Reviewer - MIS

CHAPTER 1: Overview of IS
Why people need information?
- Individuals: entertainment and enlightenment
- Businesses: decision making and problem solving
Data vs. Information
Data - a "given"/fact; raw materials in the production of information
Information - data that have meaning within a context
Data Manipulation
Raw data - time consuming to read; difficult to understand
Manipulated data - provides useful information
Getting Information
Process - manipulation of data
Computer-based Iss - process data to produce information
Information: Important Resource
Information must be:
Relevant | Complete | Accurate | Current | Cost effective in business
What is a System?
System - set of components that work together to achieve a common goal
Subsystem - part of a system where the products of more than one system are combined to reach an
ultimate goal
Closed System - stand-alone system that has no contact with other systems
Open System - system that interfaces with other systems
Information and Managers
Information map - data and information flow within an organization
Information Technology - all technology in IS

Synergy - combined resources produce output exceeding the sum of the outputs of the same resources
employed separately
Components of IS
Data - input that the system takes to produce information
Hardware - computer and peripheral equipment
Software - sets of instructions
Telecomm - hardware and software that facilitate fast transmission and reception of electronic data
People - professionals and users who analyze organizational information
Procedures - rules for achieving optimal and secure operation in data processing
Four Stages of Data Processing
Input - data are collected and entered into computer
Data Processing - data are manipulated into information using mathematical, statistical and other tools
Output - information is displayed or presented
Storage - data and information are maintained for later use
Computer Equipment for IS
Input Devices - introduce data into the IS
Processor - manipulates data through the IS
Output Devices - display information
Storage Devices - store data and information

Transaction Processing Systems(TPS) - record data and perform basic processing

Management Information System(MIS) - recorded transactions and other data produce information for
problem solving and decision making
Types of MISs
Decision Support Systems(DSS) - contain models, formulas, that manipulate data into information; often
answers "what if?" questions
Group Decision Support Systems(GDSS) - Generate ideas, establish priorities and reach decisions in
group environment
Executive Information Systems(EIS) - gather information from vast amounts of data for high-level
executives; highly used in control and planning

Expert Systems(ES) - programmed with human expertise

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - local conditions or features; allows planning, decision-making
and monitoring of local conditions or activities
On-demand Output/Ad-hoc Reports - managers can obtain reports tailored to their needs at any time
ISs in Functional Business Areas
Accounting - record business transactions, produce periodic financial statements, and create reports
required by law
Finance - organize budgets, manage the flow of cash, analyze investments and make decisions that
could reduce interest payments and increase revenues
Marketing - analyze demands for various products in different regions and population groups
Human Resources - help with record keeping and employee evaluation
Manufacturing - allocates resources such as personnel, raw material and time
Service - ISs are often the backbone of service organizations
Retail - management can determine which items move quickly and which do not
New Businesses - ISs have made new products and services possible, such as credit reports and
shipment tracking
Government - Tax authorities, national insurance and welfare agencies, defense departments, economic
organizations, immigration authorities
IT vs Ethical and Societal Issues
Consumer Privacy - organizations collect huge amounts of data on individuals
Employee Privacy - remote monitoring of employees, violating the privacy and creating stress
Freedom of Speech - Opportunities increase for pornography, broadcast of violent images, hate
speeches, intellectual property crimes, other intrusions, email vs. spamming; Prevention may abridge
free speech
IT Professionalism - No mandatory or enforced code of ethics for IT professionals--unlike other
professions
Social Inequality
Phishing and Identity theft

CHAPTER 2: Strategic IS
Strategic Advantage
1. Reduce Costs

2. Raise barriers to market entrants

3. Establish high switching costs
4. Create new products and services
5. Differentiate products and services
6. Enhance products and services
7. Establish alliances
8. Lock in suppliers and buyers

CHAPTER 3: Business Functions and Supply Chains

Effectiveness - degree to which goal is accomplished
Efficiency - relationship between resources expanded and benefits gained in achieving goal
Productivity - synonym to efficiency
Cash Management Systems - handles cash transactions specifically
Electronic Fund Transfer - electronic transfer of cash from one bank account to another
Computer-Aided Design Systems - help engineers and technicians design new products and quickly
modify and store drawings electronically
Computer-Aided Manufacturing - creating one-of-a-kind products to test design in three dimensions
Supply Chain
1. Procurement of raw materials
2. Processing the materials into intermediate and finished goods
3. Delivery of the goods to customers
SCM Systems - instrumental in reducing manufacturing costs, including the cost of managing resources
and controlling inventory
Materials Requirement Planning and Purchasing (Inventory Control)
- take customer demand as initial input
- use long-range forecasts to put long-read material on order
- help reduce inventory cost while ensuring availability
Other Inputs to MRP
Bill of Materials (BOM) - list of all raw materials and subcomponent demands

