INFORMATION SYSTEMS

COMPUTER NETWORKS

INTERNET
UNIT II
INFORMATION SYSTEMS

• “Information systems are combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications

networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in
organizational settings.”
• OR
• ” An information system is a set of interrelated components that work together to collect,
process, store and breakdown the information to support decision making. ”
NEED OF IS

• Information systems are useful for storing operational data, communication records,
documents, and revision histories. Manual data storage will cost the company lots of time,
especially when it comes to searching for specific data.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

• Information systems allow users to collect, store, organize and distribute data that can serve a
variety of purposes for companies.

• Many businesses use their information systems to manage resources and improve efficiency.
COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Hardware
• The hardware component of an information system comprises the physical elements of the
system. People can touch and feel pieces of hardware. These mechanisms, equipment and
wiring allow systems like computers, smartphones and tablets to function.

• Input and output devices are essential pieces of technology that allow humans to interact with
computers and other information systems.

• Keyboards, mice, microphones and scanners are all examples of input devices. And output
devices might include printers, monitors, speakers and sound and video cards.
• Software

• Software are the intangible programs that manage information system functions, including
input, output, processing and storage.

• System software – such as the MacOS or Microsoft Windows operating systems – provides a
base for application software to run.

• Application software operates programs geared toward particular uses in information systems.
For example, word processing applications are used to create and edit text documents.
Telecommunications

• Telecommunications systems connect computer networks and allow information to be

transmitted through them. Telecommunications networks also allow computers and storage
services to access information from the cloud.

• There are a number of methods telecommunications networks use to convey information.

Coaxial cables and fibre optic cables are used by telephone, internet and cable providers to
transmit data, video and audio messages.

• Local-area networks (LANs) Wide-area networks (WANs)

Data

• Data are intangible, raw facts that are stored, transmitted, analyzed and processed by other
components of information systems. Data are often stored as numerical facts, and they
represent quantitative or qualitative information.

• Data can be stored in a database or data warehouse, in a form that best suits the organization
using it.

• Databases house collections of data that can be queried or retrieved for specific purposes.
Databases allow users to perform fundamental operations, such as storage and retrieval. Data
warehouses, on the other hand, store data from multiple sources for analytical purposes. They
allow users to assess an organization or its operations.
Human Resources

• Human resources are a crucial part of information systems.

• The human component of information systems encompasses the qualified people who
influence and manipulate the data, software and processes in information systems.

• Humans involved in information systems may include business analysts, 

information security analysts or system analysts.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM
• Characteristics of Information system
• Availability/accessibility
• Accuracy
• Reliability or objectivity
• Relevance/appropriateness
• Completeness
• Level of detail/conciseness
• Presentation
• Timing
• Value of information
• Cost of information
• Availability/accessibility :
• Information should be easy to obtain or access. Information kept in a book of some kind is only
available and easy to access if you have the book to hand. 
• A good example of availability is a telephone directory, as every home has one for its local
area.  It is probably the first place you look for a local number.
• But nobody keeps the whole country’s telephone books so for numbers further afield you
probably phone a directory enquiry number. 
• For business premises, say for a hotel in London, you would probably use the Internet.
Accuracy :
• Information needs to be accurate enough for the use to which it is going to be put.
• Obtaining information that is 100% accurate is usually unrealistic as it is likely to be too
expensive to produce on time. 
• The degree of accuracy depends upon the circumstances.  At operational levels, information
may need to be accurate to the nearest penny – on a supermarket till receipt. 
• Accuracy is important. 
• As an example, if government statistics based on the last census wrongly show an increase in
births within an area, plans may be made to build schools and construction companies may
invest in new housing developments.
Reliability or objectivity :
• Reliability deals with the truth of information or the objectivity with which it is presented. You
can only really use information confidently if you are sure of its reliability and objectivity.

• When researching for an essay in any subject, we might make straight for the library to find a
suitable book. 
• We are reasonably confident that the information found in a book, especially one that the
library has purchased, is reliable and (in the case of factual information) objective. 
• The book has been written and the author’s name is usually printed for all to see.  The
publisher should have employed an editor and an expert in the field to edit the book and
question any factual doubts they may have. 
• In short, much time and energy goes into publishing a book and for that reason we can be
reasonably confident that the information is reliable and objective.
Relevance/appropriateness :
• Information should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be suitable. What
is relevant for one manager may not be relevant for another.

• The user will become frustrated if information contains data irrelevant to the task in hand.

