Information Systems Theory - Foundations of Business Computing - Assignment Example

Survey of IS Theory Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: Question one Due to the technology advancements, organizations are opting to out-source business activities due to reasons such as reducing or controlling expenses a simple example would be doing away with staff salaries would have been paid if the activities were done locally, they are also out to free up some internal resources such as rooms that would have been occupied by staff, internet charges and maybe seats. Another important reason is gaining access to top class capabilities due to the fact that out-sourcing institutions have staff more experienced and specializing in certain areas that would produce quality work as opposed to local staff that might have some general but limited knowledge in crucial areas[Mar05]. Time to market would also be lowered in activities are outsourced not forgetting that revenue of the organization would be optimized. The business would also be able to concentrate on the main business operations as opposed to other task which are less related to the main organization goals. Lastly organizations are out to compensate for the deficiencies of certain knowledge skills and in turn increase efficiency processes. Question two Technology is the general process where human beings make changes to nature so as to conform to their requirements and demands, or rather the use of knowledge on tools and equipment techniques so as to address or solve specific problems or perform particular actions. While Information Systems is a broad field that refers to systems specifically designed to store, manipulate, disseminate or create information[Jag05]. A typical example is a pen and a paper. The two entities on their own are just equipment but when combined they come up with a writing system. Information technology on the other hand can be deemed to lie under information systems, since they focus on technology involved in systems and example is an information system such as Facebook which consist of parts such as servers, written programs code together with client computers, each of this parts form information technologies it is basically the use of computers and software for information management. Question three Database roles have risen over the past few decades as indispensible in the successful running of modern organizations. First is for storage of huge chunks of data on servers that can be connected over a network to allow access from a wider scope. Second is data security the security mechanisms offered by database software’s has simplified the process of securing organizations data[Joh06]. Databases also unlike manual systems have enabled organizations to retrieve their data easily and quickly and lastly the economical advantages that come with it are immense such as a reduction in expenses on employee salaries since database reduces the number of employees an organization hires due to automation of major component sections. . Question four The major three knowledge areas are first networking which is having sufficient knowledge in cabling, network interface cards, internet and internet security, wireless local area networks and finally network operating systems. The other core competency is software which factors in areas like software installations and configurations, driver scanning, operating systems, management information systems and finally decision support systems[Gle07]. The final core competency is hardware that factors in areas such as virtualization, computer peripheral devices, infrastructure, hardware platforms and finally some skills in hardware repair and maintenance. Question five www.cio.com reveals that apple products mainly the ipad tablet computers and smart-phones which are mainly important for managers in day to day operations of a business. www.newsfactor.com also reveals the same technology as the previous site though it exposes Samsung smart phones together with camera applications. www.computerworld.com on the other hand shows cloud computing as part of the latest technologies this important to managers since they are the top decision makers in regard to operations of a business and this can help them lower cost incurred in data storage and management[Meh01]. Lastly www.informationweek.com brings out ideas about visual technologies, information as a service cloud computing which also goes along way towards reducing businesses expenses. Question six The three major challenges would be Government, Cultural and Geo-economic challenges. The Government is a challenge in situations where the political system, internet access and personal freedom and regulatory together with data sharing standards are unfavorable or compromised by individuals within the government or the government itself. Typical examples would be situations where we have internet censorship within particular states or countries, bar code standards and measurement unit’s differences together with academic degrees standards and conventions of addressing[Leo08]. We also have the data protection directive by the European Union, issues with projected economies verses market political instabilities and lastly countries import and export protocols together with tariffs and taxes. The challenge number two is cultural issues which come across from working with various distinct cultures together with challenges of provision of services and product sales within different cultural environments. Typical examples include issues on distinct powers, location and avoiding uncertainties, we also have individualism or collectivism, femininity verses masculinity issues of time and life concentration, distinct languages between nations, cultural beliefs and attitudes, religious affiliations and social setups and lastly product advertisements