ISYS 363 Final Exam Key Terms Flashcards
a professional who is relatively well educated and who creates, modifies, and/or synthesizes knowledge as a fundamental part of their job
knowledge worker
a society in which education is the cornerstone of society and there is an increase in the importance of knowledge workers
knowledge society
an organization that uses information technologies or systems to support nearly every part of its business
e-business
the gap between those individuals in our society who are computer literate and have access to information resources such as the internet and those who do not
digital divide
the integration of economies throughout the world, enabled by innovation and technological progress
globalization
the moving of routine jobs and/or tasks to people in another firm
outsourcing
changes in the structure of populations, such as related to age, birth rates and migration
demographic changes
the movement of rural populations to urban areas
urbanization
changes in countries’ purchasing power and control over natural resources
shifts in global economic power
limited availability of fossil fuels and other natural resources
resource scarcity
large-scale and long-term regional and global changes in temperatures and weather patterns
climate change
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
sustainable development
clothing or accessories, such as smart watches or fitness trackers, that incorporate information technologies
wearable technologies
the logging of all aspects of one’s daily life to improve overall health and performance
quantified self
a software program that is designed to perform a particular, well-defined function, typically built for mobile devices
app
bring your own device; employees using their own devices for work-related purposes
BYOD
the trend of technological innovations first being introduced in the consumer marketplace before being used by organizations
consumerization of IT
the notion that the value of a network (or tool or application based on a network) is dependent on the number of other users
network effect
a network of a broad range of physical objects that can automatically share data over the internet
Internet of Things (IoT)
device that can detect, record, and report changes in the physical environment
sensor
technologies enabling the remote monitoring and controlling of lighting, heating, or home appliances
smart home technologies (home automation)
the use of IoT technologies in manufacturing
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
a computing model enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction
cloud computing
extremely large and complex data sets, typically characterized as being of high volume, variety and velocity
Big Data
the use of robots to perform manual tasks
robotics
the knowledge of how to operate a computer
computer literacy
the use of IS to support everything from patient diagnosis and treatment to analyzing patient and disease data to running doctors’ offices and hospitals
healthcare IS
the ability to independently learn new technologies as they emerge and assess their impact on one’s work and life
computer fluency
the combination of people and information technology that create, collect, process, store, and distribute useful data
information system (IS)
the hardware, software, and networking components of an information system
information technology (IT)
physical computer equipment, such as the computer monitor, central processing unit, or keyboard
hardware
a program (or set of programs) that instructs the computer to perform certain processing functions
software
a group of two or more computer systems linked together with communications equipment
telecommunications network
raw symbols, such as characters and numbers, that have no meaning in and of themselves, and are of little value until processed
data
the suitability of data for its intended use, consisting of completeness, accuracy, timeliness, validity, and consistency
data quality
data that have been formatted and/or organized in some way so as to be useful to people
information
a body of governing procedures such as guidelines or rules that are used to organize or manipulate data to make the data suitable for a given task
knowledge
an information system designed to process day-to-day business-event data at the operational level of the organization
transaction processing system (TPS)
an information system designed to support the management of organizational functions at the managerial level of the organization
management information system (MIS)
connecting host computers and their networks to form even larger networks
internetworking
linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally to act as a coordinated whole
systems integration
a collection of software and hardware for developing documents, scheduling resources, and communicating
office automation system
a way of thinking in which plans are made to accomplish specific long-term goals
strategic
a firm’s ability to do something better, faster, cheaper, or uniquely as compared with rival firms in the market
competitive advantage
a broad range of issues and standards of conduct that have emerged through the use and proliferation of information systems
computer ethics
an ethical issue that is concerned with what information an individual should have to reveal to others through the course of employment or through other transactions such as online shopping
information privacy
a statement on a website containing information about what data are gathered, what they are used for, who will have access to the data, whether provision of the data is required or voluntary, and how confidentiality will be ensured
