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Information Systems: Help and Review19 chapters | 387 lessons | 4 flashcard sets
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Paul has a PhD from the University of British Columbia and has taught Geographic Information Systems, statistics and computer programming for 15 years.
Many organizations work with large amounts of data. Data are basic values or facts and are organized in a database. Many people think of data as synonymous with information; however, information actually consists of data that has been organized to help answers questions and to solve problems. An information system is defined as the software that helps organize and analyze data. So, the purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into useful information that can be used for decision making in an organization.
There are some general types of information systems. For example, a database management system (DBMS) is a combination of software and data that makes it possible to organize and analyze data. DBMS software is typically not designed to work with a specific organization or a specific type of analysis. Rather, it is a general-purpose information system. Another example is an electronic spreadsheet. This is a tool for basic data analysis based on formulas that define relationships among the data. For example, you can use a spreadsheet to calculate averages for a set of values or to plot the trend of a value over time.
In contrast, there are a number of specialized information systems that have been specifically designed to support a particular process within an organization or to carry out very specific analysis tasks. For example, enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an information system used to integrate the management of all internal and external information across an entire organization. Another example is a geographic information system (GIS), which is used to manage and analyze all types of geographical data. Expert systems are another example of information systems. An experts system is designed to solve complex problems by following the reasoning of an expert.
While information systems may differ in how they are used within an organization, they typically contain the following components:
The first four components are part of the general information technology (IT) of an organization. Procedures, the fifth component, are very specific to the information needed to answer a specific question.
The many different types of information systems can be divided into categories based on where they are used in the hierarchy of an organization.
This is best understood with an example. Consider a chain of bookstores. Every day, each store receives new books to put on the shelf, and many books are sold. All of these events are processed using a transaction processing system. This is used by store clerks and cashiers. Individual store managers have different tasks. They need to schedule staffing for their store, keep track of deliveries of new books and keep track of the finances. A store manager will use one or more management information systems for these tasks.
The company has a number of stores, and so it also has more senior managers who need to make sure the entire chain keeps running smoothly. This includes tasks like the logistics of shipping books from a warehouse to the stores, keeping track of inventory and sales, and managing personnel. At this more senior level, managers would use decision support systems. At the executive level, the decisions are more strategic. For example, they may need to determine where to locate a new store, identify new markets and develop an online presence in addition to the brick-and-mortar stores. This would require the use of executive information systems.
While this pyramid model is useful, some information systems might be used at different levels. In the case of the bookstore chain, the sales information from the transaction processing makes it all the way to the top in order to identify which products are doing well and which stores are doing better than others.
Let's review. Information consists of data that has been organized to help answer questions and to solve problems. An information system is the software that helps organize and analyze data. The purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into useful information that can be used for decision making in an organization. Many information systems are designed to support a particular process within an organization or to carry out very specific analysis.
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Information Systems: Help and Review19 chapters | 387 lessons | 4 flashcard sets