Asper School of Business - MBA Program
6150 Management of Information Systems & Technology
April-June 2007
Instructor: Bob Travica
Class 1
The Importance of
Information Technology & Systems Management
Updated April 2007
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
1 of 19
Outline
•
Importance of Management of Information Technology & Systems
•
Concepts of IT and of IS
•
What ISes affect your professional life? (practice link, discussion)
•
Organizational and IS themes & Trends
•
Historical development of IS function in organizations
•
Concepts of data, information, and knowledge
•
Guidelines in study of Management of Information Technology & Systems
•
Summary
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
2 of 19
Importance of Management of Information Technology & Systems
• Management of information technology (IT) and
information systems (ISes) is similar to “Management
Information Systems” (MIS)
• Managing IT/IS as a management vehicle for accomplishing
organizational goals (strategic perspective)
vs.
• Managing IT/IS at operational level
• IT/IS as asset, “strategic weapon”, tool, “nervous system”,
commodity…
More…
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
3 of 19
• What do we mean by IT?
Any tool for manipulating information in broad sense – electronic
(computer software and hardware, paper trail)
• What do we mean by IS?
(see next slide)
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
4 of 19
What do we mean by information system (IS)?
Information Technology (IT)
(Computer & Other* Hardware,
Computer Software)
Often
neglected
part
Data,
IS
Use
Procedures
Information,
Knowledge
”Supports”
Use
Users
(Organizational members:
Managers, Professionals, Clerks)
Task, Process
Perform on
* Other Hardware = “paper trail”
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
5 of 19
Practice link E
What ISes affect your professional life?
• What do the ISes support?
• How do the ISes affect you?
• What is good about the systems?
• What could be improved?
These question can also initiate your thinking about a
topic of your paper.
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
6 of 19
Contemporary Organizational/IS Themes
• Electronic Commerce/Business (Internet, linking back-end
systems to Internet interface b/w organization and environment)
• Globalization (markets and trade; global computer networks)
• Changing perceptions of time (what is “present”; real time data)
• Focus on intellectual capital, knowledge (knowledge tech,
communication tech.)
• Changes in organizations (teams, flattening, any time/any
space-operations; groupware, communication tech.)
More…
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
7 of 19
• Organization webs, alliances, ecosystems (EDI, networks, ERP)
• Deregulation, competition, privatization of telecommunications
• Demand-Pull (product customization/personalization;
support of programmable machinery)
• Customer-centric and network-centric business (tech. support)
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
8 of 19
Technological Trends
• Moore’s Law (IT capabilities double in 17 month-intervals)
• Home-grown software, outsourced development (“off-shoring”)
off-the-shelf products, Application Software Providers
• Proprietary vs. open standards
• Internet-centric ISes (storage, distributed services, virtualization)
• Systems integration: old/new topic (1980s, ERP systems; intranet)
• Wireless & mobile systems
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
More
9 of 19
Development of IS Function (MeadWestvaco case)
- Centralized mainframe data processing centre (1960s)
- Decentralization (mini-computers 1970s, PCs 1980s, networks,
Client-Server models)
- Recentralization (ERP)
- Transactions  office work  decision making 
professional work
- Role of IS function: Support to operations  Strategic business
partner; interfacing with business and vendors/outsourcing
partners; shared IT governance.
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
10 of 19
Data, Information, Knowledge
• Conceptual Relationships – simple just in textbooks 
Data
Information
(Meaningful data,
meaning)
Knowledge
(Complex whole of
interconnected information;
theories, conceptual maps,
procedures, experience)
• NOTE: Term “information” also used in broad sense to mean
data, meaning (information in narrower sense), & knowledge
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
11 of 19
Comparisons
low
high
Complexity, C/B
Focus in IS Development
Represent knowledge
Make data more meaningful
(querying, reporting)
Store, organize, transform
1950
1970
1990
(but
roots older)
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
12 of 19
Users
Organizational members that use IT, data / information/
knowledge, and IS procedures.
Clerks
Managers, Professionals
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
13 of 19
Guidelines in Study of Management of Information Technology & Systems
(Strategic Alignment Model)
Professionals,
Managers, Clerks
Use
Provide Requirements Information Technology
(Software & Hardware)
System
Development
Data, Information,
Knowledge
Design & Build
Expertise
Information
System Function
Procedures of handling
IT and data/information
Organizational
• Performance
• Market Positioning
• Design
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
14 of 19
Guidelines in Study of Management of Information Technology & Systems
(Information View of Organization IVO Framework, IVO Eye)
Org. Goals & Issues
IVO Eye builds on…
3. Sharper focus on
information & IT
Individuals
1. Classic org. views
Homo Informaticus
Org.
Processes
Work
Groups
IS Design/Development
Group
Informatics
Org.
Structure
Infoprocesses
DATA
MEANING
KNOWLEDGE
WISDOM
IS
Use
Infostructure
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
IS
IS
Management
Evaluation
Infoculture
2. Classic MIS issues
IS
Adoption
Org.
Culture
Org.
Economics
Infoeconomics
Infopolitics
Org.
Politics
(Travica, 2003, 2005, forthcoming)
4. New aspects
at intersection of
these three
15 of 19
Summary 1/4
• Managing IT/IS as a management at strategic level is the vehicle
(“strategic weapon”, “nervous system”) for accomplishing
organizational goals (effectiveness).
• Managing IT/IS at operational level (tool) is part and parcel of
organizing and performing daily work in efficient manner.
• IT refers to machines, devices and simple tools for manipulating
data/information. Thus manipulation includes creating, collecting,
filtering, storing, organizing, transforming, transferring, and discarding.
Examples are computer (our focus), overhead projector, & paper and pencil.
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
16 of 19
Summary 2/4
• IS is a whole consisted of IT, system procedures, and data that delivers
information (meaningful data). (slide 5)
• IS users are important part of MIS (slide 5, 12)
• Information and knowledge are often neglected parts while IT is
emphasized (a weakness of mainstream MIS textbooks including ours).
• By organizing and transforming data, computer contributes to
meaningfulness of data. Still, meaning occurs only in human cognition.
• Similarly, computer can represent knowledge (e.g., a decision tree in
expert systems) but knowledge is only in human brain (slides 5, 11, 12).
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
17 of 19
Summary 3/4
• It is useful to think of ISes that affect your professional work, how they
impact on you, and what their ups and dons are. This perspective prepares
you for this course and for its term paper assignment in particular.
- Discussed example: Email systems are part of everyday job
and may pose problems, such as email inflation.
• Modern IT/IS are involved in key trends of our time, including
e-commerce, globalization, changing perceptions of time, and significant
changes in organizing (slides 7, 8).
• Current technological trends include Internet, Internet-centric
systems, and wireless communications.
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
18 of 19
Summary 4/4
• The organization of the IS function in firms has moved through
several historical stages outlined in MeadWestvaco case (slide 10).
• Various analytical models and frameworks can be used for
understanding the relationship between IT/IS and organization.
- A model for studying IS from a strategic stance (slide 14).
- A framework showing relationships b/w organization/management
aspects and IS issues (slide 15).
6150 Management of Information Systems and Technology
19 of 19