Nama : Ajeng Mustika Suciati

NIM : 01118006
Mata Kuliah : Sistem Informasi Manajemen

1. How are information systems transforming business, and why are they so essential for running
and managing a business today?
a) Describe how information systems have changed the way business operate and their
products and services
Information systems automate many steps in business processes that were formerly
performed manually, such as checking a client’s credit, or generating an invoice and
shipping order. But rather than that, information technology can do much more, thus being
actually change the flow of information, making it possible for many more people to access
and share information, replacing sequential steps with tasks that can be performed
simultaneously, and eliminating delays in decision making.
New information technology frequently changes the way a business works and supports
entirely new business models. Downloading a Kindle e-book from Amazon, buying a
computer online at Best Buy, and downloading a music track from iTunes are entirely new
business processes based on new business models that would be inconceivable without
today’s information technology.

b) Describe the business impact of cloud computing, big data, and their mobile platform
I) Cloud computing : A flexible collection of computers on the Internet begins to
perform tasks traditionally performed on corporate
computers. Major business applications are delivered online
as an Internet service (Software as a Service, or SaaS).
II) Big data : Businesses look for insights from huge volumes of data
from Web traffic, e-mail messages, social media content,
and machines (sensors) that require new data management
tools to capture, store, and analyze.
III) Mobile digital platform : The Apple iPhone and tablet computers and Android
mobile devices are able to download hundreds of thousands
of applications to support collaboration, location-based
services, and communication with colleagues. Small tablet
computers, including the iPad and Kindle Fire, challenge
conventional laptops as platforms for consumer and
corporate computing.

c) Describe the characteristics of a digital firm

Based on its name, digital firm is a a term that used for organizations that have enabled
core business relationship with employees, customers and suppliers through digital
networks. Characteristics of digital firm:
 Significant business relationship are digitally enabled and mediated
 Core business processes are accomplished through digital networks and span the
entire organization
 Key corporate assets are managed digitally
 Internal and external environments are quickly recognized and dealt with

d) Explain what globalization has to do with management information systems

Globalization affects information systems in a lot of aspects like the use of internet by
general public in the world, global e-mail providers like hotmail and yahoo connects the
whole world together. Globalization has revolutionized internal management. It has also
made easier the interaction between countries, regions and continents, thus contributing to
profitability. It is the private sector’s philosophy that propelled efforts to utilize every means,
including information technology, to make companies survive, even the biggest and the
most powerful company in the world.
 e) List and describe six reasons why information systems are so important for business today
I) Operational excellence, information systems and technologies are some of the most
important tools available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and
productivity in business operations, especially when coupled with changes in business
practices and management behavior.
II) New products, services, and business models, information systems and technologies are
a major enabling tool for firms to create new products and services, as well as entirely
new business models. A business model describes how a company produces, delivers,
and sells a product or service to create wealth.
III) Customer and supplier intimacy, when a business really knows its customers, and
serves them well, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more.
This raises revenues and profits. Likewise with suppliers: the more a business engages its
suppliers, the better the suppliers can provide vital inputs. This lowers costs. How to
really know your customers, or suppliers, is a central problem for businesses with millions
of offline and online customers.
IV) Improved decision making, in the past decade, information systems and technologies
have made it possible for managers to use real-time data from the marketplace when
making decisions.
V) Competitive advantage, when firms achieve one or more of these business
objectives—operational excellence; new products, services, and business models;
customer/supplier intimacy; and improved decision making—chances are they have
already achieved a competitive advantage. Doing things better than your competitors,
charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real
time all add up to higher sales and higher profits that your competitors cannot match.
VI) Survival, business firms also invest in information systems and technologies because
they are necessities of doing business.

