Matthew Mercado
07/12/16
BUS 188 (11:00am-3:00pm)
Chapter 1 Outline (2 page
minimum)
Aggarwal
Chapter 1 Outline
Since the conception of the Digital Revolution in
the 1970s, the digital age began to shape the way people view technology. Prior
to going digital, we primarily relied on mechanical and analog devices, but for
the most part digital devices had much more capabilities. In the 1970s, a man
named Gordon Bell stated that digital devices would only continue to grow every
10 years. This principle of his was known as “Bell’s Law” and since then, each
year brought about new changes in technology. Each and every year, an invention
would revolutionize the world and to this day, we still use them and they’ve
only gotten better. PC computers were made popular in the 1980s while in the
90s; cellphones and the Internet became the norm. Then, in the year 2000, just
about every digital was network-enables and social networking paved way for the
future. The boundary of the new tech has
garnered much attention that we, the people, are waiting in anticipation of
what the next big thing will be. Technology, one way or another, is integrating
itself into everyday life and is making our life much more convenient and
advanced than ever before.
Aside from Bell’s Law, other laws have implicated
an advancement of various attributes related to digital devices such as cost of
data approaching zero (Moore’s Law), networks increasing when connected
together (Metcalfe’s Law), the speed of networks greatly improving (Nielsen’s
Law), and capacity (storage) to grow (Kryder’s Law). All these laws and
advancements in technology point in one direction: MIS. MIS primarily will help
us in 4 fields: Abstract reasoning, systems thinking, collaboration, and
ability to experiment. We apply each of these skills in business to better
grasp MIS’ influence plays a huge role in our lives. Abstract reasoning deals
with the creation/conception of models that’ll become a basis for understanding
information. Systems thinking focuses on all components relating to a system
and how they help shape that system. Collaboration is the workload of two or
more to help illustrate teamwork and efficiency. Experimentation is all about
thinking outside the boy – analyzing solution, seeing discrepancies/problems,
and seeking opportunities. Having the knowledge of these skills as well as
understanding MIS helps clarify three things: The background to assess,
evaluate, and apply information systems technology to business, give people a
tight job security through marketable skills (Abstraction, Systems thinking,
Collaboration, and Experimentation), and understanding that most MIS-related
jobs are high in demand.
MIS is best defines as the management and use of
information systems to help organizations achieve their strategies. MIS’s
definition is often mistaken for Information systems (abbreviated IS) or
Information Technology (abbreviated as IT). These three words mean completely
different things, but all three work together. Information Systems is best
defined as an assembly of hardware, software, data, procedures, and people that
help produced information whereas Information Technology is the actual
products, methods, inventions, and standards use to product information. In a
sense, IT helps IS and together: MIS. MIS has 3 critical elements: Management
and usage, information systems, and developing strategies.
A system is defines as a group of parts interacting
to achieve a purpose. The framework to best help describe a system would be the
Five-component framework: a model of information system: Hardware, software,
data, procedures, and people. For example, when writing a post on Facebook on
any device: we are using the monitor, keyboard, and the computer itself (Hardware),
using Facebook (Software), the letters, emojis, and symbols for typing (Data),
using an Internet Browser to open up the application (Procedure), and lastly
us. The Five-component framework is an assembly of parts working together for
the single purpose of achieving a goal. The framework is breaking down
everything and illustrating how each of these steps is achieved in order in
full detail. We may not think much when accessing Facebook on any device, but
the details that go into how we access the application, what particular device
we are using, what words/letters you are inputting, and what browser we are
using to access Facebook show us that everything we use as a system filled with
information. However, information systems do encounter problems regardless of
efforts. Referring back to Facebook, the browser to open it may not open right
away or perhaps the computer itself is at fault. The solution is to understand the route of
the problem and find an effective solution to remedy it. The Five-component framework’s
usage in developing new systems only shows how all components work together,
develop, and create strategies.
Information is something we, day to day, acquire
from all platforms. Information isn’t clearly defined or rather the context of
the definition can be interpreted in multiple ways. Information could be
defined knowledge derived from data or perhaps it also could be defined as data
presented in meaningful context. Another such definition of the word could be
processed data through a set of operations. The point is ~ any data we collect
is produced as information. Going back to Facebook, when scrolling each other’s
walls and reading articles, posts, and pictures ~ that is data that could be
used as information. We could see an article on the latest trends and use that
data to understand why those trends became trends. Information is floating
everywhere and as human beings, we are conscious that we receive data 24/7
because we are able to conceive data as that of value. Information, whether
minimal or huge in scale, benefits us based on the data presented. An important
thing to note is that the data presented has to be: Accurate, timely relevant,
sufficient, and worth its cost. Data could be misconstrued because it could be
misrepresented as something else. Accuracy entails validity and truth ~ does
the data hold up and does it present itself in a way that is understandable?
Another thing to note is the context of the data – is it relevant or not to the
situation. Say someone does a research paper on Google and gathers data, cites their
sources, and includes a bibliography page. However, what if the data they’ve
gathered on Google isn’t up-to-date or relevant now? It is critical to now only
see if the data is accurate and relevant today, but if it’s sufficient enough
to understand. Lastly, data itself isn’t free as developing information
systems, costs of operating and maintaining such systems, and timely and salary
costs for processing that data.
Knowledge acquires all sorts of inputs and outputs
and in network; everything mends together to form presentable information.
However, this is contingent on the basis of the data gathered. Technology today
has been evolving and information is much easier to access. There are entire
databases dedicated to collecting information that, for example, the MLK
Library, is providing to the public. Information is as essential as air; it’s
something we need in order to survive. At this rate, technology and information
systems will only continue to advance and will pave way for the future.
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