COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS
An Information system is
a set of people, procedures, and resources that collects, transforms, and
disseminates information in an organization.
Today’s end users rely on many types of Information Systems (IS). Some are simple
manual information systems, where people use tools such as pencils and paper,
or machines such as calculators and typewriters. Others are computer-based
information systems. Computer-based information systems mean the use
hardware, software, telecommunications, and other forms of Information
Technology (IT) to transform data resources into a variety of information
products. Four kinds of organizational changes are enabled by Information
systems. These are automation, rationalization, re-engineering,
and paradigm shift. When an organization does not use its internal
resources to build and operate information system it takes help of other
organizations to provide these services. This is called outsourcing. There are
advantages and disadvantages of using outsourcing. Quality programs differ
greatly from company to company. Some are merely generalized “sales” campaigns
intended to sensitize employees to the need to strive for more quality in their
daily work. At the opposite extreme, quality programs can result in fundamental
changes in the way a company does its business. Companies also follow different
routes in achieving quality. Whatever route a company selects, the more it
tries to achieve with its quality programs, the more information systems can
contribute the success of those programs.
A computer based
information system uses the resources of
people (end users and IS specialists), hardware (machines and media), and
software (programs and procedures), to perform input, processing, output,
storage, and control activities that convert data resources into information
products as shown in Figure-1.
Figure-1: The Components
of an Information System
Before going into the
details of Computer based Information System. Let us first discuss about a
system. A system is a group of interrelated components working together
toward a common goal by accepting inputs and producing outputs through an
organized transformation process.
Such a system (sometimes
called a dynamic system) has three basic interacting components or
functions:
·
Input involves capturing and assembling elements that enter the
system to be processed. For example, raw materials, energy, data, and human
effort must be secured and organized for processing.
·
Processing involves transformation processes that convert input into
output. Examples are a manufacturing process or mathematical calculations.
·
Output involves transferring elements that have been produced by a transformation
process to their ultimate destination. For example, finished products, human services,
and management information must be transmitted to their human users.
The systems concept can
be made even more useful by including two additional components: feedback
and control. A system with feedback and control components is sometimes
called a cybernetic system, that is, a self-monitoring, self-regulating system.
·
Feedback is data about the performance of a system. For example, data
about sales performance is feedback to a sales manager.
·
Control involves monitoring and evaluating feedback to determine whether
a system is moving toward the achievement of its goal. The control function then
makes necessary adjustments to a system’s input and processing components to
ensure that it produces proper output. For example, a sales manager exercises
control when he or she reassigns salespersons to new territories after
evaluating feedback about their sales performance.
This information
system model 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, and data are the four 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, and data resources can include data, model, and
knowledge bases.
·
Data resources are
transformed by information processing activities into a variety of information
products for end users.
·
Information processing consists of input, processing, output, storage, and control
activities.
Basic IS model shown in
the given in Table-1. The table indicates that a computer based
information system consists of four major resources: people, hardware, software,
and data.
Table-1: Different Resources of Information
Systems
There are many kinds of
information systems in the real world. All of them use hardware, software, and
people resources to transform data resources into information products.
It is important not to
confuse information systems with the concept of computer systems. A
computer system is a group of interconnected hardware components that may take
the form of a microcomputer, minicomputer, or large mainframe computer system.
However, whether it sits on a desk or is one of many computers in a telecommunications
network, a computer system still represents only the hardware resources
component of a computer-based information system. As we have just seen, an
information system also consists of people, software, and data resources.
Types of Information System
Although people often
think of information systems as tools for decision-making, each type of
information system supports both communication and decision-making in a number
of ways. Accordingly there are six types of Information system as mentioned
below :
One of the reasons the
various categories are mentioned frequently is that each is used in every
functional area of business.
Table-2: Examples of Each Type of Information System in three
Functional Areas of Business
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