Marketing manager course chapter 18

Chapter Managing Information Systems... Learning ObjectivesAfter reading this chapter, you should be able to: z Understand the difference between data and information, and how firms use

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved.

Chapter

Managing Information Systems

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

z Understand the difference between data and information,

and how firms use each to achieve organizational goals.

z Integrate the components of a firm’s information

technology.

z Compare different types of networks, including local area

networks, intranets, extranets, and the Internet.

z Understand the role of software and how it changes business operations.

z Discuss the ethical issues involved with the use of computer

technology.

z Understand how productivity, efficiency, and

responsiveness to customers can be improved with

information technology.

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved.

Two Perspectives

z This chapter looks at information from

two perspectives:

¾ How the firm’s information systems and information

technology are part of management.

¾ How management information systems are used by

managers.

Management Skills for Information

Systems Management

zAnalytical Skills—Managers need to be able to

gather, synthesize, and compare data about their firms

and about the options available to them

zOrganizational Skills—Managers need to be able to

make sense of information by organizing data to

facilitate analysis and comparison

zFlexibility and Innovation Skills—Managers must be

able to be flexible in adapting standard business

practices to new information technologies

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved.

Information Related to MIS

zManagement information systems provide

access to important information used in

many other chapters:

¾Planning process (chapter 5)

¾Decision making (chapter 6)

¾Human resource management (chapter 10)

¾Communication (chapter 15)

¾Control (chapter 16)

¾Operations management (chapter 17)

Data and Information

zData—raw facts, such as the number of items sold

or the number of hours worked in a department.

zInformation—data that have been gathered and

converted into a meaningful context.

zUseful information is:

¾ High quality

¾ Timely

¾ Relevant

¾ Comprehensive

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved.

Data and Information (continued)

zDatabases—computer programs that assign

multiple characteristics to data and allow users to

sort the data by characteristic

zData warehouses—massive databases that contain

almost all of the information about a firm’s

operations.

zData mining—the process of determining the

relevant factors in the accumulated data to extract

the data that are important to the user.

Information Technology

zTechnology is the means of transforming inputs

into products.

zTechnology has improved operations management,

including productivity, efficiency, and customer

responsiveness.

zA firm’s information technology may incorporate

its operations technology.

zSix Functions of Information Technology:

¾ Captures data, Transmits data, Stores information, Retrieves

information, Manipulates information, Displays information

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved McGraw-Hill

zLocal area networks (LAN) link computers in a

firm so users can share information

zServers store information for users linked to them

zWireless equipment—computers no longer require

a physical connection, instead satellites or central

locations create links