INFORMATION SYSTEM

An information system is any combination of information technology and people's activities that support operations, management and decision making. In a very broad sense, the term information system is frequently used to refer to the interaction between people, processes, data and technology. In this sense, the term is used to refer not only to the information and communication technology (ICT) that an organization uses, but also to the way in which people interact with this technology in support of business processes. Some make a clear distinction between information systems, computer systems, and business processes. Information systems typically include an ICT component but are not purely concerned with ICT, focusing instead on the end use of information technology. Information systems are also different from business processes. Information systems help to control the performance of business processes. Alter argues for an information system as a special type of work system. A work system is a system in which humans and/or machines perform work using resources to produce specific products and/or services for customers. An information system is a work system whose activities are devoted to processing (capturing, transmitting, storing, retrieving, manipulating and displaying) information. As such, information systems inter-relate with data systems on the one hand and activity systems on the other. An information system is a form of communication system in which data

represent and are processed as a form of social memory. An information system can also be considered a semi-formal language which supports human decision making and action. Information systems are the primary focus of study for the information systems discipline and for organizational informatics.

COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

The main components of information systems are computer hardware and software, telecommunications, databases and data warehouses, human resources, and procedures. The hardware, software, and telecommunications constitute information technology (IT), which is now ingrained in the operations and management of organizations.

TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

For most businesses, there are a variety of requirements for information. Senior managers need information to help with their business planning. Middle management need more detailed information to help them monitor and control business activities. Employees with operational roles need information to help them carry out their duties. Most management information systems specialize in particular commercial and

industrial sectors, aspects of the enterprise, or management substructure.

ADVANTAGES
The following are some of the benefits that can be attained for different types of management information systems.

Management information systems (MIS), per se, produce fixed, regularly scheduled reports based on data extracted and summarized from the firms underlying transaction processing systems to middle and operational level managers to identify and inform structured and semi-structured decision problems. Decision support systems (DSS) are computer program applications used by middle management to compile information from a wide range of sources to support problem solving
and decision making.

Executive information systems (EIS) is a reporting tool that provides quick access to summarized reports coming from all company levels and departments such as accounting, human resources and operations. Marketing information systems are MIS designed specifically for managing the marketing aspects of the business. Office automation systems (OAS) support communication and productivity in the enterprise by automating work flow and eliminating bottlenecks. OAS may be implemented at any and all levels of management. School management information systems (MIS) cover school administration,and often including teaching and learning materials.

Companies are able to highlight their strengths and weaknesses due to the presence of revenue reports, employees' performance record etc. The identification of these aspects can help the company improve their business processes and operations. Giving an overall picture of the company and acting as a communication and planning tool. The availability of the customer data and feedback can help the company to align their business processes according to the needs of the customers. The effective management of customer data can help the company to perform direct marketing and promotion activities. Information is considered to be an important asset for any company in the modern competitive world. The consumer buying trends and behaviours can be predicted by the analysis of sales and revenue reports from each operating region of the company.

ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS

Enterprise systems, also known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems provide an organization with integrated software modules and a unified database which enable efficient planning, managing, and controlling of all core business processes across multiple locations. Modules of ERP systems may

include finance, accounting, marketing, human resources, production, inventory management and distribution.

Supply chain management (SCM) systems enable more efficient management of the supply chain by integrating the links in a supply chain. This may include suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and final customers. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems help businesses manage relationships with potential and current customers and business partners across marketing, sales, and service. Knowledge management system (KMS) helps organizations facilitate the collection, recording, organization, retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge. This may include documents, accounting records, and unrecorded procedures, practices and skills.

Conversion is the process of changing or converting the old system into the new. This can be done in three basic ways, though newer methods (prototyping, Extreme Programming, JAD, etc.) are replacing these traditional conversion methods in many cases:

Direct cutover The new system replaces the old at an appointed time. Pilot study Introducing the new system to a small portion of the operation to see how it fares. If good then the new system expands to the rest of the company. Phased approach New system is introduced in stages.

DEVELOPING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

"The actions that are taken to create an information system that solves an organizational problem are called system development".[6] These include system analysis, system design, programming/implementation, testing, conversion, production and finally maintenance. These actions usually take place in that specified order but some may need to repeat or be accomplished concurrently.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:

IMS (Information Management System) is a database and transaction management system that was first introduced by IBM in 1968. Since then, IMS has gone through many changes in adapting to new programming tools and environments. IMS is one of two major legacydatabase and transaction management subsystems from IBM that run on mainframe MVS (nowz/OS) systems. The other is CICS. It is claimed that, historically, application programs that use either (or both) IMS or CICS services

have handled and continue to handle most of the world's banking, insurance, and order entry transactions.

