UNIT

12 Fundamentals of Information
Systems

Names of Sub-Units

Introduction to Fundamentals of Information Systems, Overview and Introduction to Computers, I/O

Devices, Impact of IS in Business.

Overview

This unit begins by explaining the meaning of fundamentals of information systems It discusses the
overview and introduction to computers. The unit explains the I/O devices. It also describes the impact
of IS in business.

Learning Objectives

In this unit, you will learn to:

 Explain the fundamentals of information systems
 State the I/O devices
 Explain the impact of IS in business
 Classify the Programming Languages
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Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, you would:

 Assess the meaning of fundamentals of information systems
 Examine the I/O devices
 Analyse the Programming Languages
 Evaluate the impact of IS in business

12.1 INTRODUCTION
Every business area, such as operations, management, decision-making and marketing, is influenced
by technology, which in turn contributes highly in productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and overall
growth of various organisations with the help of resourceful tools and technologies. An information
system is one such resourceful tool, which has become an indispensable element of organisational
decision making. It has emerged as a highly effective combination of information technology and people
activities that support operations, management and decision making. Although, in the past such tools
used to be quite expensive and sophisticated, with continuous innovations in information technology,
business enterprises started using economical and user-friendly information systems. Management
Information System (MIS) is one of them. The primary function of MIS is to keep business management
updated with well-structured information to achieve organisational objectives, efficiently. It utilises the
business concepts of defect free production, quick and logical decision-making and strategic business
environment.
This unit presents a comprehensive understanding of MIS. It explains the concept of information
systems, the components of an information system along with its framework. The unit also presents
a developmental trend of information systems and its classification, and the relationship of business
organisation with information system. It also compares a human body with an information system, to
clearly explain the concept. Having described information system in detail, the unit then moves on to
explain the nature, scope, need, role and functions of MIS.

12.2 OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

Being a modern-day kid, you must have used, seen or read about computers. This is because they are
an integral part of our everyday existence. Be it school, banks, shops, railway stations, hospital or your
own home, computers are present everywhere, making our work easier and faster for us. As they are
such integral parts of our lives, we must know what they are and how they function. Let us start with
defining the term computer formally.
The literal meaning of computer is a device that can calculate. However, modern computers can do a lot
more than calculate. Computer is an electronic device that receives input, stores or processes the input
as per user instructions and provides output in desired format.
Input-Process-Output Model
Computer input is called data and the output obtained after processing it, based on user’s instructions
is called information. Raw facts and figures which can be processed using arithmetic and logical
operations to obtain information are called data.

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The simplest workflow of computer is shown in

Figure 1:

Input Process Output

Figure 1: Workflow of Computer

The processes that can be applied to data are of two types:
 Arithmetic operations: Examples include calculations such as addition, subtraction, differentials
and square root.
 Logical operations: Examples include comparison operations such as greater than, less than, equal
to and opposite.
The corresponding figure for an actual computer looks as:

Arithmetic
Logic Unit

Input Unit Control Unit Output Unit

Input Unit

The basic parts of a computer are as follows:

 Input unit: Devices, such as keyboard and mouse, that are used to input data and instructions to the
computer are called input unit.
 Output unit: Devices, such as printer and visual display unit, that are used to provide information to
the user in desired format are called output unit.
 Control unit: As the name suggests, this unit controls all the functions of the computer. All devices
or parts of computer interact through the control unit.
 Arithmetic logic unit: This is the brain of the computer where all arithmetic operations and logical
operations take place.
 Memory: All input data, instructions and data interim to the processes are stored in the memory.
Memory is of two types – primary memory and secondary memory. Primary memory resides within
the CPU whereas secondary memory is external to it.
Control unit, arithmetic logic unit and memory are together called the central processing unit or
CPU. Computer devices, such as keyboard, mouse and printer, that you can see and touch are the

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hardware components of a computer. The set of instructions or programs that make the computer
function using these hardware parts are called software. You cannot see or touch software. Both
hardware and software are necessary for working of a computer.

