APPENDIX A: ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

Surname Abrahams
First Name/s Zakariya
Student Number 158761
Subject Information Technology Management 3A – ITM3A7
Assignment Number 2
Tutor’s Name Ms. Asha Chetram
Examination Venue N/A
Date Submitted 12 April 2022
Submission (√) First Submission Yes Resubmission
11 Denneboom Street
Bosmont
Postal Address
Johannesburg
Gauteng
South Africa 2093
E-Mail zakabrahoo1@gmail.com
(Work) N/A
Contact Numbers (Home) 011 474 3648
(Cell) 067 319 3607

Course/Intake B-Comm in Information and Technology Management – Y3 /S1/ 2022

Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.

Signature: Mr.Z.Abrahams Date: 12 April 2022

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Question 1

The article above states: “In recent years, the success of any enterprise is directly
related to the level and quality of information technologies (IT) that are being used in
the company”. Briefly describe TEN (10) key functions of information technology (IT)
systems. (20 Marks)

Information Technology has become the chief enabler of business activities globally today.
Information systems collect and store the information in a database which streamlines the
process of finding the data easily. Information Technology is a set of tools within Information
Systems that eases the procedure of decision-making and simplifies the process of delivering
the required information, henceforward assisting in taking better decisions instantly.
Information Technology is an important enabler compounded of fundamental changes in the
premeditated structure, operations, and management of organizations. Consists of hardware,
software, databases, networks, and other electronic devices, put together - enabling
purposeful information systems.

Some of the major key functions of Information Technology systems are:

1. Perform high-speed, high-volume, Managing information systems provide

numerical computations.
2. Provide fast, accurate, and
inexpensive communication within
and between organizations.
3. Store huge amounts of
information in an easy-to-access,
yet small space.
4. Allow quick and inexpensive
access to vast amounts of
information worldwide.
owners with information that allows them to
make better decisions and improve both
employee and business performance.
Means of coordination (brings parts of an
organization, or several collaborating
organizations, together in a common effort).
Fast and accurate data processing, with
large-capacity storage and rapid
communication between sites.
Instantaneous access to information via the
world wide web (internet) or intranets.

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5. Enable communication and
collaboration anywhere, any time.
6. Increase the effectiveness and
efficiency of people working in
groups
7. Facilitate work in hazardous
environments.
8. Automate both semiautomatic
business processes and manually
done tasks.
9. Facilitate interpretation of vast
amounts of data.
10. Facilitate global trade.
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Systems and Applications through which an
organization receives intelligence or
information via email, virtual meetings, or
video calls.
Modeling (a simplified representation of a
real object or phenomenon that helps to
understand or develop the modeled object).
3D visualization technology can help
digitally recreate environments so that
workers can analyze them and determine the
safest procedures they can use. Sewer
inspectors, for example, which are known to
work in hazardous environments, can use
cameras to survey hardly-accessible areas
and see if they are safe to enter.
Automation (replacing human labor, for
example, with information systems).
Data interpretation is the process of
reviewing data through predefined processes
which will help assign some meaning to the
data and arrive at a relevant conclusion.
Digital information technologies will affect
the composition of a trade by increasing the
services component, fostering trade in
certain goods such as time-sensitive
products, changing patterns of comparative
advantage, and affecting the complexity and
length of global value chains.
Question 2

The article above further states: “Decision support systems (DSS) use data from
management information systems (MIS), transaction processing systems (TPS), and
office information systems (OIS)”. Briefly explain the purpose of an organizational
decision support system (ODSS) and provide FOUR (4) main characteristics of this
system. (10 Marks)

An organizational decision support system (ODSS) provides decision support for the
individual, group, and organization. It focuses on an organizational task or activity involving
a sequence of operations and decision-makers. Organizational Decision Support System
(ODSS) shares some features with other management information systems such as Decision
Support Systems (DSS), Management Information Systems (MIS), Transaction Processing
Systems (TPS), and Office Information Systems (OIS), but it has particularly different
objectives and a broader scope.

Major characteristics of an ODSS are:

• It affects several organizational units or corporate problems - Improves individual

decision models: faster and better identification of problems, multiplication of
alternatives examined, and choice upgrading.

• It cuts across organizational functions or hierarchical layers - It supports

interrelated but autonomous local decisions, but its main help is to coordinate these
multiple local decisions with the objective of optimizing organizational decisions. It,
therefore affects the management level of the company, introducing a process view
and work organization of a firm or even of a virtual organization including various
companies.

• It involves computer-based technologies and communication technologies -

Organizational Decision Support Systems (ODSS) are a form of DSS that provides
support for multiple decision-making processes in an organization. These systems
differ from other forms of DSS in that several functionally distinct decision-making
tasks are supported.

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• It often interacts or integrates with enterprise-wide Information Systems -
Business firms and other organizations rely on information systems to carry out and
manage their operations, interact with their customers and suppliers, and compete in
the marketplace. Information systems are used to run inter-organizational supply
chains and electronic markets.

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References:

Schultheis, R.A. and Sumner, M. (1998). Management information systems : the manager’s
view. Boston, Mass.: Irwin/Mcgraw Hill.

IEEE Draft Standard for Validation of Computational Electromagnetics Computer Modeling

and Simulations. (2021). New York, Usa Ieee.

Bennett, J.L. (1983). Building Decision Support Systems. Reading Mass ; Menlo Park Cal.:
Addison-Wesley.

IEEE Standard for Futurebus+, Profile M (Military). (1994). Ieee.

Mao Lin Huang and Weidong Huang (2014). Innovative approaches of data visualization and
visual analytics. Hershey, Pa: Information Science Reference, An Imprint Of Igi Global.