IT in the Modern Organization

IT in the Modern Organization

1. Information Infrastructures

2. Architecture

3. Transaction Processing Systems

Basic
4. Management Information Systems
Concepts
5. Support Systems

6. Intelligent Systems

7. Integrating Support (and Other)

Systems
 Basic Concepts
Information
Infrastructure

• Consists of physical facilities, services & management

that support all computing resources in an organization
• 5 major components
– Computer hardware,
– general purpose software,
– Networks and communication facilities including Internet)
– Databases
– Information management personnel
• Also includes integration, operation, documentation,
maintenance and management
 Basic Concepts
Information
Architecture

• Plan of the information requirements in an

organization

• A guide for current operations and a blueprint for

future directions

• Ensure the organization’s IT meets the

organization’s strategic business needs
 Basic Concepts
Information
Architecture

• Preparing the information architecture

– Business needs for information
• The organizational objectives and problems
• The contribution that IT can make
• The potential users of IT
– Existing and planned information infrastructure and
applications in the organization
• Includes how the planned system and its applications can be
combined among themselves or with future systems to
support the organization information needs.
 Basic Concepts
Transaction
Processing Systems

• An IS that supports routine and repetitive tasks

e.g. employees payment, customers’ purchase
orders etc.
• TPS
– supports the monitoring, collection, storage, processing
and dissemination of the organization’s basic business
transactions
– Provides input data for many applications, including
computerized decision making
 Basic Concepts
Transaction
Processing Systems

• Several TPS can exist in one company

• Critical to the success of an organization

• TPS support core business operations

– purchasing of materials, billing, payroll and supplies to
customers
 Basic Concepts
Routine Business Transactions
in a Factory
• Payroll
– Monitor employee time cards
• Manufacturing
– Track employee pay and deductions
– Prepare production reports
– Issues payroll checks
– Prepare quality-control reports
• Purchasing
• Finance and Accounting
– Issue purchase orders
– Prepare and issue financial
– Accept and records deliveries
statements
– Pay accounts payable
– Maintain tax records
• Sales – Monitor and pay expense accounts
– Keep sales records
• Inventory Management
– Issues invoices and billings
– Track materials usage
– Track accounts receivable
–
– Monitor inventory levels
Keep shipping records
– Reorder inventory as needed
 Basic Concepts
Management Information
Systems
• Systems that accessed, organized, summarized and displayed information for
supporting routine decision making in the functional areas

• Geared towards middle managers

• Ensure that business activities(functions) are done in an efficient manner.

• Provides periodic reports about such topics as operational efficiency,

effectiveness and productivity.

• Extracting information from corporate database and processing it according

to the needs of the user.
 Basic Concepts
Major output of a functional
MIS
Output Description

Statistical Summaries of raw data; daily production, weekly and

summaries monthly usage of electricity
Exception reports Highlights of data items that are larger or smaller than
designated levels
Periodic reports Statistical summaries and exception reports provided at
scheduled, regular periods
Ad-hoc reports Special, unscheduled reports provided on demand

Comparative Performance comparison to that of competitors, past

analysis performance or industry standards
Projections Advance estimates of trends in future sales, cash flows,
market share, etc.
 Basic Concepts
Support Systems

• Provide computerized support for complex,

sometime nonroutine decisions.
• Expanded in 2 directions
– Executive Information Systems(EISs) to support senior
executives
– Group Support Systems(GSSs) to support people
working in special decision making situation or
meeting, in single/different locations
– Groupware - commercial software that support people
working in groups.
 Basic Concepts
Support Systems

• DSS helps manufacturing company in..

– Showing trends that help managers to make decisions.

– Forecasting the product needed that respond to
customer need & when they need it
– Sales forecasting problem
– Product scheduling problem
– Save company time and money
 Basic Concepts
Intelligent Systems

• Systems that replicate the thought processes of humans

• Expert systems - advisory systems that provide the stored
knowledge of experts to nonexperts.
• Intelligent system (1980s) - systems with learning
capabilities
– Enables the computers to incorporate new information or feedback
and update their knowledge
– Artificial intelligence
– Processing vague information, make predictions or recognizing
patterns.
– E.g. expert system, artificial neural networks
 Class discussion
Intelligent Systems

• Identify any intelligent systems that you would

need in your organization
– refer pg 36, box 2.2
– Pg 43 box 2.3
 Basic Concepts
Integrating Support Systems

• Systems that integrates two or more information

systems- e.g. TPS and MIS
• E.g. DSS combined with Expert Systems can
support more decision making systems
• Enterprise Resources Planning system (ERP)
– Plans and manages all organization’s resources and
their use.
 Evolution of Computer-based IS

Client/server, Integration,
Executive Intelligent systems,
Information systems, The web, intranets,
PCs, AI, groupware Extranets, software
ERP

Web services
Scientific military MIS,office M-comrce & I-comrce
applications automation Supply chain integration
Data w/house & mining;
Routine business DSS, LAN Very intelligent systems
Applications,TPS

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Organization: Structure and IT Support

1. Accounting

2. Finance

3. Marketing and Sales

Organizationa 4. Production or Operations

l Management(POM)
structure
5. Human Resources Management

6. Information Systems
 Organization: Structure and IT Support

• Mapping IS to Organizational Structure

– IT provides support in three major areas

Communication, collaboration and data processing and
access including knowledge sharing.

