THE INFORMATION AGE
IN WHICH YOU LIVE

Information age- a time when knowledge is power.

Knowledge worker-works with and produces information
as a product.

major in marketing, accounting, human resource management
or many other specialization in a business program and
preparing to enter the business world.

Knowledge workers use information technology to work
with information.
online banking
 paying bills online


Telecommuting- the use of communications technologies
(such as internet) to work in a place other than the central
location.

customer self-service systems – those systems that customers
use to process their own transactions.
THREE KEY RESOURCES OF MIS
 Information
 People
 Information
technology
INFORMATION AS A KEY RESOURCE


Knowledge comes from having timely access to information and
knowing what to do with it.
DATA,INFORMATION, AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
PERSONAL DIMENSION OF INFORMATION



TIME DIMENSION-access to information when needed
LOCATION DIMENSION-access to info. Whenever you are
FORM DIMENSION
Audio, video, text, images, ect,
 Free of errors.

ORGANIZATIONAL DIMENSION OF INFORMATION

These include information flows, information
granularity, what information describes, and how
information is use.
INFORMATION FLOWS
Four direction
 up
 Down
 Horizontally
 inward/outward.
STRUCTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION
IN/OUT
CURRENT STATE
OF THE
ORGANIZATION
UP
Strategic management
DOWN
CUSTOMERS,
SUPPLIERS,
AND OTHER
PARTNERS
COARSE
Tactical management
INFORMATION
GRANULARITY
Operational management
STRATEGIES,
GOALS, AND
DIRECTIVES
Non management employees
FINE
HORIZONTAL
BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL BUSINESS UNITS AND WORK TEAMS
WHAT INFORMATION DESCRIBES
Information can be internal, external, objective, subjective,
or some combination of four.

Ex. A bank that faces decision about what interest rate to be offer on a
CD.
Internal – how many customers it has who can afford to
buy a CD.
 External- what rate other banks are offering.
 Objective- what is today’s prime interest rate
 Subjective- what prime interest rate is expected in the
future.

PEOPLE AS THE KEY RESOURCE

The single most important resource in any organization
is its people.
Information-literate knowledge workers
 Can define what information they need.
 Know how and where to obtain that information.
 Understand the information once they receive it (i.e., can
transform it into business intelligence).
 Can act appropriately based on the information to help
the organization achieve the greatest advantage.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A KEY
RESOURCE
There are two basic categories of technology:
 Hardware - consists of the physical devices that make
up a computer.

Software - is the set of instructions that your hardware
executes to carry out a specific task.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
HARDWARE
SOFTWARE
INPUT DEVICE
-MOUSE
-BAR CODE SCANNER
OUTPUT DEVICE
-MONITOR
-PRINTER
STORAGE DEVICE
-DVD
-FLASH MEMORY
CPU AND RAM
-THE BRAINS OF
YOUR
COMPUTER
TELECOMMUNIC
ATIONS DEVICE
-MODEM
-SATELLITE
CONNECTING
DEVICE
-PORT
-CORD
APPLICATION
SOFTWARE
-WORD
-INVENTORY
PAYROLL
SYSTEM
SOFTWARE
-TECHNOLOGY
MANEGEMENT
-COORDINATION
OPERATING
SYSTEM SOTWARE
-WINDOWS
-MAC
-LINUX
UTILITY
SOFTWARE
-ANTI-VIRUS
-DISK
OPTIMIZATION
DECENTRALIZED COMPUTING, SHARED
INFORMATION, AND MOBILE COMPUTING

DECENTRALIZED COMPUTING
This is possible because of the proliferation of less
expensive, more powerful, smaller systems including
tablet PC’s, notebooks, desktops computers, mini
computers, and servers.

SHARED INFORMATION
Shared information for example in sales department
enables people to access work-in-progress manufacturing
information to determine which products will be
available to ship.
TO SUPPORT SHARED INFORMATION, MOST BUSINESS
ORGANIZE INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF DATABASE.
SALES
PRODUCTION
HUMAN
RESOURCES
DATA
BASE
DISTRIBUTION
M-COMMERCE
ACCOUNTING
MOBILE COMPUTING
example, m-commerce – the term used to
describe electronic commerce conducted over a
wireless device such as cell phone, PDA, or
notebook.
 For
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN SUPPORT OF
BUSINESS
Competitive advantage is providing a product or service in
a way that customers value more than what the
competition is able to do.
 Transaction Processing System (TPS)- a system that
processes transactions within organization.
 Customer self-service system- an extension of TPS that
places technology in the hands of an organization’s
customers and allows them to process their own
transactions.
TRANSATION PROCESSING
DATABASES
AND CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE SYSTEMS
PRODUCT
ORDERING
CUSTOMER
AFTERSALES
SERVICE
DBMS
SOFTWARE
INVENTORY
INVENTORY
MANAGEMENT
SUPPLIER
SHIPPING
EXTENDED LEARNING MODULE A
Computer Hardware
and
Software
INTRODUCTION
In this extended learning module, we cover the basics of
computer hardware and software, including
terminology, characteristics of various devices, and
how all the parts work together to create a complete
and usable computer system.
Information Technology (IT) is any computerbased tool that people use to work with information
and support the information and informationprocessing needs of an organization.
A QUICK TOUR OF TECHNOLOGY
Two basic categories of information technology
• Hardware - consists of the physical devices
that make up a computer.
• Software - is the set of instructions that your
hardware executes to carry out a specific
task for you.
SIX CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER HARDWARE
Input
 Output
 Storage
 Processing
 Telecommunication
 Connecting

