CHAPTER 1
A Framework for Business End Users (p8) – Conceptual Framework:
· Foundation Concepts – fundamental behavioral and technical concepts that will help you understand how IS’s can support the business operations, managerial decision making, and strategic advantage of business firms and other organizations.
· Technology – major concepts, developments, and management issues in IT – that is, hardware, software, networks database management, and other info processing technologies.
· Applications – the major uses of IS’s for the operations, management, and competitive advantage of an enterprise, including electronic commerce and collaboration using Internet, intranets, and extranets.
· Development – how end users or information specialists develop information systems solutions to business problems using fundamental problem-solving and development methodologies.
· Management – the challenges of effectively and ethically managing the resources and business strategy involved in using IT at the end user, enterprise, and global levels of a business.
Information System (p9) – An organized combination of people, hardware, software, communication networks, and data resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization.
End User (p10) – Anyone who uses an IS or the information it produces.
Knowledge Worker (p11) – People who spend most of their time communicating and collaborating in teams and workgroups and creating, using, and distributing information.
The Ethical Dimensions of IT (p13) – end users should
be aware of ethical responsibilities. Read
Book
Fundamental Roles of IS (p17) – Three Vital Roles:
· Support of business operations
· Support of managerial decision making
· Support of strategic competitive advantage. Read Book
Internetworking of Computers (p19) – one of the most important trends of IT. Read Book
Applets (p20) – small, limited-purpose application programs, or small independent modules of a larger application program. browser-based user interface for processing small application programs.
Electronic Commerce (p21) – buying and selling, and marketing and servicing of products, services, and information over a variety of computer networks. An internetworked enterprise uses the Internet, intra/extranets and other networks to support every step of the commercial process.
Globalization (p22) – becoming internetworked global enterprises. For example, businesses are expanding into global markets for their products and services, using global production facilities to manufacture or assemble products, raising money in global capital markets, forming alliances with global partners and battling with global competitors for customers all over the globe.
Competitive Advantage (p26) – using IT for globalization and business process reengineering frequently results in the development of IS’s that help give a company a competitive advantage. These strategic IS’s use IT to develop products, services, processes, and capabilities that give a business a strategic advantage over the competitive forces it faces in its industry.
CHAPTER 2
System (p40) – is a group of interrelated components working together toward a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organized transformation process. 3 basic components:
· Input – capturing and assembling elements that enter the system to be processed. For example, raw materials, energy, data, and human effort must be secured and organized for processing.
· Processing – transformation processes that convert input into output. Examples are a manufacturing process, the human breathing process, or mathematical calculations.
· Output – transferring elements that have been produced by a transformation process to their ultimate destination. For example, finished products, human services, and management information must be transmitted to their human users.
Two additional components:
· Feedback – data about the performance of a system. For example, data about sales performance is feedback to a sales manager.
· Control – monitoring and evaluating feedback to determine whether a system is moving toward the achievement of its goal. The control function then makes necessary adjustments to a system’s input and processing components to ensure that it produces proper output.
Information System Model (p42) – fundamental conceptual framework for the major components and activities of IS’s. IS depends on 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. The model highlights the relationships among the components and activities of IS’s. 4 Major concepts:
· People, hardware, software, data, and networks are the five basic resources of IS’s
· People resources include end users and IS specialists, hardware resources consist of machines and media, software resources included both programs and procedures, data resources can include data and knowledge bases, and network resources include communications media and networks.
· Data resources are transformed by information processing activities into a variety of information products for end users.
· Information processing consists of input, processing, output, storage, and control activities.
Information System Resources (p44) – 5 major resources:
· People resources – end users and IS specialists
· Hardware resources – computer systems and computer peripherals
· Software resources – programs and procedures; system software and application software
· Data resources – data and information
· Network resources:
o Communications Media – twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, microwave systems, and communications satellite systems.
o Network Support – generic category including all of the people, hardware, software, and data resources that directly support the operation and use of a communication network.
Information System Activities (p48) – 5 basic activities:
· Input of data resources
· Processing of data into information
· Output of information products
· Storage of data resources
· Control of system performance
Operation Support Systems (p56) – used to process data generated by, and used in, business operations. Produce a variety of information products for use internally and externally.
· Transaction Processing Systems – record and process data resulting from business transactions. Typical examples are information systems that process sales, purchases, and inventory changes.
· Process Control Systems – make routine decisions that control operational processes. Examples are automatic inventory reorder decisions and production control decisions. Computers automatically make decisions adjusting a physical production process.
· Enterprise Collaboration System – IS’s that use a variety of information technologies to help people work together. They help us collaborate – to communicate ideas, share resources, and coordinate our cooperative work efforts as members of the many formal and informal process and project teams and other workgroups that are a vital part of today’s organization.
Management Support Systems (p59) – when IS’s focus on
providing information and support for effective decision making by
managers. Began when the concept of MIS
originated in the 60’s. Read Book
Business Information Systems (p64) – IS’s that support both operations and mgt activities in the business functions of accounting, finance, human resource management, marketing, and operations management.
CHAPTER 3
The Systems Approach (p80) – 5 steps:
· Recognize and define a problem or opportunity using systems thinking.
· Develop and evaluate alternative system solutions
· Select the system solution that best meets your requirements.
· Design the selected systems solution
· Implement and evaluate the success of the designed system.
Feasibility Studies (p92) – A preliminary study which investigates the information needs of prospective users and determines the resource requirements, cost, benefits, and feasibility of a proposed project.
4 major categories:
· Organizational feasibility – how well a proposed IS supports the objectives of the organization and its strategic plan for IS’s.
· Economic feasibility – concerned with whether expected cost savings, increase revenue, increased profits, reductions in required investment, will exceed the cost of developing and operating a proposed system.
· Technical feasibility – can be demonstrated if reliable hardware and software capable of meeting the needs of a proposed system can be acquired or developed by the business in the required time.
