《第1章 管理数字化企业》作业(6页).doc

-第1章 管理数字化企业作业-第 6 页第1章 管理数字化企业（信息系统的概念）P21 1. List and describe four reasons why information systems are so important for business today.(1)Information systems are a foundation for conducting business today. IT已成为企业运营基础。 (2)In many industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is inconceivable and IT plays a critical role in increasing productivity. IT技术在企业中的使用能大大提高企业劳动生产率。 (3)Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with complementary changes in organization and management, it can provide the foundation for new products, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage. IT技术的使用可以为企业提供给新的竞争优势。 (4)Information technology has become the largest component of capital investment for firms in the United States and many industrialized societies. IT技术投资已成为企业整体投资中非常重要的组成部分，是企业的一项战略性投资。(5)IT技术能成为企业核心竞争力的来源。(6)世界经济一体化和互联网产业的迅猛发展的大背景和大环境，逼迫企业必须采用IT技术，采用管理信息系统。2. Describe five technology and business trends that have enhanced the role of information systems in todays competitive business environment.Growth of a globally connected economy, transformation of the business enterprise, growth of knowledge and information-based economies, emergence of the digital firm, and Internet growth and technology convergence have enhanced the role of information systems in todays competitive business environment. These trends present the business firm and its management with several new challenges. Table 1-1 of the text summarizes these challenges.As a growing percentage of the advanced industrial economies in the United States, Europe, and Asia depends on imports and exports, information systems supply both communications and analytic instruments for engaging in trade and for managing businesses that are spread throughout the world.The major industrial powers in the United States, Europe, and Asia are being transformed from industrial economies to knowledge- and information-based service economies. In such economies, information systems and technology have become critical to these economies; and in this day and age, they have become essential to economies that primarily remain reliant upon manufacturing. Development of the power and capabilities of information systems has transformed the possibilities for organizing and managing business enterprises. Businesses of this style are less hierarchical (flatter) and are more decentralized, allowing them to rely more on informal commitments and temporary task forces. Many managers have become more reliant upon individuals who report to them for decision making as these reportees have more learning and current knowledge. Also, under this transformation, companies are becoming more customer-oriented.The emerging technology and the organizational redesign that has accompanied it have created the condition for the emergence of the digital firm. Although firms of this type are still few and far between, they are growing in number. Perhaps more important right now, almost all larger firms and even many smaller ones have become reliant upon the digital firm technology for much of their activity, including relations with customers and suppliers.3. Describe the capabilities of a digital firm. Why are digital firms so powerful?数字化企业的定义，见教科书P9。即使用以互联网为代表的IT技术，全程使用管理信息系统来管理企业核心业务、关键资产和协调与外部合作伙伴关系的企业。Digital firms extensively use Internet technology for electronic commerce and electronic business to manage their internal processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, and other external entities. Core business processes, key corporate assets, and environmental responses are digitally managed. Because a digital firm relies heavily on information technology to enable, mediate, and streamline its internal and external operations, the firm is more flexible, profitable, competitive, and efficient than a traditional firm. 数字化企业比传统企业在经营管理上更加灵活、更加具有盈利能力、更加具有竞争力、更加具有效率性。Supply chain management systems, customer relationship management systems, enterprise systems, and knowledge management systems are the four principal systems driving the movement toward digital firms. As the textbook suggests, these four systems are where corporations are digitally integrating information flows and making significant information systems investments.数字化企业之所以如此强大，是因为全程采用了IT技术进行经营管理。4. What is an information system? Distinguish between a computer, a computer program, and an information system. What is the difference between data and information?The textbook defines an information system as interrelated components that work together to collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization. （以上为管理信息系统的技术观或系统观定义，还可参见课件或教科书P10。）