data privacy statement
to signal agreement to the collection/further use of one’s data (e.g., by checking a box)
opt in
to signal that data cannot be collected/used in other ways (e.g., by checking a box)
opt out
creations of the mind that have commercial value
intellectual property (IP)
technology for creating physical three-dimensional objects from digital models
3D printing
a type of marketing that allows individual website owners to earn commission by posting other companies’ ads on their web pages
affiliate marketing
the use of information systems to enhance a person’s perception of reality by providing relevant information about the user’s surroundings
augmented reality
using information systems to do an activity faster, cheaper, and perhaps with more accuracy and/or consistency
automating
a strategy to offer products or services of reasonably good quality at competitive prices
best-cost provider strategy
the alignment of information systems with a business’s strategy
business/IT alignment
the summary of a business’s strategic direction outlining how the objectives will be achieved; a business model specifies how a company will create, deliver, and capture value
business model
a set of related activities an organization performs in order to reach its business goals
business process
an organization’s ability to leverage its resources
capabilities
an economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the internet
sharing economy (collaborative economy)
the securing of business financing from individuals in the marketplace–the “crowd”–to fund an initiative
crowdfunding
a strategy in which an organization differentiates itself by providing better products or services than its competitors
differentiation strategy
an innovation that uses markedly new or different technology to access new customer segments and/or provide significantly greater benefits to existing customers, and eventually marginalizes or replaces existing products or services
radical innovation (disruptive innovation)
a model suggesting that the extent to which modern organizations use information technologies and systems in timely, innovative ways is the key to success
disruptive innovation cycle
any unique strength possessed by an organization (e.g., innovation, agility, quality, or low cost) that helps to pursue an organizational strategy
distinctive competency
opportunities that a firm finds for making more money and/or making money in new ways
economic opportunities
the extent to which goals or tasks are accomplished well
effectiveness
the extent to which goals are accomplished faster, at lower cost, or with relatively little time and effort
efficiency
an information technology that enables a firm to accomplish a task or goal or to gain or sustain a competitive advantage in some way
enabling technology
revenue model where limited versions of digital products are offered for free, but a premium is charged for special features
freemium
temporary competitive advantage derived from being the first to enter a market
first-mover advantage
a metric deemed critical to assessing progress toward a certain organizational goal
key performance indicator (KPI)
a cross-organizational-level information system designed to support a specific functional area
functional area information system
an economy in which workers are not employed by a company, but are only hired for short-term, temporary jobs
gig economy
a decision where problems and solutions are not clear-cut and often require judgment and expertise
semistructured decision
the creation of new products, processes, or services that return value to the organization
innovation
a decision where few or no procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance
unstructured decision
a strategy to offer the best prices in the industry on goods or services
low-cost leadership strategy
the bottom level of an organization, where the routine, day-to-day business processes and interactions with customers occur
operational level
the process of integrating external stakeholders into an organization’s innovation process
open innovation
a firm’s plan to accomplish its mission and goals as well as to gain or sustain competitive advantage over rivals
organizational strategy
a business model that enables others–both other businesses and users–to co-create value, such that some users create value and other users consume
platform
the process of forming a vision of where the organization needs to head, converting that vision into measurable objectives and performance targets, and crafting a plan to achieve the desired results
strategic planning
any event, such as the exchange of goods or services for money, that occurs as part of daily business of which an organization must keep a record
transaction
an organization’s specific assets that are utilized to create cost or product differentiation from its competitors
resources
the process of analyzing an organization’s activities to determine where value is added to products and/or services and the costs that are incurred for doing so
value chain analysis
head-mounted device enabling immersive three-dimensional experiences
virtual reality (VR) headset
technology-based new venture with high potential for scalability and growth
startup
something an organization must do in order to survive
strategic necessity
“X as a service”; type of business model centered around not selling products, but providing these as services
XaaS
the interconnection of various structural elements to support an overall entity, such as an organization, city, or country
