Information Systems - University of Kentucky

Information Systems

Richard T. Watson (editor) University of Georgia

Copyright ? 2007 by the Global Text Project

This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Preface

The Global Text Project () was initiated in early 2006 to develop a series of free, open content, electronic textbooks. A description of the Global Text Project is available on the project's.

The impetus for developing the information systems text as one of the first in the series is based on:

The worldwide community of IS academics is a closely-knit community. Individuals know each other and have a long history of cooperating with each other on a global scale. Creation of an open content textbook will require the cooperation of the worldwide community of faculty and their students, as well as practitioners.

The IS community, of all academic communities, should be the one that is an early adopter of technology that holds the promise of being able to create a state-of-the-art textbook.

The Information Systems textbook created by the community will be best-in-class, up-to-date, and, perhaps most importantly, made available at no cost to students anywhere in the world, but particularly to students in the developing world.

The overall approach of the text

Introductory information systems textbooks often present the topic in somewhat of a vacuum. That is, they focus on information systems without really succeeding in showing how IS is integrated in organizations, how knowledge workers are supported, and how important IS is for an organization's success. Many undergraduate students do not understand why they are required to take an IS course since they are not IS majors. Many also expect the introductory course to focus on personal productivity software. This textbook will teach students how to exploit IS in a technology-rich environment. It will emphasize why, no matter what their major, information and communications technologies (ICT) are, and increasingly will be, a critical element in their personal success and the success of their organizations. In other words, they need to be introduced to concepts, principles, methods, and procedures that will be valuable to them for years to come in thinking about existing organization systems, proposing new systems, and working with IS professionals in implementing new systems.

Students need to understand systems and the systems concept, and they need to understand the role of ICT in enabling systems. Students will learn the characteristics of good systems (e.g., intuitive, likable, error-resistant, fast, flexible, and the like). Knowing the characteristics of good systems will permit students to demand well-designed systems and to suggest how existing systems should be changed. Students need to understand the affordances, directions, and limits of hardware, software, and networks in both personal and organizational dimensions. They also need to appreciate that, as technical capabilities change and new ones arise, more opportunities to apply ICT for efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation are afforded. They need to understand the process for developing and implementing new or improved systems and the activities of IS professionals in this process.

The distinction between information systems and information technology

We distinguish clearly between information systems and information technology, a distinction that seems lacking too often as the terms are often used interchangeably. We define these terms as follows:

An information technology transmits, processes, or stores information.

An information system is an integrated and cooperating set of software directed information technologies supporting individual, group, organizational, or societal goals.

In other words, IS applies IT to accomplish the assimilation, processing, storage, and dissemination of information. Thus, PDAs, cellular phones, music players, and digital cameras as information systems. These devices use multiple information technologies to create personal information systems. Similarly

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This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License other information technologies, such as database, networks, and programming languages, are used to created organizational systems.

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Chapter 1 Being a Systems Innovator

Chapter 1 Being a Systems Innovator

Editor: David A. Bray (Emory University)

Contributors: Benn Konsynski, Joycelyn Streator (Emory University)

Reviewer: John Beachboard (Idaho State University)

Learning objectives

Define what broadly constitutes a "system" and an "innovation"

Describe examples of innovation

Describe how one might strive to be a systems innovator

Describe the benefits of innovation to society at-large

Introduction

Let us welcome you the modern age, so full of promise both in terms of human and technological progress! In this chapter, we address the role of innovation and being a systems innovator. Without systems innovators, it is quite possible that our modern age would not be so full of promise and potential. In fact, without systems innovators, humanity might never have reached modernity at all.

Several historians say we humans are "modern" when we do not automatically reject new or foreign elements in society. For human society, modernity begins when communities began to explore, tolerate, and accept the new and diverse. Thus, modernity includes a receptiveness of human societies to new ideas. Living in the modern age allows us to expect that modern enterprises and markets will tolerate and potentially reward to new ideas and new practice. In a modern age, those individuals who design insightful innovations (i.e., innovators) can be highly praised if their innovations are well timed, well designed, and well implemented.

As systems innovators, we welcome the modern age and strive to be open to new and beneficial ideas of change. Human societies value and evaluate new ideas by expected impact and effect. Modern markets and firms represent particular types of human organizations. Markets and firms can incorporate innovations by changing either their design or practices.

Being a systems innovator

Let us briefly consider the meaning of the essential words in the title: "systems" and "innovator" (defining "being" is something we will leave to the philosophers).

Systems are the object of particular designs. Broadly speaking, systems involve the organization of things, logical and physical. Systems include data, processes, policies, protocols, skill sets, hardware, software, responsibilities, and other components that define the capabilities of an organization. Systems include human and non-human aspects. The components, or parts, of a specific system can be either real or abstract. Components comprise an aggregate "whole" where each component of a system interacts with at least one other component of the system. Cumulatively, all the components of a system serve a common system objective. Systems may contain subsystems, which are systems unto themselves that include a smaller set of interactions among components for a more narrowly defined objective. Systems may also connect with other systems. The following diagram (Exhibit 1) illustrates an example system.

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This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Exhibit 1: A sample system

Innovation is the process of "making improvements by introducing something new" to a system. To be noteworthy, an innovation must be substantially different, not an insignificant change or adjustment. It is worth noting that innovation is more a verb than a noun in our context. Innovation is similar to the word evolution, which derives from the Latin root for staying "in motion." Systems innovations often include an expectation of forward motion and improvement. To be worthwhile, innovations must be worth the cost of replacement, substitution, or upgrades of the existing order. The term innovation may refer to both radical and incremental changes to products, processes, or services. The often unspoken goal of innovation is to solve a problem. Innovation is an important topic in the study of economics, business, technology, sociology, and engineering. Since innovations are a major driver of the economy, the factors that lead to innovation are also critical to government policymakers. In an organizational context, innovations link to performance and growth through improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitive positioning, market share, etc. All organizations can innovate, including for example hospitals, universities, and local governments. Rather than construct a narrow definition of innovation, it is useful to think of innovation as including, but not limited by, a few key dimensions. Successful innovations include these dimensions. The first dimension is that of innovation form. Innovations manifest in many ways, but generally are either tangible or intangible. Tangible innovations result in new goods, services, or systems that you can physically touch. Examples include the introduction of new products or a style of architecture. Intangible innovations include the creation of new services, processes, modes of operating, or thinking. Intangible innovations might introduce greater efficiency into an existing process or create an entirely new way of doing something. For example, an innovation could reduce the time required to manufacture a car. This intangible innovation might translate into greater profits for a car manufacturer. The second dimension is that of innovation degree. Innovation degree compares a particular innovation to that of the status quo. In 1980, a researcher named John Hage introduced the concept of "radical" versus "incremental" innovation. An incremental innovation introduces an idea, process, or technological device that provides a slight improvement or causes minor change in a normal routine. Sometimes the impact of incremental innovation may require only minor adjustments in the behavior, processes, or equipment associated with a system. A manufacturing facility upgrading to a new version

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