Knowledge Work

Intellectual activity that people perform upon data, information, and knowledge in order to discover business options

Knowledge Worker

Person who uses information, information systems, and information technology to create business value for organizations

Explicit Knowledge

knowledge readily codified (ex: knowledge in a textbook)

Tactic Knowledge

knowledge you gain through experience, insight, and discovery
 

Knowledge Workers are people who:

a Business is an organization with one or more people who:

Data

raw unorganized facts, numbers, pictures, and so on

Information

data that has been organized and is useful to a person

Knowledge

created when a person combines experience and judgment with information

Wisdom

adds insight and ethics to the data-information-knowledge continuum

Information System

is an organized collection of people, information, business processes, and information technology, designed to transform inputs into outputs, in order to achieve a goal 

Input

Items entered into a system in order to transform them into outputs
 

Process

A series of one or more steps used by a business to transform inputs into outputs
 

Output

 The end result of a process. Information is the result of the transformation (processing) of data

Data

Raw, unorganized facts, numbers, pictures, etc
 

Information

Data that have been organized and are useful to a person
 

Knowledge

Created when a person combines judgment with information
 

System

A recognizable whole that consists of a collection of interrelated parts that interact with each other to transform inputs into outputs in order to achieve a goal

People

People or organizations that have both an interest in and an influence on the creation, implementation, or operation of IS
 

Decision

A choice made from one or more alternatives to follow or avoid some course of action
 

Business Value

A positive return on the investment of resources that is created through the effective and efficient integration of an organization’s people, information, IT, and business processes
 

Transaction Processing Systems (TPS)
 

Captures and processes transactions to make them available to an organization

Management Information Systems (MIS)
 

Through processing and reporting features, provides timely information to decision makers

Decision Support Systems (DSS)
 

Provides analytical and visualization tools to support and enhance decision making and planning

Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) Systems
 

 Integrates and standardizes processes, and centralizes and standardizes the storage and management of data

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

Integrates data collection, transformation, storage, and analysis of customer transaction data, including purchases, service requests, and other forms of customer contact

1) Hardware

2) Software

3) Network Technology

3 Components of IT

Hardware

the electronic and mechanical components you can see and touch

Software

the set of instructions that direct the hardware

Network Technology

increases the power of IT by allowing the sharing of resource

6 Components of Hardware

Processing

directs execution of instructions and the transformation of data

Memory

temporarily stores data and instructions before and after processing

Input

provides the interface used for data entry into a device (keyboard, mouse, barcode, etc)

Output

provides the interface to retrieve information from a device (display, printer, speakers, etc)

Storage

stores data, information, and instructions for the long term

Communications

connects one IT device to another

Chip

core of all computing operations

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

the "brain" of the computer; performs calculation and controls the flow of operations; takes instructions form the memory and runs the memory and runs them

Transistor

an electronic switch that can be on (1) or off (0)

Read Only Memory (ROM)

 long-term memory

contains instructions that are not meant to be change or changed only infrequently

Random Access Memory

short-term (temorary) memory

the predominant form of memory in a computer

 data is lost when computer is shut down

Network Interface Card (NIC)

 provides the physical connection between the computer and a local network (wired or wireless)

Modem

allows you to connect to a remote network over a telecommunications line (telephone line or cable TV service)

Firmware

software built into chips (hardware) like that in cell phones and PDAs

2 Types of Software

1) Operating Systems (OS) Software

2) Utility Software

2 Main Types of Systems Software

Operating Systems (OS) Software

coordinates and handles the details of working with the computer hardware

Utility Software

provides additional tools to maintain and service your system (many utility software tasks are now included in the OS)

5 Core Task of an Operating System

Processor management

The OS must ensure that each process and application receives the right amount of the processor’s time to function properly.

Memory and storage management

The operating system must make sure that each process has enough memory to perform its job. In addition, the OS must also make sure that each type of memory available in the system is used properly and efficiently.

Device management

 The OS must also manage the hardware resources of the computer system. To do this, the OS uses special programs known as drivers. A driver's main task is to convert software commands into the right electrical signals to hardware.

Application interface

The application program interfaces (APIs) of the operating system function much like hardware drivers. To perform their tasks, application programs request services from the operating system using an API.

User Interface

The operating system also manages the interaction between the user and the computer through the user interface which provides a consistent way for the user to interact with the computer.

