BUSI 1401
Foundations of Information
Systems
Ch. 1. Introduction to Information Systems
Outline
• Course details
• Chapter 1: Introduction to Information Systems
Instructor
• Farid Siri
• Email: farid.siri@carleton.ca
• Office hours: Online upon request
Course Learning Objectives
 Develop basic skills for data analysis including programming, spreadsheets, and
databases.
 Understand what information systems are and the way they are used in
organizations.
 Explain the role information systems play in managerial decision-making.
 Understand the impact ICTs have on productivity, innovation, and strategy.
 Explain how information systems are used for competitive advantage.
 Assess the challenges associated with the management of information systems.
Textbook
• Introduction to Information Systems, 6th Canadian Edition
• R. Kelly Rainer, Brad Prince, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez, Sepideh Ebrahimi,
Ingrid Splettstoesser
• WILEY
• ISBN: 978-1-394-16416-5
Course Website
• Brightspace
• All the course material and communication will happen on Brightspace
• Make sure to check the course page frequently
Course Delivery
• Lecture slides will be posted on Brightspace before each session
• Slides contain content from the textbook and other sources
• Slides are comprehensive and designed to contain all important information
• Slides will be the main source for the exams; reading textbook is also
recommended
Software
Microsoft Excel
• This course requires either Microsoft Excel, from either Office 2019 or Office 365.
Instructions for obtaining Office 365 through your school email account are
provided on Brightspace.
PYTHON
• PYTHON 3.13.1 https://www.python.org/downloads/
• IDLE IDE (comes with Python 3.13.1)
Requirements and Evaluation
Deliverables
Release Date
Due Date
Weight
Excel Assignment
February 6
February 27 (11:59 pm)
15%
TBA (Midterm will be scheduled by university (week 7)note that it will take place outside of class time (which can
include Friday evening, Saturday or Sunday))
25%
Midterm Exam
Python Assignment
March 20
April 3 (11:59 pm)
Class Activities
Final Exam
15%
10%
Scheduled by University
35%
Other Course Details
• Make sure to read course outline carefully
• For instance, there are regulations around deferring exams
• Deferred Examinations/Assignments:
• If you wish to defer a Formal Final Exam, you – the student – must reach out to the registrar’s office with the proper
documentation prior to the deadline (please refer to https://carleton.ca/registrar/deferral/ for dates). Once the request has
been put through, your instructor will be notified for their approval. Your final exam will be formally scheduled. If you
miss the deadline for applying for a deferral, please reach out to your instructor personally to discuss.
• Deferred Midterm Date: Monday, March 10
• The ONLY date for a deferred midterm will be held on Monday, March 10 at 7:15 am in NI 4030. No other deferral
options will be considered.
Questions?
Chapter 1: Introduction to Information
Systems
Chapter Outline
Learning Objectives
1.1
Why Should I Study Information
Systems?
Identify why being an informed user of information
systems is important in today’s world
1.2
Overview of Computer-Based
Information Systems
Describe the various types of computer-based
information systems in an organization
1.3
How Does IT Impact Organizations?
Discuss ways in which information technology can
affect managers and nonmanagerial workers
1.4
Importance of Information Systems
to Society
Identify positive and negative societal effects of the
increased use of information technology
Introduction
• Information Technology (IT): any computer-based tool that people use to work with
information and support an organization’s information and information processing
needs
• Information Systems (IS): collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminate
information for a specific purpose.
1.1 Why Should I Study Information Systems?
• The Informed User—You!
• IT Offers Career Opportunities
• Managing Information Resources
The Informed User—You!
From being an informed user:
1.You benefit more when you understand what is “behind” IT applications
2.You can provide valuable input
3. You can recommend and help select IT applications
4. You will be aware of new technology
5. You understand how IT improves performance
6. Understanding IT is beneficial to entrepreneurs
Digital Transformation
• Organizations that you work with will be continually undertaking digital
transformation
• The business strategy that leverages IT to dramatically improve employee,
customer, and business partner relationships
• New technologies that enable digital transformation include:
• big data
• social computing
• cloud computing
• artificial intelligence
• and more
IT Offers Career Opportunities
• IT is vital to modern businesses, providing many lucrative career opportunities that
include:
• Programmers, business analysts, systems analysts, and designers
• The IS field includes:
• Designers and builders of IS
• Users of IS
• Managers of IS
• On top: CIO- Chief Information Officer
• Career opportunities will remain strong in the future
IS/IT Jobs Are In-Demand
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-andinformation-technology/
• Overall employment in computer and
information technology occupations is
projected to grow much faster than
the average for all occupations from
2023 to 2033.
