TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS An information system is a collection of hardware, software, data, people and procedures that are designed

to generate information that supports the day-to-day, short-range, and long-range activities of users in an organization. Information systems generally are classified into five categories: office information systems, transaction processing systems, management information systems, decision support systems, and expert systems. The following sections present each of these information systems. 1. Office Information Systems An office information system, or OIS (pronounced oh-eye-ess , is an information system that uses hardware, software and networ!s to enhance wor! flow and facilitate communications among employees. "in an office information system, also descri#ed as office automation$ employees perform tas!s electronically using computers and other electronic devices, instead of manually. "ith an office information system, for example, a registration department might post the class schedule on the Internet and e-mail students when the schedule is updated. In a manual system, the registration department would photocopy the schedule and mail it to each student%s house. An office information system supports a range of #usiness office activities such as creating and distri#uting graphics and&or documents, sending messages, scheduling, and accounting. All levels of users from executive management to nonmanagement employees utilize and #enefit from the features of an 'I(. The software an office information system uses to support these activities include word processing, spreadsheets, data#ases, presentation graphics, e-mail, "e# #rowsers, "e# page authoring, personal information management, and groupware. 'ffice information systems use communications technology such as voice mail, facsimile (fax , videoconferencing, and electronic data interchange ()*I for the electronic exchange of text, graphics, audio, and video. An office information system also uses a variety of hardware, including computers e+uipped with modems, video cameras, spea!ers, and microphones$ scanners$ and fax machines. 2. Transaction Processing Systems A transaction processing system TPS! is an information system that captures and processes data generated during an organization%s day-to-day transactions. A transaction is a #usiness activity such as a deposit, payment, order or reservation. ,lerical staff typically perform the activities associated with transaction processing, which include the following: -. /. .ecording a #usiness activity such as a student%s registration, a customer%s order, an employee%s timecard or a client%s payment. ,onfirming an action or triggering a response, such as printing a student%s schedule, sending a than!-you note to a customer, generating an employee%s paychec! or issuing a receipt to a client.

0.

1aintaining data, which involves adding new data, changing existing data, or removing unwanted data.

Transaction processing systems were among the first computerized systems developed to process #usiness data 2 a function originally called "ata processing. 3sually, the T4( computerized an existing manual system to allow for faster processing, reduced clerical costs and improved customer service. The first transaction processing systems usually used #atch processing. "ith #atch processing, transaction data is collected over a period of time and all transactions are processed later, as a group. As computers #ecame more powerful, system developers #uilt online transaction processing systems. "ith on#ine transaction processing O$TP! the computer processes transactions as they are entered. "hen you register for classes, your school pro#a#ly uses '5T4. The registration administrative assistant enters your desired schedule and the computer immediately prints your statement of classes. The invoices, however, often are printed using #atch processing, meaning all student invoices are printed and mailed at a later date. Today, most transaction processing systems use online transaction processing. (ome routine processing tas!s such as calculating paychec!s or printing invoices, however, are performed more effectively on a #atch #asis. 6or these activities, many organizations still use #atch processing techni+ues. %. Management Information Systems "hile computers were ideal for routine transaction processing, managers soon realized that the computers% capa#ility of performing rapid calculations and data comparisons could produce meaningful information for management. 1anagement information systems thus evolved out of transaction processing systems. A management information system& or MIS pronounced emeye-ess , is an information system that generates accurate, timely and organized information so managers and other users can ma!e decisions, solve pro#lems, supervise activities, and trac! progress. 7ecause it generates reports on a regular #asis, a management information system sometimes is called a management reporting system MRS!. 1anagement information systems often are integrated with transaction processing systems. To process a sales order, for example, the transaction processing system records the sale, updates the customer%s account #alance, and ma!es a deduction from inventory. 3sing this information, the related management information system can produce reports that recap daily sales activities$ list customers with past due account #alances$ graph slow or fast selling products$ and highlight inventory items that need reordering. A management information system focuses on generating information that management and other users need to perform their 8o#s. An 1I( generates three #asic types of information: detailed, summary and exception. 'etai#e" information typically confirms transaction processing activities. A *etailed 'rder .eport is an example of a "etai# report. Summary information consolidates data into a format that an individual can review +uic!ly and easily. To help synopsize information, a summary report typically contains totals, ta#les, or graphs. An Inventory (ummary .eport is an example of a summary report. E(ception information filters data to report information that is outside of a normal condition. These conditions, called the e(ception criteria, define the range of what is considered normal activity or status. An example of an e(ception report is an Inventory )xception .eport is an

