Chapter 1
Business Information Systems in Your Career
Student Objectives
Chapter Outline
How Information Systems Are Transforming Business
Globalization Challenges and Opportunities: A Flattened World
Business Drivers of Information Systems
What Is an Information System?
It Isn’t Simply Technology: The Role of People and Organizations
Dimensions of Information Systems
The Problem-Solving Approach
A Model of the Problem-Solving Process
The Role of Critical Thinking in Problem Solving
The Connection Between Business Objectives, Problems, and Solutions
How Information Systems Will Affect Business Careers
Information Systems and Your Career: Wrap-Up
How This Book Prepares You for the Future
1.5 Hands-On MIS
Key Terms
The following alphabetical list identifies the key terms discussed in this chapter. The page number for each key term is provided.
Business model, 8 |
Information system, 11 |
Business processes, 14 |
Information systems literacy, 13 |
Change management, 20 |
Information technology (it), 10 |
Computer hardware, 15 |
Information technology (IT) infrastructure, 15 |
Computer literacy, 13 |
Input, 11 |
Computer software, 15 |
Internet, 15 |
Critical thinking, 21 |
Intranets, 15 |
Culture, 14 |
Management information systems (MIS), 13 |
Data, 11 |
Network, 15 |
Data management technology, 15 |
Networking and telecommunications technology, 15 |
Extranets, 15 |
Output, 11 |
Feedback, 12 |
Processing, 11 |
Information, 11 |
World Wide Web, 15 |
Teaching Suggestions
You are probably meeting on the first class session to introduce yourself, the course, and to meet the students. It is good to get to the classroom early and meet the students as they come in. Learn a few names as the students enter.
After going over any requirements you may have for the course, try to give an overview of the course stressing that this is not a technical course. You can usually not do enough to put non-technical types at ease.
The opening case, NBA Teams Make a Slam-dunk with Information Technology, shows students that even the professional sports industry has embraced technology as a way to enhance their employees’ performance and increase their competitive advantage. Students will start to become familiar with the idea that many different kinds of businesses have had to change the way they operate, even the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their new emphasis is on using the Internet and information technology to mine statistical data and turn it into useful information. The challenges facing the NBA show why information systems are so essential today. The NBA is a business as well as a sport, and it needs to help its member teams stay in business and increase their revenues.
Section 1.1, “The Role of Information Systems in Business Today”, gives students a feel for the importance of information systems in business today and how they have transformed businesses on the world stage. A good discussion of the six important business objectives outlined in this section allows the instructor and students to openly discuss why businesses have become so dependent on information systems today and the importance of these systems for the survival of a firm. Stress to students that information systems are not a luxury. In most businesses they are the core to survival. This would be a good time to ask students to discuss how their own schools are using information systems to enhance their product offering.
Globalization is affecting virtually every country in the world. The most striking evidence of this trend is the increasing presence of cell phones in the very small villages of Africa. As technology becomes more pervasive and, in some cases, easier, globalization will continue its steady march. China, Singapore, and Russia are good examples of how globalization has flattened the world since they are leading exporters to other countries, especially ones as industrialized and advanced as the U.S. and many European countries. Emerging countries, like Poland, the Ukraine, and Ireland, are excellent examples of increasing globalization.
Section 1.2, “Perspectives on Information Systems and Information Technology”, gives students the facts and definitions that underpin information systems and allow students to knowledgeably discuss information systems. Students do not need the knowledge of a technical person, but they do need enough knowledge and definitions to understand the role of information technology and how it must support the organization’s business strategy. They must also understand how information technology can be used to help transform the business. Note that the chapter’s definitions and terms help prepare students to discuss information systems as they are a part of business systems. Students should be made aware of the formal descriptions of computer-based information systems (CBIS), the functional classification of the organization, and standard operating procedures. Encourage students to see that technology is subordinate to the organization and its purposes.
After contrasting the technical and behavioral approaches, you should stress to your students that the sociotechnical approach does not ignore the technical, but considers it as a part of the organization. This is also a good place to reinforce the differences between information systems literacy and computer literacy. When asked to describe company information systems, students often describe the information systems in terms of technology. It is important to stress to students that information systems are more than just technology, and that they have people, organization, and technology dimensions. Figure 1-3 and the diagram at the beginning of the chapter (page 5) can be used to illustrate this point.
Interactive Session: Technology: UPS Competes Globally with Information Technology
Case Study Questions
Inputs: The inputs include package information, customer signature, pickup, delivery, time-card data, current location (while en route), and billing and customer clearance documentation.
