Organizational
Information Systems
Chapter 7
Chapter Objectives
• Describe characteristics that differentiate
operational, managerial, and executive levels
• Explain characteristics of the three levels of
IS: TPS, MIS, and EIS
• Describe characteristics of three IS that span
levels: DSS, expert systems, and office
automation
• Explain the general IS needs of organizational
functional areas
Different Types of Information
Require Different Types of Systems
• Organizational levels
– Operational
– Managerial
– Executive
• Different levels have different
information needs
Levels of an Organization
Operational Level
• Where the routine day-to-day interaction
with customers occurs
• Information system
– Automates repetitive activities
– Improves efficiency of the customer
interface
• Decisions
– Highly structured
– Repetitive
Operational Level
Managerial Level
• Where functional managers monitor
operations
• Information system
– Provides summary information of
operational activities
• Decisions
– Moderately complex
– Time horizon up to a few months
– Semi-structured
Managerial Level
Executive Level
• Where long-term strategic issues are
decided
• Information systems
– Aggregate summaries
– Statistical analyses, trends, and projections
• Decisions
– Very complex
– Long-term ramifications
– Unstructured
Executive Level
General Types of Information
Systems
• All Information Systems use the basic
systems model
– Input, process, and output
• Levels of business information systems
– Transaction Processing Systems
– Management Information Systems
– Executive Information Systems
Transaction Processing
Systems
• Process business transactions
– Transactions: events that occur as a regular
part of business day-to-day operations
• Used at operational level
• Goals
– Automate repetitive information processing
activities to increase speed and accuracy
– Lower the cost of processing
– Make the organization more efficient
Activities of TPS
• Payroll processing
• Sales
– Online
– Batch
Architecture of a Transaction
Processing System
Forms of TPS Data Entry
• Manual
• Semi-automated
• Fully automated
Management Information
Systems
• Support the ongoing decision-making
activities of a business or functional
area
• Used at managerial level
• Goals
– Help managers make more effective
decisions
– Get the right information to the right person
in the right format at the right time
Activities of MIS
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•
•
•
•
Sales forecasting
Financial management and forecasting
Manufacturing planning and scheduling
Inventory management and planning
Advertising and product pricing
Architecture of a Management
Information System
Executive Information
Systems
• Provide information for long-term
decision making
• Used at executive level
• Goals
– To provide aggregate information
– To provide information that can be quickly
scanned for trends and anomalies
Activities of EIS
• Executive-level decision-making
• Long-range and strategic planning
• Monitoring internal and external events,
and resources
• Crisis management
• Staffing and labor relations
Architecture of an Executive
Information System
Information Systems that Span
Organizational Boundaries
•
•
•
•
Decision support systems
Expert systems
Office automation systems
Functional area IS
Boundary-spanning IS
Decision Support Systems
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•
•
•
•
Special-purpose systems
Designed to solve a recurring problem
Support semi-structured problems
Use decision analysis tools
Allows user to examine alternative
solutions
– What-if analysis
Architecture of a Decision
Support System
Expert Systems
• Use knowledge of a subject to solve
problems or provide advise
• Mimic human expertise
• Human knowledge represented by
codifying facts and rule
• Examples
– Financial planning
– Computer help desk
Architecture of a Expert System
Office Automation Systems
• Develop documents
– Word processing
– Desktop publishing
• Schedule resources
– Electronic calendars
• Communicate
– Electronic and voice mail
– Video conferencing
– Groupware
Architecture of an Office
Automation System
Functional Area Information
Systems