infrastructure
the hardware, software, networks, data, facilities, human resources, and services used by organizations to support their decision making, business processes, and competitive strategy
information systems infrastructure (digital infrastructure)
the formal definition of an organization’s technologies, systems, and processes that support the organization’s specific business processes and strategy
information systems architecture
software used to perform a specific task that the user needs to accomplish
application software
a collection of related data organized in a way to facilitate data searches
database
a software application used to create, store, organize, and retrieve data from a single database or several databases
database management system (DBMS)
the most expensive and most powerful category of computers. It is primarily used to assist in solving massive research and scientific problems
supercomputer
a very large computer typically used as the main, central computing system by major corporations and governmental agencies
mainframe
the most expensive and most powerful category of computers. It is primarily used to assist in solving massive research and scientific problems
supercomputer
a high-performance computer that is designed for medical, engineering, or animation and graphics design uses, and is optimized for visualization and rendering of three-dimensional models
workstation
a stationary computer used for personal computing and small business computing
personal computer (PC)
a microprocessor-based system optimized to perform a limited, well-defined set of tasks
embedded system
the use of electromagnetic energy to transmit information between a reader (transceiver) and a processing device; used to replace bar codes and bar code readers
radio frequency identification (RFID)
the processing device used in an RFID system that uniquely identifies an object
RFID tag
the collection of programs that controls the basic operations of computer hardware
system software
software that coordinates the interaction between hardware devices, peripherals, application software, and users
operating system
an auxiliary device, such as mouse or keyboard, that is connected to a computer
peripheral
a computer program that allows a computer to communicate with various different peripherals and other hardware devices
device driver
the sharing of data or services between computers using wireless or cable transmission media
computer networking
the physical pathways to send data and information between two or more entities on a network
transmission media
procedures that different computers follow when they transmit and receive data
protocols
the transmission capacity of a computer or communications channel
bandwidth
a group of computers and associated peripheral devices connected by a communication channel capable of sharing data and other resources among users
network
any computer or software application that requests and uses services provided by a server
client
a microcomputer with minimal memory, storage, and processing capabilities, used for remotely accessing virtual desktops
thin client
the practice of providing workers with a virtual desktop environment (hosted on a central computer), helping to reduce costs for software licensing or maintenance and to comply with stringent privacy and data protection laws
desktop virtualization
any computer that may both request and provide services
peer
a network in which servers and clients have defined roles
client-server network
networks that enable any computer or device on the network to provide and request services
peer-to-peer (P2P) networks
a wireless network used to exchange data between computing devices using short-range radio communication, typically within an area of 10 meters
personal area network
a computer network that spans a relatively small area, allowing all computer users to connect with each other to exchange data and share peripheral devices, such as printers
local area network (LAN)
a computer network that spans a relatively large geographic area; typically used to connect two or more LANs
wide area network (WAN)
a type of network spanning multiple buildings, such as a university or business campus
campus area network
a computer network of limited geographic scope—typically a citywide area—that combines LAN and high-speed fiber-optic technologies
metropolitan area network
a local area network that uses a wireless transmission protocol
wireless local area network (WLAN)
wireless LAN, based on the 802.11 family of standards
Wi-Fi network (wireless fidelity)
a large worldwide collection of networks that use a common protocol to communicate with each other
internet
a system of Internet servers that support documents formatted in HTML, which supports links to other documents as well as graphics, audio, and video files
World Wide Web (WWW)
a software application that can be used to access and display web pages including text, graphics, and multimedia content
web browser
text in a web document that is linked to other text or content
hypertext
a hypertext document stored on a web server that contains not only content, but also references or links to other documents that contain related content
web page
a reference or link on a web page to another document that contains related information
hyperlink
the standard method of specifying the structure and content of web pages
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
a computer used to host websites
web server
the standard regulating how servers process user requests for web pages
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