Application Software

a complete, self contained program or set of programs for performing a specific job; software you use to get things done

Productivity Software

software used by knowledge workers to work with data, information, and knowledge. For example: MS Office & Quicken software.

Local Area Network (LAN)

connects computers confined to a relatively small area like a building

Wide Area Network (WAN)

connects computers over regions, countries, and continents.

4 Benefits of Network

Internet

any computer network that connects several networks together

3 basic standards that the World Wide Web operates on

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

specifies a unique address for each web page

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

provides rules used by browsers and servers as they respond to each other.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

provides a language for encoding the information so a variety of IT devices can display it 

5 Knowledge Work Activities

Discovery

the finding of data, information, and knowledge relevant to a task, problem, issue, opportunity, and so on

Transformation

a knowledge work activity that requires you to organize the results from discovery activities

Analysis

 the knowledge work activity that will help you answer questions and gain understanding through a thoughtful investigation and examination of the available data, information, and knowledge

Synthesis

allows you to discover trends or patterns that seem to explain the past and the present, and may suggest courses of action likely to favorably influence the future

Communication

the ability to share your analyses, ideas, and solutions with others

Intranet

a private, organization-wide computer network that is typically based on Internet protocols

Decision

a choice about actions to take [or not take] in a given situation 

Structured decision

a decision that can be programmed; routine or repetitive

Semistructured Decision

a decision that involves some uncertainty or doubt about the outcome of it

Unstructured decision

a decision that involves a significant amount of uncertainty about the outcome associated with a choice

CARROTS stands for

Stakeholder

a person or entity that has an interest and an influence on how a business will function in order to succeed.

Data, Information, and Knowledge

Raw facts, summarized data, information derived from research, and expert knowledge relevant to business’s goals
 

Labor

People hired to carry out all or part of essential business processes or supporting functions
 

Raw Materials

The “ingredients” from which the company makes its products
 

Capital

The money that businesses need to operate
 

Technology

Available in many forms, greatly extending beyond PCs and software applications
 

Business Process

To transform inputs into outputs (goods and services) organizations need to perform a series of steps known as the...

Products & Services

2 Important outputs of business processes

Feedback

a special form of output created by a business process that is returned to the system

3 Types of Organizational Structures

Functional organizational structure

a business organized according to functional areas instead of product lines; can be economically efficient, but can lack flexibility and it may be difficult to communicate between functional areas

Matrix organizational structure

a form of business organizational structure that blends the functional and decentralized organizational structures; from top to bottom, organized as a functional structure. from left to right, follows a product-based structure. frequently uses teams of employees

1. Economies of scale
2. Technical expertise in functional areas 
3. Clear chain of authority and communications
 

Advantages of Functional organizational form

Advantages of decentralized organizational form

 1. Increased flexibility and responsiveness
2. Enhanced problem solving, cooperation, communication, and resource sharing
3. Decision making lower in organization
 

Advantages of matrix organizational form

Disadvantages of functional organizational form

1. Duplication of resources and efforts across units
2. Less in-depth tech knowledge
3. Less direct control by upper management
 

Disadvantages of decentralized organizational form

1. Frustration due to dual lines of authority
2. Increased need for coordination
3. Potential for goal conflict
 

Disadvantages of matrix organizational form

Value Chain

a connected series of activities, each of which adds value or supports the addition of value to the firm’s goods and services

Transaction

an exchange of goods or services (value) between two or more parties

Primary activities

activities directly related to the production and distribution of the organization’s products and services that create business value for the organization and its customers

Support activities

 value chain activities that an organization conducts to support the creation of business value

Enterprise-wide systems

systems that support and are used by the entire enterprise through a centralized database and coordinated software modules. 

3 ways IT can be applied to value chain activities to create business value

Automating

uses technology to perform tedious or repetitive tasks faster, cheaper, more consistently, and with greater accuracy. 

