Answer:
We are now ready to apply the system concepts we have learned to help us better understand how an information system works. For example, we have said that an information system is a system is a system that accepts data resources as input and processes them into information products as output. How does an information system accomplish this? What system components and activities are involved?
Figure 1 illustrates an information system model that expresses a fundamental conceptual framework for the major components and activities of information systems. An information system depends on the resources of people (end users and IS specialists), hardware (machine and media), software (programs and procedures), data (data and knowledge bases), and networks (communications media and network support) to perform input. Processing, output, storage, and control activities that convert data resources into information products.
This information systemmodel highlights the relationships among the components and activities of information systems. It provides a framework that emphasizes four major concepts that can be applied to all types of information systems:
- People, hardware, software, data, and networks are the five basic resources of information systems.
- People resources include end users and IS specialists, hardware resources consist of machines and media, software resources include both programs and procedures, data resources can include data and knowledge base, and network resources include communications media and networks.
- Data resources are transformed by information processing activities into a variety of information products for end users.
- Information processing consists of the system activities of input, processing, output, Storage, and control.
Information System Resources
Our basic IS 1model shows that an information system consists of five major resources: people, hardware, software, data, and networks. Let’s briefly discuss several basic concepts and examples of the roles these resources play as the fundamental components of information systems. You should be able to recognize these five components at work in any type of information system you encounter in the real world. Table 1 outlines several examples of typical information system resources and products.
- People Resources: People are the essential ingredient for the successful operation of all information systems. These people resources include end-users and Information System Specialists (ISS).
- End users (also called users or clients) are people who use an information system or the information it produces. They can be customers, salespersons, engineers, clerks, accountants, or managers, Most of us are information system end users. And most end users in business are knowledge workers, that is, people who spend most of their time communicating and collaborating in teams and workgroups and creating, using, and distributing information.
- IS specialists are people who develop and operate information systems. They include systems analysts, software developers, system operators, and other managerial, technical, and clerical IS personnel. Briefly, systems analysts design information systems based on the information requirements of end users, software developers create computer programs based on the specifications of systems analysts, and system operators help to monitor and operate large computer systems and networks.
2. Hardware Resources: The concept of hardware resources includes all physical devices and materials used in information processing. Specifically, it includes not only machines, such as computers and other equipment, but also all data media, that is, tangible objects on which data are recorded, from sheets of paper to magnetic or optical disks. Examples of hardware in computer-based information systems are:
- Computer systems, which consist of central processing units containing microprocessors, and a variety of interconnected peripheral devices. Examples are handheld, laptop, or desktop microcomputer systems, midrange computer systems, and large mainframe computer systems.
- Computer peripherals, which are devices such as a keyboard or electronic mouse for input of data and commands, a video screen or printer for output of information, and magnetic or optical disks for storage of data resources.
3. Software Resources: The concept of software resources includes all set of information processing instructions. This generic concept of software includes not only the sets of operating instructions called programs, which direct and control computer hardware, but also the sets of information processing instructions called procedures that people need.
It is important to understand that even information systems that don’t use computers have a software resource component. This is true even for the information systems of ancient times, or the manual and machine-supported information systems still used in the world today. They all require software resources in the form of information processing instructions and procedures in order to properly capture, process, and disseminate information to their users.
The following are examples of software resources:
- System software, such as an operating system program, which controls and supports the operations of a computer system.
- Application software, which are programs that direct processing for a particular use of computers by end users. Examples are a sales analysis program, a payroll program, and a word processing program.
- Procedures, which are operating instructions for the people who will use an information system. Examples are instructions for filling out a paper form or using a software package.
4. Data Resources: Data are more than the raw material of information systems. The concept of data resources has been broadened by managers and information systems professionals; they realize that data constitute valuable organizational resources. Thus, you should view data as data resources that must be managed effectively to benefit all end users in an organization.
The concept of data as an organizational resource has resulted in a variety of changes in the modern organization. Data that were previously captured as a result of a common transaction are now stored, processed, and analyzed using sophisticated software applications that can reveal complex relationships about sales, customers, competitors, and markets. In today’s wired world, the data to create a simple list of an organization’s customers are protected with the same energy as the cash in a bank vault. Data is the lifeblood of today’s organizations and the effective and efficient management of data is considered an integral part of organizational strategy.
Data can take many forms, including traditional alphanumeric data, composed of numbers and alphabets and other characters that describe business transactions and other events and entities. Text data, consisting of sentences and paragraphs used in written communications, image data, such as graphic shapes and figures, and photographic and video images, and audio data, the human voice and other sounds, are also important forms of data.
The data resources of information systems are typically organized, stored, and accessed by a variety of data resource management technologies into:
- Database that hold processed and organized data.
- Knowledge bases that hold knowledge in a variety of forms such as facts, rules, and case examples about successful business practices.
5. Network Resources: Telecommunications technologies and networks like the Internet intranets, and extranets are essential to the successful electronic business and commerce operations of all types of organizations and their computer-based information systems. Telecommunications networks consist of computers, communications processors, and other devices interconnected by communications media and controlled by communications software. The concept of network resources emphasizes that communications technologies and networks are a fundamental resource component of all information systems. Network resources include:
- Communications media. Examples include twisted-pair wire, coaxial and fiber-optic cables; and microwave, cellular, and satellite wireless technologies.
- Network infrastructure. This generic category emphasizes that many hardware, software, and data technologies are needed to support the operation and use of a communications network. Examples include communications processors such as modems and internetwork processors, and communications control software such as network operating systems and Internet browser packages.