INPUT

Input devices are tools you use to enter information
and commands.
OUTPUT

Output devices are tools you use to see, hear, or
otherwise recognize the results of your
information-processing requests.
STORAGE

Storage devices are tools you use to store information
for use at a later time.
PROCESSING
Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the actual
hardware that interprets and executes the
software insturctions and coordinates the
operation of all other hardware.
 Random Access Memory (RAM) is a temporary
holding area for the information you’re working
with.

TELECOMMUNICATION

Telecommunications device is a tool you use to send
information to and receive it from another person
or
computer in a network.
CONNECTING

Connecting hardware include such things as
parallel ports into which you would connect a
printer and connector cords to connect your printer
to the parallel port.
THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF SOFTWARE
Application Software
 System Software
 Includes
 Operating System Software
 Utility Software


Operating system software is system software that
controls
your
application
software
and
manages how your hardware devices work
together.

Utility software is software that provides additional
functionality to your operating system software.
CATEGORIES OF COMPUTERS BY SIZE
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)
 Tablet PC
 Notebook Computer
 Desktop computer
 Minicomputers (mid-range computer)
 Mainframe computer
 Supercomputer


Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) is a small
handheld computer that helps you surf the
Web
and
perform simple tasks such as note taking, calendaring,
appointment scheduling, and maintaining an address
book.

Tablet PC is a pen-based computer that provides the
screen capabilities of a PDA with the
functional
capabilities of a notebook or desktop
computer.

Notebook Computer is a small, portable,
functional, battery-powered computer.
fully

Desktop computer is the most popular choice for
personal computing needs.

Minicomputers (mid-range computer) is designed
to meet the computing needs of several people
simultaneously in a small to medium-size
business environment.

Mainframe computer is a computer designed to meet
the computing needs of hundreds of
people in a
large business environment.

Supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful, and most
expensive type of computer.
SOFTWARE: YOUR INTELLECTUAL
INTERFACE
Application software
 System software

APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Personal productivity software
10 Major Categories of Personal Productivity Software
o Word Processing
o Spreadsheet
o Desktop Publishing
o Personal Information Management (PIM)
o Personal Finance
o Web Authoring
o Graphics
o Communications
o Database Management System (DBMS)

Personal productivity software helps you perform personal
tasks-such as writing a memo, creating graph, and creating a
slide presentation – that you can usually do even if you
don't own a computer.
 Word Processing – helps you create papers, letters, memos,
and other basic documents.
 Spreadsheet – helps you work primarily with numbers,
including performing calculations and creating graphs.
 Presentation – helps you create and edit information that will
appear in eletronic slides.
 Desktop Publishing – extends word processing software by
including design and formatting techniques to enhance the
layout and appearance of a document.
 Personal Information Management (PIM) – helps you create
and maintain: to-do lists, appointments and calendars and
points of contact.





Personal Finance – helps you maintain your checkbook,
prepare a budget, track investments, monitor your credit card
balances, and pay bills electronically.
Web Authoring – helps you design and develop Web Sites and
pages that you publish on the Web.
Graphics – helps you create and edit photos and art.
Communications – helps you communicate with other people.
Database Management System (DBMS) – helps you specify
the logical organization for a database and access and use the
information within a database.
TWO OTHER CATEGORIES OF APPLICATION
SOFTWARE
Vertical market software - is application software that
is unique to a particular industry.
 Horizontal market software - is application software
that is general enough to be suitable for use in a
variety of industries.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
Two basic categories of system software
Operating System Software
 Utility Software

Operating system software is a system software that
controls your application software and manages
how your hardware devices work together.
 Multitasking
 Popular personal operating systems
 Microsoft Windows XP
 Home
 Microsoft Windows XP
 Mac OS
 Linux

Multitasking allows you to work with more than one
piece of software at a time.
 Popular personal operating systems
 Microsoft Windows XP Home – enhanced features
for allowing multiple people to use the same
computer and it designed for home users.
 Microsoft Windows XP Professional – is designed
for business and power-users.
 Mac OS – The operating system for today's Apple
computers.
 Linux – an open-source operating system that
provides a rich operating environment for high-end
workstation and network servers.