Informating

leverages the new data and information created by business processes

Transforming

seeks to use IT to acquire or continue a competitive advantage over competitors

1) Cost

2) Differentiation

2 ways to obtain a competitive advantage

Supercomputer

largest & fastest hardware

purpose: processor intensive applications

Mainframe

 large hardware

purpose: organizational processing

Server frames

 medium sized & many hardware

 purpose: handle network processing needs

Personal Computer (PC)

small to medium hardware

purpose: individual processing needs

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

very small hardware

purpose: protable computing power

Embedded Processors

extremely small hardware

purpose: low-scale processing and/or identification

Operating Systems

individual software use: to manage a single computer

organizational software use: to manage a mainframe or server farm

Application Software

individual software use: personal productivity software

Collaboration Software

individual software use: supports communication between individuals

Personal Area Network (PAN)

type of network

size: up to a small office

purpose: communication between devices

Local Area Network (LAN)

type of network

size: within a building

Metropolitan Area Network (WAN)

type of network

size: within a metropolitan area

Wide Area Network (WAN)

type of network

size: over a large geographical area

Internet

type of network

size: global

4 Disadvantages of File Systems

Database Management System (DBMS)

collection of software that organizes, manipulates, and retrieves data stored in a database.

Advantages of DBMS

Database Administrators

People who create and manage organizational database systems

How is the DBMS organized?

Data Hierarchy

a way of organizing stored data in progressively larger levels of complexity

Relational Data Model

a method of logically storing data in a database that is independent of the method used to physically store the data

Relational database management systems (RBDMS)

the most popular way of storing large amounts of data

Structured Query Language (SQL)

provides general rules for formulating the queries on relational databases

Data Warehouse

a means of storing and managing data for information access, typically composed of data from one or more transation databases

a large repository of organizational data that is integrated and non volatile

Database vs. Data Warehouse

2 Types of Knowledge

Knowledge management 

how the company recognizes, generates, manages, and shares knowledge

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

a form of knowledge management that tries to capture and store the knowledge of a human expert.

Communication tools

a form of knowledge management that tries to capture and store the knowledge of a human expert.

Conferencing tools

Provides a more interactive facility for sharing of information.
 

Collaborative management tools

Can help to manage and facilitate the activities of a team.
 

Integration Problem

the problem of combining many disparate technologies into a single overall system

Solutions to the integration problem

Middleware

software that links applications that use dissimilar software or hardware platforms

Web service

obtains or processes data from a sending application and then delivers the data over the network using a standard data format called eXtensible Markup Language (XML)

eXtensible Markup Language (XML)

Mashup

a combination of Web services that seamlessly combine information from more than one source into an integrated experience

Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP)

 information system that integrates and standardizes processes, and centralizes the storage and management of data of a business with the goal of increasing operational efficiencies in business processes

3 Common IS that support business activities

5 Functional Information Systems (FIS)

Workflow

represents the steps, resources, input and output data, and tools needed to complete a business process.

Workflow Management system (WMS)

or

Business Process Management (BPM)

focuses on a business process from beginning to end and supports activities that several departments of the organization may carry out

Binary Digit (Bit)

basic unit of the binary number system

1 byte = 8 bits = 1 character

1 byte = __ bits = __ character

EBCDIC

original code used for main frames; 8 bit coding sytem

Standard ASCII

original code for personal computers

Unicode

used for all personal computers today; extends ASCII by providing a 16 bit character set

1) Commercially developed software

2) Custom developed software

2 Forms that Application software comes in

Commercially developed software

application software that is ready to install and use with little modifications on the part of the user

Custom developed software

application software which is developed by a company specifically for its own use

Open-source software

program and software code (programming instructions) that is freely available for downloading over the internet

Proprietary software

software that requires a puchased license and typically restricts access to the source code to company emplotees

Client/Server architecture

each computer on the network is running either server software or client software, or both types of software simultaneously

Client/Server computing

a client runs an application that accesses information from a server. The client initiates requests and the server responds

3 Types of Client/Server Computing

Packet

a formatted unit of data

Router

hardware & software used to route / forward packets

Ping

a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host is reachable across a network

Ping of death

type of attack on a computer that involves sending a malicious ping to a computer

Proxy server

a server that services the requests of its clients by forwarding requests to other servers

Firewall

hardware & software to guard a computer against unauthorized access when connected to a network

[var] = [expression]

 Assignment statement

puts a new value into a variable; the value can be a fixed variable or a computation

[var] = input([prompt])

input statement

puts a new value into a variable; the value comes from the user

output([message])

output statement

 ouputs a message to the user

if [expression] then

   [block]

  else

   [block]

  endif

if-Then-Else statement

do one thing or the other

while [expression] do

    [block]

endwhile

loop statement

repeat while a condition is true

stop

stop statement

stop the program immediately; no statements following the stop are executed