Lecture 1 Reviewer Flashcards
a ___ is an organized collection of parts (or subsystems) that are highly integrated to accomplish an overall goal
system
The system has various inputs, which go through certain processes to produce certain outputs, which together, accomplish the ___ for the system
overall desired goal
a system is usually made up of many smaller ___, or ___
systems; subsystems
___ range from simple to complex
Systems
___ are comprised of numerous subsystems
complex systems
Each subsystem has its own boundaries of sorts and includes various ___ geared to accomplish an overall goal for the subsystem
inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes
___ usually interact with their environments and are, thus, open systems.
Complex systems
A ___ continually exchanges feedback among its various parts to ensure that they remain closely aligned and focused on achieving the goal of the system.
high-functioning system
If any of the parts or activities in the system seems weakened or misaligned, the system …
makes necessary adjustments to achieve its goals
Consequently, a system is ___.
systematic
___ are items that are use by the various processes in the system to achieve the overall goal of the system
inputs
General types of inputs include, for example: (7)
people, money, equipment, facilities, supplies, people’s ideas and people’s time
inputs to a service that provides training to customers might include: (6)
trained teachers, students, training materials, classrooms, funding, and paper and pencils
___ can also be major forces that influence the organization and its products and services
Inputs
For example, various laws and regulations influence how the product or service is provided
input influence
___ are often identified with the cost to obtain and use them
Inputs
a ___ is a listing of the
system’s inputs and the costs (expenses) to obtain and use the inputs, along with any monies
expected to be earned or raised (revenues) from the system’s outputs
budget
or activities, are series of activities conducted by the organization, product, or service that manipulate the various inputs to achieve the overall desired goal of the organization, product, or service
processes
For example, the major processes used by a service that provides training to customers
might include (5)
recruitment of students, pre-testing, training, post-testing, and certification
Processes can range from the ___ of putting a piece of paper on a desk to the ___ of manufacturing a space shuttle
simplicity; complexity
Leaders are usually concerned primarily with the most important recurring processes in the organization, for example, (3)
its plans, policies, and procedures
Some people refer to the processes as the: (3)
“activities,” “methods” or “throughputs.”
are the tangible results produced by the organization, product, or service
outputs
are often described by using numbers, for example, the number of students who finished a certain program
outputs
are often mistaken to indicate the success of an organization or one of its products or
services
outputs
The success of a program or service is determined, not by the range and number of customers
trained (that is, not by the outputs), but by…
how well the customers benefited from that training (that is, from the outcomes of their participation).
are the ultimate results that the system wants to accomplish
goals
TRUE OR FALSE: All systems are goal-directed
TRUE
it is so important for
leaders to establish __ and thoroughly ___ them throughout the organization
goals; communicate
The ___ of an organization are usually described in terms of its mission, or purpose
overall goals
TRUE OR FALSE: the mission, vision, and strategic goals are usually determined during strategic planning
TRUE
___ is an important responsibility of the role of organization’s leaders
strategic planning
Note that an organization can have goals in a variety of dimensions, for example: (3). These impacts are often referred to as ___
goals regarding activities of the organization, activities of customers, or impacts on customers; outcomes
continuously exchanged among the various parts of an organization and, ideally, with
the environment external to the organization, as well
feedback
comes from a variety of sources, for example, from external stakeholders (customers, community leaders, investors), Board members, the
Chief Executive Officer and other employees
feedback
can also come from evaluations of the organization, products, services, and personnel
feedback
TRUE OR FALSE: This ongoing feedback, or communication, is
absolutely critical to the success of the organization
TRUE
An ___ has to continually include ongoing feedback within the organization and with its environment
organization
___ means making some measurements from the feedback
assessment
___ means collecting information, or feedback, in an orderly manner and making judgments to make important decisions
evaluation
An effective organization is ___ to evaluate its effectiveness
in the organization
continually collecting and assessing feedback
Often, ___ are focused on various outputs, or measures, from the system
assessment and evaluation
___ can be focused on the entire organization or any of its subsystems, for example, on administrative and management functions, products, services, and personnel
Evaluation
___ can be with regard to the quality of ongoing activities in the organization (formative evaluation) or the activities’ final results (summative evaluation).
Evaluation
is enhanced knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are gained to remain or become more effective in achieving desired results
Learning
occurs within people and, ideally, within groups, processes, and the organization itself
Learning
Learning often is the result of the ___ of feedback in and around the organization
assessment and evaluation
Learning is critical because it ensures that the organization
is…
continually improving its understanding of itself and its environment
an approach to analysis that zeros in on how the different parts of a system interrelate and how systems work within the context of other, larger systems
Systems Thinking
The concept of “Systems Thinking” originated in ___, when the ___ was created by ___ at the ___ at MIT
1956; Systems Dynamic Group; Professor Jay W. Forrester; Sloan School of Management
It utilizes computer simulations and different graphs and diagrams to illustrate and predict system behavior
Systems Thinking
Some of the popular graphics used in the analysis include the: (4)
causal loop diagram, the behavior over time graph, the management flight simulator, and the simulation model
When it comes to managing organizations, many find ___ an effective approach, as it sees how different complex entities ___ each other and make up the whole system
systems thinking; interact and influence
Different divisions or teams within an organization ___ each other; Ideally, they work together toward a goal
connect with and affect
Business leaders who are systems thinkers see “___”, and that is what they focus on to maximize performance within the organization
the big picture
Aside from understanding how various components work with and affect each other, systems thinkers also…
consider how their actions in any component can affect the system as a whole
There’s also the concept of supply and demand, where systems thinkers know ___, as well as the external factors that can affect demand
when and where their outputs will be needed
They also understand the capacity of their organization to meet the marketplace demand.
