O'Brien CoverManagement Information Systems 4/e - James A. O'Brien
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Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Information Systems



Key Terms and Concepts-Defined
key terms

Business Information Systems
Information systems within a business organization that support one of the traditional functions of business such as marketing finance or production. Business information systems can be either operations or management information systems.

Control
The systems component that evaluates feedback to determine whether the system is moving toward the achievement of its goal and then makes any necessary adjustments to the input and processing components of the system to ensure that proper output is produced.

Cross-Functional Information System
Information systems that cross the boundaries of functional business areas in order to support business processes across the organization.

Data
Facts or observations about physical phenomena or business transactions. More specifically data are objective measurements of the attributes (characteristics) of entities such as people places things and events.

Data or Information Processing
The act of converting data into information.

Data Resources
Data model and knowledge bases

Decision Support Systems(DSS)
An information system that utilizes decision models adatabase and a decision maker's own insights in an ad hoc interactive analytical modelling process to reach a specific decision by a specific decision maker

Enterprise Collaboration Systmes
Enhance collaboration among networked teams and workgroups

Executive Information System (EIS)
Information systems that provides strategic information tailored to needs of top management.

Expanding Roles of IS's
Figure 2.12

Expert Systems
A computer-based information system that uses its knowledge about a specific complex application area to act as an expert consultant to users. The system consists of a knowledge base and software modules that perform inferences on the knowledge and communicates answers to a user's questions.

Feedback
Data or information concerning the components and operations of a systems performance.

Hardware Resources
Includes all physical devices and materials used in information processing (Machines and media).

Information
Data that has been placed into a meaningful context for an end user.

Information System Activities
Input processing output storage and control

Information System Model
An information system uses people hardware software network and data resources to perform input processing output storage and control activities that transform data resources into information products.

Integrated Information Systems
Information systems that combine the capabilities of several types of information systems.

Knowledge Management System
Collect organize and disseminate business know-how within a company

Management Information System
Information systems designed to provide information needed for effective decision making by managers.

Management Support System
Include executive information systems decision support systems and management information systems.

Network Resources
Network resources include communications media and network support.

Operations Support Systems
Include office automation systems transaction processing systems and process control systems.

People Resources
IS Specialists and end users.

Process Control Systems
Computer-based systems that control an ongoing physical process such as petrochemical production.

Software Resources: Programs
A set of instructions that cause a computer to perform a particular task.

Software Resources: Procedures
Set of instructions used by people to complete a task.

Strategic Information Systems
Information systems that provide a firm with competitive products and services that give it a strategic advantage over its competitors in the marketplace.

Subsystem
A system that is a component of a larger system

System
A system is a group of interrelated components working together toward a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs in an organized transformation process.

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
Information systems that process data arising from the occurrence of business transactions.

Types of Information Systems
Information systems can be classified into operations management and other categories.



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