Using Information Technology to Increase Performance Flashcards
Information vs Data
Data is the raw, unsummarized and unanalyzed facts. Examples of data include volume of sales, levels of costs, number of customers, etc.
Information is data that has been organized in a meaningful fashion, such as in a graph, chart or report.
Business intelligence (BI)
the set of tools and techniques used by managers to
transform data into meaningful information.
Four factors determine the usefulness of information to a manager:
- Quality
- Timeliness
- Completeness
- Relevance
What determines the quality of information?
Accuracy and reliability
Usefulness of Information: Timeliness
Information that is timely is available when it is required to allow managers to make decisions.
Usefulness of Information: Completeness
Information that is complete gives managers everything they need to exercise control, achieve coordination, and make effective decisions.
Usefulness of Information: Relevance
Information that is relevant is useful and suits a manager’s needs and circumstances.
Information technology (IT)
the set of methods or techniques for acquiring, organizing, storing, manipulating, and transmitting information.
Management information systems
a specific form of IT that mangers utilize to generate the specific detailed information they need
to perform their roles effectively.
Managers achieve control over organizational activities by:
- Establishing measurable standards of performance or goals.
- Measuring actual performance.
- Comparing actual performance standards or goals.
- Evaluating results and taking corrective actions, if warranted.
Information Technology for Coordinating
Coordinating department and divisional activities to achieve organizational goals is an important responsibility of management
Product Life Cycle
the way demand for a product changes in a predictable pattern over time
Product Life Cycles
- Embryonic Stage – Stage where the product
has yet to gain widespread acceptance and
demand for it is minimal. - Growth Stage – Stage where many consumers are entering the market and buying the product for the first time, and demand increased rapidly.
- Maturity Stage – Stage where market demand peaks because most customers have already bought the product.
- Decline Stage – Stage where sales start to decline and the product is no longer in high demand.
Computer Networking
the exchange of information through a group or network of interlinked computers
Servers
computers designed to process requests and
deliver data to other (client) computers over a local network or the Internet
Cloud Computing
is when data and applications can be stored at one or more offsite data centers and accessed over the Internet
Cloud Computing: Advantages
- Reduced software cost
- Improved security
- Flexible storage capacity
- Ease of access to documents and files
Cloud Computing: Disadvantages
- Possible security issues
- Stability of network and systems
- Control of data and how it is accessed
Six type of management information systems that
are extremely helpful to managers
- Transaction-Processing Systems
- Operations Information Systems
- Decision Support Systems
- Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
- Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- E-Commerce Systems
Transaction-Processing Systems
information systems designed to handle large volumes of routine recurring transactions
Operations Information Systems
are information systems that gather, organize, and summarize comprehensive data in a form that managers can use in their non-routine coordinating, controlling, and decision-making tasks
Decision Support Systems
are interactive computer-based management
information systems that managers can use to make non-routine decisions
Executive support systems
- Executive support systems are a sophisticated version of a decision support system that is designed to meet the needs of top managers
- Executive support systems are often used to link top managers virtually so they can function as a team, which is often called a group decision support
system
Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial intelligence is a behavior performed by a machine that, if performed by a human being, would be called “intelligent.”
- Artificial intelligence has made it possible to write programs that can solve problems and perform simple tasks
