INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND ORGANISATIONS

An introduction

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INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

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STONEHENGE, 3100 BCMore than 5000 years old

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HERE IT IS4torsdag 6 september 12

IT WAS HUGE...

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WHAT WAS STONEHENGE?• Nobody knows, but many

believe it was a kind of calendar

• At summer solstice, vernal and autumnal equinox sunrise was in specific bows if you stood at certain places.

• Thus you had a rough idea about the date of the day!

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SOMETHING LIKE THIS!• The priests (druids?) used

this knowledge to tell when it was time to seed and harvest

• In that way they got power and influence

• This is also the case today...

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STONEHENGE: THE FIRST APP• Hardware: The stones• Program: The placement of the stones and knowledge

about their meaning• Execution of the program: The druids placed

themselves at appropriate places and ”read” the sunrise/sunset. Due to the knowledge they could tell the data of the day. Approximately at least...

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Precession

•The earth rotation axes leans 23° from the rotation plan around the sun •The axes turns around full circle in 26 000 years•Thus the equinoxes moves over the years

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THE BABYLONIANS• Systems development is one of the oldest occupations for

mankind.The very first fragments from human civilisation, the sumerian cunei forms from 2500-talet BC, was in fact registers over properties, payed taxes, requisitions and other adiministration. It means that the information was saved for later use and there must be routines for their updating, in short, basic functions in an information system.

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TRANSLATION• For Bama: 5 quarters beer; 5 quarters bread; 5 pund onion; 3

pund oil; 2 pund bicarbonate• For Baza: the servant: The same• For Lugal-sazu: The same• For Su-Esdar : 10 quarters beer; 10 quarters bread; 5 pund

onion; 3 pund oil; 2 pund bicarbonate• For Mas: 5 quarters beer; 5 quarters bread; 5 pund (onion); 3

pund oil; 2 pund bicarbonate• For Ubarum: 3 quarters beer; 2 quarters bread; 56 pund

(onion); 3 pund oil; 2 pund bicarbonate•Day; 24 Year: Huhnuri attacked (=Amar-Suen 7, 2040 B.C.)

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40’S-50’S (4350 YEARS LATER!)• Mathematical computations.• Computer constructor, programmer and user was the same

person.• No need for any information system!

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1965-75• Rationalisation of specific routines in the company, such as pay-

roll, inventory control etc.• Batch-oriented systems, run on mainframes• Main goal: Cost reduction• The goal was easily achieved• The unit of analysis was the function in a company

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1975-85• Rationalisation of whole functions, such as order entry-

inventory control - invoices, legacy systems• Run on-line on mini-computers• Main purpose: Cost reduction and increased control• Certain problems with user orientation, information

inaccessibility and adoption to specific routines in the company

• The unit of analysis was the whole company

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1985-1995• IT was used to create new business opportunities• PC:s was introduced and used in the personal productivity• Old systems maintained• Main purpose: Increase benefits• Problems with maintenance of the old systems• Unit of analysis: The whole company and the business process,

which occasionally spanned more than one company

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1995-2005• Internet and WWW introduced in broad scale.• Information could be transferred between companies at cost

almost zero.• Lots of new business opportunities• Problems with moving information from one system to

another• Unit of analysis: The business process always spanning more

than one company

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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Degree of rationalisation

Low

High

System generationManual 60’s 70’s 80’s

The pay-off decreases for every generation but the costs increases. Today it will not pay-off – ever!

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