Processing: The data are transmitted to a central computer and stored for retrieval. Data are also reorganized so that they can be tracked by customer account, date, driver, and other criteria.
Outputs: The outputs include pickup and delivery times, location while en route, and package recipient. The outputs also include various reports, such as all packages for a specific account or a specific driver or route, as well as summary reports for management.
Technologies include handheld computers (DIADs), barcode scanning systems, wired and wireless communications networks, desktop computers, UPS’s central computer (large mainframe computers), and storage technology for the package delivery data. Telecommunications for transmitting data, pagers, cellular phone networks, and many different pieces of UPS in-house package tracing software for tracking packages, calculating fees, maintaining customer accounts and managing logistics, as well as software to access the World Wide Web.
UPS has used the same strategy for over 90 years. Its strategy is to provide the “best service and lowest rates.” One of the most visible aspects of technology is the customer’s ability to track his/her package via the UPS Web site. However, technology also enables data to seamlessly flow throughout UPS and helps streamline the workflow at UPS. Thus, the technology described in the scenario enables UPS to be more competitive, efficient, and profitable. The result is an information system solution to the business challenge of providing a high level service with low prices in the face of mounting competition.
Arguably, UPS might not be able to compete effectively without technology. If the technology were not available, then UPS would, as it has through most of its history, attempt to provide that information to its customers, but at higher prices. From the customers’ perspective, these technologies provide value because they help customers complete their tasks more efficiently. Customers view UPS’s technology as value-added services as opposed to increasing the cost of sending packages.
MIS In Action
Explore the UPS Web site (www.ups.com) and answer the following questions:
Answers will vary by the type of service students select. It’s important that they incorporate principles from this chapter in their answers. Make sure they organize their answers according to how the technology focuses on people, technology, and organizations. Many of the questions in the remaining chapters will ask for that kind of organization.
UPS invests heavily in information systems technology to make its business more efficient and customer oriented. It uses an array of information technologies including barcode scanning systems, wireless networks, large mainframe computers, handheld computers, the Internet, and many different pieces of software for tracking packages, calculating fees, maintaining customer accounts, and managing logistics. You may want to highlight how UPS has had to change and adapt to new technologies to remain competitive.
Section 1.3, “Understanding Information Systems: A Business Problem-Solving Approach”. Many students do not immediately recognize that the problem-solving model illustrated in this chapter was taken from the old scientific problem-solving model that has been around for years. Ask students to use this model and apply it to their decision-making processes that they unconsciously go through when they first awake in the morning. For a warm up to this model ask students to use Figure 1-4 and apply it to processes required when they are assigned a school project or case study. What is important to stress is that the process is continuous. There is no direct path from one process to the next and that most problem-solving processes require you to circle back to a previous step in order to reevaluate the situation.
Interactive Session: People: How Can Saks Know Its Customers:
Case Study Questions
The Interactive Session: People provides an example of an outstanding manager who knows how to use information technology wisely. Stephen Sadove, the new CEO at Saks, realized the answer to Saks’ problems was not to open more stores but to increase profits at the existing facilities.
Saks’ suffers from a lack of inventory and misguided inventory that didn’t appeal to local customers. These problems can be directly attributed to a lack of information about customer buying preferences, customer demographics, individualized store performance, and supply chain management.
The nine-box grid developed by Sadove and his team was a good start to understanding which items sold best in each individual location. The grid helped them categorize the styles and prices of their inventory so they could better understand how each item fit into each store. The grid provided a tool for the team to customize each store’s inventory and ensure appropriate stock levels were maintained.
Sadove and his team also need demographic data regarding each store’s typical customers. It’s best to obtain this type of information from external sources such as the Census Bureau and local government databases. That ensures the data isn’t skewed to company biases. Other data that would be helpful to Saks includes supply chain information such as back-orders, shipping times, and shipping costs. The data could provide corporate decision-makers with information they need to reduce costs, ensure inventories are available at each store, and increase sales and profits.
The data for Saks’ nine-box grid obviously would come from internal sources such as store sales, inventory management systems, back-order requests, and customer surveys. These data can be obtained from point-of-sale technologies implemented in each store. Since Saks’ Web site is the second largest source of revenue, it could provide intricate levels of detail about customer behavior without being intrusive. The company could also use the Web site to offer customer satisfaction surveys that would be much easier to process with truer answers than perhaps in-store surveys.
