BUSI-3040U

Information Systems

Lecture 1 - Introductions
Asifa Aamir
Today’s Agenda
• Introductions
• Recognize the reasons why being an informed user of information
systems is important in today’s world.
• Review the various types of computer-based information systems in
an organization.
• Realize how IT affects organizations and society at large
• Go over the aspects related to hardware and software
• Meet up with the group members
Introductions: Instructor
Academic/Work Background
M.Sc. Computer Science M.Phil. Information Systems Engineering
MBA Technology Management SAP Certified Application Associate (TS410)

Code developer & software tester

Academic

20th time teaching this course

Address most of students’ comments raised over the term and via teaching evaluations
All who work hard get a good grade!

Contact Info
Email: Asifa.Aamir@ontariotechu.CA
Virtual office hours by appointment. Email me and I will respond within 24 hours to schedule an
online appointment.
In the subject line, include the subject AND, indication of your section (‘3040U Online’ or
‘3040U InPerson’)
Introductions: Course
• Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamentals and components of Information
Systems and how they support business organizations.
• Assess how various Business IS can be utilized by organizations for strategic
effectiveness and to gain competitive advantage.
• Evaluate the challenges faced in the selection, implementation and management of
Business IS
• Identify the goals and objectives of IS security management, and the ethical issues
related to the collection, storage and use of information.
• Develop practical skills by using SAP, an ERP software.
• Demonstrate exceptional interpersonal & communication skills through in class and
group discussions, assignments and presentations.
About learning …
Learning happens with the learner; that’s you.

The responsibility to learn is therefore yours.

You are encouraged to seek help and guidance at any and all points during the
course.

You will be presented with a variety of tools and strategies you need to achieve
the learning outcomes for the course. The content will be made available and it
is your responsibility to interact with it, your peers and with the instructor to
make the learning happen.
Resources that may help with learning
Contents & understanding
• Starting point: Textbook - Introduction to Information Systems (5th Canadian Ed.) by
Rainer, R.K., Prince, B., Splettstoesser-Hogeterp, I., Sanchez-Rodriguez, C., &
Ebrahimi, S. (2020)
• Available for purchase or rent by clicking on Wiley Course Resources on Canvas.
• Weekly readings to be completed before coming to the class
• Build further: The Internet

SAP Case Studies

• Hands on activity on SAP – a commercial ERP system
• Different SAP exercises taken up in 3040U, 2500U and 2603U will
• get you an Enterprise Resource Planning with SAP S/4HANA certificate and
• make you eligible to take the SAP Certification exam (TS410)
Learning Resources contd.
Analysis & Presentation and Peer Commentary
• Each group will post an investigative link to an online article or video, associated closely to
the topic(s) under discussion for that week.
• No company websites or promotional literature
e.g. Your Guide to BI and Why it Matters https://www.tableau.com/learn/articles/business-intelligence
• The group will also post two questions to prompt critical analysis and discussion of that
article by their peers.
• Everyone else will read and analyze the article
• Individuals from select groups will post insightful and thought-provoking comments.
• Peer comments may use these questions as a starting point of discussion and should strive to go
beyond to capture various aspects (more questions; meaningful insights, etc.)
• The group will review peer commentary and choose two posts to incorporate in their class
presentation, and present their analysis (~10-minutes long) of the article (what, why, how)
and the selected comments
• Class will ask questions & give feedback to the presenting group(s)
Learning by working in a group
• Groups created on Canvas (random assignment)
• Comprises of ~7 people whom you will meetup today (using Canvas/Google collaboration tools)
• Each team should nominate a team leader who will act as a coordinator for the group.
• Group Contract: Details the mutually agreed expectations around work, communication
and conflict resolution.
• Mandatory!
• CRN 44921 (online section): Due by Friday September 17, 2021
• CRN 40068 (in-person section): Due by Friday September 20, 2021

• Peer Evaluation - Each group member’s mark will be determined by the results of the
presentation and case study analysis weighted accordingly by the results from a peer
evaluation.
• NOT mandatory! Submit only if have concerns with equitable group contribution.
• Can be done by each fellow group member
• Must document and submit ‘proof’ of weight allocation other than 1.
• Due by the end of the day of the presentation.
Evaluation
Post, Analysis & Presentation 20%
SAP Exercises 20%
Exams* 60%
• Two term exams worth 30% each of course grade
Term Test 1: Lectures 1 – 4 Term Test 2: Lectures 5 – 9
Non-cumulative On Canvas using Respondus Lockdown Browser
In-Class; Proctored Review course outline for respective dates

Note: All weights of the evaluation components above are fixed.

