Management Information Systems
Chapter 11
Information Systems Management
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This Could Happen to You
Dee wants to restrict access to blog
Easiest way is to put it on Emerson’s server
Needed permission and help of IT department
 Used manager to force submission
Exposed Emerson to enormous security risk
 Consultant could have misused system
Dee didn’t understand the problems
Different approach could have elicited more supportive response
 Interact in a more effective way
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Study Questions
Q1. Why do you need to know about the IT department?
Q2. What are the responsibilities of the IT department?
Q3. How is the IT department organized?
Q4. What IS-related job positions exist?
Q5. How do organizations decide how much to spend on
IT?
Q6. What are your rights and responsibilities?
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Q1. Why Do You Need to Know about the IT
Department?
Need to understand the responsibilities and duties of the IT
department
More effective consumer
Obtain services, equipment, and systems needed
Need to know about functions of IT department to be ISsavvy
Better understand how to integrate disparate companies or offices
Can raise IT issues early in merger or acquisition
Better understand needs of IT department in supporting new
initiatives
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Q2. What Are the Responsibilities of the IT
Department?
Plan for information systems and IT infrastructure
Develop and adapt information systems and IT
infrastructure
Maintain information systems and operate and
maintain IT infrastructure
Protect infrastructure and data
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Plan for Information Systems
Further organization’s competitive strategy
Align activities with primary goals and objectives of
organization
Adapt infrastructure and systems to new goals
Assess new technologies to determine possible
applications
Agile enterprise
Organizations that can adapt quickly to changes in
external factors
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Develop and Adapt Information Systems
IT department must create, develop, and adapt information
systems
Create and adapt infrastructure
Computer networks, servers, data centers, data warehouses, data
marts
Create systems infrastructures
E-mail, VPN, instant messaging, blogs, net meetings
Specify standard computer systems
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Maintain Information Systems and
Infrastructures
Operate and maintain infrastructure
Networks and servers must be monitored, tuned, and
repaired
System outages are expensive
Respond to threats to infrastructure
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Protect Infrastructure and Data from
Threats
Threats to infrastructure and data from:
Human error and mistakes
Malicious human activity
Natural events and disasters
IT department helps organizations manage risk
Identify potential threats
Estimate financial and other risks
Specify safeguards
Determine which level of risk to assume
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Q3. How Is the IT Department Organized?
(1)
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Principal manager
Reports to CEO, COO, or CFO
Technology office
Head: Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Investigates new information systems technologies for possible
application at organization
Operations
Manages computing infrastructure
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How Is the IT Department Organized? (2)
Development
Manages process of creating new information systems
Maintains existing system
Outsourcing relations
Handles affairs with outsourced systems
Data administration staff functions
Establishes data standards and data management
practices and policies
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典型高階主管呈報關係圖
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Q4. What IS-Related Job Positions Exist?
Systems analyst
Sales
Programmer
Small-scale project
manager
PQA test engineer
Technical writer
User support
representative
Large-scale project
manager
Database administrator
Computer technician
CIO
Network administrator
CTO
Consultant
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和資訊產業有相關性的工作 (1)
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和資訊產業有相關性的工作 (1)
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Position Requirements
Most positions require business knowledge
Many require university degrees
Most require good verbal and writing skills
Think dual majors with IS!
Accounting
Marketing
Management
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Guide: Jumping Aboard the Bulldozer
Recent media reports blame overseas outsourcing on US
job loss
Real culprit is increased productivity because of
information technology
Creative destruction
Unneeded jobs removed
No new hiring
Be a business professional
Use technology and information systems to help the organization
Define yourself more generally
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Q5. How Do Organizations Decide How
Much to Spend on IT?
Analyze costs and benefits of system
Estimate dollar costs
Value tangible benefits
 Lifetime value of customers lost by not having support system
 Anticipated customer support cost savings
Value intangible benefits
 Value of email system
Compute costs and tangible benefits to see if project is justified
 If not, then compute intangibles
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Q6. What Are Your Rights?
Rights include:
Having resources to perform work proficiently
Having reliable network and Internet services
Secure computing environment
Participating in requirements meeting for applications
Reliable systems development and maintenance
Prompt attention to problems, concerns and complaints
Effective training
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What Are Your Responsibilities?
Responsibilities include:
Learning basic computer skills and techniques
Following security and backup procedures
Using computer resources in a manner consistent with employer’s
policies
Making no unauthorized hardware modifications
Installing only authorized programs
Installing computer patches and fixes
Treating informational systems workers professionally
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資訊系統使用者的權利與義務
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Ethics Guide: Using the Corporate
Computer (1)
Computers, e-mail, and the Internet are to be used primarily for official
company business. Small amounts of personal email can be exchanged with
friends and family, and occasional usage of the Internet is permitted, but such
usage should be limited and never interfere with your work
You are a manager at a company with the above policy. You find out that
an employee has been:
Playing computer games
during work hours
Playing computer games
before and after work
Responding to e-mails from an ill
parent
Watching DVDs during lunch and
breaks
Sending e-mails to plan a party that
mostly involves people from work
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Ethics Guide: Using the Corporate
Computer (2)
Sending e-mails to plan a party
that mostly involves no one from
work
Searching the Web for a new car
Reading the news on CNN.com
Checking the stock market over
the Internet
Bidding on items for personal
use on eBay
Selling personal items on eBay
Paying personal bills online
Paying personal bills online
when traveling on company
business
Buying an airplane ticket for an
ill parent over the Internet
Changing the content of a
personal Web site
Changing the content of a
personal business Web site
Buying an airplane ticket for a
personal vacation over the
Internet
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How Does Knowledge from This Chapter
Help You at Emerson or DSI?
How does this knowledge help you at Emerson:
Understand the need to protect network infrastructure
Suggest alternatives
Hire bonded consultant
Puzzling situation at DSI:
Sole IT person can not perform all jobs
Users are performing some of the work
Some jobs are not getting done
No one seems to be thinking strategically about IS
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