· Operational feasibility – willingness and ability of the mgt, employees, customers, suppliers, and others to operate, use, and support a proposed system.
Systems Analysis (p95) – an in depth study of end user information needs that produces functional requirements that are used as the basis for the design of a new information system. Involves detailed study of:
· The information needs of the organization and end users like yourself.
· The activities, resources, and products of any present information systems.
· The IS capabilities required to meet your info needs, and those of other end users.
Organizational Analysis – important first step in systems analysis. We must know something about the organization, its mgt structure, its people, its business activities, the environmental systems it must deal with, etc.
Functional Requirements Analysis – end user info requirements that are not tied to the hardware, software, network, data, and people resources that end users presently use or might use in the new system. Your main goal is to identify what should be done, not how to do it.
·
Tangible Benefits – increase in sales of profits,
decrease in info processing costs, decrease in operating costs, decrease in
required investment, increased operational ability and efficiency.
·
Intangible Benefits – New or improved info
availability, improved abilities in computation and analysis, improved customer
service, improved employee morale, improved mgt decision making, improved
competitive position.
Prototyping (p100) – the rapid development and testing of working models, or prototypes, of new applications in an interactive, iterative process that can be used by both systems analysts and end users.
aka – RAD (rapid application design).
Conversion step of implementation (p104) – moving from the use of a present system to the operation of a new or improved application. Can soften the impact of introducing new technology into an organization. 4 basic types:
· Parallel – operating both new and old system for a trial period.
· Pilot – trial basis at one location.
· Phasing – implementing one application or location at a time.
· Plunge – immediate cutover to a new IS.
CHAPTER
4
Generations (p128) – stages of computing, in which major changes and trends in computer systems have occurred.
· First Generation
· Second Generation
· Third Generation
· Fourth Generation
· Fifth Generation
Microcomputers (p130) – the most important category
of computer systems for end users.
Usually called personal computers, or PC, is much more than a small
computer for use by individuals. Are more powerful than the mainframes of
previous generations. Read Book
Midrange Computers (p136) – including minicomputers and high-end network servers, are multi-user systems that can manage networks of PCs and terminals. Not as powerful as mainframes, but less costly to buy, operate, and maintain than mainframes. Read Book
· Minicomputers – first midrange to become popular. Used for scientific research, instrumentation systems, engineering analysis, and industrial process monitoring and control.
Mainframe Computers (p138) – large, fast and powerful computer systems. Able to process hundreds of millions of instructions per second. Read Book
Supercomputer (p139) - describes a category of extremely powerful computer systems specifically designed for scientific, engineering, and business applications requiring extremely high speeds for massive numeric computations. Gov’t research agencies, large universities, and major corporations use these.
The Computer System Concept (p141) – a computer is a system, an interrelated combination of components that performs the basic system functions of input, processing, output, storage, and control, thus providing end users with a powerful information processing tool. Includes the following functions:
· Input – keyboard, touch screens, pens, mouse, scanners.
· Processing – CPU
· Output – video display unit, printer, audio response unit, speakers, monitor, plotters.
· Storage – memory, magnetic disk, tapes.
· Control – the control unit of the CPU is the control component of a computer system.
The Central Processing Unit [CPU] (p142) – it is the most important hardware component of a computer system. Aka – central processor, instruction processor, main microprocessor. Circuitry can be sub-divided into two major subunits: arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) and the control unit.
Multiple Processors (p143) – computers having CPU’s that contain several types of processing units.
· Support Processor – design that relies on specialized microprocessors to help the main CPU perform a variety of functions.
· Coupled Processor – design that uses multiple CPU’s or main microprocessors to do the multiprocessing, that is, execute more than one instruction at a time.
· Parallel Processor – design that uses a group of instruction processors to execute several program instructions at the same time.
· RISC Processor – design that optimizes a CPU’s processing speed by using a smaller instruction set.
Computer Processing Speeds (p144):
Milliseconds (1/1000)
Microseconds (1/1M)
Nanoseconds (1/1B)
Pico-second (1/1T)
MIPS – million instructions per second
MHz – megahertz
Data (p157) – smallest element of data is called a Bit, or binary digit, which can have a value of 0 or 1. Byte is a basic grouping of bits that the computer operates as a single unit, generally 8 bits long.
Kilobytes Kilo (K) – 1000
Megabytes Meg (M) –1Million
Gigabytes Giga (G) –1Billion
Terabytes Tera (T) – 1Trillion
Direct and Sequential Access (p157) – Primary storage media such as semiconductor memory chips are called direct access or random access memories (RAM). Data can be directly stored and retrieved by selecting and using any of the locations on the storage media. Example: magnetic disks.
Sequential access does not have storage addresses that can be directly addressed. Instead, data must be stored and retrieved using a sequential or serial process. Example: magnetic tape.
Semiconductor Memory (p158) – the primary storage (main memory) of your computer consists of microelectronic semiconductor memory chips.
· RAM (random access memory) – these memory chips are the most widely used primary storage medium. Also called read/write memory. Volatile memory.
· ROM (read only memory) – nonvolatile random access memory chips are used for permanent storage. ROM can be read, but not erased or overwritten.
CHAPTER
5
Application Software (p178) – performs information processing tasks for end users.
· General purpose application programs – app programs that perform common information processing jobs for end users, such as word processing, spreadsheets, database mgt, and email.
· Application-specific programs – software packages that support specific applications such as accounting, sales management, investment analysis, and e-commerce.
Graphical User Interface [GUI] (p180) – a software interface that uses icons, bars, buttons, boxes, and other images to initiate computer-based tasks for users. Other examples include tool and status bars and menus.
Database Management (p186) – Microsoft Access, Lotus Approach, and Corel Paradox. 4 primary tasks:
· Database development – define and organize the content, relationships, and structure of data.
· Database interrogation – access the data in a database to display info in a variety of formats.
· Database maintenance – add, delete, update, and correct data.
· Application development – develop prototypes of web pages, queries, forms, reports, and labels.
