Introduction to

Information Systems
What is IS?

 IS – a set of interrelated components working together

to collect, retrieve, process, store, and distribute
information for the purpose of facilitating planning,
control, coordination, analysis, and decision making in
business organizations
 Input-process-output perspective
 People-organization-technology perspective
Choice Hotels Reservation
System example:
 Technology – the means by which data is transformed and
organized for business use:
 Hardware
 Software
 Database
 Telecommunication

 People – the users of IS

 Organization -- a collection of functional units working together to
achieve a common goal
Functional units of business
organizations:
production
sales/marketing
finance/accounting
human resources

 maximize profit by
producing goods and/or
services
Functional Areas of Business

 The manufacturing and production function is

responsible for producing the firm's goods and
services. There are three stages of the manufacturing/
production process:
 inbound logistics
 production

 outbound logistics
Functional Areas of Business

 The sales and marketing function is responsible for

finding customers for the firm's product or service and
selling the firm's product or service to those customers.
The sales and marketing process consists of
 identifying and creating markets
 developing markets
 maintaining markets
Functional Areas of Business

 The finance and accounting function is responsible for

managing the firm's financial assets and maintaining
the firm's financial records. The finance process
involves managing the firm's financial assets, whereas
the accounting process is involved primarily in
financial record keeping.
Functional Areas of Business

 The human resource function is responsible for

attracting and maintaining an appropriate work force
for the firm. The human resources process entails
 attracting the work force
 developing the firm's work force to meet the firm's
personnel needs
 maintaining the work force
Computer vs IS literacy
IS in Business

 Business functions
 Business processes
 A series of interrelated activities through which work is
organized and focused to produce a product or service
 Business levels
 Strategic (long range planning)
 Tactical (co-ordinate & supervise)
 Operational (produce product & service)
The order generation and fulfillment process
Role of IS in Business

Competitive advantage
 Low-cost (value chain)
 Market niche
 Product differentiation
 Customer loyalty

Globalization
 People (language)
 Organization (culture)
 Technology (telecommunication)
The value chain views the firm as a series of basic
activities that add value to a firm's products or services
(Fig. 3-2)
Primary activities
•inbound logistics,
•operations,
•outbound logistics,
•sales and marketing
•service
Support activities
•administration and management
•human resources
•technology and procurement.
Quality
 Process simplification
 Benchmarking
 Customer focus
 Cycle time reduction
 Improve design & production
 Error reduction
Reengineering
 Business processes redesign
Ethical & social responsibility
 Information rights & privacy
 Intellectual property
 Accountability & liability
 Quality of life
IS Approach to Problem Solving

Systems Analysis
Systems Design
 Systems Analysis & Design

 Systems Analysis
 Problem analysis (what)
 Information gathering (where & why)
 Decision making (how)
 Establish objectives
 Determine feasibility
 Choose best solution

 Systems Design (Input, Process, Output, Procedures, Control)

 Logical design
Systems Analysis & Design
 Systems Design
 Logical design (what will the system do?)
 Input: content, format, source, volume, frequency, timing
 Process: rule, model, formula, timing
 Output: content, format, organization, volume, freq., timing
 Storage: data, format, organization, relationship, volume
 Procedure: manual activities, rule, sequence, timing, location
 Control: security, accuracy, validity, supervision
 Physical design (how the system will work?)
 Input: keyboard, voice, scanner
 Process: PC, operating system, software
 Output: print-outs, files, audio
 Storage: tape, CD
 Procedure: batching, backup, auditing, data entry
 Control: batch control, password, audit logs
 Implementation (coding, testing, training)
Technology perspective to problem solving
Organizational perspective to problem solving
People perspective to problem solving