2. What is an information system? How does it work? What are its management, organization, and
technology component and why are complementary assets essential for ensuring that information
system provide genuine value for organizations?
a) Define an information system and describe the activities it performs
An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components
that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision
making and control in an organization. In addition to supporting decision making,
coordination, and control, information systems may also help managers and workers
analyze problems, visualize complex subjects, and create new products.
Three activities in an information system produce the information that organizations
need to make decisions, control operations, analyze problems, and create new products or
services. These activities are input, processing, and output. Input captures or collects raw
data from within the organization or from its external environment. Processing converts this
raw input into a meaningful form. Output transfers the processed information to the people
who will use it or to the activities for which it will be used.

b) List and describe the organizational, management, and technology dimensions of

information systems.
I) Organizations, information systems are an integral part of organizations. Indeed, for
some companies, such as credit reporting firms, there would be no business without an
information system. The key elements of an organization are its people, structure, business
processes, politics, and culture.
II) Management, information technology can play a powerful role in helping managers
design and deliver new products and services and redirecting and redesigning their
organizations.
III) Information technology, The IT infrastructure provides the foundation, or platform, on
which the firm can build its specific information systems. Each organization must carefully
design and manage its IT infrastructure so that it has the set of technology services it needs
for the work it wants to accomplish with information systems.
c) Distinguish between information technology and an information system
 Information technology, information technology is one of many tools managers use to
cope with change.
 Information system, information systems are part of a series of value-adding activities for
acquiring, transforming, and distributing information that managers can use to improve
decision making, enhance organizational performance, and, ultimately, increase firm
profitability

d) Explain how the Internet and the World Wide Web are related to the other technology
components of information systems
The Internet is a global “network of networks” that uses universal standards to connect
millions of different networks with nearly 3 billion users in over 230 countries around the
world. The World Wide Web is a service provided by the Internet that uses universally
accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a page
format on the Internet. All of these technologies, along with the people required to run and
manage them, represent resources that can be shared throughout the organization and
constitute the firm’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. The IT infrastructure
provides the foundation, or platform, on which the firm can build its specific information
systems.

e) Define complementary assets and describe their relationship to information technology

Information technology investments alone cannot make organizations and managers
more effective unless they are accompanied by supportive values, structures, and behavior
patterns in the organization and other complementary assets. Business firms need to
change how they do business before they can really reap the advantages of new
information technologies.Some firms fail to adopt the right business model that suits the
new technology, or seek to preserve an old business model that is doomed by new
technology.
Complementary assets are those assets required to derive value from a primary
investment (Teece, 1988). For instance, to realize value from automobiles requires
substantial complementary investments in highways, roads, gasoline stations, repair
facilities, and a legal regulatory structure to set standards and control drivers.

f) Describe the complementary social, managerial, and organizational assets required to

optimize returns from information technology investments
 Organizational assets: Supportive organizational culture that values efficiency &
effectiveness
Appropriate business model
Efficient business processes
Decentralized authority
Distributed decision-making rights
Strong IS development team
 Managerial assets : Strong senior management support for technology investment
and change
Incentives for management innovation
Teamwork and collaborative work environments
Training programs to enhance management decision skills
Management culture that values flexibility and knowledge-based
decision making.
 Social assets :The Internet and telecommunications infrastructure
IT-enriched educational programs raising labor force computer
literacy
Standards (both government and private sector)
Laws and regulations creating fair, stable market environments
Technology and service firms in adjacent markets to assist
implementation
3. What are the problems of managing data resources in a traditional file environment?
a) List and describe each of the components in the data hierarchy
Traditional file management techniques make it difficult for organizations to keep track of
all of the pieces of data they use in a systematic way and to organize these data so that they
can be easily accessed. Different functional areas and groups were allowed to develop their
own files independently. Over time, this traditional file management environment creates
problems such as data redundancy and inconsistency, program-data dependence,
inflexibility, poor security, and lack of data sharing and availability. A database management
system (DBMS) solves these problems with software that permits centralization of data and
data management so that businesses have a single consistent source for all their data needs.
Using a DBMS minimizes redundant and inconsistent files.
i) Problems with the traditional file environment (files maintained separately by different
departments)
 Data redundancy
 Presence of duplicate data in multiple files
 Data inconsistency
 Same attribute has different values
 Program-data dependence, when changes in program requires changes to data
accessed by program
 Lack of flexibility
 Poor security
 Lack of data sharing and availability
ii) The Database Approach to Data Management
 Database, serves many applications by centralizing data and controlling redundant
data
 Database management system (DBMS)
 Interfaces between applications and physical data files
 Separates logical and physical views of data
 Solves problems of traditional file environment
 Controls redundancy
 Eliminates inconsistency