There are no bonus/extra assignments during or after the course.
No adjustments will be made for individual students.
The final grade cannot exceed 100%.

Class attendance is mandatory!

• There are no explicit marks for attendance but …
Questions???
What are information systems?

How do they impact businesses

(and me)?
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Systems Theory Organization as a System
A system is…
• A set of interrelated components
• With a clearly defined boundary
• Working together
• To achieve a common set of objectives
• By accepting inputs and producing outputs
• In an organized transformation process

Basic Functions of a System

Input: Capturing and assembling elements that
enter the system to be processed
Processing: Transformation process that converts
input into output
Output: Transferring transformed elements to their
ultimate destination
Cybernetic System

A self-monitoring, self-regulating system, adds feedback and

control:
• Feedback is data about the performance of a system
- Monitoring
• Control involves evaluating feedback to determine whether a system is
moving toward the achievement of its goal
- Regulating

A home temperature control system

Information Systems
Companies have had these – always!
Can be as simple as a pencil and a piece of paper!
Information System - a number of objects (tools) used together for handling (storing,
retrieving, manipulating) data

Data when sorted, processed or assembled, creates information

IS - an umbrella term for the systems designed to create, store, manipulate,
distribute and disseminate information.

Applying learned criteria or

expertise to information generates
Knowledge!
Computer
-based

Computer-Based Info Sys

Computer(-Based) Information System - an IS using computer
technology to carry out some or all of its planned tasks.
Ubiquity of technology
CBIS = IS

Consists of
Hardware Software
Databases Networks
and Procedures
• Information technology (IT)
• Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information
and to support the information and information-processing needs of
an organization.
• Information system (IS)
• Collects, processes, stores, analyzes, and disseminates information
for a specific purpose.
Pause &
think!

What is the purpose of IS?

Business Info Sys
• Help each functional area make informed
decisions
• Allow quick and inexpensive access to
information – company-wide & worldwide
• Enable fast, accurate & timely
communication and collaboration within the
organization and with business partners Pause &
think!

• Why is the IT infrastructure shown as the

foundation?
• Why are TPS shown as the base (system) on which
all or any of the FIS, including ERP, are standing
upon?
Expanding Role of IS
• IT is no longer an afterthought in
business strategy, but the cause and
driver
• IT can change the way businesses
compete
• Vital component of successful businesses
• Helps businesses expand and compete
• Improves efficiency and effectiveness of
business processes
• Facilitates managerial decision making
and workgroup collaboration
To get a feel of the above:
Imagine that all Ontario Tech IT systems are down!
From being a Homosapien to a
HomoConexus
• You are the most connected
generation in history
• You experience and practice
continuous computing
• You are surrounded by a personal,
movable information network
Why should YOU study IS?
• In a nutshell: to upgrade yourself!
• from a user, to an informed user
• Understand how technology can be used to improve an organization’s standing
(external & internal) and employee productivity ((individual & teamwork)
• Appreciate and fully exploit an organization’s IS capabilities
• Further your career within your area of expertise or/and advance to
management positions
• As an entrepreneur, make informed choices when starting your own business,
and running it successfully later on
Must think “business needs” first and “technology” second!
Hardware
What is Hardware?
Hardware consists of:
• Central processing unit (CPU)
• Primary storage
• Secondary storage
• Input technologies
• Output technologies
• Communication technologies

Two basic categories of computer memory

• Primary
• Secondary
Current trend: in-memory database
• Primarily relies on main memory (i.e., RAM) for computer data
storage
• More expensive but very fast
• SAP S/4HANA
Computer Memory

1 kilobyte = thousand bytes (a thousand characters)

1 megabyte = 1 million characters
1 gigabyte = 1 billion characters
1 terabyte = 1 trillion characters
1 petabyte = 1 quadrillion characters
master copies of the shows and movies available on Netflix (2013) = 3.14 PB
1 exabyte = 1 quintillion characters
1 zettabyte (ZB)

What do you think is the amount of annual data transmitted over the Internet?
Strategic Hardware Issues
• How do organizations keep up with the rapid price changes and
performance advancements in hardware?
• How should organizations determine the need for new hardware
infrastructures?
• How do organizations manage employees who can “work from anywhere?”
• Helping Employees Be Productive Anywhere https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2021/06/29/helping-
employees-be-productive-anywhere/?sh=7e44f7b53e1f