naming with intellectual property. The last challenge which is Geo-economic which results due to differences in time zones, distinct welfares and expertise relating to demography and lastly infrastructure bound reliability. Examples are issues such as multi-time zone video conferencing, distinct network infrastructure globally, workforce availability and salary scale differences, the disparity of aging skilled population in some countries as opposed to younger workforce generations in others and lastly problems caused my migration due to political instabilities or influences by rich nations on poor states. Question seven There exist four main information systems types in use today by organizations at both middle and senior management levels. First are decision support systems which are used to support decisions of management when the decisions are distinct, dynamic and not specified before. They incorporate more complex analytical models and huge capabilities for analysis of data as opposed to management information systems and mainly base on pre-existing information from external sources together with internal sources they are also important for giving analysis equipment and database access so as to support inclusive decision making. Second we have transaction processing systems which are used for management operations. It is applied in areas such as payroll and processing of orders which monitor daily routine transactions flow which is needed for daily business operations[Rex11]. Lastly is executive support systems which aid top business managers by availing data of great importance to top decision makers by means of charts and graphical elements which are communicated through portals. Executive supports systems however, have restricted analytical abilities but can base on complex graphical software’s together with various external and internal sources. Question eight While information privacy deals with the kind of information persons should have to expose to others at places of work or across various transactions, information accuracy is a term that refers to fidelity and authenticity of processed data together with identifying the persons that course errors in information that might cause harm to other individuals[Lyn06]. Information property on the other hand refers to the entity that owns information regarding individuals and how such information could be sold or exchanged. Question nine The types of government regulations are such as inadequate transportation and network delivery, limited availability of banking services together with uncertain taxation policies and finally cyber space regulations. An example is the cyber space regulation in the United States . Question ten Risk assessment is a vital component of information systems security plan. There cannot be an action plan before undertaking a full risk assessment. This is because risk assessment gives a platform basis for security plan implementation so as to protect entities assets against various security threats. One cannot protect an entities asset if what is supposed to be protecting is unknown. Hence risks are identified when possible threats take advantage of the security loopholes to cause harm to the system[Jod05]. It is therefore vital to ascertain the risks through a risk assessment before enacting policies and formulations to curb those risks. Question ten The major advantages associated to web based collaboration tools are the fact that there is no need for installation of software’s, web based tools are platform independent, they have high accessibility and availability characteristics, one can collaborate with other users via chat-rooms and finally it is easier to publish and share resources via the internet. The major disadvantage is security since most web based collaboration tools vendors seldom provide service level covenants that would make clients be assured of full time security[Jef10]. Web based collaboration tools are also reliant on the internet and hence cannot extend usage of their tool environments through plug-ins. Question eleven From the fact that indeed Data mining and visualization adopts visual information and data representation, collection of information is simplified, made efficient and in turn better accessibility. Through analysis and data presentation optimization, skilled employees would have a much short process during interpretation and analysis of the presented data. To add on, the data conversion process from word to pdf, excel to pdf or to power point presentations or other forms needed by organizations is simplified, made efficient and made quick since interpretation and analysis is done by the system[Dat]. This gives on spot insight to the improvement chances and strengths of certain products, business strategies or promotions. Question twelve The incident that happened at Mega-upload and events that preceded it ought to be a wakeup call to both online business organizations and regulators to evolve. Fair use of property together with safe access activities that promote legitimate business operations ought to be adopted. Hence it is important that individuals and businesses sharing files via the web mature up to be responsible and adopt proper ethical and sound actions that takes care of users and providers interest[Har09]. Other file sharing websites should base on this to improve so that none of them contradicts the issues raised by the Mega-upload incident References Mar05: , (Schniederjans, Schniederjans & Schniederjans 2005), Jag05: , (Pathak 2005), Joh06: , (King & Lyytinen 2006), Gle07: , (Lowry, Turner & (Firm) 2007), Meh01: , (Khosrowpour 2001), Leo08: , (Jessup & Valacich 2008), Rex11: , (Rainer & Cegielski 2011), Lyn06: , (Batten & Safavi-Naini 2006), Jod05: , (Westby & Committee. 2005), Jef10: , (Butterfield 2010), Dat: , (Library 2009), Har09: , (Henderson 2009), Read More