Information Technology Principles Practices and Opportunities Information Age

Information Technology Principles, Practices, and Opportunities

Information Age § Information technology provides the means to rethink/recreate/reengineer conventional business processes. § Reengineering: The reshaping of business processes to remove barriers that prohibit an organization from providing better products and services and to help the organization capitalize on its strengths. § Business Processes: Collections of activities, often spanning several departments, that take one or more kinds of input and create a result that is of value to a company’s customers.

Information Age

Welcome to the Information Age The Characteristics of the Information Age § Success in business is largely determined by the effectiveness with which information technology is used. § Information technology is embedded in many products and services.

Welcome to the Information Age The Characteristics of the Information Age (Continued) § Reengineering efforts to attain greater productivity: § Industrial Age - Division of Labor: Separation of work process into component task, with different workers specializing in each of the tasks. § Information Age – Teamwork, Interconnection, and Shared Information.

What is Information Technology? Definition § A term used to refer to a wide variety of items and abilities used in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information. Its three main components are computers, communications networks, and know-how.

What is Information Technology? Definition (Continued) § Data: Raw facts, figures, and details. § Information: An organized, meaningful, and useful interpretation of data. § Knowledge: An awareness and understanding of a set of information and how that information can be put to the best use.

What is Information Technology?

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) § Hardware: The computer and its associated equipment. § Program: A set of instructions that directs a computer to perform certain tasks and produce certain results. § Software: The general term for a set of instructions that controls a computer or a communications network.

What is Information Technology? Computers (Continued) § System: A set of components that interact to accomplish a purpose. § Information System: A business information system designed to produce the information needed for successful management of a structured problem, process, department, or business.

What is Information Technology?

What is Information Technology? Communications Networks § Communication: The sending and receiving of data and information over a communications network. § Communications Network: A set of locations, or nodes, consisting of hardware, programs, and information linked together as a system that transmits and receives data and information. § Data Communication: The transmission of data and information through a communications medium.

What is Information Technology? Know-How § The capability to do something well. § Information technology know-how consists of: § Familiarity with the tools of IT; including the Internet § Possession of the skills needed to use these tools § An understanding of when to use IT to solve a problem or create an opportunity

The Principles of Information Technology

The Functions of Information Technology § Capture: The process of compiling detailed records of activities. § Processing: The process of converting, analyzing, computing, and synthesizing all forms of data or information. § Data Processing § Information Processing § Word Processing § Image Processing § Voice Processing

The Functions of Information Technology § Generation: The process of organizing information into a useful form, whether as numbers, text, sound, or visual image. § Storage and Retrieval: Storage is the computer process of retaining information for future use. Retrieval is the process by which a computer locates and copies stored data or information for further processing or for transmission to another user.

The Functions of Information Technology § Transmission: The computer process of distributing information over a communications network. § Electronic Mail, or E-Mail § Voice Messaging, or Voice Mail

The Benefits of Information Technology

The Opportunities of Information Technology § Helping People § Solving Problems § Problem: A perceived difference between an existing condition and a desired condition. § Problem Solving: The process of recognizing a problem, identifying alternatives for solving it, and successfully implementing the chosen solution.

The Principles of Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives § Television § Education § Training § Entertainment § Shipping

Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives § Paperwork § Money and Investments § Agriculture § Taxation and Accounting § Health and Medicine

Information Technology Is All Around Us, Improving Our Lives (Continued) § Manufacturing § Journalism § Energy § Sports