CHAPTER 1: BUSINESS DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY

This is the first chapter of Information Technology in Business; the introduction.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY'S ROLE IN BUSINESS

• Information technology (IT) is everywhere in business nowadays.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY'S IMPACT ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Figure 1.1 Business Functions Receiving the Greatest Benefits from Information Technology

• From the graph above, we can see that Customer Service department gets the benefits from IT the most. It is because this department works directly with customer before, during and after purchasing and using goods or services.

Figure 1.2 Information Technology Project Goals

• Organizations typically operate by functional areas or functional silos.

• Functional areas are interdependent.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BASICS

• Information technology (IT)
• a field concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information.
• Information technology is an important enabler of business success and innovation.

• Management information systems (MIS)
• a general name for the business function and academic discipline covering the application of people, technologies and procedures to solve business problems.
• MIS is a business function, similar to Accounting, Finance, Operations and Human Resources.

• When beginning to learn about information technology it is important to understand
• Data, information, and business intelligence
• IT resources
• IT cultures

Data, information, and business intelligence

• Data
• raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event

• Information

• data converted into a meaningful and useful context

• Business intelligence

• applications and technologies that are used to support decision-making efforts

IT Resources

• People use
• Information technology to work with
• Information

IT Cultures

• Organizational information cultures include:
• Information-Function Culture - Employees use information as a means of exercising influence or power over others. For example, a manager in sales refuses to share information with marketing. This causes marketing to need the sales manager's input each time a new sales strategy is developed.

• Information-Sharing Culture - Employees across departments trust each other to use information (especially about problems and failures) to improve performance.

• Information-Inquiring Culture - Employees across departments search for information to better understand the future and align themselves with current trends and new directions.

• Information-Discovery Culture - Employees across departments are open to new insights about crisis and radical changes and seek ways to create competitive advantages.