Chapter 1

Identify three major new information systems trends.

1. emerging mobile digital platform 2. big data 3. cloud computing

List and describe six reasons why information systems are so important for business today.

1. operational excellence; improved efficiency means higher profitability. 2. new products, services, and business models 3. customer and supplier intimacy; raises revenues and lowers costs 4. improved decision making 5. competitive advantage 6. survival

Define an information system and describe the activities it performs.

An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.

Describe how information systems have changed the way businesses operate and their products and services.

Businesses are now using social networking, many industries are required to keep their data for years on end, and supply chains have become more fast paced.

Define complementary assets and describe their relationship to information technology.

Complementary assets are those assets required to derive value from a primary investment. Information technology investments alone cannot make organizations and managers more effective unless they are accompanied by supportive values, structures, and behavior patterns in the organization and other complementary assets.

Distinguish between data and information and between information systems literacy and computer literacy.

Data are streams of raw facts representing events occurring in organizations or the physical environment before they have been organized and arranged into a form that people can understand use. Information is data that has been shaped into a form meaningful and useful to human beings. Information systems literacy is a broader understanding of information systems, which encompasses an understanding of the dimensions of systems. Computer literacy focuses primarily on the knowledge of information technology.

Describe the sociotechnical perspective on information systems.

It is seeing systems as composed of both technical and social elements.

List and describe each discipline that contributes to a technical approach to information systems.

1. Computer Science: concerned with established theories of computability, methods of computation, and methods of efficient data storage and access. 2. Management Science: emphasizes the development of models for decision-making and management practices. 3. Operations Research: focuses on mathematical techniques for optimizing selected parameters of organizations, such as transportation, inventory control, and transaction costs.

List and describe each discipline that contributes to a behavioral approach to information systems.

1. Sociology: sociologists study information systems with an eye toward how groups and organizations shape the development of systems and also how systems affect individuals, groups, and organizations. 2. Psychology: psychologists study information systems with an interest in how human decision makers perceive and use formal information. 3. Economics: economists study information systems with an interest in understanding the production of digital goods, the dynamics of digital markets, and how new information systems change the control and cost structures within the firm.

List and describe the organizational, management, and technology dimensions of information systems.

Organization: They key elements are its people, structure, business processes, politics, and culture. Coordinates work through its hierarchy and through its business processes. Management: Management's job is to make sense out of many situations faced by organizations, make decisions, and formulate action plans to solve organizational problems. Technology: One of the many tools managers use to cope with change. Consists of computer hardware, computer software, data management technology, networking and telecommunications technology, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. IT infrastructure provides the foundation on which the firm can build its information systems.

Describe the characteristics of a digital firm.

Significant business relationships are digitally enabled and mediated. Core business processes are accomplished through digital networks spanning the entire organization or linking multiple organizations.

Describe the complementary social, managerial, and organizational assets required to optimize returns from information technology investments.

Social assets: The Internet and telecommunications infrastructure, IT-enriched educational programs raising labor force computer literacy, standards (both government and private sector), etc. Managerial assets: strong senior management support for technology investment and change, incentives for management innovation, teamwork and collaborative work environments, etc. Organizational assets: supportive organizational culture that values efficiency and effectiveness, appropriate business model, efficient business processes, decentralized authority, etc.

Explain how the Internet and the World Wide Web are related to the other technology components of information systems.

The Internet created a new "universal" technology platform on which to build new products, services, strategies, and business models. It provides the connectivity to link different systems and networks within the firm.

Describe the challenges and opportunities of globalization in a "flattened" world.

The challenges include losing jobs to offshore producers, having to develop high-level skills in order to get a job that can't be outsources. A "flattened" world has brought opportunities such as new service jobs, a worldwide market, and cost reductions.