FM C6841 11/24/08 FIFTH EDITION Fundamentals of Information Systems Fifth Edition Ralph M. Stair Professor Emeritus, Florida State University George W. Reynolds Australia · Canada · Mexico · Singapore · Spain · United Kingdom · United States FM C6841 11/24/08 Fundamentals of Information Systems, © 2010 Course Technology, Cengage Learning Fifth Edition by ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored Ralph M. Stair and George W. Reynolds or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, VP/Editorial Director: Jack Calhoun recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior Senior Acquisitions Editor: written permission of the publisher. 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To learn more about Course Technology, visit www.cengage.com/coursetechnology To learn more about Cengage Learning, visit www.cengage.com Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 12 11 10 09 FM C6841 11/24/08 For Lila and Leslie —RMS To my grandchildren: Michael, Jacob, Jared, Fievel, Aubrey, Elijah, Abrielle, Sophia, Elliot —GWR This page intentionally left blank FM C6841 11/24/08 BRIEF CONTENTS PART 1 Information Systems in Perspective Chapter 1 An Introduction to Information Systems in Organizations PART 2 Technology Chapter 2 Hardware and Software Chapter 3 Database Systems and Business Intelligence Chapter 4 Telecommunications, the Internet, Intranets, and Extranets PART 3 Business Information Systems Chapter 5 Electronic and Mobile Commerce and Enterprise Systems Chapter 6 Information and Decision Support Systems Chapter 7 Knowledge Management and Specialized Information Systems PART 4 Systems Development and Social Issues Chapter 8 Systems Development PART 5 Information Systems in Business and Society Chapter 9 The Personal and Social Impact of Computers Glossary Index v This page intentionally left blank FM C6841 11/24/08 CONTENTS Preface xvii PART 1 Information Systems in Perspective 1 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Information Systems in Organizations 2 Fossil, United States 3 Information Concepts 5 Data, Information, and Knowledge 5 The Characteristics of Valuable Information 6 The Value of Information 7 What is an Information System? 8 Input, Processing, Output, Feedback 8 Manual and Computerized Information Systems 9 Computer-Based Information Systems 10 Business Information Systems 14 Electronic and Mobile Commerce 14 Enterprise Systems: Transaction Processing Systems and Enterprise Resource Planning 16 Information and Decision Support Systems 17 Ethical and Societal Issues: Green Data Centers 18 Specialized Business Information Systems: Knowledge Management, Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems, and Virtual Reality 21 Systems Development 23 Systems Investigation and Analysis 24 Systems Design, Implementation, and Maintenance and Review 25 Organizations and Information Systems 25 Organizational Culture and Change 28 User Satisfaction and Technology Acceptance 29 Competitive Advantage 30 Factors That Lead Firms to Seek Competitive Advantage 30 Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage 32 Information Systems @ Work: Grand & Toy Seeks Competitive Advantage by Tracking Key Performance Indicators 33 Performance-Based Information Systems 35 Productivity 35 Return on Investment and the Value of Information Systems 36 Risk 37 Careers in Information Systems 37 Roles, Functions, and Careers in IS 39 Typical IS Titles and Functions 42 Other IS Careers 44 Finding a Job in IS 44 vii FM C6841 11/24/08 Global Challenges in Information Systems 45 Case One: Yansha Leans on IS to Stay Competitive 52 Case Two: Customer Service Drives Information Systems at Volvo Cars Belgium 53 PART 2 Technology 57 Chapter 2 Hardware and Software 58 UB Spirits, India 59 Computer Systems: Integrating the Power of Technology 60 Hardware Components 62 Processing and Memory Devices: Power, Speed, and Capacity 62 Processing Characteristics and Functions 62 Memory Characteristics and Functions 63 Multiprocessing 64 Secondary Storage and Input and Output Devices 66 Access Methods 66 Secondary Storage Devices 66 Input Devices 69 Output Devices 72 Ethical and Societal Issues: Collecting Accurate and Verifiable Data Where It Counts 73 Computer System Types 75 Overview of Software 79 Supporting Individual, Group, and Organizational Goals 80 Installing and Removing New Software 80 Systems Software 81 Operating Systems 81 Current Operating Systems 84 Workgroup Operating Systems 86 Enterprise Operating Systems 87 Operating Systems for Small Computers, Embedded Computers, and Special-Purpose Devices 87 Utility Programs 89 Application Software 90 Types and Functions of Application Software 90 Information Systems @ Work: Software Helps Target Radiation Treatment for Cancer 91 Personal Application Software 92 Workgroup Application Software 97 Enterprise Application Software 98 Application Software for Information, Decision Support, and Specialized Purposes 99 Programming Languages 100 Software Issues and Trends 100 Software Bugs 100 Copyrights and Licenses 101 viii FM C6841 11/24/08 Software Upgrades 101 Global Software Support 101 Case One: Advance America Implements Grid Computing 107 Case Two: Systems Management Software Helps Fight Crime 107 Chapter 3 Database Systems and Business Intelligence 110 Wal-Mart, United States 111 Data Management 113 The Hierarchy of Data 113 Data Entities, Attributes, and Keys 113 Ethical and Societal Issues: Web-Based Electronic Health Record Systems 117 Data Modeling and Database Characteristics 118 Data Modeling 118 The Relational Database Model 119 Database Management Systems 122 Overview of Database Types 122 Providing a User View 124 Creating and Modifying the Database 124 Storing and Retrieving Data 125 Manipulating Data and Generating Reports 126 Database Administration 129 Popular Database Management Systems 130 Special-Purpose Database Systems 130 Selecting a Database Management System 130 Using Databases with Other Software 131 Database Applications 132 Linking the Company Database to the Internet 132 Data Warehouses, Data Marts, and Data Mining 132 Business Intelligence 136 Information Systems @ Work: Yangtze Power Harnesses the Power 138 Distributed Databases 139 Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) 140 Object-Relational Database Management Systems 141 Visual, Audio, and Other Database Systems 141 Case One: The Getty Vocabularies 147 Case Two: ETAI Manages Auto Parts Overload with Open-Source Database 148 Chapter 4 Telecommunications, the Internet, Intranets, and Extranets 152 Lamborghini, Italy 153 An Overview of Telecommunications 155 Channel Bandwidth 156 Communications Media 156 Telecommunications Hardware 159 Services 160 Networks and Distributed Processing 162 Network Types 162 ix