b) Define and explain the significance of entities, attributes, and key fields
 Entity is a person, place, thing, or event on which information can be obtained.
 Attribute is a piece of information describing a particular entity.
 Key field is a field in a record that uniquely identifies instances of that unique record
sothat it can be retrieved, updated, or sorted

c) List and describe the problems of the traditional file environment

 Data redundancy: duplicate data in multiple files, leading to data inconsistency, different
values used for the same attribute
 Program-data dependency: Changes in programs requiring changes to the data
 Lack of flexibility
 Poor security
 Lack of data sharing

4. What is IT infrastructure and what are the stages and drivers of IT infrastructure evolution?
a) Define IT infrastructure from both a technology and a services perspective
An IT infrastructure consists of a set of physical devices and software applications that are
required to operate the entire enterprise. But an IT infrastructure is also a set of firmwide
services budgeted by management and comprising both human and technical capabilities.
These services include the following:
• Computing platforms used to provide computing services that connect employees,
customers, and suppliers into a coherent digital environment, including large mainframes,
midrange computers, desktop and laptop computers, and mobile handheld and remote
cloud computing services.
 • Telecommunications services that provide data, voice, and video connectivity to
employees, customers, and suppliers
• Data management services that store and manage corporate data and provide capabilities
for analyzing the data
• Application software services, including online software services, that provide
enterprise-wide capabilities such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationship
management, supply chain management, and knowledge management systems that are
shared by all business units
• Physical facilities management services that develop and manage the physical installations
required for computing, telecommunications, and data management services
• IT management services that plan and develop the infrastructure, coordinate with the
business units for IT services, manage accounting for the IT expenditure, and provide project
management services
• IT standards services that provide the firm and its business units with policies that
determine which information technology will be used, when, and how
• IT education services that provide training in system use to employees and offer managers
training in how to plan for and manage IT investments
• IT research and development services that provide the firm with research on potential
future IT projects and investments that could help the firm differentiate itself in the
marketplace

b) List each of the eras in IT infrastructure evolution and describe its distinguish
characteristics
General-purpose mainframe and minicomputer era (1959 to present)
The introduction of the IBM 1401 and 7090 transistorized machines in 1959 marked the
beginning of widespread commercial use of mainframe computers. In 1965, the mainframe
computer truly came into its own with the introduction of the IBM 360 series. The 360 was
the first commercial computer with a powerful operating system that could provide time
sharing multitasking, and virtual memory in more advanced models.

Personal computer era (1981 to present)

Proliferation of PCs in the 1980s and early 1990s launched a spate of personal desktop
productivity software tools—word processors, spreadsheets, electronic presentation
software, and small data management programs—that were very valuable to both home
and corporate users. These PCs were stand-alone systems until PC operating system
software in the 1990s made it possible to link them into networks.

Client/server era (1983 to present)

In client/server computing, desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to
powerful server computers that provide the client computers with a variety of services and
capabilities. Computer processing work is split between these two types of machines. The
client is the user point of entry, whereas the server typically processes and stores shared
data, serves up Web pages, or manages network activities. The term “server” refers to both
the software application and the physical computer on which the network software runs.

