Uke 38, 15.09.2014-21.09.2014

IS-100:

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Review questions page 72

 

Review questions

 

1. List three distinct phases of change within the world’s civilizations.

The first big change and new phase of our civilization is when humans started working with agriculture and handwork, as opposed to the nomad lifestyle of hunting and gathering.

 

The second major change is what we call the industrial revolution, which started off in Great Britain in the late 18th century. People started working in factories for wage as opposed to working the land and farming their own food. Machines were developed and industry became the leading source of family income.

 

The third major change arrived with the information age. Information became the currency of the realm. For thousands of years information was limited, it was transmitted verbally between people, this was about to change. With help of the printing press information could be saved, absorbed, debated, and written about in publications.

2. List three examples of technology usage at Starbucks.

 

Connecting with Customers- Connectivity is one of Starbucks’ atmosphere key components. Free Wi-Fi, access to music, and content from big newspapers makes it more than a simple coffee shop. It’s a place where you can meet friends or coworkers, study, work, or just hang out.

 

Mobile Payments- A smartphone app that allows customers to pay with their phones by creating a 2D bar code that can be read by an in-store terminal. In addition to allowing transactions this generates a wealth of information about Starbucks’ customers.

 

Contextual Retailing- Creating an individualized experience for every customer. With the information gathered from mobile payments the baristas at Starbucks can be alerted if a regular customer enters the store, know the customers preferred drinks, or suggest alternatives based on their preferences.

 

3. What are cloud-based systems? Give examples.

Cloud computing is one of the “megatrends” in the information age, where things such as applications are stored in a “cloud”, which means using the Internet as a platform for applications and data, as opposed to the user storing this on their own devices (PC, phone, etc.).

 

Google has several examples of this, such as Gmail, Google docs, or Google Calendar, all of which are accessed via a Web browser, freeing the user from tasks such as installing or updating traditional desktop applications. This also means you don’t have to worry about backing up your data, if your computer is destroyed, you can access the files from any other computer.

4. Describe and contrast the economic, cultural, and technological changes occurring in the world.

Economic Changes-

• For instance increase in international trade has given us a wealth of products and services that otherwise wouldn’t be available.
• It has increased the development of global financial systems and currency, and increased the outsourcing of labor.

 

Cultural Changes-

• There’s a big increase in multiculturalism made available through television, movies and the internet.
• A big increase of the frequency of international travel, tourism and immigration.
• The availability of ethnic foods and restaurants greatly increasing.
• Increase in worldwide fads and phenomena such as Pokémon, Sudoku, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

 

Technological Changes-

• Development of low-cost computing platforms
• Availability of communication systems such as e-mail, Skype, Instant messaging etc.
• Low-cost global telecommunication infrastructures like the Internet, and the enforcement of global copyright laws.

5. What is information technology and how is it different from information systems?

Information Systems is a large umbrella referring to systems designed to create, store, manipulate, or disseminate information. Example: a pencil and a piece of paper, the two are just separate tools, but put together they form a system.

Information technology is a single object, a part of an information system. For instance servers, computers, and an operating system are objects that together form an information system.

6. List and describe several reasons why companies are choosing to outsource business activities.

Economic – Perhaps the most common reason to outsourcing is the economic side. In big parts of western society employees have very high wages compared to countries such as China or India. So relatively big services such as tech support can be outsourced to India and it will save a lot of resources for the company, and the bottom line in business is making as much money as possible.

 

Knowledge- Outsourcing to other cultures in other parts of the world will provide a chance to tap in to and leverage a global knowledge base, having access to world class capabilities.

 

Delegating- Some companies prefer to keep their own resources focused on their core business, and delegate mundane time consuming processes to external agencies.

7. List and contrast several challenges of operating in the digital world.

Business- In a digital and globalized world the competition will increase significantly. Every customer or user has a wider variety of services and products offered. Harder competition means you will have to adjust your prices and support, and this will push companies to the limit. Less profit means less resources, and this might increase unemployment rates and lower wages throughout the world.

 

Privacy- The loss or danger of having your privacy exposed. We leave digital footsteps everywhere, apps and social networks save and share information about ourselves, maybe more than you know. For instance Google will save information about your searches and activity on the internet. They use this to find your preferences and tailor ads and sponsored links for you. There’s also the danger of hackers and criminals accessing information you think is safe. Recently apples “i-cloud” (a cloud service provided by apple) was hacked in to, and several celebrities had private photos and videos leaked for the public to see.

8.Define the term “information systems” and explain its data, technology, people, and organizational components.

Information Systems are combinations of hardware, software and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.

