School of Computer Sciences
Western Illinois University
IS 524
Amaravadi
Detailed Outline of Topics for the Midterm
Basic Organizational Concepts
Influences on org. theory:
Taylor – scientific management
Elton Mayo – human relations approach
Favol – administrative theory
Types of org. structures:
Hierarchical
Bureaucracy
Flat/knowledge-based
Matrix
Team/process
Virtual/digital
Characteristics of the 22nd century organization:
Focused on bits rather than atoms
More networked & globalized
More customer focused more innovative
More frequently evaluated
More involved in social work
Functional areas:
Marketing activities: market research, estimate demand, develop product specs, segmentation, pricing
and promotion, distribution, sales.
Production activities: develop production schedule, production planning & control, plan for capacity,
order raw materials, produce product.
Accounting; recording and reporting on financial transactions – uses different type of accounts such as
assets, liabilities etc.
Finance: analyzing statements, plan, manage assets, budget, obtain financing, report.
Human resources: evaluate needs, hire personnel, train, maintain records, rewards/benefits.
Organization, environment and structure:
Environment: task environment, institutional environment, & general environment
Theories of org-env interaction: selection, adaptation
Adaptation mechanisms: change structure, change strategy, change SOPs.
Strategy -- business level, industry level; when environment changes org. change its strategy and IT
should support it.
Developing strategy: analyze environment, culture, values, firm capabilities and resources and make a
decision.
IS524
Midterm Outline..
Introduction to Corporate Information Systems
Definition of corporate IS.
Evolution of IS:
Transaction Processing, Reporting, Database management, Decision support, Office information systems,
AI based systems, EIS, Strategic Information Systems, Enterprise information Systems, Web enabled
systems [Time lines not very important, need to know what these different systems are].
Classification of IS
support operations: TP, ERP, E-Commerce, OIS
provide information knowledge: DB/reporting, EIS, KM
support decision making: DSS, EIS, GDSS
support org. work: KM, OIS, Expert Systems
support strategy and org. design: strategic systems support strategy; any system supporting control and
co-ordination e.g. email or conferencing (these are actually OIS).
Characteristics of IS:
Used in all organizations, Mostly operational, IS have database as a back end, type of users depend on
type of system, TP or legacy systems phased out, AI part of every system. Some type of systems are
customized from standard software.
Systems perspective:
definition of a system, system characteristics ( inputs, processes and outputs, subsystems and life cycle);
apply system’s perspective to study an information system.
STS perspective:
definition of STS, STS perspective and implications
Work system perspective:
customers, products and services, business processes, participants, information, technology, context and
infrastructure.
Strategic system perspective:
use of IS for supporting organizational strategies.
Role of IS & Classification of IS:
Support operations; Provide information/knowledge; Support D.M., Support Org work other than clerical
or managerial, Support org. design and strategy
IT/IS impacts:
IS strategy – significance of IS strategy
Area of impact -- improve operations, improve product, improve management processes, improve
administrative processes.
IS Development
Stages/SDLC:
Planning/feasibility, analysis, design and code application, implement system.
Actors: business analysts, developers, project managers, users
Outputs: project plan, specs, design, code, system
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IS524
Midterm Outline..
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
NOTE: The exam will test mastery of concepts as outlined e.g. strategy, system, role, SDLC etc. You
must be able to recall these concepts and apply them/recognize them in different situations (especially for
Part II).
The following sample is strictly for illustrative purposes only. They illustrate the depth to which the
material is approached as well as the different perspectives from which you may be tested. There is no
implication that these are the questions which will appear on the midterm.
PART I - MULTIPLE CHOICE/TRUE FALSE
1.
A system that supports faculty in managing courses is an example of an information system.
T
F
2.
According to system’s theory, an information system can be thought of as a set of interrelated
components.
T
F
3.
Fayol recommended a more human relations approach to management.
T
F
4.
Which of following roles of IS is concerned with supporting activities such as ordering,
warehousing, shipping etc.
a. Supporting organizational design
b. strategic
c. supporting operations
d. supporting activities
5.
Which of the following is a strategic system?
a. process business transactions
b. a system to manage information
c. a system that supports all functional areas, from marketing to production
d. a system that supports the strategy of the organization
6.
Which of the following statements about hierarchical organization is FALSE?
a. it is a large organization with many employees that emphasizes vertical relationships
b. knowledge is a major output
c. many have become bureaucracies
d. they have formal reporting and procedures
7.
BI tools provide the capability to analyze decision data and make decisions such as on vendors,
projects, investments etc.
T
F
8.
This type of system is often used by executives.
a. EIS
b. DSS
c. HSS
d. OIS
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IS524
9.
10.
Midterm Outline..
This stage of the software development process results in “specs” as an output
a. feasibility
b. design
c. quality check
d. analysis
This type of IS architecture is used to support companies that have operations in multiple locations
a. distributed
b. centralized
c. router
d. internet
Answers for Section I
1T; 2T; 3F; 4d; 5d; 6b; 7F; 8a; 9d; 10a
PART II – SHORT ANSWER(CRITICAL THINKING)
In general, for theoretical questions, you must base your answer on frameworks discussed in class,
perhaps extending/synthesizing or applying them to new situations in the process. Answers need to be
relevant to class discussions/powerpoints/notes i.e. please do not pull answers “off the top of your heads”.
Answers have to fall within the knowledgebase of the course.
1.
In a car rental company, there is always a shortage of staff to rent cars to customers (i.e. there is a
lot of demand). The company is organized along traditional lines. Is this an organizational
problem? If so what type of organizational problem is it?
2.
After having invented the cell phone, Motorola, a U.S. electronics manufacturer suffered $4.3b in
losses between 2007-2009. Their cell phones did not evolve beyond that of a basic “keypad
phone.” The basic problem was that Motorola was essentially an engineering company rather
than a consumer products company. The cell phone division was spun off into Motorola
mobility. This was acquired by Google in 2012 for $12.5 b along with a huge patent real estate.
More recently Google sold off a major portion of this to Lenovo. What concepts discussed in the
course does this mini-case exhibit?
3.
Identify the context i.e. topic/subtopic in which the term occurs and discuss briefly any two of the
following concepts:
a) operations, b) organizational work other than clerical, manufacturing or managerial work, c)
developer, d) Strategic impact
4.
What is the role of management in an organization?
5.
What happens to an organization if an ERP system is implemented?
6.
How can we analyze ‘order processing’ in an organization using systems perspective? Illustrate
your answer.
7.
A company uses information technology to support its manufacturing activity. What role of
information systems is illustrated here? Explain.
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IS524
Midterm Outline..
8.
A payroll system receives employee and salary information, calculates the pay for the current period ,
calculates the deductions and makes a electronic deposit. The users of this system are HR personnel.
Electronic deposit is very convenient and timely for the company employees since they do not have to
physically go to the bank. How can we view this from the work systems perspective?
9.
Under what technical conditions can the internet break down and stop working – note that the answer has to
be relevant to class discussions and notes.
10.
What factors affect the performance of a computer, identify four and briefly discuss.
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