Business Information Systems Dr Merle P Martin MIS

Business Information Systems Dr. Merle P. Martin MIS 116

Agenda Data versus information t Information overload t Business decision making t Problems t Problem solving cycle t Characteristics of information t

Data Versus t Data is unedited stimuli Information u business transactions u sales, payments, etc. t Information is processed data u customer balance u sales trends t Information used to make decisions

Information t Proven for Overload u animals u humans u organizations Effectiveness increases with information t UNTIL. . . exceeds sensory capacities t THEN. . . effectiveness t

Information Overload The point where this occurs is called INFORMATION OVERLOAD t “I’m so busy squashing ants the elephants are stomping me to death. ” t Figure 2 -2, Page 44 t

Business Decision Making Selection of an action from among two or more alternatives to solve a business problem

Problem Figure 2 -3, page 46

Problem Solving Cycle Figure 2 -5, page 48

Characteristics of Information Relevancy (Decisions) t Accuracy u Completeness u Correctness u Security t Timeliness t

Characteristics Economy ($) t Efficiency u Output/Input t Reliability t Usability (Human Factors) t

War Stories Give an example of Information Overload that you have encountered u in your job. u outside your job

Concepts to t Data and Information Remember Information Overload t Problems and Decision Making t Characteristics of Information t Building blocks for remainder of course t