Week 1:Managing in a Digital

World MIS2101: Information Systems in Organizations

Prof Sunil Wattal

Introductions

– Name – Major / Minor– Recent Internships / Industry Experience – What brings you here?

Read introductions aloud

Have you ever wondered …..

• Can my job be outsourced?

• Google’s revenue model and competitive implications

• Facebook's valuation and privacy problems

• Time's Person of the Year 2006: You

• Why is WalMart so successful?

Have you ever wondered …..

• What business problems can technology solve ( and what it cannot)?

• Why customer service reps keep me on hold for ever when I call?

• Who has access to my private information and what they can do with it?

• Why are some products out of stock ?

What is the course about?

• Explain the role of technology as a business enabler and a change agent

• Relate technology to other functional areas such as marketing, finance, accounting

• Creating competitive advantage using technology

• Understanding technology related trends in business

Who should take it?

• MIS Majors / Minors– Broad overview of topics in MIS– Pointer to future courses in the major

• Non MIS Majors– Critical to understand how technology

changes business– ‘Talk the Talk’– Complete 2 more courses for a minor

Interdisciplinary Impact• MIS and Marketing

– Ecommerce, Internet Marketing, Customer Relationship Management

• MIS and Finance– Evaluating business value of new technologies, industry

analysis

• MIS and Accounting– Accounting Information Systems, Accurate and Timely

Monitoring

• MIS and Human Resources Management– Online Employee Ser vices, Outsourcing, Social Networks

Course FormalitiesSyllabus

Office Hours

Lecture Slides

Evaluations

Regrades

Preparing for Class

Learning Objectives

• Key Terms & Definitions– Technology in Everyday World

• Careers in MIS

• Dual Nature of IS

Group Exercise– Share your experiences on how technology is

changing business / society

– How Information is Empowering • Business• Consumers

– Define the following terms: Technology, Information Technology, Information Systems, Management Information Systems (MIS)

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Information Systems: Definition

Combination of five six key elements: – People– Hardware– Software– Data– Telecommunicati

ons networks– Processes

A set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization.. . . Source: Laudon, K & Laudon, J, Managing Information Systems

Drivers of Information Age

Greater Miniaturization, Speed, and Portability – miniaturization– Moore’s Law

Greater Connectivity and Continuing Convergence of Computing and Communications connectivity

– interoperability– open systems– convergence of computing and communications

Greater Use of Digitized Information and Multimedia– digitization– multimedia

Better Software Techniques and Interfaces with People

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Digital World

The Knowledge Worker– Term coined by Peter Drucker in 1959– An individual who is relatively well

educated and who creates, modifies and/or synthesizes knowledge as a fundamental part of a job

Knowledge Society– New Economy/Digital World

• Digital Divide

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The Knowledge Society

Information is now as important as land, labor and capital.

Learning Objectives

• Key Terms & Definitions

• Technology in Everyday World

• Careers in MIS

• Dual Nature of IS

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Builders and Managers of IS

Career opportunities are strong and expected to grow

– Computer/IT analyst and Computer & IS Manager both in the top 10 best jobs for the next decade• Median earnings for managers $102,360

(May 2005)

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Best Jobs for the Next Decade

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What Makes IS Personnel Valuable?

Integrated knowledge and skills in three areas

– Technical Competency - skills in hardware, software, networking and security

– Business Competency – understanding of the nature of the business; this is key in addition to the technical competency

– System Competency – understanding of how to build and integrate large scale systems

Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World 1-19

Organizing the IS Function

Early History: Poor Service and Worse Attitudes

– Early systems were cumbersome to use, over budget and late

The Modern Information Systems Organization– Attitudes changed and service mentality

emerged– Spread of Technology in Organizations– Downsizing & Outsourcing

Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World 1-20

IS Personnel

Changing trends– Higher prestige– More women

PAST PRESENT

1-21

Careers in IS: Evolution of the CIO

Chief Information Officer (CIO) –

job title became popular in

1980s

Early 1990s – people joked

that CIO stands for “Career Is

Over”

Learning Objectives

• Key Terms & Definitions

• Technology in Everyday World

• Careers in MIS

• Dual Nature of IS

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The Dual Nature of IS

IS can make you or break you

U.S. Navy – The failure– $ 1 billion wasted on 4 different ERP

applications

FedEx – The success– $ 32 billion family of companies – largest

express transportation company– “Information hub for business where

managing information is the business”

Obstacles in Applying MIS

• Unrealistic expectations

• Difficulty in building and modifying systems– Y2K

• Difficulty integrating systems– ERP

• Organizational inertia

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Why Information Systems Matter

Nicholas Carr article – “IT Doesn’t Matter”– IT no longer a source of advantage on the

firm level– Companies should focus IT on cost reduction

and risk mitigation

Many experts disagreed with his arguments– Many successful companies use IT to support

a unique business strategy– Strategic Advantage due to IT can be fleeting– ‘Red Queen’ Effect

In this course . . .

You won’t be learning programming, algorithm design, or database structure

You will be learning critical thinking about technology’s role in overall business

success– How business and IT professionals communicate– What roles IT plays in modern business firms– How to get things done using IT– How to get value from IT initiatives

1-27

MTV EuropeThe most

international television

network in the world

Now working to break into a new medium: mobile

television screens

– MTV-Europe: testing ground

1-28

ChoicePoint Inc.Identity theft – the crime of the 21st century

– 8.9 million victims in the first 7 months of 2006

ChoicePoint maintains 19 billion pieces of information on virtually every adult in the

US– 2005 – identity thieves bought more than

100,000 records from ChoicePoint• 750 of these became victims of identity theft

– In 2006 ChoicePoint was fined $10 million for the security breach

• $ 5 million was paid to consumers affected by this• Security audits implemented

Questions!!