Personal Information Managers [PIM] (p189) – popular software package for end user productivity and collaboration. Lotus Organizer and Microsoft Outlook help end users store, organize, and retrieve information about customers, clients, and prospects or schedule your appts, meetings, and tasks.
Groupware (p190) – collaboration software, that is, software that helps workgroups and teams work together to accomplish group assignments.
System Software (p193) – software that consists of programs that manage and support a computer system and its information processing activities.
· System management programs – programs that manage hardware, software, network and data resources. Examples: operating systems, network mgt programs.
· System development programs – programs that help users develop information system programs and procedures and prepare user programs for computer processing. Examples: programming language translators, programming editors and tools
Operating Systems (p193) – the most important system software package for any computer. Integrated system of programs that manage the operations of the CPU. Primary purpose is to maximize the productivity of a computer system by operating it in the most efficient manner. 4 functions:
· The user interface – allows you to communicate with the OS.
· Resource Management – variety of resource mgt programs: CPU, memory, storage devices, etc.
· File management – control creation, deletion, and access of files of data and programs.
· Task management – manage the accomplishment of the computing tasks of the end user.
Programming Languages (p199) – allows a programmer to develop the sets of instruction that constitute a computer program. Examples: machine languages, assembler languages, high-level languages, 4th generation languages, object-oriented languages, HTML, and Java.
Applets (p205) – small, limited-purpose application programs, or small independent modules of a larger application program. browser-based user interface for processing small application programs.
CHAPTER
6
Business Applications of Telecommunications (p220) – Read Book
A Telecommunications Network Model (p229) – 5 basic components:
· Terminal – networked PC’s, network computers, or video terminals
· Telecom processors – support data transmission and reception between terminals and computers. Modems, switches, and routers. Convert data from digital to analog and back, code and decode data, and control speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the communication.
· Telecom channels – means by which data are transmitted and received. Copper wires, coaxial cables, fiber optic cables.
· Computers – of all sizes and types are interconnected by telecommunications networks.
· Telecom control software – programs that control telecom activities and manage the functions of telecom networks.
Types LANs and WANs
Internetworks (p232) – interconnected networks.
VPN (p233) – virtual private network used for secure intra/extranets. Uses the Internet as its backbone, but relies on firewalls and other security features of its Internet and intranet connections and those of participating organizations.
Telecommunications Media (p238) – different types:
· Twisted-pair wire –
· Coaxial cable -
· Fiber optics –
· Terrestrial microwave –
· Communications satellites –
· Cellular phone systems
· Wireless LANs –
Telecommunications Processors (p242) – perform support functions between computers and other devices in a network. Different types:
· Modems – convert digital signals into analog.
· Multiplexers – allows single comm. channel to carry simultaneous data transmissions from many terminals.
· Internetwork processors – switches, routers, hubs, and gateways.
Common Telecom Software Functions (p244) – different types:
· Access control – establishes connections between terminals and computers in a network.
· Transmission control – allows computers and terminals to send and receive commands, messages, data, and programs.
· Network management – manages communications in a telecom network.
· Error control – involves detection and correction of transmission errors.
· Security management – protects a communications network from unauthorized access.
CHAPTER
7
Foundation Data Concepts (p266):
· Character – single alphabetic, numeric, or other symbol.
· Field – grouping of characters
· Record – related fields are grouped together to form a record
· File – group of related records.
· Database – an integrated collection of logically related records or objects.
Database Management Approach (p268) – consolidates data records and objects into databases that can be accessed by many different application programs. A DBMS serves as a software interface between users and databases. 3 basic activities:
· Updating and maintaining common databases to reflect new business transactions and other events requiring changes to an organization’s records.
· Providing information need for each end user’s application by using application programs that share the data in common databases.
· Providing an inquiry/response and reporting capability through a DBMS package.
Database Administrators [DBA] (p269) – database specialists
The Data Dictionary (p269) – another tool of database administration. A computer-based catalog or directory containing metadata, or, data about data.
Types of Databases (p273) – different types:
· Operational Databases – store detailed data needed to support the operations of the entire organization.
· Analytical Databases – store data and info extracted from selected operational and external databases.
· Data Warehouses – stores data from current and previous years that has been extracted from the various operational databases of an organization.
· Distributed Databases – replicating and distributing copies of parts of databases to network servers at a variety of sites.
· End User Databases – consist of a variety of data files developed by end users at their workstations.
· External Databases – self-explanatory.
Database Structures (p280) – different types:
· Hierarchical structure – relationships between records form a hierarchy or treelike structure.
· Network structure – contains more complex logical relationships. Allows many-to-many relationships.
· Relational structure – most popular. All data elements within the database are viewed as being stored in the form of simple tables.
Accessing Databases (p284) – different types:
· Key Fields – uses a primary key field that uniquely identifies the data records.
· URLs – access to files and databases on the Internet and corporate intra/extranets.
· Sequential access – one of the original and basic ways to access data. Uses sequential organization, in which records are physically stored in a specified order according to a key field in each record.
· Direct Access – records do not have to be arranged in any particular sequence on storage media.
CHAPTER
8
Electronic
commerce : The Internet, the World Wide Web, and Internet-based
technologies such as intranets and extranets provide global links to a
company's customers and suppliers. This enables electronic commerce applications-the
marketing, buying, selling, and support of products and services over these
networks. Such applications include
interactive order processing at company Web sites, electronic data interchange
(EDI) of business transaction documents, and secure electronic funds transfer
(EFT) payment systems.
As we mentioned
earlier, the Internet has made an interactive marketing process possible.
Intranets and extranets and other networks may also be used to enable a
multilevel interaction between a company's marketing, development, and support
personnel, and its customers and prospective customers. The goal of Interactive
marketing is to attract and keep customers who will become partners with a
business in creating, purchasing, and improving products and services.