Characteristics of Computer
To understand why computers are such an important part of our lives, let us look at some of its
characteristics:
 Speed: Typically, a computer can carry out 3-4 million instructions per second.
 Accuracy: Computers exhibit a very high degree of accuracy. Errors that may occur are usually due
to inaccurate data, wrong instructions or bug in chips – all human errors.
 Reliability: Computers can carry out same type of work repeatedly without throwing up errors due
to tiredness or boredom, which are very common among humans.
 Versatility: Computers can carry out a wide range of work from data entry and ticket booking to
complex mathematical calculations and continuous astronomical observations. If you can input the
necessary data with correct instructions, computer will do the processing.
 Storage capacity: Computers can store a very large amount of data at a fraction of cost of traditional
storage of files. Also, data is safe from normal wear and tear associated with paper.
Advantages of Using Computer
Now that we know the characteristics of computers, we can see the advantages that computers offer:
 Computers can do the same task repetitively with same accuracy.
 Computers do not get tired or bored.
 Computers can take up routine tasks while releasing human resource for more intelligent functions.
Disadvantages of Using Computer
Despite so many advantages, computers have some disadvantages of their own:
 Computers have no intelligence, they follow the instructions blindly without considering the
outcome.
 Regular electric supply is necessary to make computers work, which could prove difficult everywhere
especially in developing nations.

Booting
Starting a computer or a computer-embedded device is called booting. Booting takes place in two steps:
1. Switching on power supply
2. Loading operating system into computer’s main memory
Keeping all applications in a state of readiness in case needed by the user
The first program or set of instructions that run when the computer is switched on is called BIOS or
Basic Input Output System. BIOS is a firmware, i.e., a piece of software permanently programmed
into the hardware.
If a system is already running but needs to be restarted, it is called rebooting. Rebooting may be
required if a software or hardware has been installed or system is unusually slow.

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There are two types of booting:

 Cold booting: When the system is started by switching on the power supply it is called cold booting.
The next step in cold booting is loading of BIOS.
 Warm booting: When the system is already running and needs to be restarted or rebooted, it is
called warm booting. Warm booting is faster than cold booting because BIOS is not reloaded.

12.2.1 Hardware
Computer hardware (usually called hardware when a computing context is concerned) is the collection
of physical elements that constitutes a computer system. Computer hardware is the physical parts or
components of a computer such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, hard disk
drive (HDD), graphic cards, sound cards, memory, motherboard, and so on, all of which are physical
objects that are tangible. In contrast, software is instructions that can be stored and run by hardware.
Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer, i.e., the components that
can be seen and touched.
Examples of hardware are the following:
 Input devices: Keyboard, mouse, etc.
 Output devices: Printer, monitor, etc.
 Secondary storage devices: Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
 Internal components: CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

12.2.2 Software
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function. A program is a
sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.

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There are two types of software:

 System Software
 Application Software

System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend the processing
capabilities of the computer itself. System software is generally prepared by the computer manufacturers.
These software products comprise of programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the
hardware at a very basic level. System software serves as the interface between the hardware and the
end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter and Assemblers.

Here is a list of some of the most prominent features of a system software:

 Close to the system
 Fast in speed
 Difficult to design
 Difficult to understand
 Less interactive
 Smaller in size
 Difficult to manipulate
 Generally written in low-level language

12.2.3 Operating Systems

An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An
operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks such as file management, memory
management, process management, handling input and output as well as controlling peripheral devices
such as disk drives and printers.
Some popular Operating Systems are Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System, VMS,
OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

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Definition
An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the user and the computer hardware
and controls the execution of all kinds of programs.

User 1 User 2 User N

System Application
Software Software

Software

Operating System

Hardware CPU RAM I/O

Following are some of important functions of an operating System:

 Memory management
 Processor management
 Device management
 File management
 Security
 Control over system performance
 Job accounting
 Error detecting aids
 Coordination between other software and users

12.2.4 Application Software

Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular environment.
All software applications prepared in the computer lab can come under the category of application
software.
Application software may consist of a single program such as Microsoft’s notepad for writing and
editing a simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs, often called a software package,
which work together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet package.
Examples of Application software are the following:
 Payroll Software
 Student Record Software

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 Inventory Management Software

 Income Tax Software
 Railways Reservation Software
 Microsoft Office Suite Software
 Microsoft Word
 Microsoft Excel
 Microsoft PowerPoint

Features of application software are as follows:

 Close to the user
 Easy to design
 More interactive
 Slow in speed
 Generally written in high-level language
 Easy to understand
 Easy to manipulate and use
 Bigger in size and requires large storage space

12.2.5 Programming Languages

A programming language is a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer or
computing device to perform specific tasks. The term programming language usually refers to high-
level languages such as BASIC, C, C++, COBOL, Java, FORTRAN, Ada and Pascal.
Each programming language has a unique set of keywords (words that it understands) and a special
syntax for organising program instructions.

