INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS Supporting Information Processing

IT Is Now a Part of Almost Every Organization l Some IT systems simply process transactions l Some help managers make decisions l Some support the interorganizational flow of information l Some support team work Introduction2-2

Lecture Focus l Organizations and Their Structures l The Nature of Information in an Organization (and Decentralized Computing) l IT systems in an Organization and the Tasks They Perform Introduction2-3

THE TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION An Organization NONMANAGEMENT STRATEGIC TACTICAL OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT 2-4

THE TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION 1.STRATEGIC MGMT - provides overall direction and guidance. 2.TACTICAL MGMT - develops the goals and strategies outlined by strategic mgmt. 3.OPERATIONAL MGMT - manages and directs the day-to-day operations. 4.NONMANAGEMENT - those people who actually perform daily activities. An Organization2-5

When Considering Information, You Need to Understand... l The concept of shared information through decentralized computing l The directional flow of information l What information specifically describes l The information-processing tasks your organization undertakes Information2-7

SHARED INFORMATION AND DECENTRALIZED COMPUTING Information As late as the early 1980s, most organizations exhibited centralized computing and isolated information. That is... l Large central mainframe computers that performed all tasks. l Separate files of information for each application or system. l So, computing power was centralized while information remained isolated. 2-8

SHARED INFORMATION AND DECENTRALIZED COMPUTING Information During the early to mid 1980s, most organizations exhibited decentralized computing and isolated information. That is... l Smaller, more powerful computers that were distributed to functional business areas. l These computers still maintained separate files of information for each application. l So, computing power was decentralized while information remained isolated. 2-9

SHARED INFORMATION AND DECENTRALIZED COMPUTING Information Sharing of information utilizing databases. l This bringing together of information is accomplished by using databases. l Databases support the concept of shared information. l So, computing power is now decentralized and information is shared. 2-10

l Upward Flow of Information - current info l Downward Flow of Information - directions/goals from higher ups l Horizontal Flow of Information - between functional business units and work teams. Information2-11 See Figure 2.5 on page 46

WHAT INFORMATION DESCRIBES l INTERNAL INFORMATION - describes specific operational aspects of the organization. l EXTERNAL INFORMATION - describes the environment surrounding the organization. l OBJECTIVE INFORMATION - quantifiably describes something that is known. l SUBJECTIVE INFORMATION - attempts to describe something that is currently unknown. Information2-12

INFORMATION-PROCESSING TASKS 1.Capturing information - at its point of origin. 2.Conveying information - in its most useful form. 3.Creating information - to obtain new information. 4.Cradling information - for use at a later time. 5.Communicating information - to other people or another location. Information2-13

Ways of Creating Information 1.TRANSACTION PROCESSING - the processing of transactions that occur within an organization. –E–Example: computing payroll and sales tax 2.ANALYTICAL PROCESSING - creating information to support your decision-making tasks. –E–Example: how to allocate investment dollars Information2-14

THE SEVEN IT SYSTEMS IN AN ORGANIZATION IT Systems 1.Transaction Processing Systems (TPS) 2.Customer Integrated Systems (CIS) 3.Management Information Systems (MIS) 4.Workgroup Support Systems (WSS) 5.Decision Support Systems (DSS) & Artificial Intelligence (AI) 6.Executive Information Systems (EIS) 7.Interorganizational Systems (IOS) 2-15

TPSs a system that processes transactions that occur within an organization. Capturing information Creating information Cradling information Conveying information (secondary) 2-16

TPS CHARACTERISTICS l Heart of every organization. l Provide the primary interface to customers. l Found in all functions of an organization. l If they fail, the whole organization suffers. TPSs2-17

CISs an extension of a TPS that places technology in the hands of an organization’s customers and allows them to process their own transactions. Capturing information Creating information Cradling information Communicating information Conveying information (secondary) 2-18

CIS CHARACTERISTICS l Are at the very heart of every organization. l Are the new primary interface to customers. l Represent a further decentralization of computing power by placing that power in the hands of customers. l Will forever change the relationship between organization and customer. CISs2-19