External data can be obtained from the U.S. government’s Census Bureau and local government databases. Information about back-orders and shipping costs and times can be obtained from supply chain information systems or from the company’s supply partners. For example, UPS could provide Saks with data about all its shipments to individual stores over the last year. Saks could pair the data with its own sales data to determine which items sold quickly and which ones didn’t.
Each store manager should be allowed to provide input into a solution that best fits each store locale and the overall company. Purportedly, local managers know their customers best. Therefore, they should be given an opportunity to customize inventories and marketing campaigns for their customers. It’s obvious that a one-size-fits-all strategy has not worked for Saks in the past. Employees could also be included in designing inventories and marketing strategies that appeal to those they interface with everyday.
Appropriate customer-related data elements include customer age, marital status, income levels, type of career field, and geographical area of employment. Appropriate inventory-related data elements include styles, prices, date received, date sold, shipping costs, and whether the item sold at full price or reduced price. Using Excel or Access, the data can be manipulated for one store only, a region, or all stores.
Using customer survey data, Saks can design in-store displays that target its largest customer demographic. Carrying appropriate inventory for each store’s targeted customer base frees up sales floor space for items most desired by the largest demographic group rather than trying to carry inventory that is spread out over every customer group. Storage facilities could be maximized to ensure only those items that will sell quickly in the local store are kept on hand. Doing so will minimize costs and increase profits.
MIS In Action
Answers will vary by student. They should focus on how easy the site is to navigate, how easy it is to place orders and use the online payment system. Ask students to focus on how well Sak’s presents its products compared to online retailers that focus on lower-priced, non-luxury items. Is Sak’s presentation worthy of the price of the goods? How well does the site fulfill its customer service responsibilities?
Encourage students to explore the Web site’s privacy policy to determine the kinds of information that are collected and what Sak’s does with it. Ask students what kinds of information they don’t want Web sites to collect about them.
Section 1.4, “Information Systems and Your Career”. As an exercise, instructors may wish to have their students surf the Internet for job opportunities at Monster Job (www.monster.com) or another employment application site. Divide your class into groups to represent the major functional areas such as finance, accounting, marketing, human resource management, production and operations, information systems, and others. Ask each group to find five jobs being advertised in each of the functional areas. Have them list the required qualifications being requested as they relate to the field of information systems.
Since your students should have access to e-mail, you may want to send them an “MIS Word of the Day.” Check out http://www.whatis.com, http://whatis.techtarget.com or one of the many other online computer terminology dictionaries to locate words and definitions that supplement the Laudon text. Students often enjoy the electronic interactions with their instructor, and the words are yet another way to reinforce learning.
Section 1.5, “Hands-On MIS” This section gives students an opportunity to analyze real world information systems needs and requirements. It provides several exercises you can use to determine if students are grasping the material in the chapter.
Understanding Information System Requirements: Preparing a Management Overview of the Company: Dirt Bikes USA
Software skills: Presentation software
Business skills: Management analysis and information system recommendations
Dirt Bikes appears to have a very democratic, employee-friendly culture, emphasizing ongoing learning, quality, attention to detail, and employee contributions.
Dirt Bikes specializes in off-road and motocross motorcycles that emphasize racing performance, styling, and best quality parts sourced from all over the world. It is a small company producing only four models. Dirt Bikes sells through a network of authorized dealers. Its sales department is responsible for working with these distributors and finding ways to promote Dirt Bikes.
The company is very small and not very hierarchical. Most of the employees are in production. Many of its departments have less than ten people. Production is probably the only department that warrants more than one manager. One might expect to see separate managers for Service, Shipping and Receiving, Parts, and Design and Engineering and perhaps several additional managers for Manufacturing.
One would expect to see information systems supporting manufacturing and production and sales and marketing being the most important for this company. Such systems would help the company monitor work on the assembly line, obtain parts from suppliers, monitor orders from distributors, and provide parts and servicing information. A company Web site to publicize the unique features of this brand and its connection to motorcycle racing events would also be very valuable.
Improving Decision Making: Using Databases to Analyze Sales Trends:
Software skills: Database querying and reporting
Business Skills: Sales Trend Analysis
This exercise helps students understand how a raw file of sales transactions can be analyzed using database software to produce valuable information for managers. The solutions provided here were created using the query wizard and report wizard capabilities of Microsoft Access. Students can, of course, create more sophisticated reports if they wish, but much valuable information can be obtained from simple query and reporting functions. The main challenge is to get students to ask the right questions about the information.
