Chapter
1
Summary
Technology is continuously advancing, which
means one must learn non-routine cognitive skills to remain afloat in the tides
of change. You cannot increase your basic IQ, but you can increase your quality
of thinking. Humans conceive information from data daily, and must decide which
pieces of data should be ignored. There are endless possibilities as to what
technology will be to us in the future.
Topics
covered and details
Q1-1
The
Digital Revolution:
“the conversion from mechanical and analog devices to digital devices”
Information Age: history period where the primary
driver of the economy is the production, distribution, and control of
information. Bell’s Law:
“a new computer class forms roughly each decade establishing a new industry.” Quickly
evolving digital devices “will enable new platforms, programming environments,
industries, networks, and information systems every 10 years”
Evolving
Capabilities: All
increasing rapidly: “processing power, interconnectivity of devices, storage
capacity, and bandwidth”, which also changes how we use these devices
Moore’s
Law: “the speed of
a computer doubles every 18 months”
Increasing
processing power = greatest impact factor on economy in the last 30 years. Cost
of processing is decreasing – approaching Zero, which is good for new drug
development, A.I., molecular modeling since they all use massive amounts.
Metcalfe’s
Law: the value of
a network = ( # of users connected to it ) 2
Other
Forces Pushing Digital Change:
Nielsen’s Law: “network
connection speeds for high-end users will increase by 50% per year”. Kryder’s Law: “storage
density on magnetic disks is increasing at an exponential rate”
This
is the Most Important Class in the School of Business: “Future business professionals
need to be able to assess, evaluate, and apply emerging information technology
to business.”
Q1-2
How
Can I Attain Job Security?:
No matter what major, one needs to develop strong non-routine cognitive skills
- Reich’s 4 key skills:
Abstract reasoning, system thinking, collaboration, ability to experiment
How
Can Intro to MIS Help You Learn Non-routine Skills?:
Every
topic in Intro to MIS requires one to apply and practice Reich’s 4 key skills. Abstract reasoning:
“ability to make and manipulate models.” System Thinking: “ability to model the components
of the system to connect the inputs and outputs among those components into a
sensible whole that reflects the structure and dynamics of the phenomenon.” Collaboration: “the
activity of 2 or more people working together to achieve a common goal, result,
or work product.” Ability
to Experiment: “making a reasoned analysis of an opportunity,
envisioning potential solutions, evaluating those possibilities, and developing
the most promising ones, consistent with resources you have.”
Q1-3
MIS (Management Information Systems): “the management and use of
information systems that help organizations achieve their strategies.” Information Systems (IS):
“an assembly of hardware, software, data, procedures, and people that produces
information. Information
Technology (IT): “refers to the products, methods, inventions, and
standards used for the purpose of producing information.
Components
of an Information System:
System: “a group of
components that interact to achieve some purpose”. Five-component framework: “a model of the
components of an IS: computer hardware, software, data, procedures, and
people.”
Management
and Use of Information System:
One needs to take an active role in the development, maintenance, and adaptions
of new ISs
Achieving
Strategies: An IS
exists to help people who work in the organization to achieve the strategies of
that business.
Q1-4
The
Most Important Component – You:
You cannot increase your basic IQ, but you can increase your quality of
thinking.
All
Components Must Work:
The 5-component model can be used to help locate and resolve a problem.
High-Tech
versus Low-Tech Information Systems:
ISs have different amounts of human work moved to computers
Understanding
the Scope of New Information Systems:
The 5-component framework can be used to assess the scope of new systems.
Components
Ordered by Difficulty and Distribution:
The 5-component framework increases in degree of difficulty of change from
hardware to people.
Q1-5
Definitions
Vary: Information: common def.
“knowledge derived from data (recorded facts/figures), “data presented in a
meaningful context”, “processed data”, “a difference that makes a difference”
Where
is Information?: A
graph itself is not information, humans conceive the information from analyzing
the graph (data)
Q1-6
Accurate: “Good information is conceived
from accurate, correct, and complete data that has been processed correctly”.
Accuracy is crucial.
Timely: Data must be timely so that it’s
available in time for its intended use and may be measured against a calendar
Relevant: “Data should be relevant to both
context and subject
Just
Barely Sufficient:
You need to decide what data to ignore, and only maintain the barely
sufficient.
Worth
Its Cost: “Data is
not free” so the cost of data and its value must have an appropriate
relationship in order to be worth it
Q1-7
2026? Besides the changes to traditional
mobile devices and computers, “it’s likely that more everyday things will have
similar functionality.”
Three
takeaways from the chapter
1) I have realized how much technology has changed in such a short time. For example, it’s only been roughly 40 years give or take since the start of the Digital Revolution. I think the first step is to be able to understand the four basic laws: Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, Nielsen’s Law, and Kryder’s Law. They help explain how the change in technology is extremely rapid and how it can affect us. Moore’s Law tells us that computers are getting extremely faster and that the cost of data processing is approaching zero. Metcalfe’s Law tells us that digital devices can connect together and the more connected increases the networks value exponentially. Nielsen’s Law tells us that network speed is increasing and that higher speeds enable new products, platforms, and companies. Kryder’s Law tells us that storage capacity is increasing rapidly and its costs are approaching zero.
2) This course is an important class to the whole business school, no matter what one’s major is. It will give us the background that we will need to assess, evaluate, and apply emerging information systems technology to business. It can also help us retain job security by teaching us marketable skills such as abstract reasoning, system thinking, collaboration, and experimentation.
3) We are involved in every information system. It’s our job to develop, maintain, and adapt the system to better fit our organization’s need. For example, the technical people can build the networks, create databases, and configure the computers, but we are the ones who will know if the system’s performance is sufficient or if it needs to follow additional requirements. We also have the responsibility of protecting the security of the system and its data. There could be confidential information that should not be revealed without the proper authorizatio
1) I have realized how much technology has changed in such a short time. For example, it’s only been roughly 40 years give or take since the start of the Digital Revolution. I think the first step is to be able to understand the four basic laws: Moore’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, Nielsen’s Law, and Kryder’s Law. They help explain how the change in technology is extremely rapid and how it can affect us. Moore’s Law tells us that computers are getting extremely faster and that the cost of data processing is approaching zero. Metcalfe’s Law tells us that digital devices can connect together and the more connected increases the networks value exponentially. Nielsen’s Law tells us that network speed is increasing and that higher speeds enable new products, platforms, and companies. Kryder’s Law tells us that storage capacity is increasing rapidly and its costs are approaching zero.
2) This course is an important class to the whole business school, no matter what one’s major is. It will give us the background that we will need to assess, evaluate, and apply emerging information systems technology to business. It can also help us retain job security by teaching us marketable skills such as abstract reasoning, system thinking, collaboration, and experimentation.
3) We are involved in every information system. It’s our job to develop, maintain, and adapt the system to better fit our organization’s need. For example, the technical people can build the networks, create databases, and configure the computers, but we are the ones who will know if the system’s performance is sufficient or if it needs to follow additional requirements. We also have the responsibility of protecting the security of the system and its data. There could be confidential information that should not be revealed without the proper authorizatio
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