a collection of interlinked web pages typically belonging to the same person or business organization
website
the unique Internet address for a website and specific web pages within sites
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
the part of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that identifies a source or host entity on the Internet
domain name
a URL’s suffix (i.e.,.com, .edu, or .org) representing the highest level of Internet domain names in the domain name system
top-level domain
the part of TCP/IP that is responsible for addressing and correct routing of packages from source to destination
IP address
the protocol of the Internet, which allows different interconnected networks to communicate using the same language
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
the parts of the web that cannot be indexed by conventional search engines
deep web
an internal, private network using web technologies to facilitate the secured transmission of proprietary information within an organization, thereby restricting access to authorized users within the organization
intranet
a private part of the Internet—cordoned off from ordinary users—that enables two or more firms to use the Internet to do business together
extranet
the prediction that computer processing performance would double every 24 months
Moore’s law
the design of a product so that it lasts for only a certain predetermined life span
planned obsolescence
a form of on-demand computing where resources in terms of processing, data storage, or networking are rented on an as-needed basis. The organization only pays for the services used
utility computing
a pricing model in a utility computing model where providers monitor usage and customers pay only for what they use, and the metering depends on type of resource
measured service
a cloud computing model in which only the basic capabilities of processing, storage, and networking are provided
infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
a cloud computing model in which the customer can run his or her own applications that are typically designed using tools provided by the service provider; the customer has limited or no control over the underlying infrastructure
platform as a service (PaaS)
a cloud computing model in which a service provider offers applications via a cloud infrastructure
software as a service (SaaS)
cloud infrastructure offered on a commercial basis by a cloud service provider
public cloud
the ability to adapt to increases or decreases in demand for processing or data storage
scalability
cloud infrastructure that is internal to an organization
private cloud
a contract specifying the level of service provided in terms of performance (e.g., as measured by uptime), warranties, disaster recovery, and so on
service-level agreement (SLA)
a software architecture in which business processes are broken down into individual components (or services) that are designed to achieve the desired results for the service consumer (which can be either an application, another service, or a person)
service-oriented architecture (SOA)
an individual software component designed to perform a specific task
service
a computing architecture that combines the computing power of a large number of smaller, independent, networked computers (often regular desktop PCs) into a cohesive system in order to solve large-scale computing problems
grid computing
a grid computing architecture consisting of homogeneous computers that are dedicated to performing the grid’s computing tasks
dedicated grid
a network of servers in various geographical locations that store copies of particular websites so as to reduce latency
content delivery network
the use of the Internet protocol for transporting voice, video, fax, and data traffic
IP convergence
the use of Internet technologies for placing telephone calls
voice over IP (VoIP)
the use of Internet technologies for videoconferences
videoconferencing over IP
attempts to use computing resources more efficiently to reduce environmental impacts, as well as the use of information systems to reduce negative environmental impacts
green computing
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the exchange of goods and services via the Internet among and between customers, firms, employees, business partners, suppliers, and so on
electronic commerce (EC)
electronic commerce transactions between businesses and end consumers
business-to-consumer (B2C)
electronic commerce transactions between business partners, such as suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors
business-to-business (B2B)
electronic commerce transactions taking place solely between consumers
consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
electronic commerce transactions in which consumers sell goods or services to businesses
consumer-to-business (C2B)
any electronic transaction or information interaction conducted using a wireless, mobile device and mobile networks that leads to a transfer of real or perceived value in exchange for information, services, or goods
m-commerce (mobile commerce)
the use of information systems to provide citizens, organizations, and other governmental agencies with information about and access to public services
e-government
online interactions between federal, state, and local governments and their constituents
government-to-citizen (G2C)
electronic commerce that involves a country’s government and businesses
government-to-business (G2B)
electronic interactions that take place between countries or between different levels of government within a country