Utility software is software that adds functionality to
your operating system software.
 Types of utility software
 Anti-virus software
 Crash-proof software
 Uninstaller software
 Disk optimization software
TYPES OF UTILITY SOFTWARE
Anti-virus software is utility software that detects and
removes or quarantines computer viruses.
 Crash-proof software – helps you save information if
your system crashes and you're forced to run it off and
then back on again.
 Uninstaller software – you can use to remove software
from your hard disk that you no longer want.
 Disk optimization software – organizes your information
on your hard disk in the most efficient way.

HARDWARE: YOUR PHYSICAL INTERFACE
To properly understand the significant role of your
hardware, it helps to know something about how your
computer works. You work with information in the
form of characters and numbers. Computers, on the
other hand, work only with 1s and 0s in terms of bits
and bytes.

Binary digit (bit) is the smallest unit of information
that your computer can process.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange) is one who agreed-upon standard the
represent natural language characters, special symbols,
and numbers in binary form. ASCII is the coding
system that most personal computers use to represent,
process, and store information.

Byte is a group of eight bits represents one natural
language character.
INPUT DEVICES
The common input devices
Keyboard
Styluses
Pointing Devices
Mouse
Trackball
Touchpad
Game Controllers
Gaming Wheel
Joystick
Gamepad
Scanners
Image Scanner
Bar Code Scanner
Optical Mark Reader
Optical Character
Reader
Biometric Scanner
Digital Cameras
Digital Still
Cameras
Digital Video
Microphones
Camera
COMMON OUTPUT DEVICES
An output device is a tool you use to see, hear or
otherwise recognize the results of your informationprocessing requests. The most common output devices
for both business and personal computing
environments are monitors and printers, but speakers
and plotters are also output devices. Any device that
converts the digital form of information in a computer
to something that you can see, read or hear is an
output device.
MONITORS

Monitors come in two varieties:
 CRT
 Flat-panel display
 Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors
 Gas plasma displays
IMPORTANT FEATURES IN SELECTING
MONITOR
The viewable image size (VIS
 The resolution of a screen
 Dot pitch

PRINTERS
Printers are another common type of output device. The
sharpness and clarity of a printer’s output depend on
the printer’s resolution. The resolution of a printer is
the number of dots per inch (dpi) it produces.
 Inkjet printers
 Laser printers
 Multifunction printers
COMMON STORAGE DEVICES
As opposed to RAM, which temporary memory,
storage media don’t lose their contents when you turn
off your computer. The main issues to consider when
choosing a storage medium are:
 Whether you want portability
 How much storage space you need
 Whether you need to change the information on the
medium
 Capacities of storage media are measured in
megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes.

MAGNETIC STORAGE MEDIA INCLUDE:
Hard disk – a magnetic storage device.
 Zip disk – a high capacity (100 Meg, 250 Meg, and 750
Meg) removable storage medium
 Floppy disk – a removable magnetic storage.

OPTICAL STORAGE MEDIA
CD-ROM (Compact disc – read-only memory)
 CD-R (compact disc – recordable)
 CD-RW (compact disc – rewritable)
 DVD-ROM
 DVD-R or DVD+R (DVD – recordable)
 DVD-RW or DVD+RW (depending on the
manufacturer)

FLASH MEMORY COMES IN TWO VARIETIES:
Flash Memory Device
 Flash Memory Cards
 There are different types:
 xD-Picture (xD ) cards
 Secure Digital (SD) cards and MultimMediaCards
(MMC)
 CompactFlash (CF) cards
 SmartMedia (SM) cards
 Memory Stick Media cards

CPU AND RAM





The central processing unit (CPU) is the hardware that
interprets and executes the system and application software
instructions and coordinates the operation of all other
hardware.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
CPU speed is usually quoted in gigahertz.
Gigahertz (GHz)
A CPU cycle (machine cycle) consists of:
 Retrieve an instructions
 Decode the instructions
 Execute the instructions
 Store the result in RAM
CPU clock, which is simply a sliver of quartz that beats at
regular intervals in response to an electrical charge. The
beat of the CPU clock is like the drummer in a marching
band. Just as the drummer keeps everyone marching in
time, the CPU clock keeps all your computer’s
operations synchronized. Each beat or tick of the CPU
clock is called a clock cycle and is equivalent to a CPU
cycle (machine cycle).
RAM is a sort of chalkboard that your CPU uses while it
processes information and software instructions. When
you turn off you computer, everything in RAM
disappears – that’s why we call it “temporary.” When
you first start your computer, system instructions that are
necessary to keep your computer running get written into
RAM.
CONNECTING THE HARDWARE
OUTSIDE TO THE HARDWARE INSIDE
Wired Connections
 There are various types of connectors/ports including:
 USB (Universal serial bus) port
 Firewire ports
 PS/2 ports
 Parallel ports
 Wireless Connections
 Infrared
 Bluetooth
 WiFi (wireless fidelity)

EXPANSION CARDS AND SLOTS
An expansion card (or board)
 An expansion slot
 The expansion bus is the set of path ways along
which information moves between devices outside the
motherboard and the CPU.
