Difference between Information Technologies and Information Systems - Coursework Example

SURVEY OF IS THEORY Survey of IS Theory Student Name: Student’s Number: Date: Student Declaration I certify that this assignment is my own work, based on my personal study and/or research, and that I have acknowledged all material and sources used in the preparation oft his assignment whether they be books, articles, reports, lecture notes, and any other kind of document, electronic or personal communication. I also certify that the assignment has not previously been submitted for assessment in any other course or at any other time in this course, unless by negotiation, and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarised the work of other students and / or persons. I have read the CQU policy on plagiarism and understand its implication. I can produce a hard copy of this assignment within 24 hours if requested.” 1. What is a ‘knowledge worker’ in the context of today’s business world? The definition of the term knowledge workers has varied depending on the are of speciality. In the current business world, information and knowledge are regarded as the most valuable assets in the business environment. The knowledge is intrinsic to the workers who utilize the knowledge for the benefit of the organization. Knowledge workers in today’s business world are the persons who are valued for their aptitude and capability to act and communicate with knowledge within a specific subject area. The knowledge workers progresses information available concerning there subject of specialization through various means such as focused analysis, design and/or development. Knowledge workers are therefore persons who are beneficial to the organization through various ways such as evaluating data input to assess complicated or conflicting priorities, establishing data relationships, identifying, creating connections, understanding and predicting trends, convergent and divergent thinking, comprehending cause and effect, new capability production and strategy modification. Knowledge workers therefore possess valuable experience and expertise for solving organizational problems in order to influence company decisions, priorities and strategies. 2. What is the difference between “information technologies” and “information systems”? Several authors have used the terms information systems and information technology interchangeably. The authors have in some cases implied that the two terms mean the same thing. However, other authors such as ** maintain that the terms refer to different concepts. An information system is the wide collection of interrelated components, policies and procedures, regulations, software, hardware, network technologies databases, and people that cooperatively function together to retrieve, process, store and disseminate information to facilitate organizational control and decision making. The term information systems, which has been there before the computer era, entails human activity system, which does not necessarily imply the use of computers. Comparatively, Information Technology entails the functionalities provided by telecommunications infrastructure, software, data management and hardware that are requisite for the system to operate. Information Technology concerns itself with the technology involved in the systems, therefore making up an important component of the information system framework.   Whereas information system is a set of diverse components, information technology is a tool within those components that performs a function in the business environment. An information system surpasses the limited conception of technology, to include diverse subjects such as advanced business applications and conceptual behavioural concepts, within and outside the business environment. Furthermore, this includes effective management of information to accomplish the organizational objectives and managerial challenges faced in deploying the systems. Information Technology serves in enhancing the effective and efficient performance of the aforementioned processes. An organization has an information system such as using postal mail services to communicate, whether it has computers or not, but the utilization of a Wide Area Network (WAN) to connect the computer systems in different areas of the organization serves to enhance data sharing and communication in the company, hence the application of information technology. 3. Write a paragraph on which technologies and issues seem to be current (‘hot’) at the moment, and which seem to be most important to business managers, according to each of these sites. According to  www.informationweek.com, the technologies that seem to be current are the enhancements and developments of the cloud computing. The site, which dedicates several links in its home page to cloud computing aspects has several cloud computing related topics such as cloud based contact databases, security concerns in cloud computing environment, cloud appropriate data, cloud data centre, getting high performance cloud storage and the envisioned growth of cloud computing. According to the site, the technology, which seem most important to business managers is security protection of the business data to avoid security breaches. Giving Sony security breaches consideration, where data of several users of Sony Online Entertainment games service, PlayStation Network and Qriocity service were compromised. The website dwells on forensic technologies, in identifying the security breaches. This is important to business managers, since they have with them several clients data, which when compromised may bring down the organization. The site www.computerworld.com offers the development of Tablet PC as the currently technology. The site gives a lot of mention to the launch of IPad 2 the tablet PC category, and also presenting the technologies of Blackberry PlayBook from RIM (Research in Motion), Motorola Xoom, and Android from Google and Galaxy Tabs from Samsung. These technologies include browsing of Flash-based content and full tablet customization and the enhancement of third party apps. The issue, which seem most important to the business managers, is Desktop Virtualization, which entails extrication a personal computer desktop environment through client–server model of computing from a physical machine. This is most