Customers are no longer just passive participants who receive media advertising
prior to purchase Instead, they are actively engaged in a network-enabled
proactive and interactive marketing experience. So, interactive marketing
depends on many of the capabilities of the Internet and the World Wide Web to
enable this interactive process.
Push verses Pull Marketing: The interactive marketing process includes a
choice between push or pull marketing methods. That is, marketing material can
be put on customers’ or prospects' computer screens using either push or pull
technologies.
Pull marketing relies on you to access the services of the
Internet or the Web (or intranets and extranets) using your Web browser. Thus,
for example, you would use your browser to find and read or download multimedia
marketing material from a company's Web site.
Push marketing,
on the other hand, relies
primarily on software called Web broadcasters or net broadcasters. Software
such as PointCast, BackWeb, and Castanet automatically transmits a variety of
information from the Web or other sources to your PC. The information
transmitted to you can be from sources and on topics that you pre-select, or
can be sent to you via your company intranet as optional or required
reading. Webcast information can intermittently appear as a screen saver, as a
continuous scrolling banner, or in other forms on your PC screen.
Strategic
Business Value:
One way to assess
the business value of the Internet is illustrated in Figure 8.13. This
Internet strategy matrix emphasizes that a company should undertake an internal
and external assessment of itself and its environment to discover Internet
applications that add strategic business value to the organization. For
example, a company should make internal assessments of its communications flows
and information resources to discover communication and information
deficiencies that could be improved by Internet technologies. An external
assessment should include an evaluation of the Internet activity of a company's
competitors and business partners. A business should also assess the unmet
needs of current and prospective customers that might be met by Internet-based
electronic markets.
The Internet itself can be viewed as having
six strategic capabilities that support a variety of key applications that can
add business value to a company. These capabilities include global
dissemination, interaction, customization, collaboration, electronic commerce,
and integration. Each of these capabilities serves as building blocks for a mix
of Internet-based applications that can give strategic business value and
competitive advantage to a company.
1.
Global
Dissemination. Since most
countries now have Internet connections, global communications has become a
fact of life in business. E-mail, electronic mailing lists, World Wide Web
sites, and other Internet services have made international dissemination of
information significantly faster, cheaper, and easier. This provides strategic
business value in the increased cost savings and efficiency of global communications,
and the ability to reach, sell, and provide customer service to new or expanded
international markets.
2.
Interaction.
Interactive communications
is another key capability of the Internet.
This may take the form of interactive Web sites; discussion forums and
chat groups; interactive forms for customer orders, feedback, and technical
support; and immediate E-mail responses to online queries and comments. Fast,
efficient feedback from customers and responses from customer support
specialists provide multiple opportunities to demonstrate a company's
responsiveness to its customers.
Thus, Internet technologies help a business build customer value and
loyalty.
3.
Customization.
The ability to automatically
provide information and services customized to an individual customer or user
is a strategic business capability of the Internet, intranets, and extranets.
Information can be accessed and disseminated from network servers on an
individual basis, depending on a variety of user factors. For example, you can
fill out interest profile or registration forms that give you quick access to
selective levels of Web site resources. Or software can "remember"
your visits to a site and provide Web site access keyed to your preferences.
Thus, efficient, low-cost, and interactive target marketing to an individual
customer or prospect is a key business value of Internet technologies.
4.
Collaboration.
The Internet, intranets, and
extranets enable easy and efficient access to shared data and other network
resources. For example, project information at Web sites can be easily shared
using Web browsers. Other groupware tools help coordinate projects and manage
the information they store on servers at cross-linked Web sites. This enhances
the collaboration process among team workgroups, and business partners, and
thus provides strategic business value to a company.
5.
Electronic
Commerce. The Internet has
become the technology platform for electronic commerce. The Internet, along
with intranets and extranets, links companies to their customers and suppliers,
and thus enables them to electronically market, buy, sell, and support products
and services. For many companies the business value of the Internet list in
electronic commerce applications, which open up new markets and/or make
possible new products and services.
6.
Integration.
The inter-networked
enterprise integrates its external online activities with its internal business
process. For example, a company's Internet Web sites can be linked by extranets
to selected operational databases stored on its intranet Web servers. This
provides more detailed, up-to-date information that can be used to support
electronic commerce applications. In addition, intranets promote the
integration of cross-functional business processes within a company. Thus, the
business value of Internet technologies arises from efficiencies and
innovations they make possible in internal and external business processes.
Electronic
Commerce – Read pages
322-326
A basic fact of Internet retailing is that all Web sites are created
equal as far as the "location, location, location" imperative for
success in retailing is concerned. No site is any closer to its customers. This
makes it vital that businesses find ways to keep customers coming back to their
stores. The key to this goal is to optimize factors such as performance and
service efficiency, personalization, socialization, the look and feel of the
site, offering incentives to purchase, and security. Look at each of these factors,
which help make a retail Web site a success.
1.
Performance
and Service. People don't
want to be kept waiting when browsing, selecting, or paying for products in an
electronic store. A site must be efficiently designed for ease of access,
shopping, and buying, with sufficient server power and telecommunications
capacity. Marketing, ordering, and customer service processes must also be
friendly and helpful, as well as quick and easy.
2.
Personalization.
Personalizing your shopping
experience encourages you to make return visits. Many sites register you
as a customer or have you fill out a personal interest profile. Then when you
return, you are welcomed and guided just to those parts of a site that you are
interested in. Some sites automatically record details of your visits and build
similar user interest profiles.
3.
Socialization.
Giving online customers with
similar interests a feeling of belonging to a unique group of like-minded
individuals helps build customer loyalty and value. Web-based relationship
marketing and affinity marketing promote such virtual communities of customers,
suppliers, company representatives, and other consumers through a variety of
techniques. Examples include customer discussion forums and chat rooms, product
focus groups, bulletin board systems, and cross-links to related Web sites and
newsgroups.
4.