• The median annual wage for this
group was $104,420 in May 2023,
which was higher than the median
annual wage for all occupations of
$48,060
Indeed (www.ca.indeed.com) - 15 highest paying jobs in
Canada in 2023
Job
#9 Software engineer manager
#10 Director of information
technology
#11 Software architect
#12 Enterprise architect
#15 Data scientist
Information Technology Jobs
Table 1.1., page 7 (textbook)
Information Technology Jobs
•These links also provide more details about careers in IT/IS:
www.computerworld.com/category/careers/
www.monster.ca
https://research.com/careers/information-systems-careers
Managing Information Resources
• Managing information systems in modern organizations is difficult and complex
because:
• ISs have an enormous strategic value to organizations
• ISs are very expensive to acquire, operate, and maintain
• Evolution of the MIS function within the organization
Responsibility For Managing Information Resources
• Divided between MIS personnel vs. end users
• This division depends on several factors:
• The size and nature of organization
• The amount and type of IT resources
• The organization’s attitude toward computing
• The attitudes of top managers toward computing
• And so on.
• Generally, the MIS department is responsible for corporate level and shared
resources, and the end users are responsible for departmental resources.
1.2 Overview of Computer-Based Information Systems (1 of 2)
• Different names for management information systems functional area, such as:
• MIS department, the IS department, the IT department, information services
department
• This functional area deals with:
• Planning, development, management, and use of IT tools
1.2 Overview of Computer-Based Information Systems (2 of 2)
• Recall: IS collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information for a
specific purpose.
• The purpose of information systems: getting the right information to the right
people, at the right time, in the right amount, and in the right format.
• Because information systems are intended to supply useful information, we need
to differentiate between information and two closely related terms: data and
knowledge
Data, Information, and Knowledge
• Data refer to an elementary description of things,
events, activities, and transactions that are
recorded, classified, and stored, but are not
organized to convey any specific meaning.
• Examples of data items are collections of numbers
(e.g., 3.11, 2.96, 3.95, 1.99, 2.08) and characters
(e.g., B, A, C, A, B, D, F, C).
• Data: 3.11
Data, Information, and Knowledge
• Information refers to data that have been
organized so that they have meaning and value to
the recipient.
• For example, a grade point average (GPA) by itself
is data, but a student’s name coupled with their
GPA is information.
• Information: 3.11 + John Jones =GPA (context:
university)
Data, Information, and Knowledge
• Knowledge consists of data and/or
information that have been organized and
processed to convey understanding,
experience, accumulated learning, and
expertise as they apply to a current
business problem.
• Students with grade point averages over
3.0 have experienced the greatest success
in its management program.
Data, Information, and Knowledge
Example:
• Data: 3.11
• Information: 3.11 + John Jones
=GPA (context: university)
• Knowledge: *Job prospect
Information Systems
• Computer based or paper based
Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS)
• Computer-based information
systems
• An information system that uses
computer technology to perform
some or all of its intended tasks
• Consist of hardware, software,
databases, networks,
procedures, and people.
Computer-Based Information Systems (CBIS)
Six basic components:
• Four information technology (IT)
components: hardware, software,
database, network
• Two non-IT components: procedures,
people
Information Technology Inside Your Organization
• IT components form the IT platform.
• IT personnel use IT platform: information
technology services
• At the top of the pyramid are the various
organizational information systems.
Types of Computer-Based Information Systems
Breadth of Support of Information Systems (1 of 3)
• Each department or functional area within an organization has its own collection of
application programs, or information systems.
