Management Information Systems

Preface

INTRODUCTION

This text book is written for learners who are potential managerial end users. As tomorrow's managers, entrepreneurs, business specialists, or information specialists, the learners need to know how to use and manage information technology in today's networked enterprises and global markets. In this dynamic challenging environment, they will rely on interconnected networks of information systems for end user collaboration, including communications and computing among end user work groups and teams, and enterprise-wide computing, including communications and information processing for business operations, managerial decisions making, and strategic advantage.

Successful managers need to make critical decisions all the time -- quick and correct decisions based on timely, relevant,  updated and organized information. Whether the decision is critically important and complicated or a simple and routine one, all decisions have to be based on information -- which must be available to decision makers at their fingertips.

It is no longer enough that the business manager be skilled in a functional specialty such as engineering, human resources, finance, manufacturing or say marketing and that he or she understands the traditional functions of planning,  organizing, staffing, and controlling. Something more is needed:  the systems approach to management, coupled with the ability to effectively participate in the analysis, design, implementation and utilization of computer based information systems.

Management Information Systems, if properly defined and understood, has untapped potential for business, industry and government. It may indeed  prove to be the only way to maintain a competitive industry posture as information is realized as the fourth major resource.  The purpose  of  this  book  is  to  put  information  systems  in   proper perspective so that business managers can understand what such systems can do, and equally important, understand what they cannot do.

A plethora of introductory kind of text books are available which,  it is believed, attempt to please both the computer professionals and the end-users and as a result fail both. They do not provide enough technical details for the computer specialists but they either provide too  much  technical details or not  enough  practical  down-to-earth business-related information specially needed  for the managerial end-users.  This book, thus, aims to satisfy the thirst of both end-users and computer professionals designing business information systems.

The main objective of this book is to provide business managers with an understanding of the computer and information technology that  will enable  its use in solving the management problems. All of the  topics and their organization have been selected with this objective in mind. After  studying  this text, the managerial end user  should  not  only appreciate  the potential of the computer as a problem-solving  tool, but also be able to use it for that purpose.

This text will also enable the computer specialists to better appreciate the users' needs and how those needs can be met  with computer-based solutions.

EFFECTIVE PEDAGOGY

In order to present wide array of topics in one book, the following salient and pedagogical features are used:

• It has been written in a straight-forward, lucid, non-threatening prose using a minimum amount of technical jargon keeping an end-user orientation in mind.

• Uses a modular structure to organize the text and its chapters. Each chapter deals with one topic in a clear, succinct presentation. Because these chapters are modular, they can be covered in any sequence.

• Numerous diagrams and tables are used to illustrate the important concepts. There are more than five hundred figures and tables.

• Each chapter opens with an outline and learning objectives of the major topics covered. Key terms appear in boldface in the text and defined within the chapter; they are also listed at the end of the chapter and defined again in the Glossary at the end of the book.

• Presents a framework for information systems knowledge needed by managerial end users. Stresses the development of information systems solutions to business problems. Integrates information systems theory with coverage of information systems applications and other topics.

• A built-in style guide (chapter review) that includes extensive summaries of case concepts and boldfaced key terms, key concepts, and a self-test that students can use to check their comprehension of essential concepts.

• An extensive acronyms, glossary, and comprehensive index

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This book can be used both as a text and as reference by the computer or business specialists, and the end-users. It should also be studied by everyone engaged in selling information technology solutions and services to the management. Sales of these products and services are almost invariably conducted by persons with no experience or understanding of the end-user's outlook, business objectives, and problems.

MODULAR ORGANIZATION OF THE CHAPTERS

The text is divided into eight parts and appendices:

·         Part I: Computer as an Organization Information System.  Part I consists of three chapters and provides the course foundation. Regardless of the course approach, these chapters should always be covered first. This part captures the essence of contemporary computer use in business. It explores how information technology is used for competitive advantage and electronic commerce.

·         Part II: Current Focus in Information System Use.  With the foundation laid, the instructor can take the remaining parts in any order, depending on the emphasis desired. This part looks at how computers is shaping our society and our future; dwelling on topics on computer crime, ethics, social issues, security, privacy and control, strategies for selecting hardware, careers in the computer industry, applications of computers in business and government.

·         Part III: Systems Theory and Methodologies.  This part describes the systems theory that underlines the entire field of business computing. Chapter 8, General Systems Model of the Firm, explains business operations in systems terms. Chapter 9, Systems Approach, provides the framework for understanding how managers and information specialists solve problems. Chapter 10, System Life Cycle Methodologies, describes the frameworks that have been devised to guide users and information specialists in the process of systems development. Chapter 11 describes the entity relationship data modeling. Chapter 12 dwells on object modeling. Chapter 13 covers the challenges of internet application development.

·         Part IV: Information Systems Technology.  Part IV consists of four chapters. This part offers an overview of computer systems, and their uses in our society. It explores computer hardware including coverage of the central processing unit, input and output devices, memory, and storage.

·         Part V: Making Computers Work For You.  This part explores computer software, including coverage of the systems software, applications software, program design and programming languages, data base management systems, and object relational database management systems.

·         Part VI: Getting Connected.  This part explores data communications, networking, Internet and the services it can provide to users, World Wide Web, and client/server architectures.

·         Part VII: Computer-Based Information System.  This part contains five chapters, each describing a major business computing application area. All of the areas are collectively called the computer-based information system (CBIS). The CBIS subsystems are covered by Chapters 27-31 -- Accounting Information System, Managemeent Information System, Decision Support Systems, Virtual Office, and Knowledge-Based Systems. This part provides an overview of all of the ways that the computer is being used to solve business problems.

·         Part VIII: Organizational Information Systems.  This part expands on the management information system chapter to describe how the MIS concept has been applied to subsets of the organization. Chapter 32, Executive Information Systems, explains computer use at the top organizational level. The other chapters explain computer use in five major functional areas. Five organizational subsystems, which represents each major functional areas -- marketing, manufacturing, finance, human resources, and information services -- of the firm, are explored in this part.

·         Appendices include detailed abbreviation and acronyms, glossary, and references.

SPECIAL NOTE TO THE READER

We welcome your candid reactions to this book. It is written to open up the world of computer based information systems for you. Expanding your knowledge and skills will increase your confidence and prepare you for a life that will be influenced by information technology. Your comments and questions are very important to me.

We hope that you enjoy this book. If you have any comments on how this book could be further improved, please feel free to contact me by sending the Readers Comments Form appended at the end of this book. Only your timely, and valuable comments, suggestions, criticisms can make this book more valuable and useful to all of us. You indeed  will be doing a valuable service to the computing community.  Thank you in advance for your feedback. All feedback with a return address will be answered by the author. My thanks to all those of you who have purchased this book. We hope you will find it enlightening, entertaining and useful in your computing endeavors.