Information Systems for Business and Beyond - Saylor Academy

167 Pages·2014·4.08 MB·English

Information Systems
for Business and
Beyond

Published by The Saylor Academy
February 2014
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus206
Attributed to: David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D. saylor.org
CC BY
Information Systems for Business and Beyond
David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D.

Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus206
Attributed to: David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D. saylor.org
CC BY
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus206
Attributed to: David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D. saylor.org
CC BY
Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1: What Is an Information System?
Chapter 1: What Is an Information System?
David T. Bourgeois 5
Chapter 2: Hardware
David T. Bourgeois 14
Chapter 3: Software
David T. Bourgeois 26
Chapter 4: Data and Databases
David T. Bourgeois 39
Chapter 5: Networking and Communication
David T. Bourgeois 52
Chapter 6: Information Systems Security
David T. Bourgeois 64
Part 2: Information Systems for Strategic Advantage
Chapter 7: Does IT Matter?
David T. Bourgeois 76
Chapter 8: Business Processes
David T. Bourgeois 85
Chapter 9: The People in Information Systems
David T. Bourgeois 94
Chapter 10: Information Systems Development
David T. Bourgeois 104
Part 3: Information Systems Beyond the Organization
Chapter 11: Globalization and the Digital Divide
David T. Bourgeois 120
Chapter 12: The Ethical and Legal Implications of Information Systems
David T. Bourgeois 129
Chapter 13: Future Trends in Information Systems
David T. Bourgeois 144
Answers to Study Questions 150
Bibliography 162
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Introduction
Welcome to Information Systems for Business and Beyond. In this book, you will be introduced to the
concept of information systems, their use in business, and the larger impact they are having on our world.
Audience
This book is written as an introductory text, meant for those with little or no experience with computers
or information systems. While sometimes the descriptions can get a little bit technical, every effort has
been made to convey the information essential to understanding a topic while not getting bogged down in
detailed terminology or esoteric discussions.
Chapter Outline
The text is organized around thirteen chapters divided into three major parts, as follows:
• Part 1: What Is an Information System?
Chapter 1: What Is an Information System? – This chapter provides an overview of
information systems, including the history of how we got where we are today.
Chapter 2: Hardware – We discuss information systems hardware and how it works. You
will look at different computer parts and learn how they interact.
Chapter 3: Software – Without software, hardware is useless. In this chapter, we discuss
software and the role it plays in an organization.
Chapter 4: Data and Databases – This chapter explores how organizations use
information systems to turn data into information that can then be used for competitive
advantage. Special attention is paid to the role of databases.
Chapter 5: Networking and Communication – Today’s computers are expected to also be
communication devices. In this chapter we review the history of networking, how the
Internet works, and the use of networks in organizations today.
Chapter 6: Information Systems Security – We discuss the information security triad of
confidentiality, integrity, and availability. We will review different security technologies,
and the chapter concludes with a primer on personal information security.
• Part 2: Information Systems for Strategic Advantage
Chapter 7: Does IT Matter? – This chapter examines the impact that information systems
have on an organization. Can IT give a company a competitive advantage? We will
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2 Information Systems for Business and Beyond
discuss seminal works by Brynjolfsson, Carr, and Porter as they relate to IT and
competitive advantage.
Chapter 8: Business Processes – Business processes are the essence of what a business
does, and information systems play an important role in making them work. This chapter
will discuss business process management, business process reengineering, and ERP
systems.
Chapter 9: The People in Information Systems – This chapter will provide an overview of
the different types of people involved in information systems. This includes people who
create information systems, those who operate and administer information systems, those
who manage information systems, and those who use information systems.
Chapter 10: Information Systems Development – How are information systems created?
This chapter will review the concept of programming, look at different methods of
software development, review website and mobile application development, discuss end-
user computing, and look at the “build vs. buy” decision that many companies face.
• Part 3: Information Systems beyond the Organization
Chapter 11: Globalization and the Digital Divide – The rapid rise of the Internet has
made it easier than ever to do business worldwide. This chapter will look at the impact
that the Internet is having on the globalization of business and the issues that firms must
face because of it. It will also cover the concept of the digital divide and some of the steps
being taken to alleviate it.
Chapter 12: The Ethical and Legal Implications of Information Systems –The rapid
changes in information and communication technology in the past few decades have
brought a broad array of new capabilities and powers to governments, organizations, and
individuals alike. This chapter will discuss the effects that these new capabilities have had
and the legal and regulatory changes that have been put in place in response.
Chapter 13: Future Trends in Information Systems –This final chapter will present an
overview of some of the new technologies that are on the horizon. From wearable
technology to 3-D printing, this chapter will provide a look forward to what the next few
years will bring.
For the Student
Each chapter in this text begins with a list of the relevant learning objectives and ends with a chapter
summary. Following the summary is a list of study questions that highlight key topics in the chapter. In
ordertogetthebestlearningexperience,youwouldbewisetobeginbyreadingboththelearningobjectives
