Information treatment Information systems 1 Information systems are

Information treatment Information systems 1

Information systems are just BIG databases • They are very useful in running a firm • because we need to treat/process information to run a firm • There are many levels of activities in a firm 2

What is a firm ? • It is a BIG body to create products and services from inputs • The inputs : work, raw materials, anything supplied by suppliers 3

What is needed to run a firm ? • All the inputs described on the previous slide • and organisation tools • INFORMATION SYSTEMS are big organisation tools (just like our « organiser » ) 4

reference http: //lapasserelle. com/escem/ 5

All the important functions of a firm produce and use plenty of repetitive information • Therefore databases (large databases, i. e. information systems) pervade the firm 6

The small view of the business computing course : • It would be to limit it to basic office work helping tools : – – – word processors spreadsheets image treatment softwares (PSP, photshop, paint…) databases (for addresses) and browsers (just to access the Net) 7

Middle mgt = « les cadres » • In the early fifties in France 40% of the working population was employed in farms • But industry was developping : plants rose, they needed people to manage them, these were called « les cadres » • China also was, according to C. P. Snow, « a large peasant country » – more than 20% of the population ? • It also underwent industrial development 8

FNAC • Fnac means « fédération nationale des associations de cadres » • Founded by Max THERET in the early 50 ’s • The cadres had their own consumption habits (like any other social category) and M. Théret, a visionary, sensed that they would like to have their own shops 9

Blue collars • Appeared in the wake of the Industrial Revolution • Tremendous consequences… • Social thinkers developped new social theories 10

Blue collars (2) • World War I saw the end of the power of aristocrats or pensioned people • The pension people were ruined after WWI • Between WWI & WWII, in France, the political system catered to the Blue collars (le Front Populaire, les conge ’ paye) • The middle-mgrs were not socially powerful enough to exist as a class 11

White collars in the US • They appeared in the inter war period • They were hit by the great depression • It was inthinkable for an american that a white collar could be out of work 12

Chinese middle managers • They here too represent a new social class – – – – with its consumption patterns way of thinking radio stations magazines vacation habits dress codes etc. • A bit of sociology will tell us what they will want, and then we can supply it. . . 13

Future efficient managers (i. e. Escem students) • We need to understand – not only how to use Word – or what an information system is for – but history – sociology – politics 14

The origin of middle mgt • There has been plants in France since the Industrial Revolution (that happened 10 000 years after the agricultural revolution, now we are in …. . Revolution) • They had middle mgt : usually called « regisseur » , « intendant » , etc • But they did not form a social class – why ? – Because they were not numerous enough 15

Which first new social class was created by the Industrial Revolution ? • Workers (also called Blue collars, as opposed to White collars) • « proletarian » class • Big social changes – when ? – In the 19 th century new thinkers thought about this class 16

Pattern recognition • Learning what happened in the past gives us plenty of patterns • Sometimes in the present we may recognize a known pattern • Then if we know what was the consequence of the past pattern, we have a hint at what may happen 17

Pattern recognition (2) • Pattern recognition softwares will help the top executives • Their role requires to « understand » evolving situations, anticipate, and take appropriate action • (Much different from the Operations level tasks) 18

The second social class created by the industrialization • « Les cadres » that is Middle mgt people • Why ? • Simply enough because there became numerous • When a social category (same pattern, same living habits, same magazines, etc. ) it becomes a social force 19

Information systems penetrated the firms from bottom up • First : – accounting (in the 60 ’s), because accounting produces strongly patterned information (transactions, recordings, accounts…) – and production (in the 70 ’s) : J. I. T. systems, that give rise to S. C. M. • Second : the office work (word processors… in the early 80 ’s) – before that secretaries had typewriters (-> PC ’s) – and engineers had drawing boards (-> work stations) 20

Information systems penetrated the firms from bottom up • Thirdly : – middle management in the 80 ’s and 90 ’s : databases, spreadsheets, elaborate softwares – in 1990 the financial officer at Chaumet had a computer in his office (it was turned off because he didn ’t know how to use it, I asked why do you have it then, he said : it ’s a must now…) • Fourthly : the top-executive (in the 90 ’s and NOW) – their job is harder « to put into cards » : like cookbook recipes compared to football players – computer aided decision softwares – in the future (pattern) they will have « profiling » softwares 21