The answers to the questions can be found in the Microsoft Access File named: MIS8ch01_solutionfile.mdb
Improving Decision Making: Using the Internet to Locate Jobs Requiring Information Systems Knowledge
Software skills: Internet-based software
Business skills: Job searching
In addition to having students research jobs in their chosen career field, it may be quite interesting to have them research jobs in other career fields so they can see that virtually every job and/or career requires information systems skills.
Describe how information systems have changed the way businesses operate and their products and services.
Wireless communications, including computers, cell phones, and PDAs, are keeping managers, employees, customers, suppliers, and business partners connected in every way possible. Email, online conferencing, the Web, and the Internet, are providing new and diverse lines of communication for all businesses, large and small. Through increased communication channels and decreased costs of the communications, customers are demanding more of businesses in terms of service and product, at lower costs. E-commerce is changing the way businesses must attract and respond to customers.
Describe the challenges and opportunities of globalization in a “flattened” world.
Customers no longer need to rely on local businesses for products and services. They can shop 24/7 for virtually anything and have it delivered to their door or desktop. Companies can operate 24/7 from any geographic location around the world. Jobs can just as easily move across the state or across the ocean. Employees must continually develop high-level skills through education and on-the-job experience that cannot be outsourced. Business must avoid markets for goods and serves that can be produced offshore much cheaper. The emergence of the Internet into a full-blown international communications system has drastically reduced the costs of operating and transacting on a global scale.
List and describe six reasons why information systems are so important for business today.
Six reasons why information systems are so important for business today include:
Information systems are the foundation for conducting business today. In many industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is inconceivable, and IT plays a critical role in increasing productivity. Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with complementary changes in organization and management, it can provide the foundation for new products, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage.
List and describe the organizational, people, and technology dimensions of information systems.
Define an information system and describe the activities it performs
The textbook defines an information system as a set of interrelated components that work together to collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization. In addition to supporting decision making, information systems may also help managers and workers analyze problems, visualize complex subjects, and create new products.
Distinguish between data and information and between information systems literacy and computer literacy.
Explain how the Internet and the World Wide Web are related to the other technology components of information systems
The Internet and World Wide Web have had a tremendous impact on the role information systems play in organizations. The Internet and World Wide Web are responsible for the increased connectivity and collaboration within and outside the organization. The Internet, World Wide Web, and other technologies have led to the redesign and reshaping of organizations. The Internet and World Wide Web have helped transform the organization’s structure, scope of operations, reporting and control mechanisms, work practices, work flows, and products and services.
List and describe each of the four steps for solving business problems.
Give some examples of people, organizational, and technology problems found in businesses.
In answering this question students may draw on examples given in Table 1.1 on page 20 of the text.
What role does critical thinking play in problem solving?
What role do information systems play in business problem solving?
Problem solving requires critical thinking in which one suspends judgment to consider multiple perspectives and alternatives. There are a number of reasons why business firms invest in information systems and technologies. Six business objectives of information systems include: operational excellence; new products, services, and business models; customer/supplier intimacy; improved decision making; strategic advantage; and survival. When firms cannot achieve these objectives, they become “challenges” or “problems” that receive attention. Managers and employees who are aware of these challenges often turn to information systems as one of the solutions or the entire solution.
Describe the role of information systems in careers in accounting, finance, marketing, management, and operations management and explain how careers in information systems have been affected by new technologies and outsourcing?
Each of the major business fields requires an understanding of information systems.
Accounting: Accountants need to understand future changes in hardware, software, and network security essential for protecting the integrity of accounting systems along with new technologies for reporting in online and wireless business environments.
Finance: Financial people need to understand future IT changes, financial database systems, and online trading systems for managing investments and cash.
Marketing: Marketing personnel require an understanding of marketing database systems and systems for customer relationship management as well as Web-based systems for online sales.
Operations management: These individuals need knowledge of changing hardware, software, and database technologies used in production and services management and an in-depth understanding of how enterprise-wide information systems for production management, supplier management, sales force management, and customer relationship management achieve efficient operations.
Careers in information systems: The individuals clearly need to understand the central role databases play in managing information resources of the firm and how new hardware and software technologies can enhance business performance. They also need skills for leading the design and implementation of new management systems, working with other business professionals to ensure systems meet business objectives, and working with software packages providing new system solutions.
What information system skills and knowledge are essential for all business careers?