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) - allows a business to minimize overstocking and save cost
Manufacturing Resource Planning II
Master Production Schedule - specifies how production capacity is to be used to meet customer
demands and maintain inventories
Shipping - used to optimize the shipping time and the cost of labor, equipment use and maintenance to
help companies stay competitive
Some factors that affect shipping:
- length of routes
- sequence of loading and unloading
- type of shipped materials (e.g., perishable, hazardous, or fragile)
- fuel prices
- road tolls, terrain, and restricted roads
Radio Frequency ID
RFID tags contain circuity that allows recording of information about a product
Customer Relationship Management - used to pinpoint demographic groups that are most likely to buy
products, to determine features that consumers desire most, and to provide the most efficient and
effective ways to execute a sale when a consumer shows interest in the product or service
Market Research systems - help to find the populations and regions that are most likely to purchase a
new product or service.
Sales Force Automation - equipping salespeople with information technology to facilitate productivity
Employee Record Management - reduce space needed to store records, time to retrieve them, and costs
of both
Enterprise Resource Planning - All business functions served by one system that supports different
activities for different departments

CHAPTER 4: IT in Business
HARDWARE
Considerations in hardware purchase
- satisfaction of employees/users
- hardware considerations
power,expandability,ports, monitor type & resolution, ergonomics, compatibility, footprint,
support,warranty, cost

leasing vs. buying

- purchase costs vs Long term savings
Power consumption
Time savings
SOFTWARE
Managers should select:
- appropriate for their operations
- easiest to learn/use
- run well on available hardware/interface with other software applications
Multimedia and Hypermedia
Multimedia enables handling of different types of data
Hypermedia is a feature that enables a user to access additional information by clicking on selected
text or graphics
Mashups
Integrating an application with other software to create new useful applications
Website Design Tools
Groupware -are programs that enable workers to collaborate in real time over the Web
Virtual Reality Applications -mimic sensory reality using software
Custom-Designed
Advantages:
- fits business needs
- fits organizational culture
- personnel for maintenance
- smoothly interface with other programs
- special security measures
Disadavantages:
- high-cost
- long wait for development
- too-organization-specific to interface with other systems

Packaged/Ready to use/off-the-shelf
Adavantages:
- low-cost
- High-quality
- Good vendor support
- Immediate availability
- Good documentation
- Conductive to sharing application and data
Disadvantages:
- Features cater to the lowest common denominator of users needs
- Addresses narrow spectrum of business needs
- Paying for features not needed
- Impossible to alter for specific needs
- Vendors may go out of business, leaving users no support

Considerations in software purchase

- Fitness for purpose,
- ease of learning/use
- Compatibility with other software
- Reputation of vendor
- Support availability
- Networking/Sharing
- Cost vs quality/performance

Technology: Ethical and Societal Issues

Health Issues
Physical/Emotional Stress
- RSI(Repetitive Strain/Stress Injury)
- Eye strain(blinks 1/6 the normal no of times)

- Computer Vision Syndrome

- Computer furnitures poorly designed
- Uninterrupted computer stay: deprives movement/office chatting
Electromagnetic Radiation

Some solutions to hardware hazards:

User adjustable chairs/keyboards/terminals/arm rests/foot rests
Newer monitors
Ergonomic standards

Software piracy vs. free information idealism

Software piracy as a crime:
Most pervasive crime
Widespread
Non-crime perception

CHAPTER 5: Business Telecommunications and Networks

Data Communications - Transmittal of data from one point to another over a distance
Telecommunications has improved business:
Better communication
Higher efficiency
Better distribution of data
Instant transactions
Flexible and mobile workforce
Alternative channels

Communication/networking media
Twisted-pair cable
Coaxial cable

Optical fiber
Radio and Satellite
Radio-frequency(e.g. wi-fi, bluetooth),microwave, LEO and GEO satellites
Electrical Power Lines(Boadband over Power Lines)
Considerations in choosing a networking medium for organizations
Availability
Current and potential bandwidth
Vulnerability to EMI or RFI
Current and future needs for security
Compatibility with existing network
Wireless Protocols
All wireless devices use radio transceivers(transmitter-receivers)
IEEE 802.11 (Wi-fi)
IEEE 802.15 (Bluetooth)
IEEE 802.16 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)
IEEE 802.20 MBWA Mobile Broadband Wireless Access
Virtual Private Network
A combination of private and public lines
A link between a private network and the Internet
Virtual refers to the illusion that the use is accessing a private network directly

Data Warehousing - let managers produce reports or analyze large amounts of archival data and make
decisions
Transactional Database - usually not suitable for analysis because they contain current, not historical
data
Data Marts - smaller collections of data that focus on a particular subject or department.
Phases in Building a Data Warehouse
Extraction Phase - builders create the files from transactional db and save on server
Cleansing Phase - data is made consistent