government-to-government (G2G)
the use of information systems to provide financial services and markets
e-finance
the use of the Internet to conduct financial transactions
online banking
the use of online banking for bill paying
electronic bill pay
conducting financial transactions using mobile devices
mobile banking
the use of the Internet to obtain information about stock quotes and manage financial portfolios
online brokerage
technologies that support activities in the financial sector
fintech
a business approach exclusively utilizing physical locations, such as department stores, business offices, and manufacturing plants, without an online presence
brick-and-mortar business strategy
electronic retailing; the online sales of goods and services
e-tailing
a business approach that exclusively utilizes an online presence. Companies using this strategy are also referred to as virtual companies
click-only business strategy (virtual company)
a business approach utilizing both physical locations and virtual locations. Also referred to as “bricks-and-clicks”
click-and-mortar business strategy (bricks-and-clicks business strategy)
offering the customer different (independent) touchpoints, such as a retail store and a catalogue
multichannel retailing
offering the customer different touchpoints, such that transactions take place across multiple environments
cross-channel retailing
providing seamless, simultaneous retail interactions using different channels, such that a customer does not interact with a single channel but with the brand as a whole
omni-channel retailing
bluetooth device that can detect proximate smartphones and send marketing messages or personalized coupons
sales beacon
the phenomenon of cutting out the “middleman” in transactions and reaching customers more directly and efficiently
disintermediation
the design of a business model that reintroduces middlemen in order to reduce the chaos brought on by disintermediation
reintermediation
tailoring products and services to meet the particular needs of individual customers on a large scale
mass customization
special volume discounts negotiated with local businesses and offered to people in the form of “daily deals”; if enough people agree to purchase the product or service, everyone can purchase the product at the discounted price
group buying
pricing model under which companies set and present non-negotiable prices for products to consumers
menu-driven pricing model
pricing model under which customers specify the product or service they are looking for and how much they are willing to pay for it, and the provider either accepts or rejects the customers’ bids
dynamic pricing model
leveraging visitors’ social networks in e-commerce interactions to build lasting relationships, advertise products, or otherwise create value
social commerce
a web page’s characteristics related to security and performance
structural firmness
a web page’s characteristics that make the interaction with the site easier or more convenient
functional convenience
a web page’s characteristics that stimulate a user’s senses
representational delight
two-dimensional barcode with a high storage capacity
QR code
methods for improving a site’s ranking in search engine results
search engine optimization (SEO)
advertising that is listed in the sponsored search results for a specific search term
search advertising (sponsored search)
the inclusion of a website in a search engine’s listing after payment of a fee
paid inclusion
pricing model under which pricing is based on the number of times the page containing an ad is displayed, typically expressed in cost per thousand impressions (i.e., cost per mille, or CPM)
impression based model
a payment model used in online advertising where the advertiser pays the website owner a fee for visitors clicking on a certain link
pay-per-click model
the abuse of pay-per-click advertising models by repeatedly clicking on a link to inflate revenue to the host or increase costs for the advertiser
click fraud
the number of visitors who click on an ad (i.e., clicks) divided by the number of times it was displayed (i.e., impressions)
click-through rate
the percentage of visitors to a website who perform the desired action
conversion rate
the analysis of web use’s behavior in order to improve a site’s performance
web analytics
highly personalized mobile services based on a user’s location
location-based services
shoppers coming into a store to evaluate the look and feel of a product and then purchasing it online or at a competitor’s store
showrooming
an electronic auction
e-auction
virtual currency that is not issued by any central bank and uses encryption technologies to secure transactions and generate new units of the currency
cryptocurrency
a decentralized public ledger that is highly resilient against tampering, as transactions are added in blocks, serving as proof of all transactions ever made
blockchain
a three-digit code located on the back of a credit card; used in transactions when the physical card is not present
card security code
an act mandating a moratorium on electronic commerce taxation in order to stimulate electronic commerce
Internet Tax Freedom Act
a technological solution that allows publishers to control their digital media (music, movies, and so on) to discourage, limit, or prevent illegal copying and distribution
digital rights management (DRM)
a digital or physical mark that is difficult to reproduce; used to prevent counterfeiting or to trace illegal copies to the original purchaser
watermark
the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated the same
net neutrality
