Information systems

The objective of information systems is to provide information to all levels of management at the most relevant time, at an acceptable level of accuracy, and at an economical cost.

Individual businesses require information according to the nature of their operations. A car manufacturer is particularly interested in the extent of competition from overseas manufacturers in the home market and competition from other home-based manufacturers. A tour operator is concerned about purchasing power and its effect on holiday bookings and the political situation prevailing in the various countries.

As a general guide, the detail contained in reports containing information varies according to the position of the recipient in the hierarchical management structure. The chairman and managing director of a company require details of operations which are broad in scope and which concentrate on key factors pinpointing economic and financial trends.

Functional management require information relating to the departments they are responsible for in sufficient detail to enable them to apply whatever measures are required to bring situations into line with requirements. They require information relating to events as they occur so that appropriate action can be taken to control them.

Information systems are often computerized because of the need to respond quickly and flexibly to queries. At the bottom level in the information hierarchy are the transaction processing systems, which capture and process internal information, such as sales, production, and stock data. These produce the working documents of the business, such as invoices and statements. Typically, these are the first systems which a company will install. Above the transaction-level systems are the decision support systems. These take external information – market rends and other external financial data – and processed internal information, such as sales trends, to produce strategic plans, forecasts, and budgets. Often such systems are put together with PC spreadsheets and other unconnected tools. Management information systems lie at the top of the hierarchy of information needs. The MIS takes the plans and information from the transaction-level systems to monitor the performance of the business as a whole. This provides feedback to aid strategic planning, forecasting, and/ or budgeting, which in turn affects what happens at the transactional level.

Task 14. Match parts of the envelope with the headings.

The Marsdens

7425 (1) Lansdowne Road

Bethesda, MD (3) 20812

Fred and Sylvia Becker
455 (4) Battery Lane
Bethesda, (5) MD 20814

A. Name of the state

B. Street name in the mailing address

C. Name of the city

D. ZIP code

E. Street name in the return address

Task 15. Read the document and fill in the gaps.

A) Re

B) From

C) Thank you

D) understand

___(1)____: Management

To : Northwest Area Sales Staff

___(2)___: New Monthly Reporting System

We’d like to quickly go over some of the changes in the new monthly sales reporting system that we discussed at Monday’s special meeting. We ___(3)____ that you have concerns about the amount of time that will be initially required for inputting your client data. ___(4)___ all for your help in putting this new system into place.

Task 16.To which type is the document in Task 15 referred?

A) Application Letter

B) Contract

C) Memo

D) Letter of Enquiry

Task 17. Put the parts of the document into the correct order.

1) Dear Ms. Bragg,

2) Meridian National Bank,

12187, Polo Drive

Fairfax, VA, 22130

3) On behalf of Meridian National Bank I thank you for your ongoing business and trust that we will continue to serve you in the future.

4) Yours sincerely,

Brenda Wallis

Loans Manager

5) December 12, 2009

6) Suzanna Bragg

127 Polk Drive, No. 112

Gary, Indiana, 46402

7) After a thorough review of your application and the supporting documents you supplied, we have concluded that your current financial situation precludes this institution from extending further credit to you at this time. When your financial picture changes and your current level of risk-exposure becomes lower, we would be happy to reconsider your application.

Task 18. To which type of letter is the letter in Task 17 referred?

A) Application Letter

B) Rejection Letter

C) Letter of Credit

D) Letter of Enquiry

Speaking

Task 19. Make a list of software products you use (e.g. word processors, spreadsheets, media player, etc.). Then choose one product and comment on it. Are there any features you never use? Are there any features missing? Discuss it with your partner.

Task 20. Review crossword.

1. programs which tell the computer what to do (8)

2. a piece of software which makes a computer do a task (for example, edit an image) (11)

3. any set of instructions for a computer (7)

4. software which operates a peripheral, such as a scanner or printer (6)

5. application which stores and displays digital photos (5,5)

6. you enter a security code to prove that you have a _______ to use the software (7)

7. software which prevents unauthorized access to your computer over the Internet (8)

8. a series of letters and numbers which you have to enter before installing some programs (8,4)

9. download new features for an application (6)

10. an unauthorised copy of a program (7)

Task 21. Enjoy the jokes.

Did you hear about the Microsoft Windows programmer who died? He found himself in front of a committee that decides whether one goes to Heaven or Hell. The committee told the programmer he had some say in the matter and asked him if he wanted to see Heaven and Hell before stating his preference. "Sure," he said, so an angel took him to a place with a sunny beach, volleyball, and rock and roll, where everyone was having a great time. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Heaven is great!" "Wrong," said the angel. "That was Hell. Want to see Heaven?" "Sure!" So the angel took him to another place. Here a bunch of people were sitting in a park playing bingo and feeding pigeons. "This is Heaven?" asked the Windows programmer. "Yes," said the angel. "Then I'll take Hell." Instantly, he found himself plunged up to his neck in red-hot lava, with the hosts of the damned in torment around him. "Where's the beach? The music? The volleyball?" he screamed frantically to the angel. "That was the demo," she replied as she vanished.

Error Messages

• "The world will end in 5 minutes. Please log out..."
• "COFFEE.EXE missing. Insert cup and press any key."
• "Bad Command or File Name. Good try, though."
• "Press any key... no, no, no, NOT THAT ONE!"
• "Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue..."
• "General Failure's Fault. Not Yours."
• "Hit any user to continue."
• "Scandisk is now checking your hard disk. You can start praying."
• "Smash forehead on keyboard to continue."
• "Earth is 98% full. Please delete anyone you can."
• "Cannot find REALITY.SYS...Universe Halted."
• “Keyboard not found. Press any key to continue…”

Unit 4. Networks

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1957