Common information systems skills and knowledge for all business careers include an understanding of how information systems help firms achieve major business objectives; an appreciation of the central role of databases; skills in information analysis and business intelligence; sensitivity to the ethical, social, and legal issues raised by systems; and the ability to work with technology specialists and other business professionals in designing and building systems.
Discussion Questions
Many jobs, not just in manufacturing, but in the services industry, are moving across borders and oceans thanks to advances in communications provided by the Internet and other networks. Many of these jobs have been in less-skilled information system occupations. However, the trend is spreading to even more advanced-skilled jobs in the financial, legal, medical, and accounting industries. Individuals must continually develop high-level skills through education and on-the-job experience that cannot be outsourced. Individuals must also develop a broad range of problem-solving skills, as well as technical skills, that make them more valuable to companies. Information systems and technologies will play a major and expanding role in day-to-day work and throughout employees’ careers. Career opportunities and compensation will in part depend on the ability to help business firms use information systems to achieve their objectives.
Answers will vary, however a good starting point is to use Table 1.1 on page 20 to flush out some suggestions.
Organization: Typical organizational problems include:
Technology: Typical technology problems include:
People: Typical people problems include:
Video Case Questions
You will find a video case illustrating some of the concepts in this chapter on the Laudon Web site at www.prenhall.com/laudon along with questions to help you analyze the case.
Teamwork: Analyzing a Business System
In a group with three or four classmates, find a description in a computer or business magazine of an information system used by an organization. Look for information about the company on the Web to gain further insight into the company, and prepare a brief description of the business. Describe the system you have selected in terms of its inputs, processes, and outputs and in terms of its organization, people, and technology features and the importance of the system to the company. If possible, use electronic presentation software to present your analysis to the class.
Answers for this project will vary. The purpose of this project is to visualize and understand the main components of an information system and to understand the organizational context of an information system.
For example, if the system is a payroll system, inputs might include employee personal information (such as name, address, state, dependent names), tax information, special deductions (such as employee pension plan, medical insurance), pay type (hourly, weekly, salary, commission), pay period, and hours worked. Processes would include calculating gross pay, deductions, taxes and net pay, and updating employee information such as deductions. Outputs include updated employee records, pay stubs and checks (or pay stubs and direct deposit tape), and perhaps retrieval through an online system. Technology includes the types of computers, storage mediums, the payroll software used, and the database technology. An organizational description might include the size and type of staff required to run the system. It might also include the place of the payroll system within the larger organization (Human Resources function or Accounting function, for example). Management might include payroll management problems the system solved or is designed to solve. For example, it may have been installed to expedite pay, eliminate paper, or solve a government regulatory problem.
Business Problem-Solving Case: Is Second Life Ready for Business?
Second Life provides businesses with tools for online conferencing, online collaboration, knowledge management, and prototyping. Companies can test new products using Second Life’s 3-D rendering programs. They can experiment with new marketing and advertising campaigns to see how people react. They can receive feedback on real-world products or services.
One potential new business would be to sell furnishings for online spaces. People inherently want to furnish and decorate their private spaces. The products could be bought and sold using Lindens. The start-up costs could be low since there aren’t any inventory costs. You can create the furnishings as they’re ordered. A business plan would include advertising ideas, marketing ideas, how to deliver the products, customer follow-up ideas, and financial planning.
Obviously the information for this question will fluctuate.As of this writing, eBay offered 211 items. They included how-to manuals for making money on Second Life, a guide to selling land, and business opportunities on the site. One item in particular was a vending machine business package available for $4.99. The individual offering the item was an eBay Power Seller with 6,483 feedback postings. He was obviously an established eBay seller. Other items for sale include a Gym Workout package for $4.99 and a macro that makes navigating the skies of Second Life easier. It sold for $12.99. Answers to the last three questions will vary by student. The point is to have them realize how advanced and pervasive sites like Second Life have become.
Interoperability between 3-D worlds and other Web sites is very important because of the increasing popularity of all the sites. People don’t want to continually learn new and different skills. Rather they want to transport their skills and software from one site to another. It’s doubtful that Second Life could survive and prosper on its own. Demand for the site will increase if it becomes more entwined with other sites and even real life. As people continue to combine offline and online activities, they want easy ways to transition from one to the other. This is where the people component of the three dimensions of information systems becomes apparent. Obviously this leads to more integration in the future.