and the summary and then reviewing the questions at the end of the chapter.
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Introduction 3
For the Instructor
Learningobjectivescanbefoundatthebeginningofeachchapter.Ofcourse,allchaptersarerecommended
for use in an introductory information systems course. However, for courses on a shorter calendar or
courses using additional textbooks, a review of the learning objectives will help determine which chapters
can be omitted.
At the end of each chapter, there is a set of study questions and exercises (except for chapter 1, which
only offers study questions). The study questions can be assigned to help focus students’ reading on the
learning objectives. The exercises are meant to be a more in-depth, experiential way for students to learn
chaptertopics.Itisrecommendedthatyoureviewanyexercisebeforeassigningit,addinganydetailneeded
(such as length, due date) to complete the assignment.
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Part 1: What Is an Information System?
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Chapter 1: What Is an Information System?
David T. Bourgeois
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
• define what an information system is by identifying its major components;
• describe the basic history of information systems; and
• describe the basic argument behind the article “Does IT Matter?” by Nicholas Carr.
Introduction
If you are reading this, you are most likely taking a course in information systems, but do you even know
what the course is going to cover? When you tell your friends or your family that you are taking a course
in information systems, can you explain what it is about? For the past several years, I have taught an
Introduction to Information Systems course. The first day of class I ask my students to tell me what they
think an information system is. I generally get answers such as “computers,” “databases,” or “Excel.”
Thesearegoodanswers,butdefinitely incomplete ones.Thestudyofinformationsystemsgoesfarbeyond
understanding some technologies. Let’s begin our study by defining information systems.
Defining Information Systems
Almost all programs in business require students to take a course in something called information systems.
Butwhatexactlydoesthattermmean?Let’stakealookatsomeofthemorepopulardefinitions,firstfrom
Wikipedia and then from a couple of textbooks:
• “Information systems (IS) is the study of complementary networks of hardware and software that
people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data.”1
• “Information systems are combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks
that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational
settings.”2
• “Information systems are interrelated components working together to collect, process, store, and
disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and
viualization in an organization.”3
1.Wikipedia entry on "Information Systems," as displayed on August 19, 2012.Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. San Francisco:
Wikimedia Foundation.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systems_(discipline).
2.Excerpted fromInformation Systems Today - Managing in the Digital World, fourth edition. Prentice-Hall, 2010.
3.Excerpted fromManagement Information Systems, twelfth edition, Prentice-Hall, 2012.
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6 Information Systems for Business and Beyond
As you can see, these definitions focus on two different ways of describing information systems:
the components that make up an information system and the role that those components play in an
organization. Let’s take a look at each of these.
The Components of Information Systems
As I stated earlier, I spend the first day of my information systems class discussing exactly what the
term means. Many students understand that an information system has something to do with databases
or spreadsheets. Others mention computers and e-commerce. And they are all right, at least in part:
information systems are made up of different components that work together to provide value to an
organization.
ThefirstwayIdescribeinformationsystemstostudentsistotellthemthattheyaremadeupoffivecomponents:hardware,
software,data,people,andprocess.Thefirstthree,fittingunderthecategorytechnology,aregenerallywhatmoststudentsthinkof
when asked to define information systems. But the last two, people and process, are really what separate the idea of information
systems from more technical fields, such as computer science. In order to fully understand information systems, students must
understand how all of these components work together to bring value to an organization.
Technology
Technology can be thought of as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. From the
inventionofthewheeltotheharnessingofelectricityforartificiallighting,technologyisapartofourlives
in so many ways that we tend to take it for granted. As discussed before, the first three components of
information systems – hardware, software, and data –all fall under the category of technology. Each of
thesewillgetitsownchapterandamuchlengthierdiscussion,butwewilltakeamomentheretointroduce
them so we can get a full understanding of what an information system is.
Hardware
Informationsystemshardwareisthepartofaninformationsystemyoucantouch–thephysicalcomponents
of the technology. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, iPads, and flash drives are all examples of
information systems hardware. We will spend some time going over these components and how they all
work together in chapter 2.
Software
Software is a set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. Software is not
tangible – it cannot be touched. When programmers create software programs,
what they are really doing is simply typing out lists of instructions that tell the
hardware what to do. There are several categories of software, with the two main
categoriesbeingoperating-systemsoftware,whichmakesthehardwareusable,and
applicationsoftware,whichdoessomethinguseful.Examplesofoperatingsystems
include Microsoft Windows on a personal computer and Google’s Android on a
mobile phone. Examples of application software are Microsoft Excel and Angry Birds. Software will be
explored more thoroughly in chapter 3.
Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/bus206
Attributed to: David T. Bourgeois, Ph.D. saylor.org
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