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What Is An Information System (IS) ?: Systems Analysis and Design

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77 views

What Is An Information System (IS) ?: Systems Analysis and Design

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BEA GEDELYN GARCIA
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Systems Analysis and Design

What is an information system (IS)?


- can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, data
resources, and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in
an organization.

Why Information Systems Are Important?


An understanding of the effective and responsible use and management of information systems and
technologies is important for managers, business professionals, and other knowledge workers in today's
internetworked enterprises. Information systems play a vital role in the E-business and E-commerce
operations, enterprise collaboration and management, and strategic success of businesses that must operate
in an internetworked global environment. Thus, the field of information systems has become a major
functional area of business administration.

An IS Framework for Business Professionals.


The IS knowledge that a business manager or professional needs to know is illustrated in the figure below.
This includes (1) foundation concepts: fundamental
behavioral, technical, business, and managerial concepts
like system components and functions, or competitive
strategies; (2) information technologies: concepts,
developments, or management issues regarding hardware,
software, data management, networks, and other
technologies; (3) business applications: major uses of IT
for business processes, operations, decision making, and
strategic/competitive advantage; (4) development
processes: how end users and IS specialists develop and
implement business IT solutions to problems and
opportunities arising in business; and (5) management
challenges: how to effectively and ethically manage the IS function and IT resources to achieve top
performance and business value in support of the business strategies of the enterprise.

System Concepts.
A system is a group of interrelated components working toward the attainment of a common goal by
accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organized transformation process. Feedback is data about the
performance of a system. Control is the component that monitors and evaluates feedback and makes any
necessary adjustments to the input and processing components to ensure that proper output is produced.

An IS Model.
An information system uses the resources of people, hardware, software, data, and networks to perform
input, processing, output, storage, and control activities that convert data resources into information
products. Data are first collected and converted to a form that is suitable for processing (input). Then the
data are manipulated and converted into information (processing), stored for future use (storage), or
communicated to their ultimate user (output) according to correct processing procedures (control).

#ISConcepts
Systems Analysis and Design
IS Resources and Products.
Hardware resources include machines and media used in information processing. Software resources
include computerized instructions (programs) and instructions for people (procedures). People resources
include information systems specialists and users. Data resources include alphanumeric, text, image, video,
audio, and other forms of data. Network resources include communications media and network support.
Information products produced by an information system can take a variety of forms, including paper
reports, visual displays, multimedia documents, electronic messages, graphics images, and audio responses.

Fundamental Roles of IS in Business.


Support Business Processes. As a consumer, you regularly encounter information systems that support the
business processes and operations at the many retail stores where you shop. For example, most retail stores
now use computer-based information systems to help their employees record customer purchases, keep track
of inventory, pay employees, buy new merchandise, and evaluate sales trends. Store operations would grind
to a halt without the support of such information systems.
Support Decision Making. Information systems also help store managers and other business professionals
make better decisions. For example, decisions on what lines of merchandise need to be added or
discontinued, or on what kind of investment they require, are typically made after an analysis provided by
computer-based information systems. This not only supports the decision making of store managers, buyers,
and others, but also helps them look for ways to gain an advantage over other retailers in the competition for
customers.
Support Competitive Advantage. Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative
application of information technologies. For example, store management might make a decision to install
touchscreen kiosks in all of their stores, with links to their e-commerce website for online shopping. This
might attract new customers and build customer loyalty because of the ease of shopping and buying
merchandise provided by such information systems. Thus, strategic information systems can help provide
products and services that give a business a comparative advantage over its competitors.

Types of Information System.


Information systems have always been needed to process data generated by, and used in, business
operations. Such operations support systems produce a variety of information products for internal and
external use. However, they do not emphasize producing the specific information products that can best be
used by managers. The role of a business firms operations support systems is to efficiently process business
transactions, control industrial processes, support enterprise communications and collaboration, and update
corporate databases.
Transaction processing systems (TPS) are an important example of operations support systems that record
and process data resulting from business transactions. They process transactions in two basic ways. In batch
processing, transactions data are accumulated over a period of time and processed periodically. In real-time
(or online) processing, data are processed immediately after a transaction occurs. For example, point-of-sale
(POS) systems at many retail stores use electronic cash register terminals to electronically capture and
transmit sales data over telecommunications links to regional computer centers for immediate (real-time) or
nightly (batch) processing.
Process control systems (PCS) monitor and control physical processes. For example, a petroleum refinery
uses electronic sensors linked to computers to continually monitor chemical processes and make instant
(real-time) adjustments that control the refinery process.
#ISConcepts
Systems Analysis and Design
Enterprise collaboration systems (ECS) enhance team and workgroup communications and productivity,
and include applications that are sometimes called office automation systems (OAS). For example,
knowledge workers in a project team may use electronic mail to send and receive electronic messages, and
use videoconferencing to hold electronic meetings to coordinate their activities.

When information system applications focus on providing information and support for effective decision
making by managers, they are called management support systems.
Management information systems (MIS) provide information in the form of reports and displays to
managers and many business professionals. For example, sales managers may use their networked
computers and Web browsers to get instantaneous displays about the sales results of their products and to
access their corporate intranet for daily sales analysis reports that evaluate sales made by each salesperson.
Decision support systems (DSS) give direct computer support to managers during the decisionmaking
process. For example, an advertising manager may use a DSS to perform a what-if analysis as part of a
decision to determine where to spend advertising dollars. A production manager may use a DSS to decide
how much product to manufacture based on the expected sales associated with a future promotion and the
location and availability of the raw materials necessary to manufacture the product.
Executive information systems (EIS) provide critical information from a wide variety of internal and
external sources in easy-to-use displays to executives and managers. For example, top executives may use
touchscreen terminals to instantly view text and graphics displays that highlight key areas of organizational
and competitive performance.

Source: Adapted from Tom Steinert-Thelkeld, Aviall Thinks Outside the Box,
Baseline, January 17, 2003. Module I / Foundation Concepts.
Copyright 2005 by Ziff-Davis Media, Inc.
#ISConcepts

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