Second Life needs to overcome the idea and perception that it’s “just another game site.” Other obstacles include ease-of-use, interoperability between pre-established business systems and Second Life’s proprietary system. It needs to create ways to import and export data between its system and external business systems—don’t require data to be re-input into either system. Second Life faces more obstacles in trying to become a mainstream educational tool. Educators are inherently opposed to online, distance education because it supposedly lacks the face-to-face communication between teachers and students. However, as more education is carried online, Second Life has all the tools in place to make it easy to conduct classes, especially its online collaboration tools.
Retail businesses that are already used to doing business online may have an easier time of establishing a viable presence on Second Life. They are used to advertising and marketing to customers online and have the systems built for taking orders, accepting payments, and shipping products. Other companies, like IBM, that have established online collaboration systems and online knowledge management systems will probably have an easier time using Second Life as another outlet for these activities.
Obviously the answers to this question will vary from student to student. Some may prefer interviewing for a job using Second Life since they may see face-to-face interviews as extremely nerve-wracking. Other may prefer a face-to-face interview rather than trying to create an avatar that adequately represents them.
Second Life probably is a precursor of how business will be conducted in the future. Online presence and activity is increasing, not decreasing. Businesses are continually turning to online services to change the way they do business and move many of their offline activities to online ventures.
Chapter Summary
Section1.1: The Role of Information Systems in Business Today
Information systems are a foundation for conducting business today. In many industries, survival and even existence is difficult without extensive use of information technology. Businesses today use information systems to achieve six major objectives: operational excellence; new products, services, and business models; customer/supplier intimacy; improved decision making; competitive advantage; and day-to-day survival.
Section 1.2: Perspective on Information Systems and Information Technology
From a technical perspective, an information system collects, stores, and disseminates information from an organization’s environment and internal operations to support organizational functions and decision making, communication, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization. Information systems transform raw data into useful information through three basic activities: input, processing, and output. From a business perspective, an information system provides a solution to a problem or challenge facing a firm and represents a combination of people, organization, and technology elements. The people dimension of information systems involves issues such as training, job attitudes, and management behavior. The technology dimension consists of computer hardware, software, data management technology, and networking/telecommunication technology. The organization dimension of information systems involves issues such as the organization’s hierarchy, functional specialties, business processes, culture, and political interest groups.Information systems literacy requires an understanding of the organizational and people dimensions of information systems as well as the technical dimensions addressed by computer literacy. Information systems literacy draws on both technical and behavioral approaches to studying information systems.
Section 1.3: Understanding Information Systems: A Business Problem-Solving Approach
Business problem solving involves four steps: problem identification, solution design, choice and implementation. Problem identification involves understanding what kind of problem is being presented, whether it stems from people, organizational, or technology factors or a combination of these. Solution design involves designing several alternative solutions to the problem that has been identified. Choice entails selecting the best solution, taking into account its cost and the available resources and skills in the business. Implementation of an information system solution entails purchasing or building hardware and software, testing the software, providing employees with training and documentation, managing change as the system is introduced into the organization, and measuring the outcome. Problem solving requires critical thinking in which one suspends judgment to consider multiple perspectives and alternatives.
Section 1.4: Information Systems and Your Career
Each of the major business fields requires an understanding of information systems. Accountants need to understand future changes in hardware, software, and network security essential for protecting the integrity of accounting systems along with new technologies for reporting in online and wireless business environments. Finance majors need to understand future IT changes, financial database systems, and online trading systems for managing investments and cash. Marketing majors require an understanding of marketing database systems and systems for customer relationship management as well as Web-based systems for online sales. Operations management careers need knowledge of changing hardware, software, and database technologies used in production and services management and an in-depth understanding of how enterprise-wide information systems for production management, supplier management, sales force management, and customer relationship management achieve efficient operations. Careers in management and human resources need knowledge of how hardware and software can make management more efficient, enhance coordination, and achieve major business objectives.
Information systems majors clearly need to understand the central role databases play in managing information resources of the firm and how new hardware and software technologies can enhance business performance. They also need skills for leading the design and implementation of new management systems, working with other business professionals to ensure systems meet business objectives, and working with software packages providing new system solutions.
Common information systems skills and knowledge for all business careers include an understanding of how information systems helps firms achieve major business objectives; an appreciation of the central role of databases; skills in information analysis and business intelligence; sensitivity to the ethical, social, and legal issues raised by systems; and the ability to work with technology specialists and other business professionals in designing and building systems.
Source: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/alsalloum/documents/201mis/doc/ess8_im_ch01.doc
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