Information Systems : Dominos Pizza

COMPONENTS: The IMS Database Management System (IMS DB) : In IMS DB, the data is
organized into a hierarchy. The data in each level is dependent on the data in the next higher level. The data is arranged so that its integrity is ensured, and the storage and retrieval process is optimized. What does the organisation do? Domino's Pizza is an international organisation that specialises in pizza delivery. What human activity system within the organization does the IS support? The human activity system within the organisation is in charge of handling data passed on by staff working at dominos. This unprocessed information consists of:

The IMS Transaction Management System (IMS TM): IMS TM controls I/O
(input/output) processing, provides formatting, logging, and recovery of messages, maintains communications security, and oversees the scheduling and execution of programs. TM uses a messaging mechanism for queuing requests. IMS TM controls I/O (input/output) processing, provides formatting, logging, and recovery of messages, maintains communications security, and oversees the scheduling and execution of programs. TM uses a messaging mechanism for queuing requests. IMS's original programming interface was DL/1 (Data Language/1). Today, IMS applications and databases can be connected to CICS applications and DB2databases. Java programs can access IMS databases and services.

Price/cost. The both the customer and sales department will have the price and cost distributed to them in a form of a receipt. The sales department will store this information into a database to be used for calculating the business income of the restaurant. Table number. The waiting staff will need to know the table number of the customer as they will need to know where the order will be held. Date and time. The restaurant office will be informed of when the order of each customer was taken place Payment. The method of payment will be passed onto the restaurant office to inform them how the transaction took place.

What data does Domino's Pizza IS gather? Domino's information system is a highly complex one that must deal with high

priority requests quickly and safely, ensuring that its messages reach its destination. An example would be orders for food. The information that the IS must gather in this use case is: 1. The food that was ordered, i.e pizza, drinks, sides 2. The address of the customer 3. The name of the customer 4. The customer's phone number 5. Payment details; have they paid by card already, or will they pay on delivery? What else might they gather? The information gathered above was needed for a branch of Domino's Pizza's day to day operations. But the IS also gathers data from all the branches within a sector and sends it to head office, allowing them to gather statistics, such as: 1. 2. 3. 4. How many pizzas were sold? Which types sold most? When were they sold? What were the total takings for the day? 5. What was the average number of items in an order? And so on. This information is collected and sent automatically, and this allows head office to have an overview of their business at all times. This lets them calculate their best move in the highly competitive market: Should we begin a half price campaign? Where? Or should we develop a new type of pizza? Do we need to open a new branch here, or close that one there?

What processing is done by the IS to turn data into information? The data that is transformed into information by the information consists of:

Secretary. The secretary is in charge of overseeing all transactions and procedures of the business including calculating business income of the restaurant by using the data of all previous figures and processing it into comprehendible information i.e. monthly sales figures. The secretary also takes the customers' order and processes this information whilst passing it to the pizza makers for them to produce the pizzas.

What information does the Domino's restaurant IS distribute? The information that our chosen system (Domino's restaurant ordering system) distributes is the:

Customer order information: This information would be distributed between the cooking staff (so they can prepare the food) and this information would also be distributed to the waitering staff (so the correct food can be taken out to the customer). Price/cost of order: This information would be distributed to both the customer (in the form of a receipt) and the sales department (on a database to be stored for calculating the businesses income) of the restaurant. The table number: This information would be distributed to the kitchen

however this information would only be useful to the waitering staff as they need to know where the order is going. Date and time of order: This information would be distributed to the restaurant office to inform them of when the order was placed. How the customer paid: This information would also be passed onto the restaurant office to inform them of how customers paid for their meals (i.e. cash or debit card).

even how many times ordered per day. Which is then manipulated in order to get results able to show popular dishes as well as save what customers order and furthermore send the information to the kitchen so the chef can cook it quicker and so reduces time, and in turn allows the customer to get thier meals quicker? It is used within the restaurant through handheld devices for recording what they have ordered as well as within tills situated within the restaurant (it also sends information to the kitchen for the chef to see) this also reduces the chance for errors by the waiter staff as they will have set meals they can choose from and so stop mistakes during entering and furthermore the meal as a whole.

Who uses the information that is produced? The information produced can be used by many people throughout the organisations. It is used by the chefs to know all about what is to be cooked and the demand the public has for it. It is used by the waiters so they know which customers have ordered what food, at what time and furthermore where they are sitting. The information could also be used by the manager and other high position staff for tasks such as ordering extra ingredients and stock for what is the most popular dishes (as well as which will need restocking and which dishes may need to be ordered less in future). Company managers may also look on the information systems for details on profits and whether the restaurant is as popular and busy as it needs to be in order to stay in profit. How and where is technology used? The technology is used to record what the customers have ordered and at what price it is, it is used to collect numerical data on number of meals ordered, what table and

References 1. http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/pe ople/staff/udf/CO321_assess 1/Class2Group5/index.html 2. http://www.britannica.com/ EBchecked/topic/287895/inf ormation-system 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Information_system