/any space-operations; groupware, communication tech.) Changing perceptions of time (what is “present”; real time data) More… Contemporary Organizational/IS Themes

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology8 of 19 Organization webs, alliances, ecosystems (EDI, networks, ERP) Deregulation, competition, privatization of telecommunications Demand-Pull (product customization/personalization; support of programmable machinery) Customer-centric and network-centric business (tech. support)

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology9 of 19 Technological Trends Moore’s Law (IT capabilities double in 17 month-intervals) Wireless & mobile systems More Home-grown software, outsourced development (“off-shoring”) off-the-shelf products, Application Software Providers Proprietary vs. open standards Systems integration: old/new topic (1980s, ERP systems; intranet) Internet-centric ISes (storage, distributed services, virtualization)

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology10 of 19 - Centralized mainframe data processing centre (1960s) - Decentralization (mini-computers 1970s, PCs 1980s, networks, Client-Server models) - Recentralization (ERP) - Transactions  office work  decision making  professional work - Role of IS function: Support to operations  Strategic business partner; interfacing with business and vendors/outsourcing partners; shared IT governance. Development of IS Function ( MeadWestvaco case)

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology11 of 19 Data, Information, Knowledge Conceptual Relationships Data Information (Meaningful data, meaning) Knowledge (Complex whole of interconnected information; theories, conceptual maps, procedures, experience) – simple just in textbooks NOTE: Term “information” also used in broad sense to mean data, meaning (information in narrower sense), & knowledge

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology12 of 19 Complexity, C/B lowhigh Data Information Knowledge (but roots older) Data Information Knowledge Comparisons Focus in IS Development Store, organize, transform Make data more meaningful (querying, reporting) Represent knowledge

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology13 of 19 Users Organizational members that use IT, data / information/ knowledge, and IS procedures. Managers, Professionals Clerks Information Knowledge Data

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology14 of 19 Guidelines in Study of Management of Information Technology & Systems (Strategic Alignment Model) Information Technology (Software & Hardware) Data, Information, Knowledge Procedures of handling IT and data/information Professionals, Managers, Clerks System Development Information System Function Use Organizational Performance Market Positioning Design Provide Requirements Design & Build Expertise

15 of 19 Infostructure Infoculture Infoprocesses Infopolitics Homo Informaticus Group Informatics IS Management Infoeconomics IS Adoption IS Design/Development IS Use IS Evaluation Org. Goals & Issues Individuals Work Groups Org. Processes Org. Economics Org. Politics Org. Culture Org. Structure INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DATA MEANING KNOWLEDGE WISDOM (Travica, 2003, 2005, forthcoming) Guidelines in Study of Management of Information Technology & Systems (Information View of Organization IVO Framework, IVO Eye) IVO Eye builds on… 1. Classic org. views 2. Classic MIS issues 3. Sharper focus on information & IT 4. New aspects at intersection of these three

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology16 of 19 Summary 1/4 Managing IT/IS as a management at strategic level is the vehicle (“strategic weapon”, “nervous system”) for accomplishing organizational goals (effectiveness). Managing IT/IS at operational level (tool) is part and parcel of organizing and performing daily work in efficient manner. IT refers to machines, devices and simple tools for manipulating data/information. Thus manipulation includes creating, collecting, filtering, storing, organizing, transforming, transferring, and discarding. Examples are computer (our focus), overhead projector, & paper and pencil.

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology17 of 19 Summary 2/4 Information and knowledge are often neglected parts while IT is emphasized (a weakness of mainstream MIS textbooks including ours). By organizing and transforming data, computer contributes to meaningfulness of data. Still, meaning occurs only in human cognition. Similarly, computer can represent knowledge (e.g., a decision tree in expert systems) but knowledge is only in human brain (slides 5, 11, 12). IS is a whole consisted of IT, system procedures, and data that delivers information (meaningful data). (slide 5) IS users are important part of MIS (slide 5, 12)

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology18 of 19 Summary 3/4 Current technological trends include Internet, Internet-centric systems, and wireless communications. It is useful to think of ISes that affect your professional work, how they impact on you, and what their ups and dons are. This perspective prepares you for this course and for its term paper assignment in particular. - Discussed example: systems are part of everyday job and may pose problems, such as inflation. Modern IT/IS are involved in key trends of our time, including e-commerce, globalization, changing perceptions of time, and significant changes in organizing (slides 7, 8).

6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology19 of 19 Summary 4/4 The organization of the IS function in firms has moved through several historical stages outlined in MeadWestvaco case (slide 10). Various analytical models and frameworks can be used for understanding the relationship between IT/IS and organization. - A model for studying IS from a strategic stance (slide 14). - A framework showing relationships b/w organization/management aspects and IS issues (slide