Self Assessment Fill in the blanks: 9. The two groups of employees primarily concerned with KWS are the data workers who process and distribute information and the ................................ who create knowledge and information. There are several ways to distinguish these two groups. 10. Documents not in use are stored on-line on an optical disk system called a ................................. 11. The office, as we know it in the traditional sense, is the setting for the generation and processing of ................................. 1.5 Contemporary Approach to Information Systems There are several different approaches to Information Systems: technical, behavioral, sociotechnical. Think of this analogy: A “techie” looks at most things associated with computing as a series of zeroes or ones. After all, everything in a computer is ultimately reduced to a zero or a one. So using the technical approach, you could say that 2 + 2 = 4. The behavioral approach, on the other hand, takes into account the very nature of human beings. Nothing is totally black and white. Therefore, the behavioral approach to the same equation would be “2 + 2 = maybe 4 or perhaps 3.5 to 5.5, but we’ll have to put it before the committee and see what the next quarter’s figures say.” Neither approach is better than the other, depending on the situation. Neither approach is more right than the other, depending on the situation. An organization can’t afford to view its information resources as belonging to either the techies (technical approach) or the non-techies (behavioral approach). Responsibility for information belongs to everyone in the organization. This is the socio-technical approach, that is, a combination of the two. Everyone has to work together to ensure that Information Systems serve the entire organization. To help you understand the importance of viewing Information Systems through the sociotechnical approach, look at what the current trade journals are saying. David Haskin, writing in the April 1999 issue of Windows Magazine, quotes Steve Roberts, vice president of information technology for Mind Spring Enterprises, an Atlanta-based Internet service provider: “The gap in understanding between technical and non technical people is the biggest challenge I’ve seen.” Haskin goes on to say, “Because technology is the bedrock on which successful businesses are built, the stakes in making this relationship work are high. Failing to use the correct technology can put you at a competitive disadvantage, and glitches in existing technologies can bring a business to a grinding halt.” Information Systems and the use of technology belong to everyone in an organization. This concept is best carried out through a socio-technical approach, which allows both the technical and behavioral approaches to be combined for the good of the organization. Information systems are socio-technical systems. Through they are composed of machines, devices, and “hard’ physical technology, they require substantial social, organizational, and intellectual investments to make them work property. The study of information systems deals with issues and insights contributed from technological and behavioral disciplines. Task In your word what is the meaning of knowledge work systems. LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 15 Unit 1: Management Information Systems Notes 1.5.1 Technical Approach The technical approach to information systems emphasizes mathematically based models to study information systems, a well as the physical technology and formal capabilities of these systems. Operations research Management science Computer science, The disciplines that contribute to the technical approach are: Computer science is related with instituting speculations of computability, methods of computation, and techniques of efficient data storage and access. Management science highlights the expansion of models for decision-making and management practices. Operations research concentrates on mathematical techniques for optimizing chosen parameters of organizations like transportation, inventory control, and transaction costs. From a technical approach, an information system is observed from a mathematical point of view. Mathematical models are used to study information systems and to elucidate how they can be applied. By means of a technical perspective,

management would like to establish speculations of computability which can be utilized to recognize how to apply information systems. Let us consider an analogy: A "techie" looks at most things linked with computing as a sequence of zeroes or ones. After all, everything in a computer is eventually diminished to a zero or a one. So by means of the technical approach, you could state that 2 + 2 = 4. 1.5.2 Behavioural Approach An important part of the information systems field is concerned with behavioral issues that arise in the development and long-term maintenance of information systems. Issues such as strategic business integration, design, implementation, utilization, and management cannot be explored usually with the model used in the technical approach. Figure 1.3: Contemporary Approaches to Information Systems 16 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY Management Information Systems Notes 1.5.3 Approach of this Text – Socio-technical Systems MIS combined the theoretical work of computer science, management science, and operations research with a practical orientation toward building systems and applications. Technology must be changed and designed in such way as to fit organizational and individual needs. At times, the technology may have to be “de-optimized” to accomplish this fit. Self Assessment Fill in the blanks: 12. The ................................ approach to information systems emphasizes mathematically based models to study information systems, a well as the physical technology and formal capabilities of these systems. 13. The ................................ approach takes into account the very nature of human beings. 1.6 Management Challenges Is this new technology worth the headaches and heartaches associated with all the problems that can and will arise? Yes. The opportunities for success are endless. The new technologies do offer solutions to age-old problems. Improvements are possible to the way you operate and do business. 1.6.1 The Strategic Business Challenge Companies spend thousands of dollars on hardware and software, only to find that most of the technology actually goes unused. “How can that be?” you ask. Usually because they didn’t pay attention to the full integration of the technology into the organization. Merely buying the technology without exploiting the new opportunities it offers for doing business smarter and better doesn’t accomplish much. Think and rethink everything you do and figure out how you can do it better. Change is inevitable, and information must be managed just as you would any other resource. Creating a digital firm and obtaining benefit is a long and difficult journey for most organizations. Despite heavy information technology investments, many organizations are not realizing significant business value from their business systems, nor or they become digitally enabled. The power of computer hardware and software has grown much more rapidly than the ability of organizations to apply and to use this technology. To fully benefit form information technology, realize genuine productivity, and take advantage of digital firm capabilities, many organizations actually need to be redesigned. They will have to make fundamental changes in organizational behavior, develop new business models and eliminate the inefficiencies of outmoded organizational structures. If organizations merely automate what they are doing today, they are largely missing the potential of information technology. 1.6.2 The Globalization Challenge The world becomes smaller every day. Competition increases among countries as well as companies. A good Management Information System meets both domestic and foreign opportunities and challenges. The rapid growth in international trade and the emergence of a global economy call for information systems that can support both producing and selling goods in many different countries. In the past, each regional office of a multinational corporation focused on solving its own unique information problems. Given language, cultural and political LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 17 Unit 1: Management Information Systems differences among countries, this focus frequently resulted in chaos and the failure of central Notes management controls. To develop integrated, multinational, information systems, businesses must develop global

hardware, software and communication standards; create cross-cultural accounting and reporting structures; and design transnational business processes. 1.6.3 The Information Architecture Challenge You have to decide what business you are in, what your core competencies are, and what the organization’s goals are. Those decisions drive the technology, instead of the technology driving the rest of the company. Purchasing new hardware involves more than taking the machine out of the box and setting it on someone’s desk. Remember the triangle of hardware, software, and persware. Take care of the people and they will take care of the rest! Information architecture describes how to incorporate technology into the mainstream processes in which the business is involved. How will the new Information System support getting the product produced and shipped? How will Advertising and Marketing know when to launch ad campaigns? How will Accounting know when to expect payment? Many companies are saddled with expensive and unwieldy information technology platforms that cannot adapt to innovation and change. Their information systems are so complex and brittle that they act as constraints on business strategy and execution. Notes Meeting new business and technology challenges may require redesigning the organization and building new information architecture and information technology infrastructure. Did u know? What is IT Architecture? A conceptual design for the execution of information technology in an organization, together with its hardware, software, and network technology platforms, data resources, application portfolio, and IS organization. 1.6.4 The Information Systems Investment Challenge Too often managers look at their technological investments in terms of the cost of new hardware or software. They overlook the costs associated with the non-technical side of technology. Is productivity up or down? What is the cost of lost sales opportunities and lost customer confidence from a poorly managed E-Business Web site? How do you determine if your Management Information System is worth it? A major problem raised by the development of powerful, inexpensive computers involves not technology but management and organizations. It’s one thing to use information technology to design, produce, deliver and maintain new products. It’s another thing to make money doing it. How can organizations obtain a sizeable payoff from their investments in information systems? How can management make sure that the management information systems contribute to corporate value? 1.6.5 The Responsibility and Control Challenge Remember, humans should drive the technology, not the other way around. Too often we find it easier to blame the computer for messing up than to realize it’s only doing what a human