Look and
Feel. Web sites can offer
you an attractive virtual storefront. This may range from providing an exciting
shopping experience with audio, motion, and striking graphics, to a more
traditional look and feel, including a virtual shopping mall of related Web
sites. For example, Oracle software lets shoppers browse product sections,
select products, drop them into a virtual shopping cart, and go to a virtual
checkout stand to pay for the order.
5.
Incentives. Web stores must offer shoppers incentives to
buy and return. Typically, this means coupons, discounts, special offers, and
vouchers for other Web services, sometimes at other cross-linked Web sites.
Some sites provide you with an electronic wallet where you can accumulate
coupons for future use, as well as receipts and credit card information,
6.
Security and
Reliability. As a customer
of a Web store, you must feel confident that your credit card, personal
information, and details of your transactions are secure from unauthorized use.
(We will discuss security issues shortly.) Having your orders filled as you
requested and in the time frame promised are important measures of a Web
store's reliability.
Supply Chain management (SCM) is a management concept
that integrates the management of supply chain processes. The goal of SCM is to cut costs, increase
profits, improve performance in relationships with customers and suppliers, and
develop value added services that give a company a competitive edge. Supply chain mgt has three business
objectives:
1.
Get the right
product to the right place at the least cost.
2.
Keep inventory
as low as possible and still offers superior customer service.
3.
Reduce cycle
times. Supply-chain mgt seeks to simplify
and accelerate operations that deal with how customer orders are processed
through the system and ultimately filled, as well as how raw materials are
acquired and delivered for manufacturing processes.
Payment for the products and services purchased is
an obvious and vital step in the electronic commerce transaction process. But
the process is not simple, because of the near-anonymous electronic nature of
transactions taking place between the networked computer systems of buyers and
sellers, and the many security issues involved. The electronic commerce payment
process is also complex because of the wide variety of debit and credit
alternatives and financial institutions and intermediaries that maybe part of
the process. Therefore, a variety of electronic payment systems have evolved
over time. In addition, new payment systems are being developed and tested to
meet the security and technical challenges of electronic commerce over the
Internet.
Electronic Funds Transfer -Electronic funds transfer (EFT) systems are a major form of electronic
commerce systems in banking and retailing industries. EFT systems use a variety
of information technologies to capture and process money and credit transfers between
banks and businesses and their customers. For example, banking networks support
teller terminals at all bank offices and automated teller machines (ATMs) at
locations throughout this world. Banks may also support pay-by-phone services
allowing bank customers to use their telephones as terminals to electronically
pay bills. In addition, wide area net- works may connect POS terminals in
retail stores to bank EFT systems. This makes it possible for you to use a
credit card or debit card to instantly pay for gas, groceries, or other
purchases at participating retail outlets.
Chapter 9
1.
Communications
and Collaboration. Intranets
can significantly improve communications and collaboration within an
enterprise. For example, you can use your intranet browser and your PC or NC
workstation to send and receive E-mail, voice-mail, paging, and taxes to
communicate with others within your organization, and externally through the
Internet and extranets. You can also use intranet groupware features to improve
team and project collaboration with services such as discussion groups, chat
rooms, and audio- and videoconferencing.
2.
Web
Publishing. The advantages
of developing and publishing hyper-linked multimedia documents to hypermedia
databases accessible on World Wide Web servers have moved to corporate
intranets. The comparative ease, attractiveness, and lower cost of publishing
and accessing multimedia business information internally via intranet Web sites
have been the primary reasons for the explosive growth in the use of intranets
in business. For example, information products as varied as company
newsletters, technical drawings, and product catalogs can be published in a
variety of ways, including hypermedia Web pages, E-mail, and net broadcasting,
and as part of in-house business applications. Intranet software browsers,
servers, and search engines can help you easily navigate and locate the
business information you need.
3.
Business
Operations and Management. Intranets
have moved beyond merely making hypermedia information available on Web
servers, or pushing it to users via net broadcasting. Intranets are also being
used as the platform for developing and deploying critical business
applications to support business operations and managerial decision making
across the inter-networked enterprise. For example, many companies are
developing custom applications like order processing, inventory control, sales
management, and executive information systems that can be implemented on
Intranets, extranets, and the Internet. Many of these applications are designed
to interface with, and access, existing company databases and legacy systems.
The software for such business uses (sometimes-called applets or crossware) is
then installed on intranet Web servers. Employees within the company, or
external business partners, can access and run such applications using Web
browsers from anywhere on the network whenever needed.
The Business
value of Internets: The
early Intranet applications of companies have demonstrated impressive returns,
quick payback, and other strategic advantages or benefits. Major cost savings come from replacing
company publications and documents on paper with electronic multimedia versions
published to Web servers.
Intranet-based employee training and customer service programs are also
proving much more cost-effective than traditional methods.
Extranets (p364) - As businesses continue to
use open Internet technologies [extranet] to improve communication with
customers and partners, they can gain many competitive advantages along the way
- in product development, cost savings,, marketing, distribution, and leveraging
their partnerships. Extranets are
network links that use Internet technologies to interconnect the Intranet of a
business with the Intranets of its customers, suppliers, or other business
partners. Companies can establish direct network links between themselves, or
create private secure Internet links between them called virtual private
networks. Or a company can use the unsecured Internet as the extranet link
between its intranet and consumers and others, but rely on encryption of
sensitive data and its own firewall systems to provide adequate security. Thus,
extranets enable customers, suppliers, consultants, subcontractors, business
prospects, and others to access selected Intranet Web sites and other company
databases. The
business value of extranets is derived from several factors. First, the web browser technology of
extranets makes customer and supplier access of intranet resources a lot easier
and faster than previous business methods; Secondly, extranets enable a company
to offer new kinds of interactive web-enabled services to their business
partners.
Extranets can enable and
improve collaboration by a business with its customers and other business
partners.
Workgroup: two or more people working together on the
same task or assignment.
Team: a collaborative workgroup, whose members are
committed to collaboration.
Collaboration:
working with each other in a cooperative way that transcends the
coordination of individual work activities found in a typical workgroup. Collaboration is the key to what makes a
group of people a team, and what makes a team successful.