• For example, a market research company may give information on users’ perceptions of the
quality of a product.  This is not relevant for the manager who wants to know opinions on
relative prices of the product and its rivals.  The information gained would not be relevant to
the purpose.
Completeness :
• Information should contain all the details required by the user. Otherwise, it may not be useful
as the basis for making a decision.

• For example, if an organisation is supplied with information regarding the costs of supplying a
fleet of cars for the sales force, and servicing and maintenance costs are not included, then a
costing based on the information supplied will be considerably underestimated.
Level of detail/conciseness :
• Information should be in a form that is short enough to allow for its examination and use.
There should be no extraneous information.

• For example, it is very common practice to summarise financial data and present this
information, both in the form of figures and by using a chart or graph. 

• We would say that the graph is more concise than the tables of figures as there is little or no
extraneous information in the graph or chart. Clearly there is a trade-off between level of detail
and conciseness.
Presentation :

• The presentation of information is important to the user. Information can be more easily
understand if it is aesthetically pleasing.

• For example, a marketing report that includes graphs of statistics will be more concise as well
as more aesthetically pleasing to the users within the organisation. 
•
• Many organisations use presentation software and show summary information via a data
projector. 

• These presentations have usually been well thought out to be visually attractive and to convey
the correct amount of detail.
Timing :

• The information must be on time for the purpose for which it is required. Information received
too late will be irrelevant.

• For example, if you receive a brochure from a theatre and notice there was a concert by your
favourite band yesterday, then the information is too late to be of use.
Value of information :

• The relative importance of information for decision-making can increase or decrease its value
to an organisation.

• For example, an organisation requires information on a competitor’s performance that is critical

to their own decision on whether to invest in new machinery for their factory. The value of this
information would be high.

• Always keep in mind that information should be available on time, within cost constraints and
be legally obtained.
Cost of information :

• Information should be available within set cost levels that may vary dependent on the situation.

• If costs are too high to obtain information an organisation may decide to seek slightly less
comprehensive information elsewhere.

• For example, an organisation wants to commission a market survey on a new product. The
survey could cost more than the forecast initial profit from the product.

• In that situation, the organisation would probably decide that a less costly source of
information should be used, even if it may give inferior information.
 TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

TRANSACTION PROCESSING SYSTEM (TPS)

• Transaction Processing System are information system that processes data resulting from the
occurrences of business transactions

• Their objectives are to provide transaction in order to update records and generate reports i.e to
perform store keeping function

• The transaction is performed in two ways: Batching processing and Online transaction

processing.

• Example: Bill system, payroll system, Stock control system.

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)

• Management Information System is designed to take relatively raw data available through a
Transaction Processing System and convert them into a summarized and aggregated form for
the manager, usually in a report format. It reports tending to be used by middle management
and operational supervisors.

• Many different types of report are produced in MIS. Some of the reports are a summary report,
on-demand report, ad-hoc reports and an exception report.

• Example: Sales management systems, Human resource management system.

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (DSS):

• Decision Support Systems use different decision models to analyze or summarize large pieces
of data into an easy-to-use form that makes it easier for managers to compare and analyze
information. Often, these summaries come in the form of charts and tables.

• Decision Support System comprises tools and techniques to help in gathering relevant
information and analyze the options and alternatives, the end user is more involved in creating
DSS than an MIS.

• Example: Financial planning systems, Bank loan management systems.

EXPERTS SYSTEM:
• Experts systems include expertise in order to aid managers in diagnosing problems or in
problem-solving. These systems are based on the principles of artificial intelligence research.

• Experts Systems is a knowledge-based information system. It uses its knowledge about a

specify are to act as an expert consultant to users.

• Knowledgebase and software modules are the components of an expert system. These modules
perform inference on the knowledge and offer answers to a user’s question.
• An Example of Expert System used to predict the degree and type of lung cancer
DATA WAREHOUSES

• Data warehouses are data management systems that support analytics and other business
intelligence activities.

• They consolidate and analyze data from a large variety of sources. Data warehouses can
provide insight into businesses to help improve decision-making.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

• Geographic information systems (GIS) are tools that gather, organize, map and analyze data with
a spatial component.

• GIS can improve analysis and decision-making by allowing users to visualize data on a map.

• Global information systems are a type of GIS that synthesize worldwide data.

• An example of this kind of information is computer data collected by satellites that show land
use—the location of farms, towns, and forests.
ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS

• Enterprise systems, also known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, are integrated
systems that combine all the hardware and software a business uses for different functions in its
operations.

• These organization-wide systems help information flow between departments and allow
processes from different parts of the business to be integrated across a company.