Managing in the Digital
World
Dr. Nooruldeen Nasih Qader
Lecture Objectives
 Understand the term information systems (IS)
 Understand IS components:
 Technology, people, organizations
 Understand IS career opportunities
 Understand IS and organizational success or failure
 Understand the future of IS management
2
Case: IS at University
 Computers are the core component of ISs.
 Powerful, relatively inexpensive, and easy-to-use
computers has had a major impact on business
(Facebook, YouTube, Flickr….etc.)
 Online Administration
 Online Course Management
 Syllabi
 Assignments
 Online class discussions
 Coursera.com
3
Visible economic, cultural, and technological
changes are fueled by globalization
4
ISs
Combinations of:
hardware, software, and telecommunications networks
that people build and use to:
collect, create, and distribute useful data in
organizations
5
Key Elements of ISs
6
Telecommunications Networks
Telecommunications networks refer to a group of
two or more computer systems linked together
with communications equipment.
7
Knowledge as a Business
 Knowledge Worker Resource
 A well-educated professional who creates, modifies,
or synthesizes knowledge in one’s profession
 Knowledge Society
 Also called digital society, new economy
 Working with brains instead of hands
 The importance of education
 Digital divide
8
Data an d Information
 Data: raw material, unformatted information
 Information: Data formatted with dashes or labels is more
useful
 Knowledge: understanding relationships between pieces of
information
9
Technology and ISs
 Computer-Based ISs
 Technology – any mechanical and/or electrical means
to supplement, extend, or replace human activity
 Information Technology (IT) – machine technology
controlled by or using information
 The goal of IS is to provide useful data to users
 IS can be local or global, organizational or enterprisewide
10
Technology and Business-1
 IS professionals must also be able to understand and
manage people and projects, not just the technology
 professional systems analyst who can speak fluently
about both business and technology.
11
Technology and Business-2
 good IS personnel possess valuable, integrated knowledge
and skills in three areas—technical, business, and systems
 just enough about these areas
 IS professional manages or directs those who have
deeper, more detailed technical knowledge
 there is an increased demand in many companies for
people with application development skills, especially in
combination with sound business analysis and project
management skills
12
Systems Competency
The core competencies (efficiency) that make IS
professionals valuable employees is:
 Understand how to build and integrate systems
and how to solve problems will ultimately manage
large, complex systems projects as well as
manage those in the firm who have only technical
knowledge and skills.
 Social skills to understand how to work well with
and motivate others.
13
Early History: Poor Service and Worse
Attitudes
 Many of these old- school IS personnel believed
that they owned and controlled the computing
resources,
 that they knew better than users did, and that they
should tell users what they could and could not do
with the computing resources
 If the IS staff cannot or will not do this for us, then
we will build our own systems.
14
The Modern IS Organization
 The IS personnel believe that, fundamentally, they are there to
help the users solve problems and be more productive.
 old-school mentality still exists in some organizations
 technology and information are there for the customers, not
for the systems personnel. They create:
 help desks,
 Hotlines,
 information centers,
 training centers to support customers.
 These service-oriented IS units structure the IS function.
15
New Service Mentality
 It is simply amazing how unproductive a company can be
when the IS personnel and other people within the firm are at
odds with one another.
 On the other hand, it is even more amazing how productive
and enjoyable work can be when people in the IS function
work hand in hand with people through- out the organization.
 Technology is, potentially, the great lever, but it works best
when people work together, not against each other, to use it.
16
The People Side of IS
 Despite economic ups and downs…
 Labor shortages predicted
 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
 http://stats.bls.gov/emp/emptab3.htm
 Ranked among best jobs available P-55
17
Careers in IS









Systems Analyst
Systems Programmer
Systems Consultant
Database Administrator
Webmaster
IS Director
Chief Information Officer
Professor
Government scientist
18
The High Value of IS Personnel
 Supply and demand
 Aggressive recruiting
 High salaries
 Broad demand
 Large and small companies
 Urban and rural
19
Integrating Skills and Knowledge
 Formal education, training, and work experience in ISs as
well as in the functional area that the system supports, such
as finance.
 Technology
 hardware, software, networking
 Business
 business, management, social, communications
 Systems
 Integration, development methods, critical thinking, problem
solving
20
Hot Skills in IS Workers
 Office / E-mail
 Languages
 Applications
 RDBS Administration
 Development Tools
 Internet working
 Operating Systems
 Networking
21
The Dual Nature of IS
 Systems can dictate success or failure
 companies with bad business models tend to fail
regardless of whether they use IT or not.
 companies that have good business models and use IT
successfully to carry out those business models tend to be
very successful.
 Amazon.com, Best Buy, Citigroup, PepsiCo, Herman Miller,
Cisco, Progressive Casualty Insurance, Marriott, FedEx, GE,
Southwest Airlines, and Starbucks.
22
IS for Competitive Advantage
 Strategic Systems, competitive or not?
 Competition: doing things faster, better, cheaper
 How can systems gain one’s organization a competitive
advantage?
 Being able to understand both the business needs of the
organization and the way in which IS-based solutions can meet
these needs will provide you with a competitive advantage in
the job market P-76.
23
IS Ethics-1
1. Information privacy is concerned with what
information an individual should have to reveal to
others in the workplace or through other transactions,
such as online shopping.
2. Information accuracy concerned with ensuring the
authenticity of information as well as with identifying
who is responsible for informational errors that harm
people.
24
IS Ethics-2
3. Information property focuses on who owns
information about individuals and how that information
can be sold and exchanged.
4. Information accessibility focuses on defining what
information a person or organization has the right to
obtain about others and how this information can be
accessed and used.
25
26
Digital Divide-1
 The gap between those individuals in our society who are
computer literate and have access to information
resources like the Internet and those who do not.
 the gap in America is rapidly shrinking
 the gap gets even wider, and the obstacles get much more
difficult to overcome, particularly in the developing
countries, One Laptop per Child (OLPC).
27
Digital Divide-2
 Mobile technology may be a promising way to reduce the
digital divide.
 affordable Internet access or efficient electronic payment
methods like credit cards.
28
Business Career Outlook
 increasingly moving away from focusing exclusively on local
markets.
 “global skills” for operating in the digital world.
 Three strategies for improving your skills include the
following:
1. Gain International Experience (e.g., culture).
2. Learn More Than One Language.
3. Sensitize Yourself to Global Cultural and Political Issues.
29
Free economics are the Future of the Digital World
P-115
To demonstrate how free economics can be applied to a variety of
industries beyond Web e-mail or online searches
30
Online Banking
 Online banking has become the norm, with millions of
people logging onto their bank’s Web site to pay bills,
transfer money, or review transactions.
 the next wave of technology innovation within the banking
industry will be mobile banking.
 increased security through the application of various
encryption and authentications capabilities within the
advanced 4G communication networks.
 ultimately making the process of paying a bill as easy as
sending a text message to a friend.
31
32