CHAPTER 1 : BUSINESS DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY

Learning Outcomes :

1. Compare management information systems (MIS) and information technology (IT).
2. Describe the relationships among people, information technology and information.
3. Identify four different departments in a typical business and explain how technology helps them to work together.
4. Compare the four different types of organizational information cultures and decide which culture applies to your school.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY'S ROLE IN BUSINESS

• Information technology is everywhere in business.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY'S IMPACT ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS

• Organizations typically operate by functional areas or functional silos.
• Functional areas are interdependent.

Common departments in an organization

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASICS

• Information technology (IT) - A field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information.
• Information technology is an important enabler of business success and innovation.

• Management information systems (MIS) - A general name for the business function and academic discipline covering the application of people, technologies and procedures to solve business problems.
• MIS is a business function, similar to Accounting, Finance, Operations and Human Resources.

• When beginning to learn about information technology it is important to understand :

                 - Data, information and business intelligence

                 - IT resources

                 - IT cultures

• Data - Raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event.
• Information - Data converted into a meaningful and useful context.
• Business intelligence - Applications and technologies that are used to support decision-making efforts.

IT RESOURCES

• People use
• Information technology to work with
• Information

IT CULTURES

Organizational information cultures include :

• Information-Functional Culture - Employees use information as a means of exercising influence or power over others.
• Information-Sharing Culture - Employees across departments trust each other to use information (especially about problems and failures) to improve performance.
• Information-Inquiring Culture - Employees across departments search for information to better understand the future and align themselves with current trends and new directions.
• Information-Discovery Culture - Employees across departments are open to new insights about crisis and radical changes and seek ways to create competitive advantages.