Virtual Team: One team whose members use the Internet,
intranet, extranets and other networks to communicate and coordinate and collaborate
with each other on tasks and projects, even though they may work in different
geographic locations and for different organizations.
Enterprise
Collaboration System is an
information system: The use of groupware tools and the Internet, intranets, and
extranets and other computer networks to support and enhance communication,
coordination, collaboration, and resource sharing among teams and workgroups in
an inter-networked enterprise.
Groupware: groupware is collaboration software. Software that helps teams and workgroups
work together in a variety of ways, to accomplish joint projects and group
assignments. Groupware is designed to
make communication and coordination of workgroups activities and cooperation
among end users significantly easier, no matter where the members of a team are
located.
Electronic
conferencing tools: help
people communicate and collaborate while working together on joint assignments,
no matter where they are located
Electronic
conferencing options include electronic meeting systems, where team members can
meet at the same time and place in a decision room setting. Examples: data and
voice conferencing, chat systems, discussion forums, and electronic meeting
systems.
Read pages 379-384
for detailed information on the different methods of electronic conferencing
tools.
Gantt chart- specifies the times allowed for the various
activities required in a business project.
Critical path
method: This technique views
a project as a series or network of distinct tasks and milestones, and specify
the amount of time budgeted for the completion of each task. Page 387
Chapter 10
Marketing Information Systems: (p408-412) - IS that support the
planning, control, and transaction processing required
for the accomplishment of marketing activities, such as sales management,
advertising, and promotion.
Interactive
marketing has been coined to describe a type of marketing that is based on
using the Internet to establish two-way interaction between business and its
customers.
q
Sales force automation-sales
force outfitted with notebook computers providing faster sales data for
analysis (p409)
q
Sales and
Product MGT (p410)
q
Advertising and
Promotion (p411)
q
Targeted
marketing (p411)
Ø
Community
Ø
Content
Ø
Context
Ø
Demographic/Psychographic
Ø
Online Behavior
Manufacturing
Information Systems (p413-418) – support the production/operations function that includes all activities
concerned with the planning and control of the processes producing goods and
services
Ø
Computer integrated mfg is an overall concept
that stresses that the objectives of computer based systems in mfg must be to:
Simplify (reengineer)
Automate production processes
Integrate all production and support processes
Ø
Computer-aided
mfg (CAM) - the use of computers and advanced graphics hardware and software to
provide interactive design assistance for engineering and architectural design.
Ø
Manufacturing
execution systems (MES)-
Benefits of CIM
1.
Enables
flexible production processes that produce high-quality products to quickly
meet changing market and customer demands.
2.
CIM results in
reduced investment in production and inventories and facilities through work
simplification and just-in-time inventory systems and better production
planning.
3.
Customer
satisfaction is improved by quickly producing products to customer orders
Ø
Collaborative
manufacturing networks -
link employees within a company or include representatives from a company’s
suppliers or customers wherever they may be located (p415)
Ø
Process
Control - is the use of
computers to control an ongoing physical process.
(Example.) Process control computers control physical processes in
petroleum refineries, cement plants, steel mills, chemical plants, etc. (p416)
Ø
Machine
control - the use of a
computer to control the action of a machine – numerical control (p417)
Ø
Robotics - devices that control their own activity
with the aid of microcomputers. The
process of building and using machines with computer intelligence and
computer-controlled humanlike physical capabilities
Ø
Computer
Aided Engineering -
Manufacturing engineers use CAE to simulate, analyze, and evaluate the models
of product designs they have developed using Computer Aided Design
Human Resource
Information Systems - this
function involves recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation, and
development of the employees of an organization.
HRM information
systems are HR designed to support:
1.
Planning to
meet personnel needs of the business,
2.
Development of
employees to their full potential,
3.
Control of all
personnel policies and programs.
HRM pages 419-420
Accounting
Information Systems - the
oldest and most widely used information systems in business. Computer-based accounting systems record and
report the flow of funds through an organization on a historical basis and
produce important financial statements.
Online accounting
systems - monitor and track business activity
Order processing -
captures and processes orders. Provides
data analysis for sale and inventory.
Inventory control -
Accounts receivable
-
Accounts payable -
Payroll -
General ledger -
Computer based
FIS support financial mgrs
in decisions concerning:
1.
the financing
of a business
2.
the allocation
and control of financial resources within the business.
Cash
management-systems collect info on all cash receipts and disbursements within
the company on a real-time or periodic basis.
Online Investment
MGT.
Capital budgeting-
Financial
forecasting and planning-
TPS-are information systems that process data
resulting form the occurrence of business transactions. Transactions are events that occur as part
of doing business.
Transaction
Processing cycle-TPS capture and process data describing business transactions,
then update organizational files and databases and produce a variety of
Information products for internal and external use:
5 stages of the TPS
cycle: page 431
1.
Data entry
2.
Transaction
processing activities
3.
File and
database processing activities
4.
Document and
report generation
5.
Inquiry
processing activities
Real-time
Processing- In transaction
processing systems, a real-time processing capability allows transaction data
to be processed immediately after they are generated and can provide immediate
output to end users.
Full-fledged
real-time systems for transaction processing are popularly called online
transaction processing.
CHAPTER
11
Levels of Managerial Decision Making (p456):
· Strategic Management – typically, a board of directors and an executive committee of the CEO and top execs develop overall organizational goals, strategies, policies, and objectives as part of a strategic planning process. They also monitor strategic performance of the org and its overall direction in the political, economic, and competitive business environment.
· Tactical Management – increasingly self-directed teams as well as business unit managers develop short- and medium-range plans, schedules, and budgets and specify the policies, procedures, and business objectives for their subunits of the organization. They also allocate resources and monitor the performance of their org subunits, including depts., divisions, process teams, project teams, and other workgroups.
· Operational Management – the members of self-directed teams or operating managers develop short-range plans such as weekly productions schedules. They direct the use of resources and the schedules they establish for the teams and other workgroups within the organization.