• Functional Area Information Systems (FAIS), also known as a departmental
information system; examples:
• Human resources (HR) IS
• Accounting IS
• Finance IS
• Marketing IS
• Production/operations management (POM) IS
Breadth of Support of Information Systems (2 of 3)
• Two information systems support the entire organization:
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
• Provide communication among functional area ISs through an integrated
database
• Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
• Support the monitoring, collection, storage, and processing of data from the
organization’s day-to-day operations for basic business transactions
Breadth of Support of Information Systems (3 of 3)
• Interorganizational Information Systems (IOS): information systems that connect
two or more organizations
• Support many interorganizational operations
• Examples include:
• Supply chain management (SCM) systems
• Electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems
Support for Organizational Employees (1 of 2)
All types of workers require support from information systems:
• Clerical workers
• Managers (lower level, middle)
• Knowledge workers
• Executives
Support for Organizational Employees (2 of 2)
Type of System
Function
Example
Transaction processing system
Processes transaction data from terminal
Walmart checkout point-of-sale business events
Enterprise resource planning
Integrates all functional areas of the organization
Oracle, SAP system
Functional area IS
Supports the activities within specific functional
area
System for processing payroll
Decision support system
Provides access to data and analysis tools
“What-if” analysis of changes in budget
Expert system
Mimics human expert in a particular area and
makes decisions
Credit card approval analysis
Dashboards
Present structured, summarized information about
aspects of business important to executives
Status of sales by product
Supply chain management system
Manages flows of products, services, and
information among organizations
Walmart Retail Link system connecting suppliers to
Walmart
Electronic commerce system
Enables transactions among organizations and
between organizations and customers
www.dell.com
1.3 How Does IT Impact Organizations?
• For most organizations, if their information systems fail, then they cease
operations until the problems are found and fixed.
• Examples of failed IS:
• December 2022: SickKids Cyberattack
• Mid-January 2016: Nest Smart Thermostat (Google)
• August 2016: Delta Airline- cost: approximately US $150 million.
IT Impacts Entire Industries
• Software is impacting every industries
(1) industries where software disrupted the previous market-leading companies and
(2) industries where a new company (or companies) used software to achieve a
competitive advantage.
IT Impacts Entire Industries: Examples
• Book industry
• Music industry
• Video industry
• Software industry
• Video game industry
• Photography industry
• Marketing industry
• Recruiting industry
• Financial services
• Automobile industry
• Agriculture industry
• Fashion industry
• Legal profession
IT Reduces the Number of Middle Managers
• IT makes managers more productive and increases the number of employees
reporting to a single manager
• So, IT reduces the number of middle managers required
IT Changes the Manager’s Job
• Decision making is the most important managerial task
• IT changes the way managers make decisions
• IT provides near real-time information
• Managers have less time to make decisions
• IT provides tools for analysis to assist in decision making and in handling high
volumes of information
IT Impacts Employees’ Health and Safety
• Both positive and negative
• Negative:
• Job stress/work-life balance
• Eye strain and repetitive strain injuries (RSI)
• Positive:
• Remote work and flexibility
• Provides opportunities for people with disabilities
• Ergonomics office designs
1.4 Importance of Information Systems to Society
• IT Affects Our Quality of Life
• The Robot Revolution Is Here Now
• IT Impacts Health Care
IT Affects Our Quality of Life
• IT has changed the way we live and work
• Easier access to everything
• Mobile banking, mobile shopping, GPS, etc.
• Smartphones provide constant access to text, email, and voice communications
• The lines between time at work and leisure time at home have become blurred
The Robot Revolution is Here Now
• Autonomous devices have become increasingly common on factory floors, in
hospital corridors, and in farm fields.
• Some examples:
• Drones (unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV))
• Autonomous vehicles
Video-LoweBots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP3yfGHTXFo&t=2s&ab_channel=Lowe%27sHomeI
mprovement
https://www.businessinsider.com/lowes-tests-egg-shapedautonomous-robots-patrol-lots-theft-crime-2023-3
Video-How Drones Are Disrupting the Mining Industry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy37_FXVfFU&ab_channel=Mining2Me
IT Impacts Health Care
• IT is used in health care to:
• Make better and faster diagnoses
• Streamline the process of researching and developing new drugs
• Allow surgeons to use virtual reality to plan complex surgeries, and use robots
to remotely perform surgery
IT Impacts Health Care
https://health.google/
https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/06/22
/how-leveraging-the-power-of-ai-is-changingthe-way-moderna-vaccines-are-made-anddistribut
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-pfizerusing-artificial-intelligence-technologydetailed/