important to business managers since it offers several benefits such as decreasing downtime in the event of server or client hardware-failures, reduced cost of deploying new applications and enhanced security for remote access to an enterprise desktop. The site www.cio.com gives devotion to cloud computing concept of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which is prevalent delivery model where service providers and vendors host applications and make them available to customers over a network, typically the Internet. SaaS technology is important to business managers, as it provides a paradigm shift in software distribution, through various benefits such as global accessibility, simpler administration, patch management and automatic updates as well as compatibility. http://www.newsfactor.com gives more consideration of advances in 3D telepresence and video conferencing, with applications such as skype adopting such technologies. The technology presents high-quality video communications with capacity to enhance and support high-definition presentation without the need to wear goggles, while still supporting Flawless Holographic Telepresence. 4. What are four major types of Information Systems and how do organisations use them for competitive advantage Several literatures present different types of Information Systems, depending on the organization and the level of service, serving operational, middle, and senior management. Transaction processing systems (TPS) serves operational management. The Management Information Systems and Decision Support systems are utilized by the middle management personnel to get organizational reports and to access to the organization’s past, current and envisioned performance. Executive Support systems are used by the senior management to get information of importance in the form of graphs and charts delivered via portals. Transaction processing systems are utilised by the operational for daily transactions and activities of the organization such as deposits, payroll, sales and flow of materials. Transaction processing systems are utilised in varied places such as supermarkets, airline reservation system, and are concerned with highly structured and well defined tasks. The systems are primary producers of information for the other systems, the systems are therefore critical in the functioning of an organization. Management information systems assists in the administration and organizational monitoring. They generate reports for monitoring, control and prediction of the businesses performance over a defined period of time, and utilize the data supplied by the Transaction Processing Systems. Decision support systems support non-routine decision-making, concerned with unique and dynamic problems about the ways, the business operates . The systems use information from varied sources such as external sources, Management information systems and Transaction processing systems. The Executive support systems address issues concerned with long-term strategic performance of the business. Using data from within and outside the organization, the provide the top management with the most important information about strategic decision-making challenges. 5. Imagine you are in charge of designing a new videoconferencing system for a large multinational. What are some features you would include as essential and why are they essential? Essential features of video conferencing Video conferencing is currently an exceptionally influential communication tool in the dynamic business world. The essential features include quality of service through the bandwidth supporting an organization’s video conferencing system. The essential feature is therefore a decision on whether to adopt Multi-Protocol Label Switching vs. Scalable Video Coding. Multi-Protocol Label Switching assures of excellent quality of service through high bandwidth, however it is cost prohibitive, while Scalable Video Coding utilises the organization’s internet connection. Gateway Service is also an important feature, since it permits platform independence making video conferencing to be autonomous from network, hardware, video formats, audio formats and software implementations of the communicating ends. The presentation modes is also an important feature considering that there are several presentation modes for any video conferencing system. The presentation mode feature is essential since the mode varies with the intented purpose of the video conference implementation. There are lecture mode for centralised content delivery, Voice activated switching for speaker focused meetings and continuous presence for collaborative meetings. The Video Conferencing Interaction is an important feature to decide upon such as text chat feature, slide show, white board, file transfer, desktop sharing and recording. Which features would be nice to have but may not be essential? Unessential features include HD Video Conferencing and absolute conferencing which gives the persons in the conference High Definition (HD) increased quality and resolution with better enhancements than Standard Definition (SD) conferencing. 6. What type of government regulations might be regarded by some as potential inhibitors to ecommerce and why? Name an example of such a government regulation either in Australia or overseas. Governments are responsible for guaranteeing that regulatory and business environments of electronic commerce balance the interests of users and suppliers.  In ensuring the balance, government regulations may inhibit e-commerce. Security regulations may inhibit e-commerce development. In an attempt to reduce malicious software and online fraud and enhance the acceptance of digital security technology, the government implement several security regulations. The security regulations such as comprehensive payment systems technology, encryption and authentication may unnecessarily complicate the e-commerce environment. The Intellectual Property regulations may inhibit e-commerce through proprietary intellectual property owners controlling the way their content or technology is used. This can consequently create monopolistic environment, where intellectual property protection can bar content and technology uptake, therefore discouraging competitiveness hence inhibiting electronic commerce.   