Managing People, Processes, and Technology - compare and contrast Management Information
Systems to managing in other related disciplines
Barath Peram
CS521
Peter Smolianski
01-20-2022
Management Information Systems is very closely related to other disciplines like
Information Technology and Computer Science. Although it might seem like the disciplines
are similar to each other, there are many differences between them when it comes to the aspects
that are managed and dealt with in each of these fields.
Management Information Systems or simply Information Systems is a discipline in
which computer science and business technologies are bridged together. When it comes to
managing information systems, it includes making use of data stored in databases to improve
performance of a certain project or infrastructure, record the data for further use and make
decisions accordingly.
Undoubtedly, Information Systems also has Hardware and Software parts along with
three other primary facets which are database, people and network. The functions of
Information Systems generally involve input, process, control, output and feedback.
Technically, for managing Information Systems, skills that are used include security and safety
of technology information, programming and analytics, editing and managing the various types
of information required in an efficient way which may be used for further improvements.
Information systems may differ according to the organizational level also. For example,
a system that can be operational management level is Transactional Processing System;
generally for obtaining routine data. Decision Support Systems are another major example of
Information Systems which are useful for problem solving purposes.
When it comes to the field of computation, Computer Science is the most common and
basic one having both practical and theoretical aspects. Computer Science includes
computation science, data structures, calculus, writing algorithms, programming and operating
systems. This being said, it is evident that managing of Computer Science is more about using
mathematics for coding, designing and developing of various systems to run efficiently. Hence,
programming and designing would likely be a part of practical realm whereas integration would
be part of theoretical realm.
Computer Science discipline has three main arms which are: software design, problem
solving and utilizing digital technologies and computers for various purposes like robotics,
artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, webpage and application development
and much more. Managing of Computer Science would require coding, configuration, testing
and adaptability of the software technologies according to hardware being used and purpose.
Computer Science has been growing ever since the advent of computer and has
facilitated various kinds of technologies and other branches like Information Systems, etc.
Computer Science is the creation of hardware and software whereas Information Technology
is an integration or rather a selection of suitable technologies for the task at hand.
The discipline of Computer Science is very vast and is almost used where ever digital
data is involved. For example, Computer Science is the backbone of user interface in artificial
intelligence because it mainly includes training the machine, with the help of different
programming languages, with respect to its surroundings and the user.
Information Technology is like a sub-division of Information Systems but deals more
with the technology that is involved in the systems rather than the coding and networking
aspects. That means it includes the study, design and management of Information Systems;
mainly computer systems and telecommunication systems. Like Information Systems,
Information Technology also includes hardware, software, database and networks.
Information technology also plays a very important role in Computer Science because
Information Systems also deals with the installing of various systems and applications, their
management and improvement. Computer Science education might not be required for
managing Information Technology, whereas Information Technology education is like a
building block for Computer Science.
One of the best examples of how and where Information Technology is managed is
Cloud Storage. Cloud Storage is a decentralized platform where individuals or organizations
can store their data on remote servers and access it from anywhere.
Crowdsourcing is another example of Information Technology where a number of tasks
are available for a group of individuals which can usually be completed through a website via
internet.
Therefore, the major difference when it comes to Information Technology is that it
deals more with improving technology and its utilization but Information System brings
together the technology, people and business. It can also be seen that both Information
Technology and Computer Science are heavily based on technology and seem like very similar
disciplines but there are definitely some differences because Computer Science is more about
designing the technology or system according to requirements whereas Information
Technology is more about integrating various systems, maintaining their efficient working and
working with vendors to deliver these technologies for different applications.
It is true that the three disciplines have many differences among them but it is also true
that all the three disciplines are inter-related to each other and go hand in hand with each other.
This is because any technological innovation in modern times requires Computer Science for
programming, designing and developing a software or application, Information Technology to
select and integrate the suitable technologies developed and Information Systems to manage
the input and output data, process it and also provide necessary feedback which would help in
further improvement. This entire package altogether is the service that will be utilized by the
user or organization.
References:
1. Matthew Martin .(2019). Types of Information System: MIS, TPS, DSS, Pyramid
Diagram.
https://www.guru99.com/mis-types-information-system.html
2. Ashley DeFranza .(2020). Computer Science v/s Information Technology: What’s the
difference?
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/computer-science-vs-it/
3. Florida Tech: Information System v/s Information Technology.
4. Kaushik Bhaumik .(2019). What’s the difference? Computer Science vs Information
Technology.
https://www.fieldengineer.com/blogs/whats-the-difference-computer-science-vsinformation-technology
5. Jennifer W Eisenberg .(2019). Choosing a technology degree: Computer Science vs
Information Systems vs Information Technology.
https://www.onlinecoursereport.com/choosing-a-technology-degree-computerscience-vs-information-systems-vs-information-technology/
6. Staff Writer .(2020). What are examples of Information Technology
https://www.reference.com/world-view/examples-information-technologyd9834e744c81b202