system thinkers
An essential component of systems thinking is ___
focusing on feedback
Giving attention to relevant feedback enables business leaders to…
come up with solutions to problems and avoid wasting resources
___ is a primary goal of using systems thinking analysis.
Maximizing operational efficiency
When business leaders are systems thinkers, they veer away from the practice of ___
just giving instructions and controlling the system
___ recognize the importance of integrating the personal goals of employees with the overarching business goals of the company
systems thinkers
In ___, business leaders allow employees to understand how the organization works and encourage them to help improve processes to meet overall corporate goals
systems thinking
refers to the process by which multiple individual subsystems or sub-components are combined into one all-encompassing larger system thereby allowing the subsystems to function together
System Integration
___ created through system integration allows the main system to achieve the overarching functionality required by the organization
symbiosis
Using different IT components for different tasks is a common practice. But as business functions expand, ___. That’s when system integration comes to the rescue.
companies may become overwhelmed by lots of disjointed tools that can’t share data and work together
___ is the process of joining software and hardware modules into one cohesive infrastructure, enabling all pieces to work as a whole
System integration
system integration is also often called:
IT integration or software integration
advantages of system integration
1) Increased productivity
2) More accurate and trustworthy data
3) Faster decision-making
4) Cost-effectiveness
advantages of system integration: Integrated systems allow for centralized control over the daily processes which adds to the efficiency of the entire workflow. A company gets more work done in less time because employees can use all apps and data they need from one entry point.
Increased productivity
advantages of system integration: Data is updated across all components of the system simultaneously, keeping all departments on the same page.
More accurate and trustworthy data
advantages of system integration: Data is no longer scattered across siloed storages. So, to perform analytics, you don’t need to manually download and export it to the centralized repository. Instead, with a holistic view of all information, you can extract useful business insights to make good decisions more rapidly.
Faster decision-making
advantages of system integration: More often than not, system integration comes at a lower cost than replacing all disjointed parts with a new single system. Not to mention the tricky process of implementing new computer infrastructures.
Cost-effectiveness
most common types of system integration that meet different business needs:
1) Legacy system integration
2) Enterprise application integration (EAI)
3) Third-party system integration
4) Business-to-business integration
Goal: integration of modern applications into existing outdated systems
Legacy system integration
Goal: unification of different subsystems inside one business environment
Enterprise application integration (EAI)
Goal: expanding the functionality of the existing system
Third-party system integration
Goal: connecting systems of two or more organizations
Business-to-business integration
Ways to connect systems:
1) Application programming interfaces (APIs)
2) Middleware
3) Webhooks
4) EDI
provide the most common and straightforward way to connect two systems
Application programming interfaces (APIs)
the hidden software layer that glues together distributed systems, applications, services, and devices
Middleware
also known as HTTP callbacks, are real-time messages, sent by one system to another when a certain event happens
Webhooks
the abbreviation for ___ — is the exchange of business information in a standard electronic format, that replaces paper documents
electronic data interchange; EDI
___ is multifaceted and can be approached through different architectural models, depending on the number and nature of components that need to be connected.
System integration
___ is the architectural pattern in which every system is directly connected to all other systems and apps it needs to work in tandem and share information with. This model can be realized via APIs, webhooks, or custom code.
Point-to-point integration (P2P)
With a ___, data is extracted from one system, modified or formatted, and then sent to another system
point-to-point connection
The ___ is a more advanced type of integration architecture that addresses the issues of point-to-point and helps to avoid the star/spaghetti mess. The connections between all subsystems are handled by a central hub (message broker), so they don’t communicate with each other directly.
hub-and-spoke model
The ___ involves the creation of a separate specialized subsystem — an ___ — that serves as a common user interface layer connecting other subsystems.
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) model; ESB architecture; enterprise service bus
Key steps of system integration
1) planning and feasibility analysis
2) architecture modeling
3) implementation
4) maintenance
A ___ is an individual or company that helps clients bridge scattered computer subsystems from different vendors and ensures those subsystems function in accordance with one integrator performing various tasks such as planning, regulating, testing, and often maintaining computer operations.
system integrator (SI)
In most organizations that use system integration, there is a need to ___ and thereby ___ of their operations.
improve efficiency; productivity and quality
The objective is usually to get the company’s various IT systems to ___ in the background so as to avoid the time and effort spent ___ with other departments/components of the organization including upper management.
communicate with each other; manually sharing information
Through ___, the organization will experience an increase in information flow speeds as well as reduced operational costs.
system integration