· Figure 11.2
Decision Support Systems (p462) – a major category of management support systems. Computer-based information systems that provide interactive information support to managers during the decision-making process. They use: 1) Analytical Models; 2) Specialized Databases; 3) A Decisions maker’s own insights and judgments; and 4) An interactive, computer based modeling process to support the making of semi-structured and unstructured decisions by individual managers. Designed to be ad-hoc, quick response systems that are initiated and controlled by managerial end users. Rely on Model Bases as well as databases as vital system resources. DSS Model Base – software component that consists of models used in computational and analytical routines that mathematically express relationships among variables.
Analytical Modeling (p466) – Interactive use of computer-based mathematical models to explore decision alternatives using:
· What-if Analysis – make changes in variables or relationships, and observe changing results in output.
· Sensitivity Analysis – special case of what-if analysis. the value of one variable is changed repeatedly.
· Goal-seeking Analysis – reverse direction of what-if analysis. sets a target value, and repeatedly changes other variables until the target value is achieved.
·
Optimization Analysis – more complex extension
of goal seek. finds optimum value for
one or more target variables, given certain constraints.
Artificial Intelligence (p473) – a science and technology whose goal is to develop computers that can think, as well as see, hear, walk, talk, and feel. A major thrust is the development of computer functions normally associated with human intelligence, for example, reasoning, inference, learning, and problem solving.
Major Domains are:
1) Cognitive Science – research on biology, neurology, psychology, mathematics, and many allied disciplines.
2) Robotics – AI, engineering, and physiology are the basic disciplines of robotics.
3) Natural Interfaces – natural languages and speech recognition; virtual reality.
Neural Networks (p476) – computing systems modeled after the brain’s mesh-like network of interconnected processing elements, called NEURONS. Read Book
Fuzzy Logic (p478) – computer-based systems that can process data that are incomplete or only partially correct, that is, fuzzy data. Such systems can solve unstructured problems with incomplete knowledge, as humans do.
Expert Systems (p486) – A computer-based info system that uses its knowledge about a specific complex applications area to act as an expert consultant to users. The system consists of a knowledge base and software modules that perform inferences on the knowledge and communicate to a user’s questions.
Components of an Expert System:
· Knowledge Base – contains facts about a specific subject area; and heuristics (rules of thumb) that express the reasoning procedures of an expert on the subject. Can be rule-based, frame-based, object-based, and case-based.
· Software Resources – an expert system software package contains an inference engine and other programs for refining an communicating with users.
Expert System Shell (p491) – a development tool that helps to easily develop expert systems. A software package consisting of an expert system without its kernel, that is, its knowledge base.
Value of Expert Systems (p492):
Benefits – captures the expertise of an expert or group of experts in a computer-based info system; faster and more consistent than humans; does not get tired or distracted by overwork or stress; help preserve and reproduce the knowledge of experts; have the same competitive advantages as other types of info technology…effective use of expert systems can allow a firm to significantly improve the efficiency of its business processes.
Limitations
– limited focus, inability to learn, maintenance problems, and developmental
costs. Read Book
CHAPTER
12
5 Competitive Forces (that shape the structure of competition in its industry p510):
· Rivalry of competitors within its industry
· Threat of new entrants
· Threat of substitutes
· Bargaining power of customers
· Bargaining power of suppliers
5 Competitive Strategies (p 511):
· Cost Leadership Strategy – becoming a low-cost producer of products and services in the industry.
· Differentiation Strategy – developing ways to differentiate a firm’s products and services.
· Innovation Strategy – finding new ways of doing business.
· Growth Strategy – significantly expanding a company’s capacity to produce goods and services.
· Alliance Strategy – establishing new business linkages and alliances with customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants, and other companies.
Breaking Business Barriers (p517) – using computers and telecommunications networks to break:
· Time barriers – shorten response time to customer demands and reduce inventory investment
· Geographic barriers – link remote locations with company headquarters, other locations, and external entities (suppliers, customers, etc).
· Cost barriers – to reduce cost of production, inventory, distribution, or communications.
· Structural barriers – support innovation in the delivery of services, increase scope and penetrate markets, and create strategic alliances with customers, suppliers, and even competitors.
Reengineering (p525) – One of the most important competitive strategies today. Fundamental rethinking of and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, speed, and service. Combines a strategy of promoting business innovation with a strategy of making major improvements to business processes to become stronger and more successful in the marketplace. Read Book
Agility (p533) – Ability of a business to prosper in rapidly changing, continually fragmenting global markets for high-qulaity, high-performance, customer-configured products and services.
4 basic strategies of agile competition:
· Enrich customers with solutions to their problems
· Cooperate to enhance competitiveness
· Organize to master change and uncertainty
· Leverage the impact of people and information
Virtual Company (p535) – An organization that uses information technology to link people, assets, and ideas.
Uses org structure called a network structure (also called hyperarchy); the best way to implement key business strategies that promise to ensure success in today’s turbulent business climate.
6 basic characteristics of a successful VC:
· Adaptability, Opportunism, Excellence, Technology, Borderless, and Trust-Based.
6 business strategies of VCs:
1) Share infrastructure and risk
2) Link complementary core competencies
3) Reduce concept-to-cash time through sharing
4) Increase facilities and market coverage.
5) Gain access to new markets and share market or customer loyalty
6) Migrate from selling products to selling solutions.
Using the Internet Strategically (p541) –
4 strategies in the strategic positioning matrix:
· Cost and Efficiency Improvements – low internal drivers / low external drivers
· Performance Improvement in Business Effectiveness – high internal drivers / low external drivers
· Global Market Penetration – low internal drivers / high external drivers
· Product and Service Transformation – high internal drivers / high external drivers
Strategic Success / Competitive Advantage (p547) – Read Book
CHAPTER
13
Managerial and End User Involvement (p568) – involving managers in IT decisions that affect their business unit.