Inventory )xception .eport that notifies the purchasing department of items it needs to reorder. )xception reports help managers save time #ecause they do not have to search through a detailed report for exceptions. Instead, an exception report #rings exceptions to the manager%s attention in an easily identifia#le form. )xception reports thus help them focus on situations that re+uire immediate decisions or actions. ). 'ecision Support Systems Transaction processing and management information systems provide information on a regular #asis. 6re+uently, however, users need information not provided in these reports to help them ma!e decisions. A sales manager, for example, might need to determine how high to set yearly sales +uotas #ased on increased sales and lowered product costs. *ecision support systems help provide information to support such decisions. A "ecision support system 'SS! is an information system designed to help users reach a decision when a decision-ma!ing situation arises. A variety of *((s exist to help with a range of decisions. A decision support system uses data from internal and&or external sources. Interna# sources of data might include sales, manufacturing, inventory, or financial data from an organization%s data#ase. *ata from e(terna# sources could include interest rates, population trends, and costs of new housing construction or raw material pricing. 3sers of a *((, often managers, can manipulate the data used in the *(( to help with decisions. (ome decision support systems include +uery language, statistical analysis capa#ilities, spreadsheets, and graphics that help you extract data and evaluate the results. (ome decision support systems also include capa#ilities that allow you to create a model of the factors affecting a decision. A simple model for determining the #est product price, for example, would include factors for the expected sales volume at each price level. "ith the model, you can as! what-if +uestions #y changing one or more of the factors and viewing the pro8ected results. 1any people use application software pac!ages to perform *(( functions. 3sing spreadsheet software, for example, you can complete simple modeling tas!s or what-if scenarios. A special type of *((, called an e(ecuti*e information system EIS!, is designed to support the information needs of executive management. Information in an )I( is presented in charts and ta#les that show trends, ratios, and other managerial statistics. 7ecause executives usually focus on strategic issues, )I(s rely on external data sources such as the *ow 9ones :ews&.etrieval service or the Internet. These external data sources can provide current information on interest rates, commodity prices, and other leading economic indicators. To store all the necessary decision-ma!ing data, *((s or )I(s often use extremely large data#ases, called data warehouses. A "ata +are,ouse stores and manages the data re+uired to analyze historical and current #usiness circumstances. -. E(pert Systems An e(pert system is an information system that captures and stores the !nowledge of human experts and then imitates human reasoning and decision-ma!ing processes for those who have less expertise. )xpert systems are composed of two main components: a !nowledge #ase and inference rules. A .no+#e"ge /ase is the com#ined su#8ect !nowledge and experiences of the

human experts. The inference ru#es are a set of logical 8udgments applied to the !nowledge #ase each time a user descri#es a situation to the expert system. Although expert systems can help decision-ma!ing at any level in an organization, nonmanagement employees are the primary users who utilize them to help with 8o#-related decisions. )xpert systems also successfully have resolved such diverse pro#lems as diagnosing illnesses, searching for oil and ma!ing soup. )xpert systems are one part of an exciting #ranch of computer science called artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI is the application of human intelligence to computers. AI technology can sense your actions and, #ased on logical assumptions and prior experience, will ta!e the appropriate action to complete the tas!. AI has a variety of capa#ilities, including speech recognition, logical reasoning, and creative responses. )xperts predict that AI eventually will #e incorporated into most computer systems and many individual software applications. 1any word processing programs already include speech recognition. Integrate" Information Systems "ith today%s sophisticated hardware, software and communications technologies, it often is difficult to classify a system as #elonging uni+uely to one of the five information system types discussed. 1uch of today%s application software supports transaction processing and generates management information. 'ther applications provide transaction processing, management information, and decision support. Although expert systems still operate primarily as separate systems, organizations increasingly are consolidating their information needs into a single, integrated information system.

*iscovering ,omputers /;;; 2 ,oncepts for a ,onnected "orld #y (helly, ,ashman and <ermaat$ ,ourse Technology -===

>