The automation of the top executive functions : • Well, it’s not as simple as automating the accounting functions • It’ll be related to some sort of automated sifting through large loads of information • It’ll be related to signals recognition • It’ll be related to pattern recognition 22

It’ll be related to pattern recognition • The top executives have the responsability to take decisions • This requires thinking (high level information processing) • I call it : pattern recognition • TIAS program will have as offshoots just that. 23

The Toshiba graphic pad/portable • It started from a concern of the strategic staff (upper middle mgt level ; they directly advise the top executives) • Next : a meeting between the strategic staff and the marketing people • (They also talked to the Finance chaps) • The ouput was a set a notes for the engineers • And then the engineers started to engineer 24

More on the manufacturing : • In 1970 walking through a car assembly plant, we would see only the same cars • And behing every worker there was a sizeable stock of parts • Now in 2002 walking through a car assembly plant we see very different cars following each other, each corresponding to a client order • And no sizeable stocks behind workers (J. I. T. ) • This is a revolution 25

This is a revolution. . . • It could not have been possible without very powerful Information systems. 26

The information chain • It starts at the car dealership : – a client orders a customized car • The information is stored into a CRM (customer relationship mgt) information system • It is, via the back office functions of the CRM, transmitted to the HQ and to the manufacturing plant – there it triggers a whole second chain of actions – to suppliers (Supply Chain Mgt) – and to the plant piloting systems • assignement of workers jobs • putting in front of each worker the information concerning each model 27

By the way. . . • In a plant producing many items we have a choice – – either the workers move from one piece to the next or the in-process pieces move along the still workers since Taylor the second possibility is preferred (there has been experiments with the 1 st at Volvo in the 70 ’s, they did not last) 28

Balancing a chain : • Each worker has a given amount of time to work (each worker the same) • Balancing a chain is to split the total work in such a way as to fill in as much as possible each worker’s minute of work time 29

Balancing a chain : • (Volvo experiment was not pursued) • And now in front of each worker pass DIFFERENT cars • Usually the plant produces one car per minute • Therefore each worker has got one minute of work 30

Balancing a chain (2) : • Filling in this one minute efficiently is called balancing the chain • If the chain is not balanced, workers are idle (waste of time, time is money) • Balancing a modern chain is much more complex than balancing a 1970 ’s chain 31

Balancing a chain (3) : • Yet there are small tricks : workers on a moving platform… • This belongs to the subject of modern manufacturing engineering • (Of course it requires fairly complex information systems) 32

Balancing a chain (4) : • Modern manufacturing plants are fairly complex systems • No longer the workshop with three blokes smoking cigarettes – « Hé Popol passe-moi la clé de huit » • Even car repairs shops in cities have changed – now clean – computer driven to some extent 33

Is it Taylorism ? • Well, Taylorism purported to use automation to gain efficiency (money efficiency) • In the sense that we are still concerned with money efficiency we can call it the offspring of Taylorism • But it ’s a long way from 1910 plants. 34

Firms functions • We visited the shopfloor, we’ve taken a look at what happens in the offices, in the engineering dept, we popped into the executive suites… • You will work in firms – either inside (communication with your office neighbours) – or outside (sales jobs, communication with other cultures) 35

Communication • Particularly in sales jobs you will need to communicate with people of all cultures • Efficient communication (like efficient stories) addresses the three parts of the brain – cortex (ideas, explanations, plots) – limbic (sympathy, respect…) – reptilian (keep down agressivity, but use desire…) 36

The big consistency • There is a big consistency in these stories : – people at work • producing • exchanging • consuming 37

Excessive automation • It is possible to further improve the efficiency of a modern assembly plant – moving carpets bringins parts – automated assistants of all sorts – moving platforms, etc • The problem is : at some point it negates the human being – it is a productivity problem – as well as a phisophical problem 38

Productivity trade off • In modern car assembly plant the productivity is 4 cars per worker per day • (A beautiful productivity ratio !, remember the bakery example in the accounting course : how many loaves of bread per day person) • There is a trade off between productivity and cost person per day – The more skilled the more expensive – It can be tempting to prefer cheaper less skilled workers • But we are not cheap, are we ? 39

I. S. impact • • They tremendously increase productivity They also help increase quality cf. Quality circles in Japan in the 70 ’s cf. Edward Demming work on statistical quality control • But they may put people out of work • At any rate they raise the work added-value 40