 

Data- Data is the root of any information system. Data are raw symbols or numbers that have little meaning before processed. For instance, if I asked someone to tell me what the number 11 meant, they wouldn’t know.

 

Components/technology- When we talk about information systems we are talking about computer based information systems. This system consists of hardware, software and a telecommunication network. Hardware components are the physical computers, monitors, keyboards, etc. , Software is the operative system and applications that run the hardware, and the telecommunication network refers to a group of two or more computer systems linked together with communications equipment.

 

People- The builders, managers and users of information systems, we develop, maintain and study IS. Almost everyone is a user of IS these days, and this increases the demand for IS personnel. IS professionals do not only work with technology anymore, they are also highly involved in management and organizational tasks in companies.

 

 

 

 

9. Define and contrast data, information, and knowledge.

Data- Data is the root of any information system. Data are raw symbols or numbers that have little meaning before processed. For instance, if I asked someone to tell me what the number 11 meant, they wouldn’t know.

 

Information- Information is basically formatted, organized or processed data. Contextual cues, such as labels, are needed to turn data into information. The number 11, as mentioned above, is raw data and doesn’t mean anything. If we label it as the age of a person, 11 is now information.

 

Knowledge- This is what we know. You can’t store knowledge in anything other than a brain (currently). A computer processes data and gives us information, but the computer doesn’t know what it’s doing, we, users/humans turn the data and information into knowledge.

10. Explain how decision support systems are different from knowledge management systems.

A decision support system (DDS) is a computer-based IS that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSS serves the management, operations, and planning levels of organization and help to make decisions.

 

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

 

A DDS is computer-based and uses data and information to make decisions, while as KM uses knowledge from people.

11. List and define three technical knowledge and/or skills core competencies.

12. Define the term “knowledge economy”.

Knowledge economy is the use of knowledge to generate value. Quite obvious this means using knowledge in your business, for instance in a KMS (knowledge management system).

13. List and define four of the systems knowledge and/or skills core competencies.

 

 

14. List the effects of globalization on business.

In a digital and globalized world the competition will increase significantly. Every customer or user has a wider variety of services and products offered. Harder competition means you will have to adjust your prices and support, and this will push companies to the limit. Less profit means less resources, and this might increase unemployment rates and lower wages throughout the world.

On the other hand the market size and user groups become bigger, this gives opportunities. Businesses that supply a rather unique service or product will flourish.

It’s easier for businesses to outsource or bring in ideas and resources from other nations and cultures. Many nations are multicultural, and the possibility to make your business multicultural might be beneficial to your profits.

15. Describe the evolution of the information systems function within organizations.

The business applications of information systems have expanded significantly over the years.

 

From 1950s to 1960s: The role of most information systems was simple: transaction processing, record keeping, accounting, and other electronic data processing applications.

 

From 1960s to 1970s: Another role was added. Processing all this data into useful information reports, to help the manager in the decision making. The concept of management information system was born.

 

From 1970s to 1980s: The previous IS were effective in the company organization. However, the manager during this stage needed a special suitable support factor to deal with different management facts. So the concept of DDS was born.

 

From 1980s to 1990s: Computers became normal, and “end user computing” became a thing. Managers needed a new system to provide the corporate executes with some simple information, so the concept of “executive information systems” was born. The systems role was to provide top executives with the right way of finding the critical information when they wanted it.

 

From 1990s to 2000s: Rapid growth of internet, intranet, extranet, and other interconnected global networks in the 1990s dramatically changed the capabilities of information systems in business at the beginning of the 21^st century. Internet- and web-based enterprises, e-business and commerce systems.

 

 

 

16. Discuss the issues surrounding information privacy, and how you can protect yourself.

In our digital world information privacy is an increasingly important topic. Facebook, web-based banking, and e-mail contains a lot of information about both you and your friends.

Examble, Facebook: Think before you post. Everything you type or post to facebook will be stored, this means other people can access it (in theory). There’s been talk about criminals scouting people on facebook, and when the victim goes on vacation, the criminal breaks into their home. You should think about what you post online, the information is never truly safe.

 

A general tip is to rethink what information you’re putting out there. Don’t post about everything you do and everywhere you go, don’t keep sensitive information stored on the internet. You should have a firewall enabled on your computer, and have an anti-adware application on your computer to keep your computer clean from things such as viruses and keyloggers. Adware can compromise your passwords and extract information from your computer.

17. How are the digital divide and computer literacy related?

 

The digital divide is an economic and social inequality. It is based on the amount of people in a given population that has access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (internet, smart phones, etc.)

 

Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to utilize computers and related technology efficiently, in a range from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving.

 

Just by looking at the definition of the two you can see that they are related. The people with access to computers are also the ones who knows how to use the technology.