Enterprise computing era (1992 to present)

In the early 1990s, firms turned to networking standards and software tools that could
integrate disparate networks and applications throughout the firm into an enterprise-wide
infrastructure. The resulting IT infrastructure links different pieces of computer hardware
and smaller networks into an enterprise-wide network so that information can flow freely
across the organization and between the firm and other

Cloud and mobile computing era (2000 to present)

Cloud computing refers to a model of computing that provides access to a shared pool of
computing resources (computers, storage, applications, and services) over a network, often
the Internet. These “clouds” of computing resources can be accessed on an as-needed basis
from any connected device and location. Currently, cloud computing is the fastest growing
 form of computing, with companies spending about $175 billion on cloud infrastructure and
services in 2014 (Hamilton, 2014).

I) Web server : software that manages requests for Web pages on the computer where
they are stored and that delivers the page to the user’s computer.
II) Application server : software handles all application operations between a user and an
organization’s back-end business systems. The application server may reside on the same
computer as the Web server or on its own dedicated computer.
III) Multitiered client/server architecture: client/server network in which the work of the
entire network is balanced over several different levels of servers.

d) Describe Moore Law and the Law of Mass Digital Store

Moore’s Law
This law would later be interpreted in multiple ways. There are at least three variations of
Moore’s Law, none of which Moore ever stated: (1) the power of microprocessors doubles
every 18 months; (2) computing power doubles every 18 months; and (3) the price of
computing falls by half every 18 months.

The Law of Mass Digital Storage

A second technology driver of IT infrastructure change is the Law of Mass Digital Storage.
The amount of digital information is roughly doubling every year (Gantz and Reinsel, 2011;
Lyman and Varian, 2003). Fortunately, the cost of storing digital information is falling at an
exponential rate of 100 percent a year. Figure 5.7 shows that the number of megabytes that
can be stored on magnetic media for $1 from 1950 to the present roughly doubled every 15
months. In 2014, a 500 gigabyte hard disk drive sells at retail for about $60.

e) Describe how network economics declining communications costs, and technology

standards affect IT infrastructure
Metcalfe’s Law and Network economics: If you build a network for ten users, you’ll spend
the necessary money for the basic equipment. If you already have the equipment in place,
you can add one more user at nominal costs. However, the additional user will bring value
to the network far beyond what it costs to add him/her.

Declining communications costs and the Internet: One of the biggest drivers in the
exploding use of computers is directly attributable to the Internet. It’s getting cheaper every
day to connect to the Internet because of declining communication costs. As more and
more users connect to the Internet, businesses must find ways to meet the expectations
and demands of users, especially in the area of mobile computing devices.

Standards and network effects

• Technology standards:
– Specifications that establish the compatibility of products and the ability to communicate
in a 7network
– Unleash powerful economies of scale and result in price declines as manufacturers focus
on the products built to a single standard

5. What are the components of IT infrastructure?

a) List and describe the components of IT infrastructure that firms need to manage
IT infrastructure today is composed of seven major components.
I) Computer hardware platforms, you can think of all these computers and their processors as
the computer hardware platform for corporate (and personal) computing worldwide.
II) Operating system platforms, Microsoft Windows Server comprises about 35 percent of the
server operating system market, with 65 percent of corporate servers using some form of the
Unix operating system or Linux, an inexpensive and robust open source relative of Unix.
III) Enterprise software applications, The largest providers of enterprise application software
are SAP and Oracle (which acquired PeopleSoft). Also included in this category is middleware
software supplied by vendors such as IBM and Oracle for achieving firmwide integration by
linking the firm’s existing application systems.
IV) Data management and storage, enterprise database management software is responsible
for organizing and managing the firm’s data so that they can be efficiently accessed and used.
V) Networking/telecommunications platforms, telecommunications platforms are typically
provided by telecommunications/telephone services companies that offer voice and data
connectivity, wide area networking, wireless services, and Internet access.
VI) Internet platforms, Internet platforms overlap with, and must relate to, the firm’s general
networking infrastructure and hardware and software platforms. They include hardware,
software, and management services to support a firm’s Web site, including Web hosting services,
routers, and cabling or wireless equipment.
VII) Consulting and system integration services, software integration means ensuring the new
infrastructure works with the firm’s older, so-called legacy systems and ensuring the new
elements of the infrastructure work with one another.