Friday, 17 April 2015

The Modern Organization Functioning in a Global Environment


Information Technology (IT) is all forms of technology such as networking, hardware,software, the internet used by people to create, store, exchange and use information.

Information System (IS) is the combination of technology, people and process that any organization used to facilitate producing, controlling and managing.

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1) Why sould study Information Systems? 
· Homo Conexus:
-You are the most connected generation in history.
-You practice continuous computing.
-You are surrounded by a personal, movable information network.
-You can pull information from the Web and push your ideas back to the Web.
 · Informed User: a person knowledgeable about information systems and information technology.
-Tend to get more value from whatever technologies / systems they use.
-Improve the organizations’ performance, productivity and team work.
-Help selecting new information systems / applications.
-Build your own company (entrepreneur).
· IT offers opportunities.
· Managing Information Resources.
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2) Overview of Computer-Based Information Systems.

Computer-Based Information System (CBIS) is essentially an IS using computer technology to carry out some or all of its planned tasks. The basic components of computer based information system are:
1.Hardware- these are the devices like the monitor, processor, printer and keyboard, all of these work together to accept, process, show data and information.
2. Software- is a program of programs that allow the hardware to process the data.

3. Database- is the gathering of related files or tables containing data.

4. Network- is a connecting system that allows diverse computers to distribute resources.

5. Procedures- are the commands for combining the components above to process information and produce the preferred output.

 6. People- are those individual who use the hardware and software, interface with it, or utilize its output.

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Information Technology inside the organization:

Information Technology Infrastructure: The IT components, IT services and IT personal that support an entire organization.

IT components (Platform): consist of hardware, software, network and telecoummunication, and wireless communications.
IT services: consist of data management, managing security and risk, and systems development.
IT personal: use IT components to produce IT services.
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Capabilities of Information Systems:

· Perform high-speed, high-volume.

· Provide fast, accurate communication and collaboration within and among organizations.
· Store huge amounts of information in small space.
· Quick, inexpensive access.
· Interpret vast amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
· Increase effectiveness and efficiency of people working in groups in one place or around the globe.
· Automate semiautomatic business process and manual tasks.
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Types of Organizationl Information Systems:
there are certain Information System that support parts of organization, others support enitre organization, and still others support group of organizations.

Breath of support of Information Systems. 
  • Functional area information systems (FAISs): support particular functional areas [HR, Marketing, Manufacturing, Finance] in an organization.
Information systems that function among multiple organizations
  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems: tightly integrate the functional area information systems via a common database.
  • Transaction processing system (TPS): support the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from the organization's basic business transcations.
  • Interorganizational information systems (IOSs): connect two or more organizations.
Example: Supply chain management systems, Electronic commerce (e-commerce).

Support for Organizational Employees.
  • Office automation systems (OASs): support the clerical staff, lower and middle managers, and support knowledge workers. These people use OASs to development documents, schedule resources, and communicate.
  • Business intelligence systems (BI): provide computer-based support for complex, non-routine systems, primarily for middle managers and knowledge workers.
  • Expert Systems (ES): attempt to duplicate the work of human experts by applying reasoning capabilities, knowledge, and expertise within a specific domain.
  • Dashboards (digital dashboards): support all managers by providing rapied access to timely information and direct access to structured information in the form of reports.
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3) How Does IT Impact Organization?

  • IT reduce the number of middle managers.
  • IT changes the manager's job.
- mean the change in the managerial requirments.
- The use of IT might lead organizations to reconsider what qualities they want in a good manager.

  • Will IT Eliminate Jobs?
- Due to difficult economic times, increased global competition, demands for customization, and increased consumer sophistication, many companies have increased  their investments in IT.
- Computers gain in intelligence and capailities, the competitive advantage of replacing people with machines is increasing rapidly.
- IT creates entirely new categories of jobs, such as electronic medical record keeping and nonotechnology that could lead to lower unemployement.

  • IT impacts employees at work.
- Many people have experienced a loss of identity because of computerization.They feel like "just another number" because computers reduce or eliminate the human element that was present in noncomputerized systems.
- Encouraging people to work and shop from their living rooms could produce some unfortunate psychological effects, such as depression and loneliness.

  • IT impact Employess' Health and safety.
- Some workers feel overwhelmed and have become increasingly anxious about their performance.
- Feeling of stress and anxiety can diminish workers' preoductivity and jeopardize their physical and mental health.
- The long term use of keyboards can lead to repetitive strain injuries, such as backaches and muscle tension in wrists and fingers.
- Ergonomics: the science of designing machines and work settings that minimize injury and illness. The goal is to create an environment that is safe, well lit, and comfortable.


  • IT provides opportunities for People with Disabilities.
- Computers can create new employment opportunities for people with disabilities by integrating speed and vision recognition capabilities.
- Adaptive equipment for computers enables people with disabilities to perform tasks they normally would not be able to do.
- Other devices help improve the quality of life in more mundane, but useful, way for people with diasbilities.
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4) Importance of Information Systems to society:
  • IT Affects Our Quality of Life.
- The workplace can be expanded from the traditional 9-to-5 job at central location to 24 hours a day at any location.
- IT can provide employees with flexibility that can significantly improve the quality of leisure time.
- IT also can place employees on "constant call", which mean they are never truly away from the office.
  • Robort Revolution on the way.
-Irobot, a website for design roborts for home use, such as Roomba to vacuum floors, the scooba to wash floor.
- Telepresence roborts: are a recent develpoment in the field of robortics.

  • Improvements in Healtcare.
- Medical personnal use IT to make better and faster diagnoses and to monitaor critically ill patients more accuratelly.
- IT streamlined the process of researching and develpment new drugs, and machine vision is enhancing the work of radiologists. 

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