Information systems

The objective of information systems is to provide information to all levels of management at the most relevant time, at an acceptable level of accuracy, and at an economical cost.

Individual businesses require information according to the nature of their s operations. A car manufacturer is particularly interested in the extent of competition from overseas manufacturers in the home market and competition from other home-based manufacturers. A tour operator is concerned about purchasing power and its effect on holiday bookings and the political situation prevailing in the various countries.

10 As a general guide, the detail contained in reports containing information varies according to the position of the recipient in the hierarchical management structure. The chairman and managing director of a company require details of operations which are broad in scope and which concentrate on key factors pinpointing economic and financial trends.

15 Functional management require information relating to the departments they are responsible for in sufficient detail to enable them to apply whatever measures are required to bring situations into line with requirements. They require information relating to events as they occur so that appropriate action can be taken to control them.

20 Information systems are often computerized because of the need to respond quickly and flexibly to queries. At the bottom level in the information hierarchy are the transaction processing systems, which capture and process internal information, such as sales, production, and stock data. These produce the working documents of the business, such as

25 invoices and statements. Typically, these are the first systems which a company will install. Above the transaction-level systems are the decision support systems. These take external information - market trends and other external financial data - and processed internal information, such as sales trends, to produce strategic plans, forecasts, and budgets. Often such

30 systems are put together with PC spreadsheets and other unconnected tools. Management information systems lie at the top of the hierarchy of information needs. The MIS takes the plans and information from the transaction-level systems to monitor the performance of the business as a whole. This provides feedback to aid strategic planning, forecasting,

35 and/or budgeting, which in turn affects what happens at the transactional level.

Draw a diagram to show how information is processed by information systems, as described in the last paragraph. Your diagram should show the hierarchy of systems and should include examples of the kind of information involved at each stage in the process. Use arrows (-*) to indicate the flow of information.

Writing

Using your completed diagram from Task 15, write a paragraph explaining how information is processed by information systems. Do not look back at the text itself.

Language focus H

The passive

Passives are very common in technical writing where we are more interested in facts, processes, and events than in people. We form the passive by using the appropriate tenses of the verb to be followed by the past participle of the verb we are using.

Examples:

Active

1 We sell computers, (simple present)

2 Babbage invented 'The Analytical Engine⁹, (simple past)

Passive

1 Computers are sold, (simple present)

2 'The Analytical Engine' was invented in 1830. (simple past)

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