Guidelines for the paper. MUST BE (6) pages (excluding references and title page) about any topic covered in attached chapters from 1 - 8 from the textbook (the textbook must be one of your sources) -

-- After all, an entire department is in charge of IT. • Nearly all decisions in organizations rely on information systems at some level. • Personal devices are ubiquitous.

• In 2014, 90% of US adults had a cell phone and 87% used the Internet. • Personal experience with technology helps but the corporate setting has many different requirements in the areas of:

• Security, Privacy, Risks • Support • Architecture • Firms use IT to enhance their business models or change entire industries. • Managers need to know the basics. 3 © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. Why Should you Participate in IT Decisions in your Firms? • IT permeates almost every aspect of business • IT enables change in how people work • IT is at the heart of Internet -based solutions • IT enables or inhibits opportunities/strategies • IT combats competitors’ business challenges • IT provides customers with a voice • IT supports data -driven decision -making • IT can help secure key assets © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 4 A Business View of Critical Resources • Spending is quite high: Worldwide $3.7 trillion in 2014 • Expenditures span 5 categories • Devices (e.g., PCs, tablets, mobile phones) • Data centers (e.g., servers, storage equipment) • Enterprise (companywide) software • IT Services (e.g., support and consulting services) • Telecommunications (e.g., voice and data services) • If these expenditures do not return value, they will dwindle over time 5 © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. People and Technology Work Together • Some of the most -used sites focus on Web 2.0 • In Web 2.0, significant content comes from users • Information Sharing • User -centered design • Interoperability • Collaboration • Skilled business managers must balance: • The benefits of introducing new technology • The costs associated with changing the existing behaviors of people in the workplace • Does not require deep technical knowledge • Requires understanding the consequences of the choices made © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 6 CTO of @Walmart Labs • What did Jeremy King say in his blog (pg. 4)?

• “Every company is a tech company” • Do you believe this is true for most firms, or is Wal -Mart somehow different? Why? • Can you name firms that do not receive key impacts or benefits from technology? © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 7 Opportunities and New Strategies from IT • New business opportunities spring up with little warning • Managers must:

• Frame the opportunities in an understandable way for business leaders • Evaluate them against business needs and choices • Pursue those that fit into an articulated business strategy. • The quality of available information will impact the quality of their decisions and their implementation • Managers will therefore lead the changes driven by information systems © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 8 Competitive Challenges • Competitors spring up — sometimes unexpectedly • General managers are in the best position to • See those threats • Attempt to combat them, using technology as a tool • They need an understanding of • The capabilities of the organization • How those capabilities, together with IS, can • Create competitive advantage • Change the competitive landscape for an entire industry © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 9 Managers Need to be Aware of the importance of: • Customer pull • Customers now have power using social media • Entire business models sometimes need to be redesigned • Data -driven decision making • Now available: more data than ever before • From social media • From large data stores in firms • Predictive analytics tools can help with analysis of that data • Securing key assets • A balance is needed • Too little security endangers assets of the firm and its customers • Too much reduces operational convenience © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 10 What Happens if Management Does not Participate? • Breakdown in servicing customers • Sales decline • Damaged reputation • Poor spending:

• Overspending and excess capacity, or • Underspending and restricted opportunity • Inefficient business processes © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 11 Failing to Consider IS Strategy • Leads to:

• IS that fail to support business goals (e.g., Victoria’s Secret site overload) • IS that fail to support organizational systems (e.g., workers buying mobile devices but the IT department only supports desktop PCs) • Misalignment between business goals and organizational systems © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 12 Skills Managers Need for Their IT Decisions • Visionary role • Creativity • Curiosity • Confidence • Focus on business solutions • Flexibility • Informational and Interpersonal • Communication • Listening • Information gathering • Interpersonal skills • Structural • Project management • Analytical • Organizational • Planning • Leading • Controlling © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 13 Upcoming Material 1. Information Systems Strategy Triangle: Alignment of IT and the business 2. Links between IS and business strategy 3. Links between IS and organizational strategy 4. Collaboration and individual work 5. Business processes 6. Architecture and infrastructure 7. Participating in decisions about IS security 8. The business of IS 9. Governance of IS resources 10. Sourcing 11. Project and change management 12. Business intelligence 13. Ethical use of information © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 14 © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. Assumptions 15 Assumptions About Management • Interpersonal • Figurehead • Leader • Liaison • Informational • Monitor • Disseminator • Spokesperson • Decisional • Entrepreneur • Disturbance Handler • Resource Allocator • Negotiator © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 16 Assumptions About Business – Functional View © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 17 Process View © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 18 Assumptions about the Nature of Information • Data – simple observations • Information – data + relevance + purpose • Knowledge – information + context + synthesis + reflection © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 19 Data, Information, and Knowledge Data Information Knowledge Definition Simple observations of the state of the world Data endowed with relevance and purpose Information from the human mind (includes reflection, synthesis, context) Characteristics • Easily structured • Easily captured on machines • Often quantified • Easily transferred • Mere facts • Requires unit of analysis • Data that have been processed • Human mediation necessary • Hard to structure • Difficult to capture on machines • Often tacit • Hard to transfer Example Daily inventory report of all items Daily inventory report of items with low levels of stock Report of which items need to be reordered after considering inventory levels, anticipated labor strikes, and a flood affecting a supplier © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 20 Characteristics of Information Across Levels Top Management Middle Management Supervisory and Lower -Level Management Time Horizon Long: years Medium: weeks, months, years Short: day to day Level of Detail Highly aggregated Less accurate More predictive Summarized Integrated Often financial Very detailed Very accurate Often nonfinancial Source Primarily external Primarily internal with limited external Internal Decision Extremely judgmental Uses creativity and analytical skills Relatively judgmental Heavy reliance on rules © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 21 Economics of Information vs Things Things Information Wear out Does not wear out but can become obsolete or untrue Are replicated at the expense of the manufacturer Is replicated at almost zero cost without limit Exist in a tangible location Does not physically exist When sold, possession changes hands When sold, seller may still possess and sell again Price based on production costs Price based on value to consumer © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 22 Internet of Things ( IoT ) • Combine information and things = IoT • From the 1970s: Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon University • From the 1980s: Elevators that call for service without people knowing there is a problem • Today:

• Self -driving cars • Internet -connected (and controllable) thermostats, stoves, alarm systems • Pets that are trackable online • Heart monitors that alert doctors or hospitals of a problem • Digital video recorders that can be controlled around the world • Quad -copters (drones) that can • Record video marked with location data • Return to the point of origin if it goes out of range of the “pilot” • Notify regarding its location and avoid objects in a database © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 23 The Term “Information Systems” Composed of:

• Technology • People • Processes Information Technology vs Information Systems • The term “IT” tends to be more fashionable • But IT actually refers to just the technology • Many people interchange the terms © 2016 Jo h n Wi ley & So n s, I nc. 24 Managing and Using Infor mation Systems: A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders, and Dennis Galletta © Copyright 2016 John Wiley & Sons, I nc.