Information Systems

In this section, we will learn concepts that lead us to understand what information systems are and its importance in an organisation. We will learn what data and information is, the role that information plays in problem solving and decisionmaking, define information system and also look at manual and computer-based
information systems.

Data versus Information

Firstly, let us revisit the concept of data and information. Data are raw facts pertinent to a system. In our example of a school, data can be names of students, teachers, subjects, marks of students for subjects etc. Information is data that have been refined and organised by processing. In the school example, a report book contains information – i.e. marks organised and processed for a student.

We use a process to turn data into information. A process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a specific outcome. Sometimes, data is organised and processed mentally or manually. Sometimes a computer is used. We will discuss computer-based information systems in section 3.2.

An example of data and information

 

In the above example, the teacher generates the marks for a particular subject (i.e. data). The Student Report contains information (i.e. data processed for a student). The marks are compared with a grading scheme (i.e. process) and a grade (i.e. information) is assigned for each subject. Also, the student’s average marks are computed (i.e. process). The student’s average marks are compared with other students’ average marks (i.e. process) and a position (i.e. information) is assigned for the student.

Problem Solving and Decision-making

Everyday in our life, we make decisions to solve problems. Similarly, in any organisation, decisions need to be made. Data and information assist us in making decisions. Let us consider the example of a student report book. It provides information to the student on his/her performance for various subjects (Mathematics, English, Physics etc.). Now the student can decide whether s/he needs to improve in a particular subject and may attend extra classes, read more material on the subject and put more study time and effort in learning the subject area. This was a decision made by the student based on information the student received from his/her report book. Similarly, the principal of the school may look at the average marks obtained by students for each subject. After acquiring further information about the cause for poor performance on a particular subject, the principal may decide to arrange extra classes for a particular subject, add more reference materials into the school library, improve laboratory facilities etc. The principal made his/her decision based on the information s/he received.

It is evident from the above discussion that data and information play a key role in decision-making. Think of other examples of decision-making and type of data and information that influences such decisions? Also, it is evident that different people use different types of information to make decisions. In our above example, the principal makes a decision based on the average marks rather than the student report book. Similarly, the student based his/her decision by considering the information in his/her report book rather than average marks obtained by all students for a subject. Now that we understand what data and information mean and also, we have seen how data and information influence our decision-making to solve problems, we will start to explore informatio n systems in detail.