– Use application program - a system developed for a

specific purpose, facilitates production schedule,
expediting a financial forecast or executing weekly
payroll.
 Organization: Structure and IT Support
1. Departmental IS IS that reflects the dept.
they support

2. Plant IS Related to functional area

Collections of all dept. IS
Example of Connects all plant’s systems
Application With IS of other systems,
systems 3. Divisional IS Permits communications &
Collaboration among plants
& other units in the division

4. Enterprisewide IS Connects all divisions and

other units of an organization

Connects two or more

5. Inter-organizational IS
Organizations e.g. airline syst.
IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Top management
• Long-term planning decision
Strategic • Deal with organization’s objectives
decisions as a whole
• use executive information systems
for decision making and forecasting

Middle managers
• Short-term plans, procedures and
Tactical or policies and policies
managerial • Involve implementing the long-term
decisions strategies
• Use MIS, for primary support along
with DSS
IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Line managers and operators
• Day-to-day decisions that aim to
Operational keep the organization’s operations
decisions moving smoothly
• Use TPS to capture the operational
information relevant for decision
making at this level.
 How Information Systems Support People in
Organizations, (continued)

Identify who’s who in your organization…

IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Knowledge
workers

• Responsible for finding or developing new knowledge for

organization and integrating it with existing knowledge

• Major users of the internet

• Supported by internet, expert system, computer aided design, and

all new technologies.

• Engineers, financial and marketing analyst, production planners,

lawyers and accountants
 IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Knowledge
workers

IT can integrate the expertise of knowledge workers into an

organization and assist in improving worker performance through
the use of Intelligent Systems

How productivity increased by used of the expert systems??

IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Organizational
Knowledge Base

• The reserve of accumulated knowledge in organizations.

• Contain knowledge generated by all employees (not only

knowledge workers) and by people outside the organization such
as by consultants.

• The outside knowledge is known as best global practice or

benchmarks
IT Support at Different Organizational Levels
Knowledge
Management

The process of acquiring, maintaining and disseminating

organizational knowledge, supported by various IS
How Information Systems Support People in
Organizations
 Class discussion

• List the organization level in your workplace

• Identify your organization’s knowledge workers.

• What kind of knowledge being supported by every

level of people in your organization.
Main types of IT support systems
System Employees supported

Office automation Office workers

Communication All employees

Group support People working in groups

Decision support Decision makers, managers

Executive information Executives, top managers

Intelligent systems Knowledge workers

TPS Line managers and employees

MIS Middle management

 Role of the IS Department

• Managing systems • Initiating and designing

development and systems specific strategic IS
project management • Infrastructure planning,
• Managing computer
operations
development and control
• Staffing, training and • Incorporate the internet and e-
developing skills commerce into the business
• Providing technical • Managing system integration
services including internet, intranets
and extranets
• Educating the non-IS
managers about IT, etc
Refer table 2.4 pg 45
 IT people and Careers
IT people Task
Programmer Modify computer programs or write programs to
satisfy user requirement
System analyst/ developer Analyze & design IS by using specialized and and
design tools
Telecommunication/ Specialist in handling telecommunication or network
Network specialist problem
System operations Keep system up & running, has specialization in
specialist computing hardware and softwares as well as some
aspects of networks
Business analyst Involved in development of new IS. As a translator
between IS developers and users
 IT people and Careers
IT people Task

Database administrator Design and manage data/ database organization

efficiently and effectively. Has knowledge in database
software and hardware
Webmaster/ e-commerce Manage company’s website and business transactions
specialist through the internet, IT support and supply chain.
 Class discussion

• Discuss the characteristics and roles of

knowledge workers

• Discuss the relationship between TPS, MIS

and DSS
 Class discussion
• For next class…

How is productivity and efficiency increased

by used of Intelligent Systems in your
workplace??
 Class discussion
What system do you think.. You need most in
your organization???
And… why?
 Next week group presentation
Computer Hardware
Content:
1. The significance of hardware
2. The central processing unit (CPU)
3. Computer memory
4. Computer hierarchy
5. Input technologies
6. Output technologies
7. Strategic hardware issues
 Next week group presentation
Computer Software
Content:
1. Software history and significance
2. System software
3. Application software
4. Software issues
5. Programming languages
6. Enterprise