Navigating the Information Age: MIS, IT, and Competitive Advantage

1. Chapter 1 The Information Age in Which You Live

2. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES • Define MIS and IT and describe their relationship. • Validate information as a key resource and describe both personal and organizational dimensions of information. • Explain why people are the most important organizational resource, define their information and technology literacy challenges, and discuss their ethical responsibilities.

3. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES • Describe the important characteristics of IT as a key organizational resource. • Define competitive advantage and illustrate the role of IT in supporting competitive advantages and business vision. • Discuss the impacts IT can and will have on your life.

4. Disruptive Technologies Disrupt Blockbuster Late Fees • Disruptive technologies – video-on-demand, video rental kiosks, etc • Netflix – rent from the Web and keep as long as you want

5. Disruptive Technologies Disrupt Blockbuster Late Fees • Blockbuster solution… • No more late fees (will forgo $300 million annually because of this) • Keep for a week • After a week, either buy movie or pay $1.25 restocking fee

6. Disruptive Technologies Disrupt Blockbuster Late Fees • Class poll… • Favorite method of renting videos? • Average length (in days) you keep a movie? • Watch the movie the day you get it?

7. Disruptive Technologies Disrupt Blockbuster Late Fees • Have you moved away from Blockbuster? To what? • Will Blockbuster’s no-late fee model help? Why or why not? • Will real video-on-demand through cable/satellite end “renting” movies?

8. INTRODUCTION • Information age – a time when knowledge is power • Knowledge worker – you; works with and produces information as a product • Outnumber all others by at least 4-to-1 margin

9. INTRODUCTION • MIS – planning for, developing, managing, and using IT tools to help people perform their work • IT – computer-based tools that people use to work with information • Traditional computer (notebook, PC, etc) • Bar code scanner • Biometric fingerprint reader

10. INTRODUCTION Online booking revenues are on the rise while non-online booking revenues remain flat

11. INTRODUCTION • There is also a dark side to technology

12. INTRODUCTION • Three key resources in MIS • Information • People • Technology • This text is about MIS and information, people, and technology working together to create a competitive advantage

13. INFORMATION AS A KEY RESOURCE • Data – raw facts • Information – data that has meaning • Weather – when deciding what to wear

14. INFORMATION AS A KEY RESOURCE • Business intelligence – knowledge about competitors, suppliers, your own internal operations, etc • Combined forms of information to create real knowledge • Encompasses everything that affects your business • Helps you make strategic business decisions

15. INFORMATION AS A KEY RESOURCE • Perspectives • Personal dimensions of information • Organizational dimensions of information

16. Personal Dimensions of Information

17. Personal Dimensions of Information • Time • When you need information • Describing the right time period • Location – no matter where you are • Intranet – internal organizational intranet • Form • Usable, understandable, accurate

18. Organizational Dimensions of Information

19. Organizational Dimensions of Information • Information flows • Information granularity • What information describes

20. Information Flows within an Organization • Upward – current state of organization based on transactions • Downward – Strategies, goals, directives • Horizontal – between functional units, work teams • Outward/inward – to/from suppliers, customers, distributors, etc

21. Information Granularity • Information granularity – extent of detail within information • Lower org levels – tremendous detail (fine) • Upper org levels – summarized information (coarse)

22. What Information Describes • Internal – operational aspects of organization • External – environment surrounding organization • Objective – something that is known • Subjective – something that is unknown

23. PEOPLE AS A KEY RESOURCE • You • Using technology to work with information • Technology-literate knowledge worker • Information-literate knowledge worker • Your ethical responsibilities

24. Technology-Literate Knowledge Worker • Technology-literate knowledge worker – knows how and when to apply technology • This book • Chapters help you with “when” • Appendix A – personal hardware and software technologies • Appendix B – basics of networks

25. Information-Literate Knowledge Worker • Information-literate knowledge worker… • Defines what information is needed • Knows how and where to obtain information • Understands information • Acts appropriately based on information

26. Your Ethical Responsibilities • Ethics – principles and standards that guide behavior toward other people • Ethics and laws are different • Laws – require/prohibit action • Ethics – matter of personal interpretation

27. Your Ethical Responsibilities You always want to be here

28. IT AS A KEY RESOURCE • Information technology (IT) - computer-based tools that people use to work with information • Two categories of technology • Hardware • Software • Ubiquitous computing

29. Key Technology Categories

30. Hardware • Hardware – physical devices of a computer • Input devices • Output devices • Storage devices • CPU & RAM • Telecommunications devices • Connecting devices

31. Hardware • Input device – enter information and commands • Output device – receive the results • Storage device – stores information • CPU – interprets and executes software instructions • RAM – temporarily holds information and software

32. Hardware • Telecommunications device – sends and receives information in a network • Connecting device – connects pieces of hardware (e.g., cable, port) • Appendix A covers hardware in detail

33. Software • Application software – solves specific problems, performs specific tasks • System software – handles technology management tasks and coordinates all hardware

34. Software • Two types of system software • Operating system software – controls application software, manages hardware devices • Utility software – additional functionality to your operating system (e.g., anti-virus software) • Appendix A covers more on software

35. Ubiquitous Computing • Ubiquitous computing – concept; technology support anytime, anywhere, with access to any needed information • Decentralized computing • Shared information • Mobile computing

36. Ubiquitous Computing

37. Ubiquitous Computing • Decentralized computing – Distributes computing power within the organization to knowledge workers • Shared information – allows anyone access to needed information

38. Ubiquitous Computing • Mobile computing – wireless technology to connect to needed resources and information • M-commerce – electronic commerce conducted wirelessly

39. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS VISION • IT use must support business vision • IT strategy must be integrated with business vision • Competitive advantage – providing product/service that customers value more than the competition

40. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS VISION • Top line versus bottom line • Database support • Decision-making support • Business initiative support • Run, grow, transform

41. Top Line Versus Bottom Line

42. Top Line Versus Bottom Line • Top line – competitive advantage focus to increase revenue • Bottom line – competitive advantage focus to decrease costs • IT can support both top-line and bottom-line initiatives

43. Top Line Versus Bottom Line • Customer self-service system – technology in hands of customers to enable them to process their own transactions • ATMs – attract new customers with free use (top line) • ATMs – reduce costs of tellers (bottom line) • Transaction processing system (TPS) – system that processes transactions

44. Database Support

45. Database Support • Database – stores tremendous detail on every transaction/event • DBMS – software bridge between information/software system and information/you

46. Database Support • You need knowledge of databases and DBMSs for career • Chapter 3 – database concepts

47. Decision-Making Support • Online transaction processing (OLTP) – gathering, processing, and updating information for a transaction • Online analytical processing (OLAP) – manipulating information to support decision making (focus of Chapters 3 & 4) • Executive information system • Collaboration system • Artificial intelligence

48. Decision-Making Support • Executive information system (EIS) – supports “drilling down” in information to find problems/opportunities

49. Decision-Making Support • Collaboration system – improves team performance by supporting sharing and flow of information • Artificial intelligence (AI) – science of imitating human thinking and behavior • Genetic algorithm – See Industry Perspective on p. 33

50. Business Initiative Support • IT use in business is all about enabling initiatives • This is the focus of Chapter 2 • Two examples • Supply chain management • Electronic data interchange