Key management challanges involved in building operating and maintaining information systems today?

Answer 1

Q.No: 1(a) Discuss the challenges and opportunities that business managers face in managing information system and information technologies.

(b) Describe all the components and resources of an information system.

Answer

(a)

Management Information System - Information Technology

Management information system or management information services, and pronounced as separate letters, MIS refers broadly to a computer-based system that provides managers with the tools for organizing, evaluating and efficiently running their departments. In order to provide past, present and prediction information, an MIS can include software that helps in decision making, data resources such as databases, the hardware resources of a system, decision support systems, people management and project management applications, and any computerized processes that enable the department to run efficiently.

Within companies and large organizations, the department responsible for computer systems is sometimes called the MIS department. Other names for MIS include IS (Information Services) and IT (Information Technology).

Information Technology is the hardware, software and telecommunications used interchangeably. These technologies provide the means to transmit, store and retrieve data, voice and video to anyplace in the world in real time.

Challenges:

1. Workforce downsizing

2. Information overload

3. Employee mistrust

4. Difficult to built

5. Security breaches

Opportunities:

1. Enhanced global competitiveness

2. Capture market opportunities

3. Support corporate strategy

4. Enhance worker productivity

5. Improve quality of goods and services

Information Systems are indispensable to the business, industry, academia and any organization to meet the future challenges Management information systems encompass a broad and complex topic. To make this topic more manageable, boundaries will be defined. First, because of the vast number of activities relating to management information systems, a total review is not possible. Those discussed here is only a partial sampling of activities, reflecting the author's viewpoint of the more common and interesting developments. Likewise where there were multiple effects in a similar area of development, only selected ones will be used to illustrate concepts. This is not to imply one effort is more important than another. Also, the main focus of this paper will be on information systems for use at the farm level and to some lesser extent systems used to support researchers addressing farm level problems (e.g., simulation or optimization models, geographic information systems, etc.) and those used to support agribusiness firms that supply goods and services to agricultural producers and the supply chain beyond the production phase.

Secondly, there are several frameworks that can be used to define and describe management information systems. More than one will be used to discuss important concepts. Because more than one is used, it indicates the difficult of capturing the key concepts of what is a management information system. Indeed, what is viewed as an effective and useful management information system is one environment may not be of use or value in another.

Lastly, the historical perspective of management information systems cannot be ignored. This perspective gives a sense of how these systems have evolved, been refined and adapted as new technologies have emerged, and how changing economic conditions and other factors have influenced the use of information systems.

(b)

There are five major components or resources that must come together in order to produce an Information system.

Let's discuss each in detail: -

1. Hardware: The term hardware refers to machinery. This category includes the computer itself, which is often, referred to as the central processing unit (CPU), and all of its support equipments. Among the support equipments are input and output devices, storage devices and communications devices.

2. Software: The term software refers to computer programs and the manuals (if any) that support them. Computer programs are machine-readable instructions that direct the circuitry within the hardware parts of the IS to function in ways that produce useful information from data. Programs are generally stored on some input / output medium, often a disk or tape.

3. Data: Data are facts that are used by programs to produce useful information. Like Programs, data are generally stored in machine-readable form on disk or tape until the computer needs them.

4. Procedures: Procedures are the policies that govern the operation of a computer system. "Procedures are to people what software is to hardware" is a common analogy that is used to illustrate the role of procedures in a IS.

5. People: Every IS needs people if it is to be useful. Often the most over-looked element of the Information System is the people, probably the component that most influence the success or failure of information systems.

The major types of information systems are shown in the below model:

Types of Information System