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High-Level Programming Languages

High-level programming languages, while simple compared to human languages, are more complex
than the languages the computer actually understands, called machine languages. Each different type
of CPU has its own unique machine language.

Converting to Machine Language

Regardless of what language you use, you eventually need to convert your program into machine
language so that the computer can understand it. There are two ways to do this:
1. Compile the program
2. Interpret the program
Computer programming languages allow us to give instructions to a computer in a language the
computer understands. Just as many human-based languages exist, there are an array of computer
programming languages that programmers can use to communicate with a computer. The portion of
the language that a computer can understand is called a “binary.” Translating programming language
into binary is known as “compiling.” Each language, from C Language to Python, has its own distinct
features, though many times there are commonalities between programming languages.
These languages allow computers to quickly and efficiently process large and complex swaths of
information. For example, if a person is given a list of randomised numbers ranging from one to ten
thousand and is asked to place them in ascending order, chances are that it will take a sizable amount
of time and include some errors.

12.3 I/O DEVICES

In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an
information processing system. An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to
communicate the results of data processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a
computer) which converts the electronically generated information into human readable form.
Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a computer:
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy Stick
 Light pen
 Track Ball
 Scanner
 Graphic Tablet
 Microphone
 Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
 Optical Character Reader (OCR)
 Bar Code Reader
 Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

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Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input data to the computer.
The layout of the keyboard is such as that of traditional typewriter, although there are some additional
keys provided for performing additional functions.

Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also
available for Windows and the Internet.
The keys on the keyboard are as follows:

S. No Keys & Description

1 Typing keys: These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally give the same
layout as that of typewriters.
2 Numeric keypad: It is used to enter the numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it consists of a set
of 17 keys that are laid out in the same configuration used by most adding machines and calculators.
3 Function keys: The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which are arranged in a row at
the top of the keyboard. Each function key has a unique meaning and is used for some specific purpose.
4 Control keys: These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow keys.
Control keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Control (Ctrl), Alternate (Alt),
Escape (Esc).
5 Special Purpose Keys: Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps
Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab and Print Screen.

Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having a small palm
size box with a round ball at its base, which senses the movement of the mouse and sends corresponding
signals to the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present between the
buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on the screen, but it cannot be used
to enter text into the computer.

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Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a monitor screen. It is a
stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket.
The joystick can be moved in all four directions.

The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer Aided Designing
(CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures
on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube.

When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen and the pen button is pressed, its photocell
sensing element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signal to the CPU.

Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead of a mouse. This
is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the ball, the pointer can be moved.

Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse. A track ball comes in
various shapes such as a ball, a button or a square.

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Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more such as a photocopy machine. It is used when some
information is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disk of the computer for further
manipulation.

Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a digital form that can be
stored on the disk. These images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitiser
Digitiser is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer can convert a
signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They
can be used by the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.

Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and pictorial data into
binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine works of drawing and image manipulation
applications.

Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital form.

The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a multimedia presentation or
for mixing music.

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Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large number of cheques to be processed every
day. The bank’s code number and cheque number are printed on the cheques with a special type of ink
that contains particles of magnetic material that are machine readable.

This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main advantages of
MICR are that it is fast and less error prone.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.

OCR scans the text optically, character by character, converts them into a machine-readable code and
stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in the form of light and dark lines).
Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books, etc. It may be a handheld
scanner or may be embedded in a stationary scanner.

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Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value, which is then fed to
the computer that the bar code reader is connected to.

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognise the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is
used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked.

It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice questions.

Output Devices
Following is some of the important output devices used in a computer.
 Monitors
 Graphic Plotter
 Printer

Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It
forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the
image depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.
 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
 Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the
image clarity or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form a whole character such as
the letter ‘e’ in the word help.

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A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be divided into a
series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard character can be placed. Most
screens are capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically. There are
some disadvantages of CRT:
 Large in size
 High power consumption

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists.
Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators, video games, monitors, laptop computer and
graphics display.

The flat-panel display is divided into two categories:

 Emissive Displays: Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light. For
example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays: Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light from
some other source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).

Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.
There are two types of printers:
 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following:
 Very low consumable costs
 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost

There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image

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These printers are of two types:

 Character printers
 Line printers

Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.
These are further divided into two types:
 Dot Matrix Printer (DMP)
 Daisy Wheel

Dot Matrix Printer

In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular because
of their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in the form of pattern of dots
and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come out to form a character
which is why it is called Dot Matrix Printer.

Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are such as petals of Daisy (flower) which
is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices
that require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.

Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

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These are of two types:

 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer

Drum Printer
This printer is such as a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of the drum is divided
into a number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the size of the paper, i.e., for a paper width of 132
characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on the track. Different character sets
available in the market are 48-character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of drum prints one
line. Drum printers are fast in speed and can print 300 to 2,000 lines per minute.

Chain Printer
In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set
may have 48, 64, or 96 characters.

Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers print a complete
page at a time; thus, they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of two types:
 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers

Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the
characters to be printed on a page.

Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They print
characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with
presentable features.

They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing modes
available. Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies of
printing also.

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12.4 IMPACT OF IS IN BUSINESS

From an economic point of view, information systems technology can be seen as a factor of production
that can be freely substituted for capital and labor. As information systems technology automates the
production process, less capital and labor are required to produce a specified output.
Transaction cost theory states that organisations grow in size because they can obtain certain products
or services internally at lower cost than by using external firms in the marketplace. By lowering the
cost of market participation (transaction costs) information technology allows firms to obtain goods
and services more cheaply from outside sources than through internal means. Information systems can
thus help firms increase revenue while shrinking in size.

12.4.1 Components of IS
The computer age introduced a new element to businesses, universities and a multitude of other
organisations: a set of components called the information system, which deals with collecting and
organising data and information. An information system is described as having five components.

Computer Hardware
This is the physical technology that works with information. Hardware can be as small as a smartphone
that fits in a pocket or as large as a supercomputer that fills a building. Hardware also includes the
peripheral devices that work with computers such as keyboards, external disk drives and routers. With
the rise of the Internet of things, in which anything from home appliances to cars to clothes will be
able to receive and transmit data, sensors that interact with computers are permeating the human
environment.

Computer Software
The hardware needs to know what to do, and that is the role of software. Software can be divided into two
types: system software and application software. The primary piece of system software is the operating
system such as Windows or iOS, which manages the hardware’s operation. Application software is
designed for specific tasks such as handling a spreadsheet, creating a document or designing a Web
page.

Telecommunications
This component connects the hardware together to form a network. Connections can be through wires,
such as Ethernet cables or fibre optics or wireless such as through Wi-Fi. A network can be designed

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to tie together computers in a specific area such as an office or a school, through a local area network
(LAN). If computers are more dispersed, the network is called a wide area network (WAN). The Internet
itself can be considered a network of networks.

Databases and Data Warehouses

This component is where the “material” that the other components work with resides. A database is
a place where data is collected and from which it can be retrieved by querying it using one or more
specific criteria. A data warehouse contains all of the data in whatever form that an organisation needs.
Databases and data warehouses have assumed even greater importance in information systems with
the emergence of “big data,” a term for the truly massive amounts of data that can be collected and
analysed.

Human Resources and Procedures

The final, and possibly most important, component of information systems is the human element: the
people that are needed to run the system and the procedures they follow so that the knowledge in the
huge databases and data warehouses can be turned into learning that can interpret what has happened
in the past and guide future action.

12.4.2 Digital Divide

Interaction between human and computers has greatly increased as we embark on the twenty-first
century. The ability to access computers and the Internet has become increasingly important to
completely immerse oneself in the economic, political and social aspects of not just America, but of the
world. However, not everyone has access to this technology. The idea of the “digital divide” refers to the
growing gap between the underprivileged members of society, especially the poor, rural, elderly and
handicapped portion of the population who do not have access to computers or the Internet, and the
wealthy, middle-class and young Americans living in urban and suburban areas who have access.

Conclusion 12.5 CONCLUSION

 An information system is one such resourceful tool, which has become an indispensable element of
organisational decision making.
 Being a modern-day kid, you must have used, seen or read about computers. This is because they are
an integral part of our everyday existence.
 Computer input is called data and the output obtained after processing it, based on user’s instructions
is called information.
 Control unit, arithmetic logic unit and memory are together called the central processing unit or
CPU.
 The first program or set of instructions that run when the computer is switched on is called BIOS or
Basic Input Output System.
 The first program or set of instructions that run when the computer is switched on is called BIOS or
Basic Input Output System.
 Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function.
 A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.

