MIS 2101 –
Management Information Systems
Summer 1, 2012
Based on material from Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World, Leonard Jessup and
Joseph Valacich, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007
Also includes material by David Schuff, Paul Weinberg, and Cindy Joy Marselis.
Primary Course Objectives:
•Explain the role of technology as a business
enabler
•Identify and explain applications in a business
setting
•Evaluate the organizational fit and suitability of
business applications
•Interpret the interaction between technology,
customers, processes, data, infrastructure,
participants and environment in an organization
Text Books
Leonard Jessup, and Joseph Valacich.
Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World,
3rd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2008.
ISBN: 0132335069
*** Note that you may use the 3rd, 4th, 5th, or a custom edition of this text created for Temple University.
Ellen Monk and Bret Wagner.
Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning. 2nd Edition.
ISBN: 0-619-21663-8, 2006.
*** Note that you may use the 2nd or 3rd edition of this text.
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Grading
4
Item
Percent of Total Points
Midterm Exam
33.1/3%
Final Exam
33.1/3%
Assignments
33.1/3%
Total
100%
1-4
Assignments & Exams
•Listed in the syllabus and will be available on the blog
•Assignments should be printed out and handed in at the
beginning of class. Late or emailed assignments will not
be accepted.
•Assignments will be graded as follows:
0/ Fail / Pass / Pass High
•Midterm – In class – Weeks 1-6
•Final – In class – Weeks 6.5-12
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1-5
In Class
•Come prepared to discuss the readings
•Say your name before you share
•You may be called upon randomly
•Classroom Etiquette:
•Please be on time
•Turn of your cell phones
•Hold your private discussions until after class
•Laptops, iPads are ok for now – let’s see how it goes.
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1-6
Class 1:
Managing in a Digital
World
MIS2101: Management Information Systems
Based on material from Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World, Leonard Jessup and
Joseph Valacich, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007
Also includes material by David Schuff, Paul Weinberg, and Cindy Joy Marselis.
“You can’t just ask people what they want and then try
to give it to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll
want something else”
Steve Jobs, Apple Computer (on pleasing customers)
8
1-8
Learning Objectives
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1-9
Learning Objectives
10
1-10
Characteristics of the Digital
World

The Knowledge Worker
Term coined by Peter Drucker in 1959
 An individual who is relatively well
educated and who creates, modifies
and/or synthesizes knowledge as a
fundamental part of a job


Knowledge Society

New Economy/Digital World
• Digital Divide
11
1-11
The Knowledge Society
Information
is now as
important as
land, labor
and capital.
12
1-12
Globalization
•

13
Globalization is the integration of economies throughout
the world, enabled by technological progress.
Globalization manifests itself through changes in economy,
cultures and technology.
1-13
Information Systems: Definition
14

What are the 6 key components of an information
system?

What do they do?

Why do they do them?

What is the definition of an information system?
1-14
Information Systems: Definition

Combination of five six
key elements:
 People
 Hardware
 Software
 Data
 Telecommunications
networks
 Processes
A set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process,
store, and distribute information to support decision making and
control in an organization.
15
. . . Source: Laudon, K & Laudon, J, Managing Information Systems
1-15
Six MIS Functions
Function
Description
Example
Capture
Obtain
representation of
info in a form for
transmission and
storage
Keyboard, bar code scanner,
document scanner, optical character
recognition, sound recorder, video
camera, voice recognition software
Transmit
Move info from
place to place
TV, satellite broadcasts, telephone
networks, data networks, fiber optic
cable, voice mail, internet
Store
Move info to
Paper, computer tape, floppy disk,
specific place for hard disk, optical disk,
later retrieval
CD-ROM, flash memory
16
Six MIS Functions
Function
Description
Example
Retrieve
Find specific
information
needed
Paper, computer tape, floppy disk, hard
disk, flash memory
Manipulate
Create new info Computer and software
from existing info
through
summarizing,
sorting,
rearranging,
reformatting, etc.
Display
Show info
17
Printer, computer screen
How have these functions changed in the past 10 years?
Question

What is the difference between “data”,
“information”, “knowledge” and
“wisdom”?

Can one be created from the
previous?
Data: A key component of
information systems

Distinction between:

Data – raw, unformatted information
• E.g.: 5433333353

Information – data that is transformed to
have a meaning
• E.g.: (543) 333-3353
Knowledge – body of governing procedures
used to organize or manipulate data
 Wisdom – accumulated knowledge

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Data: A key component of information
systems
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Learning Objectives
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Builders and Managers of IS

Career opportunities are strong and
expected to grow

Computer/IT analyst and Computer &
IS Manager both in the top 10 best
jobs for the next decade
• Median earnings for managers $102,360
(May 2005)
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1-22
Best Jobs for the Next
Decade
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1-23
Careers and Salaries in the IS
Field (National Average)
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Careers in IS: Evolution of the
CIO
25

Chief Information
Officer (CIO) – job
title became
popular in 1980s

Early 1990s –
people joked that
CIO stands for
“Career Is Over”
1-25
The CIO Today

Most large and
midsize
organizations
have a CIO

Rob Carter of
FedEx – CIO of
the year (2006)
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1-26
IS Personnel
PAST
PRESENT
1-27
Question?

