Management Information System

Activity 1
Prepared by: Mr. Jason A. Sespeñe

Name: Berdon, Beverly Bernadeth V.

Section: BSOA 4-2

Directions: Analyze and answer the following questions.

1. Suppose that you had to explain to a member of your family or one of your closest friends the concept of
an information system. How would you define it? Write a one-paragraph description in your own words
that you feel would best describe an information system to your friends or family.

I would define that information system is a very useful technological structure, an important one in
which we used as we are interacting with the global modernization as a whole. One major role also of
information system is for the business industry in which it helps them in monitoring large businesses by
collecting different data and information which will possibly used for the future of an organization. Also, I
would describe to them that we people is one of the most important components of it. For without us
information system would be not useful.

2. Of the five primary components of an information system (hardware, software, data, people, process),
which do you think is the most important to the success of a business organization? Write a one-
paragraph answer to this question that includes an example from your personal experience to support
your answer.

The most important to the success of a business organization that an information system has is
the people. Without this component an information system would not that useful. For example, in a
company you have a very latest technology in a front-line help desk but does not have a front-line
employee to generate the system. How could visitors and employees in a certain company used that if
that software would be interrupted or malfunctioned. So, it is important that people interact with
information system because on the first hand literally a human idea can add value, generates and has the
ability to analyze a certain system.

3. We all interact with various information systems every day: at the grocery store, at work, at school, even
in our cars (at least some of us). Make a list of the different information systems you interact with every
day. See if you can identify the technologies, people, and processes involved in making these systems
work.

Computer/laptop- it is a hardware that has a software installed on it and it needs a network or it depends
to navigate and an interaction of a person who are using it. Data are which we used to navigate this
device and navigating or doing any tasks are the process which an information system composed of.

Cellular phones - in making this system work it needs a person to use it which is the process and it has a
software which uses a data to make it work.

Printer - it needs a people to work on this machine as a process and what comes out or printed to this
hardware will be the data which a user works on. It also needs a network to make it work.

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Management Information System
Activity 1
Prepared by: Mr. Jason A. Sespeñe

4. Do you agree that we are in a post-PC stage in the evolution of information systems? Some people argue
that we will always need the personal computer, but that it will not be the primary device used for
manipulating information. Others think that a whole new era of mobile and biological computing is
coming. Do some original research and make your prediction about what business computing will look like
in the next generation.

I do not agree that we are in the post- PC stage in the evolution of information system. It is because on the other
hand, there are some things that a mobile phone cannot do as personal computers like the enormous storage PC has and
also the speed process of PC’s which mobiles can’t. My prediction about what business computing will look like in the next
generation maybe with this modern innovation when all mobile phones are all upgraded as the features will converted
nearly to PC’s maybe personal computers will be set aside but not literally it always depends to some companies and
organizations. I thought that there are lot of features and processes PC’s are still be used by these industries. One reason a
mobile era could hardly handle are those maintenance of a system only PC’s can do.

5. The Walmart case study introduced you to how that company used information systems to become the
world’s leading retailer. Walmart has continued to innovate and is still looked to as a leader in the use of
technology. Do some original research and write a one-page report detailing a new technology that
Walmart has recently implemented or is pioneering.

Walmart’s Alphabot an Online Grocery Pickup and Delivery

In Salem, New Hampshire, a Walmart supercenter is rolling into the future. Alphabot, a first-of-its-kind piece of
tech, is now fully operational and working with associates. Its goal? To revolutionize the online grocery pickup and delivery
process for associates and customers.
Developed specially for Walmart by startup Alert Innovation, Alphabot helps to enable quicker, more efficient
order picking. The system operates inside a 20,000-square-foot warehouse-style space, using autonomous carts to retrieve
ambient, refrigerated and frozen items ordered for online grocery. After it retrieves them, Alphabot delivers the products to
a workstation, where a Walmart associate checks, bags and delivers the final order.
As the pickup and delivery process works today, associates select items from the sales floor for customers, package them
and then deliver them. While associates will continue to pick produce and other fresh items by hand, Alphabot will help
make the retrieval process for all other items easier and faster.

Brian Roth is a senior manager of pickup automation and digital operations for Walmart U.S. He believes Alphabot
could fundamentally change Walmart’s online grocery operations.
“By assembling and delivering orders to associates, Alphabot is streamlining the order process, allowing associates to do
their jobs with greater speed and efficiency,” Roth said. “Ultimately, this will lower dispense times, increase accuracy and
improve the entirety of online grocery. And it will help free associates to focus on service and selling, while the technology
handles the more mundane, repeatable tasks.”
In short, Alphabot is another novel entry in Walmart’s ever-expanding efforts to utilize intelligent, game-changing
technology that helps both customers and associates.
“This is going to be a transformative impact to Walmart’s supply chain,” Roth said. “Alphabot is what we think of as micro-
fulfillment – an inventive merger of e-commerce and brick and mortar methods.”

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Management Information System
Activity 1
Prepared by: Mr. Jason A. Sespeñe
As the grocery pickup system operates now, there are a few extra steps involved for associates. But Roth believes
the technology will change that.
But the benefits go beyond associates who work with Alphabot every day, extending to shoppers in more ways than one. By
increasing fulfillment speeds, this technology can create more convenience for customers, allowing them to place orders
closer to pick up time, and reducing wait time when picking up an order.
The system’s fully autonomous bots operate on three axes of motion, constituting a more flexible system than is typically
found in traditional fulfillment centers and warehouses. Because the carts that carry items move both horizontally and

vertically without any lifts or conveyors, there are fewer space constraints to consider, which should make adoption of the
system easier across stores.
Real-time data sharing is also a benefit. Because Alphabot continually shares order information, the system will
learn – and as it does, stocking will get more intelligent. Adoption of this new system across stores can lead to a more
seamless grocery pickup and delivery experience, making substitutions easier to anticipate and fill.
“We never want to be in a position to tell an online grocery customer they can’t have an item,” Roth said. “We’ll be able to
look at datasets and fairly say ‘these two brands of pasta are typically bought together,’ or ‘here’s an item a consumer buys
often,’ and use that information to make more informed substitutions.”
Alphabot has been operating at its pilot location in Salem since mid-2019. The store will continue to serve as Alphabot’s
home while the process is studied, refined and perfected. After collecting associate and customer feedback, next steps for a
broader Alphabot rollout will be assessed. Until then, the system will continue to assist associates in Salem as they usher in
a new era of productivity and service that could shape the future of modern retail.

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