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 The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control and extend the
processing capabilities of the computer itself.
 An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware.
 Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular environment.
 A programming language is a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer
or computing device to perform specific tasks.
 High-level programming languages, while simple compared to human languages, are more complex
than the languages the computer actually understands, called machine languages.
 An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results
of data processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a computer) which
converts the electronically generated information into human readable form.
 The computer age introduced a new element to businesses, universities and a multitude of other
organisations: a set of components called the information system, which deals with collecting and
organising data and information.
 Interaction between human and computers has greatly increased as we embark on the twenty-first
century.

12.6 GLOSSARY

 Acquisition and mergers: Purchase of one company or business enterprise by another as part of a
growth strategy
 Portfolio management: A process of decision making related to investments such as investment
policy, investments objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions and balancing risk
against performance
 Programs and procedures: A set of instructions for a computer system. Set of operation instructions
are programs, whereas set of information processing instructions are procedures
 Securities management: Financial securities such as assets and investments
 Inventory: Raw material, work in progress and the finished goods in a production process
 General ledger: A type of accounting record for a business
 Vendor: Suppliers related to production process in an organisation

12.7 CASE STUDY: AIRLINES MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (AMIS)

Case Objective
This case study discusses how GHI SUPERCAM established its demand-supply equilibrium.
Airlines industry is supposed to be one of the early adopters of MIS, as they have to incur heavy costs
on human resources. The reason for developing this system was cost cutting and improving efficiency.
AMIS serves for all management activities. The system efficiently performs versatile functions such
as finance and accounting, reservation and e-ticketing, inventory management, flight operation and
engineering, personnel and payroll and marketing statistics. The system works individually on these
functions along with an integrated approach.

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AMIS is a Web-based browser that supports all operating systems such as Linux, Netware, Windows
95/98/ME, Windows XP/2000/NT. It is an easy-to-use system. The system involves four levels of security to
ensure restriction on unauthorised usage. Many controls have also been implemented that can identify
fake-ticket or passengers without ticket. It can check random booking, over staffing, under staffing,
earned or unearned revenue, daily transactions, expense records and many such functions. It can also
be easily customised as required. The cost of such system ranges from 20,000 to 100,000 in rupees.

Questions
1. Do you think installation of AMIS would prove cost-effective for an aviation organisation?
(Hint: For aviation industry, the cost on human resources is very high. With the use of AMIS for
business operations, the industry can benefit on the day-to-day operations. To understand, if the
AMIS installation would be cost-effective, let us first analyse the benefits that the business can
derive.)
2. List the functions performed in aviation business and match them with functions served by AMIS.
(Hint: Functions to be performed in aviation business include sales and marketing, customer
support, flight services, and so on.)

12.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

A. Essay Type Questions

1. What is a programming language?
2. Write the description of function keys and control keys.
3. Write a short note on the components of IS.

12.9 ANSWERS AND HINTS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

A. Hints for Essay Type Questions

1. A programming language is a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer
or computing device to perform specific tasks. The term programming language usually refers to
high-level languages such as BASIC, C, C++, COBOL, Java, FORTRAN, Ada and Pascal. 1. Refer to
Section Overview and Introduction to Computers
2. Twelve function keys are present on the keyboard, which are arranged in a row at the top of the
keyboard. Each function key has a unique meaning and is used for some specific purpose. Refer to
Section I/O Devices
3. The computer age introduced a new element to businesses, universities and a multitude of other
organisations: a set of components called the information system, which deals with collecting and
organising data and information. An information system is described as having five components.
Refer to Section Impact of IS in Business

@ 12.10 POST-UNIT READING MATERIAL

 https://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Information%20Technology%20and%20Systems/
Fundamentals%20of%20Information%20Systems%20CH3.htm
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Quantitative Techniques and Analytics
 http://www.umsl.edu/~joshik/msis480/chapt02.htm
 https://www.amazon.in/Fundamentals-Information-Systems-George-Reynolds/dp/1133629628
 https://slideplayer.com/slide/4451634/

12.11 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION FORUMS

 Find more information on the importance of programming language.

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