During the early days of IT, what kind of service did
IT organizations deliver?

What is “End-User Development”? Where did it
come from? Is it good or bad?

What kind of service do modern IT organizations
deliver?
End User Development


29
The advent of
the PC and early
applications
packages led to
end-user
development
This has created
new
opportunities but
also
management
challenges.
1-29
Question?


What makes IS personnel valuable?
What is:



Technical Competency
Business Competency
System Competency
What Makes IS Personnel
Valuable?

Integrated knowledge and skills in three
areas:

Technical Competency - skills in hardware,
software, networking and security

Business Competency – understanding of the
nature of the business; this is key in addition to the
technical competency

System Competency – understanding of how
to build and integrate large scale systems
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The Context of IS

Many different types of systems are used in
organizations

E.g.: transaction processing systems, decision
support systems, intelligent systems, etc.

These systems used to be cleanly categorized –
now the boundaries are fading due to integration.

But management requirements for each type of
system are different.
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Changing Assumptions




33
Old: Long-range planning important
New: Adaptability important
Old: Information systems record information
about the work
New: Information systems do the work
Old: People have stable jobs and careers
New: Work environments and job duties
change rapidly. Country boundaries don’t
matter.
What does technology have to do with
each of these?
Other Issues and Opportunities
Faced by the IS Function
The spread of technology in organizations
 Downsizing and Outsourcing
 Career prospects and opportunities


34
Need for people within organizations with
analyst skills that also have technology skills
1-34
Other Issues and Opportunities
Faced by the IS Function




35
Greater Miniaturization, Speed, and Portability
 miniaturization
 integrated circuit
 Moore’s Law
 portability
Greater Connectivity and Continuing Convergence of Computing
and Communications connectivity
 interoperability
 open systems
 convergence of computing and communications
Greater Use of Digitized Information and Multimedia
 digitization
 multimedia
Better Software Techniques and Interfaces with People
Miniaturization

Moore’s Law
Chip capacities (storage and processing)
have doubled every 18 months
 Why? Because they are getting smaller.


But there are problems, for example…
“Chip gates” are becoming too small to block
electrons, which determine the 1s from the 0s
 How to get around laws of quantum
mechanics?
 Moore himself said we may hit the limit by
2017

36
The Computer Revolution: Moore’s
Law Drives Microchip Performance
Up...
10,000,000,000
4G
1G
1,000,000,000
52%/year growth
256M
42%/year growth
100,000,000
64M
16M
P7
10,000,000
4M
P6
1M
Pentium
1,000,000
80486
256K
80286
16K
10,000
1,000
80386
64K
100,000
Transistors/Die
4K
1K
8086
8048
8085
8080
8008
4004
100
1970
37
1975
1980
1990
1985
Year
1995
2005
2000
Microprocessor
DRAM
Source: Brynjolfsson, E. and S. Yang “Information Technology and Productivity:
A Review of the Literature”, Advances in Computers, 1996.
The Computer Revolution
…and Computer Costs Down…
100000
Price Deflator
10000
Computers
Producers'
Durable
Equipment
1000
100
10
1955
38
1965
1975
Year
1985
1995
Source: Brynjolfsson, E. and S. Yang “Information Technology and Productivity
A Review of the Literature”, Advances in Computers, 1996.
Learning Objectives
39
Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World
1-39
The Dual Nature of IS
IS can make you or break you
 U.S. Navy – The failure



$ 1 billion wasted on 4 different ERP
applications
FedEx – The success
$ 32 billion family of companies –
largest express transportation
company
 “Information hub for business where
managing information is the business”

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1-40
Why Information Systems
Matter

Nicholas Carr article – “IT Doesn’t Matter”



IT no longer a source of advantage on the firm level
Companies should focus IT on cost reduction and
risk mitigation
Many experts disagreed with his arguments


Abbie Lundberg – Interview with Carr
Don Tapscott – “The Engine That Drives Success: The
Best Companies Have the Best Business Models
Because They Have the Best IT Strategies”
• Many successful companies use IT to support a unique
business strategy
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1-41
Major Ideas




42
Integration: There are no boundaries between
 Business process design and technology
design
 Major business functions
Location doesn’t matter
IT does matter
 IT is a major driver of business innovation
The use of technology by itself doesn’t
guarantee success
Some keys to success . . .





43
Avoid unrealistic expectations
Understand the issues associated with building,
modifying, and integrating systems
Be able to handle organizational inertia
Consider what may happen to business and
technology during the lifespan of a system
Be sure technology and business initiatives are
linked
In this course . . .


You won’t be learning programming, algorithm
design, or database structure
You will be learning critical thinking about
technology’s role in overall business success




44
How business and IT professionals communicate
What roles IT plays in modern business firms
How to get things done using IT
How to get value from IT initiatives