Content Regulation also inhibits e-commerce. When governments impose regulations enforce decency standards in the internet, businesses which deal with content which is perceived as indecent are locked out of business, hence inhibiting e-commerce. Privacy regulations can inhibit e-commerce where detailed privacy compliance burden can depress content and technology development and inhibit potential investors and developers from engaging in e-commerce. Consumer Protection regulations may also inhibit e-commerce. When consumers feel that they are not adequately in their electronic business, they may not engage in e-commerce. in Australia, the copyright amendment (digital agenda) act 2000, which is an act to amend the copyright act 1968, and for related purposes part 116c can be perceived as inhibiting e-commerce due to the strict provision in terms of copyright of the act. 7. Explain why it is necessary to conduct a ‘risk analysis’ as a first step in creating an information systems security plan. Risk analysis, which is a formal process of determining risks and potentiality of risk occurrence, is important as the first step since it enables the organization to understand potential cost of risks to the business. This enables the business to understand the ultimate costs to implement the security plan vis-à-vis the costs that business can suffer in failing to have a plan at all. Having a risk analysis therefore enables the business to create a proportionate information systems security plan, to avoid over-investing in low risk areas, or under-investing in an environment with high-risk likelihood. Risk analysis also serves in understanding how the risks can occur, therefore structuring the information systems security plan according to risk likelihood occurrence. It is also necessary to conduct a risk analysis as a first step in creating an information systems security plan since it enables the business to understand more of the appropriate risk assessment and risk mitigation measures. Furthermore, this enables the organization to assign the appropriate process owners in the information systems security plan. 8. Contrast ‘technological safeguards’ and ‘human safeguards’ in information systems security, using examples to illustrate your points Technological safeguards in information systems are technology driven and supported methodologies implemented to secure information systems.  This includes physical access restrictions, authentication such as biometrics and Access-Control Software and Virtual Private Networks. Firewalls including Proxy Server and Application-Level Control as well as Audit-Control Software, Virus Monitoring Protection and Encryption also make up the technological safeguards. On the other hand, human safeguards are security implementations, which involve the people and procedure components of information systems. This includes effective management, federal laws, state laws and ethical behaviour. 9. How can data mining and visualization be used to gain business intelligence and improve decision making ? Data mining is used to gain business intelligence resulting from using diverse methodologies such as database management, statistics and artificial intelligence to extract patterns from large data sets. Data mining can be used to gain business intelligence through transforming large quantities of digital data into important organizational information such as scientific discovery, competition, marketing, fraud detection and surveillance. In customer relation, data mining can be used to predict customers who have the most likelihood of responding to the organizations offer, therefore only those customers can be given the offers. Furthermore, the systems enable the business to align marketing expenditures in areas where the company is most likely to get substantial market advantage, instead of expensive non directional marketing. Furthermore, data mining and visualization can be used to enhance return on investments, utilizing predictive models, the business can be able to predict customer performance in the short term and long term as well as the customers profitability, hence enable the business to focus on customers who are more likely to become profitable in the long term. Furthermore, visualization and data mining can be used to get business intelligence information in the human resource department, where the organization can be able to get the desired characteristics of the successful employees, and hence use the same information constructively in decision making, such as during employee recruitment. Combining visualization and data mining can be used in Strategic Enterprise Management applications to enable the organization to make operational decisions, based on the corporate-level goals. 10. Four major ethical issues in computing have been identified as Property, Privacy, Access and Accuracy. In 2010, the Wikileaks website threatened to publish more than 250,000 documents said to be sensitive to international diplomacy, and did release many thousands of such documents before the end of the year. Review the newsbreaks on this issue and discuss what impact you think this case has on the four major ethical issues News breaks concerning Wikileaks as been as controversial as Wikileaks, the site. The institution is a non-profit media organization with the objective of enlightening the public through providing important news and information. The controversy surrounding the ethical consideration in Wikileaks varies. The organization offers a worldwide way for the revealing of censored and suppressed injustices, through anonymous, secure and innovative ways while maintaining the anonymity of the sources has been ailed by some researchers as the greatest means through which Wikileaks assists the public, hence by ethical in all perspectives. Other authors and government institutions have a different opinion. According to Wikileaks opponents, it is totally unethical to obtain other person’s information without their consent and permission, and post the information of the internet for all and sundry to see. .. We provide an innovative, secure and way for independent sources around the world to leak information to our journalists. We publish material of ethical, political and historical significance while keeping the identity of our sources anonymous, thus providing a The release of wikileaks documents impacts on the ethical issue of property, References Read More