Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
London, it can quickly ship more of that style to department stores operating in the same
area. Fossil credits the information systems for simplifying its business infrastructure and
supporting consistent best practices across its expanding global business.
As you read this chapter, consider the following:
How might the information systems such as those used at Fossil make use of the
various components of a computer-based information system: hardware, software,
databases, telecommunications, people, and procedures?
How do computer-based information systems like Fossil's help businesses implement
best practices?
Information systems are used in almost every imaginable profession. Entrepreneurs
and small business owners use information systems to reach customers around
the world. Sales representatives use information systems to advertise products,
communicate with customers, and analyze sales trends. Managers use them to make
multimillion-dollar decisions, such as whether to build a manufacturing plant or
research a cancer drug. Financial planners use information systems to advise
their clients to help them save for retirement or their children's education. From a
small music store to huge multinational companies, businesses of all sizes could not
survive without information systems to perform accounting and finance operations.
Regardless of your college major or chosen career, information systems are indis-
pensable tools to help you achieve your career goals. Learning about information
systems can help you land your first job, earn promotions, and advance your career.
This chapter presents an overview of information systems. The overview
sections on hardware, software, databases, telecommunications, e-commerce and
m-commerce, transaction processing and enterprise resource planning, information
and decision support, special purpose systems, systems development, and ethical and
societal issues are expanded to full chapters in the topic. Let's get started by explor-
ing the basics of information systems.
Why Learn About
Information
Systems?
People and organizations use information every day. Many retail chains, for example, collect
data from their stores to help them stock what customers want and to reduce costs. The
components that are used are often called an information system. An information system
(IS) is a set of interrelated components that collect, manipulate, store, and disseminate data
and information and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective. It is the feedback
mechanism that helps organizations achieve their goals, such as increasing profits or improv-
ing customer service. Businesses can use information systems to increase revenues and reduce
costs. This topic emphasizes the benefits of an information system, including speed, accuracy,
and reduced costs.
We interact with information systems every day, both personally and professionally. We
use automated teller machines at banks, access information over the Internet, select infor-
mation from kiosks with touch screens, and scan the bar codes on our purchases at self-
checkout lanes. Major Fortune 500 companies can spend more than $1 billion per year on
information systems. Knowing the potential of information systems and putting this knowl-
edge to work can help individuals enjoy a successful career and organizations reach their goals.
Today we live in an information economy. Information itself has value, and commerce
often involves the exchange of information rather than tangible goods. Systems based on
computers are increasingly being used to create, store, and transfer information. Using in-
formation systems, investors make multimillion-dollar decisions, financial institutions trans-
fer billions of dollars around the world electronically, and manufacturers order supplies and
distribute goods faster than ever before. Computers and information systems will continue
to change businesses and the way we live. To prepare for these innovations, you need to be
familiar with fundamental information concepts.
information system (IS)
A set of interrelated components
that collect, manipulate, store, and
disseminate data and information
and provide a feedback mechanism
to meet an objective.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search