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THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANISATIONS (Data Collection Methods,…
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANISATIONS
Data, Info, Knowledge & Wisdom
Data
Discrete, objective facts about events
By itself, data is meaningless
More data is not always better - it can become hard to understand and interpret
Info
Data endowed with relevance and purpose
Unlike data, info has meaning
To add meaning, there are 5 C's
C
ontextualisation - why the data was collected
C
ategorisation - units of analysis / components of data
C
alculation - mathematically / statistically analyses
C
orrection - errors have been removed
C
ondensation - data may have been summarised
Knowledge
Fluid mix of experience, values, contextual info and expert insight
Info is used to generate knowledge
Also has 4 C's
C
omparisons - how does info on this situation compare with other situations?
C
onsequences - What implications does the info have?
C
onnections - How does this bot of knowledge relate to others?
C
onversations - What do others think of this info?
Wisdom
Comes from having a correct understanding of the knowledge
Awareness of limitations
Data Collection Methods
Magnetic ink character recognition
Optical mark reading
Scanners and optical character recognition
Document reading methods
Bar coding and EPOS
Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS)
Magnetic stripe cards
Smart cards
Touch screens
Voice recognition
Characteristics of good quality info
Relevance
Reliability
Comparability
Understandability
Identifying key info in an Org
Managers only need useful info, critical to the success of the business - Critical Success Factors (CSF)
CSF's
What a business needs to be good at in order to achieve its ultimate aims
Can be determined through the following sources:
Industry which the business operates
Firm itself and position in the industry
Org's wider and social environment
Organisational factors which are currently of concern
To prevent over-info, CSF's can be defined by:
Listing org's, function, or indivudual objectives
Determine which factors are critical for accomplishing obj.
Determine small number of primary info measures for each factor
Information Systems
Characteristics of info
(p.61)
Broken down into the 3 levels of decision making:
Strategic Management
Tactical Management
Operational Management
Each level has characteristics in terms of:
Time horizon
Decisions made
Level of detail
Scope
Format
Historical accuracy
Internal
Operational Systems
(transaction processing systems)
Main transaction based processes computers have traditionally been allocated to
Key to most org's and benefit from increased computing power
Pre-defined functions - represent high volume, low value transactions, concerned with efficiency
Inflexible towards particular/specific info requirements
Uses
batch
or
online
processing systems
Batch processing stores transactions together in transaction files to process at a later date. Useful for things like payroll when up-to-date info is not essential
Online processing continuously updates so records are maintained in real time
Decision Support Systems (DSS)
For use at any level
produces results based on models representing relationships between variables in the system
Flexible and can respond to "What if?" questions
Executive Information Systems (EIS)
A special type of DSS for use on a strategic level
Organised around CFS
Provides info at differing levels of detail
User friendly
Fast response time
Tailored to managers preferences
Makes extensive use of external data
Shows trends, ratios and deviations
Office Automation Systems (OAS)
networked computer systems (LAN)
support office work for handling and managing documents and facilitating communications
Sources of Info
At low levels, info comes internally
At senior levels, info mainly comes from external sources
"Environmental scanning" - process of gathering external information
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Computer-to-computer data exchange (P2P)
Links with suppliers and customers to maximise efficiency of purchasing and selling function
e.g. car manufacturer has links to supplier so they know what needs ordering and can anticipate the order
Allows smaller businesses to offer online EDI such as online ordering