SESSION ONE: MIS

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 Session Objective
At the end of this session, students will be able to discuss
about such basic concepts as:
 Data, Information, Roles of information
 Defining System, Systems approach/System Theory
 System Types, System Performance measure
Information System

 Component
 Characteristics
Roles of IS in Organization

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 Introduction

 Data:- it is a raw fact and can take the form of a number, figures,
pictures or statement such as a date or a measurement.
 Data relates to transactions, events and facts.
 On its own - it is not very useful. Think of the data that is created
when you buy a product from a retailer.
 This includes:
 Time and date of Transaction(e.g. 10:05 Tuesday 16 September 2019)
 Transaction Value(e.g. 55.00 Birr)
 Facts about what was bought(e.g. hairdryer, cosmetics pack, saving foam)
and how much was bought(quantities)
 How payment was made(e.g. credit card, credit card number and code)
 Which employee recorded the sale
 Whether any promotion discount applied

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 Con’t

 It is necessary for businesses to put in place procedures to

ensure data are recorded.
 For example, to ensure a call center operator includes the postcode of every
customer this can be written into their script and a validation check
performed to check these data have been entered into the system.
 Information: it is data that have been processed/analyzed so
that they are meaningful.
 This requires a process that is used to produce information which involves
collecting data and then subjecting them to a transformation process in order
to create information.
 Some examples of information include a sales forecast or a financial
statement.
 Note:- the - "processed" and "meaningful": It is not enough for
data simply to be processed; it has to be of use to someone -
otherwise why bother?!

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Cont.

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 Data Processing Functions

 aggregating which summarizes data by such means as taking

an average value of a group of numbers.
 Classification places data into categories such as on-time and
late deliveries.
 Sorting organizes data so that items are placed in a particular
order, for example listing orders by delivery date.
 Calculations can be made on data such as calculating an
employee’s pay by multiplying the number of hours worked by
the hourly rate of pay.
 Finally data can be chosen based on a set of selection criteria,
such as the geographical location of customers.

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 Attributes of Information

 Characteristics of good information are as follows:

 Usability  Delivery
 Relevant  Timely

 Simple  Accessible

 Flexible  Secure

 Economical
 Quality

 Accurate

 Verifiable

 Complete

 Reliable

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 Cont.
 Accuracy: error free
 Relevance: serve the purpose
 Timeliness: How current
 Completeness: no missing information
 Accessible: when needed
 Reliable: trusted
 Secured: not to be access by unauthorized users
 Verifiable: check its correctness
 Simple: without complexity, inf. overload

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 Information/knowledge Hierarchy

 Data  processing  Information

 Information  intelligence  Knowledge
 Knowledge  experience  Wisdom

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Cont.

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 Defining Systems
 An interrelated set of components that work together within an identifiable
boundary to achieve common objectives (purposes). Systems have:
 Component – One part/group of parts (sub-systems)

 Interrelationships – the function of one component depends on the function &

existence of the other (output of one – the input for the other)
 Objective/purpose – the main reason for the existence of a system: set of defined
objectives
 Boundary – Conceptual line drawn around the system that separates the system from
the environment
 What is inside and outside of the system
 scope of operation/functional boundary: what the system can and cannot do

 Environment – everything outside a system & interact with a system

 Systems interact with the environment

 Events in the environment affect the system

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 Cont.
 Interface: the points at which two systems, subjects, organizations, etc.
meets and interact (e.g. menu in computer system)
 set of rules/procedures for how a system interacts (communicates) with the
environment

 Input - whatever the system takes in from the environment

 Output – whatever returned to the environment (product/service)

 Constraints - limits or restrictions to what a system can accomplish

(capacity, resources, …)
 Feedback: The reaction or response of the environment to the output is
known as feedback. Feedback is useful in evaluating and improving the
functioning of the system.

Therefore,
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System = C + I + O + B + E + I + I/O + C + F
 Cont.
 The entire system is broken into three parts namely - input, process and
output.

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 STOPOVER

Time for refreshment, reflection issues and

forwarding through text

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 System Types

 Simple vs. Complex

 Simple: easily define system’s output from known inputs; no need of
high level system analysis
• E.g. A college classroom system – Instructors, Students, Text, Facility

– educated citizen

 Complex: Multitude of components and relationships;

processes are not describable with single rule; unpredictable
occurrence of features from the current specification
• Example: organisms, human brain, social & economic system

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 Cont.

 Open vs. Closed System

 Open: dynamically interact to their environments
 taking inputs and transforming them into outputs to be distributed

into their environments

 exchange of feedback with its external environment
 Analyzed & used for adjusting internal systems & necessary information is

transmitted back to the environment

• E.g. Living Organism, organizations

 Closed: nearly no interaction with and not influenced by the environment;

 its operation is relatively independent of its environment

 E.g. Dry Battery, Watch

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 Cont.

 Adaptive vs. Non-Adaptive

 Adaptive System – changing behavior based on its environment; react
to what other agents are doing; tailoring the response based on the
problem
 Non-Adaptive System - fail to adopt to the environment;
steady/stable/fixed
 Natural/man-made (solar system/organization)
 Conceptual/physical (social system or theory/production system)

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 System Performance Measures
 Efficiency
 A measure of the use of inputs (or resources) to achieve results.

 Achieved output divided by consumed input

 Effectiveness
 A measure of the extent to which a system achieves its goals

(achieved output divided by expected output)

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 Defining Information System

 An information system is defined as the software that helps

organize and analyze data.
 The purpose of an information system is to turn raw data into
useful information that can be used for decision making in an
organization.
 The role of the Information systems to provide information to
management which will enable them to make decisions which
ensure that the organization is controlled.
 The organization will be in control if it is meeting the needs of
the environment.

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 Components of information System

 In an organization, an information systems consists

of:
 People
 Hardware
 Software
 Communication
 Data
 Procedure

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 Con’t

 People resources include the users and developers of an information

system and those who help maintain and operate the system such as
IS managers and technical support staff.
 Hardware resources include computers and other items such as
printers.
 Software resources refer to computer programs known as software
and associated instruction manuals.
 Communications resources include networks ,the hardware and
software needed to support them.
 Data resources cover the data that an organization has access to such
as computer databases and paper files.
 Procedure rule for achieving optimal and secure operation in data
processing. Procedure include priorities in dispensing software
applications and security measure

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End of Session 1

Q&A

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