McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
18
Chapter
Managing Information Systems
Managing Information Systems
McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
z
Understand the difference between data and information,
and how firms use each to achieve organizational goals.
z
Integrate the components of a firm’s information
technology.
z
Compare different types of networks, including local area
networks, intranets, extranets, and the Internet.
z
Understand the role of software and how it changes business
operations.
z
Discuss the ethical issues involved with the use of computer
technology.
z
Understand how productivity, efficiency, and
responsiveness to customers can be improved with
information technology.
McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Two Perspectives
z
This chapter looks at information from

¾
Decision making (chapter 6)
¾
Human resource management (chapter 10)
¾
Communication (chapter 15)
¾
Control (chapter 16)
¾
Operations management (chapter 17)
McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Data and Information
z
Data—raw facts, such as the number of items sold
or the number of hours worked in a department.
z
Information—data that have been gathered and
converted into a meaningful context.
z
Useful information is:
¾
High quality
¾
Timely
¾
Relevant
¾
Comprehensive
McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Data and Information

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill
Equipment
z
Local area networks (LAN) link computers in a
firm so users can share information
z
Servers store information for users linked to them
z
Wireless equipment—computers no longer require
a physical connection, instead satellites or central
locations create links
McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Computer Networks
z
LAN
z
The Internet is a network of networks. It provides:
¾
E-mail
¾
Telnet connections with computers
¾
File transfer protocols (FTP) to move files
¾
World Wide Web provides access to protocols for text, documents,
and images
z
Extranets (wide area networks) link a company's employees,
suppliers, customers, and other key business partners
z