MISs a system that provides periodic and predetermined reports that summarize information within a database. Creating information Conveying information 2-20

MIS CHARACTERISTICS l Alert people to the existence of problems or opportunities. l Report Types: –PERIODIC - produced at a predetermined time interval. –SUMMARIZED - aggregate information in some way. –EXCEPTION - show only a subset of available information. –COMPARATIVE - show two or more sets of similar information. MISs2-21

WSSs a system that is designed specifically to improve the performance of teams by supporting the sharing and flow of information. Communicating information 2-22

WSS CHARACTERISTICS l Supports the sharing, dissemination, and flow of information. l Supports both: –Project teams - that solve a specific problem or take advantage of a specific opportunity and then disband to move on to other projects. –Permanent teams - people from all departments that perform a flow of work consistently. l Contains groupware. WSSs2-23

GROUPWARE WSSs the popular term for the software that supports the collaborative efforts of a team. Groupware Supports Three Functions: (See Figure 2.11 page 58) 1. Team Dynamics 2. Document Management 3. Applications Development 2-24

GROUPWARE SUPPORT FOR TEAM DYNAMICS l l ELECTRONIC MEETING SUPPORT - shared scheduling, NetMeeting WSSs2-25

ELECTRONIC MEETING SUPPORT SOFTWARE l GROUP SCHEDULING - shared schedules l ELECTRONIC MEETING - online virtual meeting l VIDEOCONFERENCING - allows “face-to-face” l Electronic WHITEBOARD WSSs2-26

GROUPWARE SUPPORT FOR DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT l GROUP DOCUMENT DATABASE - –Contains documents from many teams –Supports many levels of security –Can store information in a variety of forms WSSs2-27

GROUPWARE SUPPORT FOR APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT l APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES - a wealth of basic building blocks that you can use to create applications quickly, so teams can literally “get to work.” –Prewritten - commonly performed functions –Programming tools - for creating unique applications –WORK FLOW AUTOMATION SOFTWARE - designed to automate the flow of business documents in a specific work process or procedure. WSSs2-28

DSS & AI DSS - designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured. AI - the science of making machines imitate human thinking and behavior. Creating information Conveying information (secondary) 2-29

DSSs AND AI INCLUDE... l GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) - a DSS designed specifically to work with spatial information. l GENETIC ALGORITHM - an AI system that mimics the evolutionary, survival-of-the-fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem. l EXPERT SYSTEM - an AI system that applies reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion. DSS & AI2-30

EISs a highly interactive MIS combined with decision support systems and artificial intelligence for helping managers identify and address problems and opportunities. Creating information Conveying information 2-31

EIS CHARACTERISTICS l Make use of a data warehouse. l Support drill down capabilities. l Help identify information responsibility. l Use DSS and AI tools. l Provide access to a variety of information. EISs2-32

IOSs automates the flow of information between organizations to support the planning, design, development, production, and delivery of products and services. Communicating information 2-34

IOS CHARACTERISTICS l Supports ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI) - the direct computer-to- computer transfer of transaction information contained in standard business documents. l Allows many organizations to create an economies of scale in technology. l Provides a way for organizations to team up and create new products and services. IOSs2-35

TO SUMMARIZE l Organizations: –Consist of various levels of management and nonmanagement employees –Have depth l Shared Information Through Decentralized Computing –All an organization’s information is made available to anyone who needs it (shared information). –Computing power is spread throughout the organization (decentralized computing). 2-36

TO SUMMARIZE l Information in an organization flows upward, downward, and horizontally. l Information can be internal, external, objective, subjective, or some combination of the four. l Information-processing tasks include capturing, conveying, creating, cradling, and communicating. l Transaction processing and analytical processing are both ways to create information. 2-37

TO SUMMARIZE CAPTURE CONVEY CREATE CRADLE COMMU- NICATE TPS XX XX XX CIS XX XX XX XX MIS XX XX WSS XX DSS&AI XX EIS XX XX IOS XX 2-38