• How do organizations manage employees who use their own portable

devices?
• The Future Of BYOD https://www.forbes.com/sites/lilachbullock/2019/01/21/the-future-of-byod-statistics-predictions-and-best-
practices-to-prep-for-the-future/?sh=2ed6417c1f30
Computer Hierarchy

• Supercomputers
• Mainframe Computers
• Personal Computers (PCs)
• Laptop/Notebook Computers
• Tablet Computers
• Wearable Computers (Wearables)
Super Computers
• Extremely powerful systems designed for
• Scientific, engineering, and business
applications
• Massive numeric computations
• Markets include
• Government research agencies
• Large universities
• Major corporations
• Use massive parallel processing
• Billions to trillions of operations per
second
• Cost $5 to $50 million
Mainframe Computers
• Large, fast, powerful computer systems
• Large primary storage capacity
• High transaction processing
• Handles complex computations
• Widely used as superservers for
• Large client/server networks
• High-volume Internet websites
• Becoming a popular computing platform
for
• Data mining, data warehousing and
business intelligence
• Electronic commerce applications
 Personal Computers (PCs)

Laptops/Notebooks
Currently little or no difference

Tablet

Wearable Computers (Wearables)

• Miniature computers that people may wear under, with, or
on top of their clothing
• Users may multitask when interacting with wearables
• SmartWatch
• FitBit
• Solar Powered Clothing
• Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2
Input Technologies

• keyboard
• mouse Source-data automation
• pointing stick • magnetic stripe reader (e.g., for
• trackball credit cards)
• joystick • barcode scanners
• touch-screen • optical mark reader (scantron sheet
• stylus reader)
• digital pen • sensors
• Wii • cameras
• webcam • RFID
• voice-recognition • optical character recognition
• .gesture recognition
Output devices
• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Icons, menus, windows, buttons, bars
Selected with pointing devices
• Monitor
• Printer
• Voice
• Virtual Reality!
VR headsets – Oculus Rift and Oculus
Quest
Software
What is Software?
• Software: a set of computer programs that
enable the hardware to process data
• Computer program: the sequence of
instructions for the computer, which comprise
software
• Documentation: written description of the
functions of a software program
Good to Know!
Computer Programming: NOT a Masculine Profession
✓ Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is regarded as the world’s first computer
programmer
✓ Grace Hopper wrote the first programming manual and invented the
compiler and the COBOL language
✓ In 1946, six women wrote code for ENIAC, America’s first electronic
computer
✓ Margaret Hamilton and her team developed software that guided Apollo
11 on its 1969 lunar mission
✓ Hedy Lamarr co-invented frequency-hopping spread spectrum during
WWII – a WiFi prototype
Software Issues
Systems software
• a set of instructions that serves primarily
as an intermediary between computer
hardware and application programs
• operating system – manages the
computer’s operations, e.g., Windows 10
Application software
• a set of computer instructions that
provide more specific functionality to a
user
• Software package/suite, e.g., MS Office
A Good Exam Question:
What software is more secure: proprietary vs open source? Why?
Software Licensing - you don’t buy software
• You buy a license/right to use the software
Proprietary Software
• is purchased software that has restrictions on its
use, copying, and modification. The company
that develops proprietary software keeps the
source code private.
Open-Source Software
• the source code for open-source software is
available at no cost to both developers and
users, and it is distributed with license terms that
ensure that its source code will always be
available.
User Interface
The part of the operating system that allows you to communicate with it

Main types
Command-driven Menu-driven

Graphical user interfaces (GUI) – uses icons, bars, buttons, boxes, images, etc.
Social interface – animation, voice, cartoon-like characters, avatars
iPhone – Siri, Android – Google Assistant, and Windows 10 – Cortana
Amazon Echo and Google Nest
?? What are some of the ways in which IT has and can affect
organizations? Managers and non-managerial workers?

?? What are some of the positive and negative societal

effects of the increased use of information technology?

Any solutions?
Next week …
Read about …
• How organizational strategy, competitive advantage & information systems can work
for businesses, if aligned well

Online and in class discussions

• Business Strategy and increased use of AI
• https://becominghuman.ai/artificial-intelligence-the-driving-force-of-industry-4-0-978dd3d9bf24
• Hyperautomation
• Are you ready for the hyperautomation wave?
https://itbrief.co.nz/story/are-you-ready-for-the-hyperautomation-
wave?utm_medium=40digest.intl.carousel&utm_source=email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=campaig
n

Attempt quiz on WileyPlus

• Test your understanding of Chapter 2
• Optional