Foundations of Business Information Systems

223 Pages·1985·4.037 MB·English

by  Andrew Doswell (auth.)

FOUNDATIONS
OF BUSINESS
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
APPROACHES TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Series Editor
Thomas F. Carbery, Strathclyde Business School
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow, Scotland
Foundations of Business Information Systems
Andrew Doswell
FOUNDATIONS
OF BUSINESS
INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
Andrew Doswell
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow. Scotland
PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Doswell, Andrew.
Foundations of business information systems.
(Approaches to information technology)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
\. Information storage and retrieval systems - Business. 2. Business - Data process
ing. I. Title. II. Series.
HF5548.2.D62 1985 658.4'038 85-3689
TSBN-13: 978-0-306-41796-2 e-TSBN-13: 978-1-4613-2395-2
DOT: 10.1007/978-1-4613-2395-2
©1985 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1985
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
For my mother and the memory of my father
FOREWORD
A few years ago there were no books on information technology and business,
now there are a great many. To add to that flow calls for courage and
judgment on the part of both a potential author and publisher. Andrew
Doswell and Plenum Press are justified in bringing this work into the market.
The main reason is that Andrew Doswell has brought to the work some
simple yet formidable attributes. The first of these is that he knows what he is
talking about. He was trained as an electrical engineer; he then was employed
in business, drawing on and fortifying that training, where he moved into an
administrative position. Later still he moved into teaching, first in Ireland,
then in Scotland, but while employed in education he has not become an
academic recluse. On the contrary, he has continued to maintain his links with
business, doing so by engaging in both research and consultancy. Within the
University he has been at the forefront of our thrust into office automation
and office information systems.
The second great attribute that Andrew Doswell brings to this work is
that he speaks and writes in a language that ordinary men and women can
understand. This is refreshing. Most writers in this area fall into one of two
categories. The first group consists of advanced computer scientists and
electronic engineers who are so accustomed to speaking to others of their own
kind that they cannot speak about their own subjects other than in an "elitist"
language or jargon, or, variant on a theme, they presuppose greater prior
knowledge than most would-be students and readers possess. The other group
consists of professional writers, frequently journalists, who write with lucidity
but with no great understanding of the subject.
The language used by Andrew Doswell in this work can be understood
and followed by all, including backbench M.P.'s, trade union leaders, retired
Brigadiers, junior, middle, and senior executives, and high-IQ students.
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viii Foreword
o
that there were yet more books on this subject that were written with
such a happy combination of knowledge and lucidity!
THOMAS F. CARBERY
Strathclyde Business School
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to provide an introduction to information systems
in their business setting. I have tried to indicate what information technology
is, and how it will impact business in terms of the products and services
business provides, and the processes used to provide and support the
provision of business products and services.
I have assumed the reader to have no prior knowledge concerning the
mechanics of business, let alone the mechanics of processing information.
Therefore, ideas about both business and information processing are
developed from scratch. For the reader who does know something already,
there are, hopefully, enough signposts provided to indicate which parts of the
book can be safely left out.
All books of this kind are intended for students. There are, however, two
broad groups of students. First, there are those who are actually working in
business and feel the need for a book to provide some guidance as to what is
going on around them. If you are one of this group, I hope to have written a
book that is practical enough for your needs. In particular, Part IV deals with
the uses and effects of information technology without going into the reasons
Why.
You may, on the other hand, belong to the second group-a full-time
student with perhaps no knowledge either of business or computer-based
information processing. For you I hope to have written a book. that combines
an explanation of the theoretical reasons why with practical explanations of
what. The material is meant to be useful to both the student specializing in
either computer science or technology in general who knows nothing of
business, and to the student specializing in some aspect of business who knows
nothing of computers or technology.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many people who help during the process of writing a book. There is
the home support from wife and family and also the help from teaching
colleagues who provide information. Perhaps most importantly there is the
help from others who are working in the same subject area but who are not
nearby. Since information technology is far beyond the comprehension of one
mind I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of
others-the many books and articles-which has helped me to form my
understanding of business information technology. Most of these can be
found in the references at the back of the book.
There is another important contributor in this book-the illustrator. In
this case the drawings were done by a friend, Les Lambert, who combines the
ability to draw beautiful illustrations with many other talents.
Usually the last, but not least, acknowledgment is reserved for the typist.
In an age of information technology, that acknowledgment must disappear
since the author is the word processing operator!
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CONTENTS
PART I: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: STRUCTURE....................................... 3
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Structure of the Volume .................................... 5
Chapter 2: PREVIEW .......................................... 7
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Business Applications of Information Technology .............. 7
Activity Systems: Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11
Activity Systems: Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14
Summary ................................................. 16
Discussion Questions ....................................... 17
PART II: BUSINESS AND INFORMATION
Chapter 3: FUNCTIONS, COMMUNICATION, AND
ORGANIZATION ............................................. 21
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21
Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22
Organization .............................................. 30
Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 35
Exercise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39
Summary ................................................. 45
Discussion Questions ....................................... 47
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