3 major levels of mgt involvement of IT:
· Executive IT Committee – committee of execs to do strategic Info system planning and to coordinate the development of major IS projects.
· IT Steering Committee – committee of business unit managers, operating managers, and management personnel from the information services department to oversee progress of critical systems development projects.
· End User Management – end user managers must also accept their responsibility for managing the resources and quality of info systems and services within their business unit.
5 Major Dimensions of Info Resource Mgt (p572):
1) Strategic Mgt – IT must be managed to contribute to a firm’s objectives and comp advantages.
2) Operational Mgt – IT and IS can be managed by functional and process-based org structures/techniques.
3) Resource Mgt – Data and info, hardware and software, telecom networks, and IS personnel are vital org resources that must be managed like other business assets.
4) Technology Mgt – All technologies that process, store, and communicate data and info through the enterprise should be managed as integrated systems of org resources.
5) Distributed Mgt – Managing the use of IT and IS resources in business units is a key responsibility.
Managing IS Operations (p578) – concerned with the use of hardware, software, network, and personnel resources in the corporate or business unit data centers of an organization. Operational activities include: data entry, equipment operations, production control, and production support. Read Book
Technology Management (p581) – all technologies that process, store, and deliver data and info must be managed as integrated systems of organizational resources.
Network Management (p581) –
managing a company’s Internet access, intranets and extranets, and WANs and
interconnected LANs of client/server computing. These networks require a major commitment of hardware and
software resources. Read Book
Global IT Management (p589) – Business/IT strategies, Application portfolios, Technology platforms, Data management, and Systems development, all adjusted to incorporate Cultural, Political, and Geoeconomic Challenges. Read Book
Transnational Strategies (p593) – when companies integrate their global business activities through close cooperation and interdependence among their international subsidiaries and their corporate headquarters.
Companies are moving away from the following strategies:
· Multinational – foreign subsidiaries operate autonomously.
· International – foreign subsidiaries are autonomous but are dependent on headquarters for new processes, products, and ideas.
· Global – a company’s worldwide operations are closely managed by corporate headquarters.
Transborder Data Flows (p599) – business data flow across international borders over the telecommunications networks of global information systems.
CHAPTER
14
Different Types of IS Planning (p619):
Strategic Planning – deals with development of an org’s mission, goals, strategies, and policies.
Tactical Planning – involves the design of tactics, the setting of objectives, and the development of procedures, rules, schedules, and budgets.
Operational Planning – is planning done on a short-term basis to implement and control day-to-day operations.
Read Book
Planning Methodologies (p623) – used to ensure that all important planning activities and products are accomplished and produced. Using a planning methodology helps a company translate its strategic business goals into IS development plans to achieve those goals.
· The Scenario Approach – a planning approach where managers, employees, and planners create scenarios of what an org will be like three to five years or more into the future, and identify the role IT can play in those scenarios.
· Planning for Competitive Advantages –
· Critical Success Factors – a small number of key factors that execs consider critical to the success of the enterprise. These are key areas where successful performance will assure the success of the org and attainment of its goals.
Evaluating Hardware, Software, and Services (p 636) Read Book
Hardware Evolution Factors (p638):
* Performance * Cost
* Reliability * Availability
* Compatibility * Modularity
* Technology * Ergonomics
* Connectivity * Scalability
* Software * Support
Software Evolution Factors (p639):
* Efficiency * Flexibility
* Security * Connectivity
* Language * Documentation
* Hardware * Other Factors (see hardware evolution factors)
Evaluation Factors for IS Services (p640):
* Performance * System Development
* Maintenance * Conversion
* Training * Backup
* Accessibility * Business Position
* Hardware * Software
Business Systems Planning (p627) – a structured approach that assists an organization in developing info systems plans to satisfy its short- and long-term information requirements. Can be Top-down or Bottom-up:
· Top-Down Planning – requires that a planning team of top execs lay out the strategic mission and objectives of the org.
· Bottom-Up Implementation – involves application development activities that are performed by teams of end users and IS professionals. Their goal is to develop specific business applications that rely on a technology platform whose design was determined by the hardware, software, databases, and networks of the IT architecture.
Conversion Methods (p642):
· Parrallel – both old and new are operated until the project development team agrees to switch over.
· Phased – only parts of a new application or only a few departments at a time are converted.
· Pilot – one department or other work site serves as a test site.
· Plunge – direct cutover to the new system.
CHAPTER
15
Three major types of controls (p656):
1. Information system controls – methods and devices that attempt to ensure the accuracy, validity, and propriety of information system activities.
2. Procedural controls – methods that specify how an organization’s computer and network resources should be operated for maximum security.
3. Facility controls – methods that protect an organization’s computing and network facilities and their contents from loss or destruction.
Firewalls (p663) – An important method for control and security on the Internet and other networks. A network firewall is a ‘gatekeeper’ computer system that protects a company’s intranet from intrusion by serving as a filter and safe transfer point for access to and from the Internet.
Four Basic Ethical Issues (p675)
– PAPA:
· Privacy – what info about one’s self or one’s associations must a person reveal to others, under what conditions, and with what safeguards?
· Accuracy – who is responsible for the authenticity, fidelity, accuracy of information?
· Property – who owns information? What are the just and fair prices for its exchange?
· Accessibility – what information does a person or an organization have a right or a privilege to obtain, under what conditions, and with what safeguards?
Spamming (p681) – the indiscriminate sending of unsolicited E-mail to many Internet users. Favorite tactic of mass-mailers of unsolicited advertisements, or junk E-mail.
Flaming (p682) – the practice of sending extremely critical, derogatory, and often vulgar E-mail messages, or electronic bulletin board postings to other users on the Internet or online services.
Software Piracy (p686) –
unauthorized copying of software, which is a major form of software theft.
Hacking (p686) – the obsessive use of computers, or the unauthorized access and use of networked computer systems. Illegal hackers (or crackers) may steal or damage data and programs.