Loading Phase - builders transfer files to data warehouse database

CHAPTER 6: Web-Enabled Enterprise

HTTP/HTTPS - protocol used to transfer and download Web information
Website IP address/URL/Domain name unique address assigned to web servers
Top Level Domain - .com , .edu, .org to show types of organizations or the country codes such as
.ca, .cn, .ph, .uk )
ICANN(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) - is the only organization that is
authorized to approve new TLDs
HTML - determines the look and location of text, pictures, animations, and other elements on a Web
page
Extensible Markup Language - convey the meaning or content of the data in a web page
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - the organization responsible for web standards, combined the
two markup languages HTML and XML into a standard called Extensible Hypertext Markup Language
(XHTML)
FTP - way of transmitting files from one computer to another through the web
Blogs(Web log) - is a web page that invites surfers to post opinions and artistic work as well as links to
sites of interest
Wikis (Hawaiian word meaning quick) web application which enables users to collaboratively add to
or edit a web page
Podcasting - podcasting is publishing sound and video
Cookies small file that a Web site places on a visitors hard disk so that the Web site can remember
something about the surfer later
Unique visitor pages - which is the number of different pages at the site that a single visitor accessed
Auction sites - sellers list information about the items or services they offer for sale, and if a sale is
executed, the site owner collects a fee
Reverse Auction - name your own price auction- customers post the details of services they want and
the price
Owning and Maintaining own Server
Requirements:
High speed physical link to the Internet backbone
Technical expertise to maintain servers on which the website resides

Purchase servers
Connect servers to the Internet
Register domain name
Install software for managing server and maintaining website
Scale-up the system when business grows
Perform load-balancing to avoid site crashes or use mirror servers

Shared-Hosting - the clients Web site is stored on the hosts same physical server along with the sites of
other clients
Virtual Private Server Hosting - create the impression that the client maintains its own server
Dedicated Hosting - the host dedicates a server to the client, and the client can fully control the content
on the servers disks
Components of a Web-based Retailing Operation (Online Shopping and Purchasing)
an application that provides an inquiry interface for the shopper
an application that provides an inquiry interface for the shopper
a credit-card application
order-fulfillment system
Rules of Successful Web-based Business
Target the right customer
Capture the customers total experience
Personalize the Service
Shorten the Business Cycle
Let Customers Help Themselves
Be Proactive and De-commoditize

CHAPTER 7: Global IS
Global Information Systems serves individuals and organizations in multiple countries
Glocalization - combination of universal business models and management philosophy with some
adaptations for local audiences

Challenges to Global IS
Technological Challenges (Bandwidth differences, Character codes, Designing forms fields in websites)
Regulations and Tariffs (Taxes, levies, custom duties, tariffs on imported and exported products)
Differences in Payment Mechanisms (Credit cards, Debit cards, for pick-up in convenient locations)
Language Differences
Cultural Differences
Conflicting Economic, Scientific, and Security Interests
Political Challenges
Different Standards
Legal Barriers
Differing Time Zones

CHAPTER 8: Decision Support Systems

The Decision-Making Process
Three decision-making phases(Herbert Simon)
Intelligence
Design
Choice
Businesses use models to analyze data
Maps
Mathematical equations of variables
Structured Problems
Proven set of steps for solution
Algorithm
Parameters

Decision Support System (DSS) - computer-based information systems that help managers select one of
many solutions

Three Major Components

Data management module
Model management module
Dialog management module
Together, the DSS modules:
Help user enter request conveniently
Search vast amounts of data
Use data in desired models
Present results in readable manner
The Dialog Module
Interface between user and other modules
Prompts user to select a model
Allows database access and data selection
Lets user enter/change parameters
Displays analysis results
Textual, tabular, and graphical displays

Expert Systems - Developed to emulate the knowledge of an expert to solve problems and make
decisions in a relatively narrow domain
Inference engine - software that combines data that is input by the user with the data relationships
stored in the knowledge base.
Knowledge base - commonly built as a series of if-then rules

Neural Networks - computer programs that emulate the way the human brain works which can learn
from new situations and formulate new rules in their knowledge bases
Intelligent Agents - software that is dormant until it detects a certain event, at which time it performs
a prescribed action
Group Decision Support Systems - facilitate the contribution of ideas, brainstorming, and choosing
promising solutions

CHAPTER 9: Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence - also called Business Analytics, these are information gleaned from the use of
data mining or online analytical processing(OLAP) tools
Data Mining - process of selecting, exploring, and modeling large amounts of data to discover previously
unknown relationships that can support decision making
Data Mining Objectives
Sequence or path analysis
Classification
Clustering
Forecasting
Online Analytical Processing - another type of application used to exploit data warehouses
Clickstream Software - tracks and stores data about every visit to a site, including the site from which
the visitor has come, which pages have been viewed, how long each page has been viewed, which items
have been clicked, etc.
Dashboard - use visual images to quickly grasp business situations
Knowledge Management - combination of activities involved in gathering, organizing, sharing, analyzing,
and disseminating knowledge to improve an organizations performance
Two types of knowledge(Samuel Johnson):
a. What we know about a subject
b. Knowing where to find information about a subject
Autocategorization - automates the classification (taxonomy) of data into categories for future retrieval