A computer is the physical equipment used for input, processing, and output activities in an information system. Computer programs provide the computer with necessary instructions on how to process the data into information. （计算机、计算机程序和管理信息系统之间的联系和区别。） Data are raw facts; these raw facts, in their current form, are not in a useful format. Information is data that have been processed into a useful, meaningful form. （数据和信息的区别）It is important for students to recognize that a computer and an information system are not equivalent. It is important to stress that information systems have management, organization, and technology dimensions. Computers and programs are technology components of an information system. Without addressing the organization and management dimensions, the technology components are relatively useless. For instance, you can purchase a computer and software, but unless you have determined how the technology will be used to help manage and organize your work, you essentially have a decorative box for your desk.（拥有计算机和计算机程序，与使用管理信息系统不是一回事！要使用好管理信息系统，光有计算机和计算机程序是不够的，还必须在组织和管理方面做出努力！企业要使用好管理信息系统，必须同时做好技术、组织和管理三个方面的工作。此即管理信息系统的三个维度！）5. What activities convert raw data to usable information in information systems? What is their relationship to feedback?Input captures raw data, processing converts the data into a more meaningful form, and output transfers the processed information to people or activities where it will be used. Some of the output will be used to correct any problems found, and also to provide feedback that will then be used to evaluate the data.输入活动捕捉原始数据，而处理活动将原始数据转化为有用的信息，输出活动将这些加工出来的有用信息提供给企业中相关人员使用，同时输出活动还可以将这些信息中的一些与某些原始数据相比较或进行评价，以便及时发现和矫正发现的管理问题。最后这个活动通常称为反馈活动。6. What is the purpose of an information system from a business perspective? What role does it play in the business information value chain?Information systems facilitate the acquisition, transformation, and distribution of information. Information systems can improve decision making, enhance organizational performance, and help increase firm profitability, thus contributing to corporate value.从企业观的角度看，管理信息系统是一个解决方案。为了迎接或抓住来自环境的挑战或机遇，管理信息系统能够实现信息的获取、传输和派发到位。它可以改善企业的决策活动，增加企业绩效，提高企业盈利性，因而对企业实现自身价值作出了贡献。参看教科书P12-13和课件相关内容。7. What is information systems literacy? How does it differ from computer literacy?Information systems literacy is a broad-based understanding of information systems. In contrast, computer literacy is limited to understanding computers. Information systems literacy includes the behavioral understanding of the organization and management dimensions of information systems, as well as the technological dimensions.8. What are the organizational, management, and technology dimensions of information systems?Organization: Information systems are part of organizations, and in some cases (such as credit card companies and financial information services), they are the organization. Information systems will have the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the culture of an organization imbedded within them. 组织维度：管理系统系统是组织的一个组成部分，而在有些情形中，如信用卡公司或金融服务机构，它们甚至构成了企业组织的全部。也就是说，信息系统企业可将企业的业务流程、标准操作规程、组织架构和组织文化融合在一起。Management: Information systems supply tools and information needed by managers to allocate, coordinate, and monitor their work, make decisions, create new products and services and make long-range strategic decisions.管理维度：管理信息系统为企业日常的管理控制，管理决策，甚至是战略决策，提供了一系列有用的工具和信息。Technology: Management information systems use technology (hardware, software, storage, and telecommunications) to carry out their functions. It is one of the many tools managers use to cope with change. 技术维度：管理信息系统在技术上是由IT硬件、软件、存储器件和通信设备等构成的。没有它们，管理信息系统不能发挥任何作用。管理者使用这些工具，才有可能应付外部环境的变化。9. What are the Internet and the World Wide Web? How have they changed the roles played by information systems in organizations? The Internet is an international network of hundreds of thousands of public and private networks with over 500 million people connected in over 200 countries working in science, education, government, and business. Individuals and organizations use the Internet to exchange information and perform business transactions with other individuals and organizations around the globe. It should be noted that the digital firm uses the Internet as its primary technology platform.The World Wide Web is a system with universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a networked environment. The Web is a part of the Internet that provides a graphically-based system of pages for storing information on the Internet. The Internet and World Wide Web have had a tremendous impact on the role information systems play in organizations. The Internet and World Wide Web are responsible for the increased connectivity and collaboration within and outside the organization. The Internet, World Wide Web, and other technologies have led to the redesign and reshaping of organizations. The Internet and World Wide Web have helped transform the organizations structure, scope of operations, reporting and control mechanisms, work practices, work flows, and products and services.10. Why do some firms obtain greater value from their information systems than others? What role do complementary assets and organizational and management capital play?Firms must rely on supportive values, structures, and behavior patterns to obtain a greater value from their IT investments. Value must be added through complementary assets such as new business processes, management behavior, organizational culture, and training. The complementary assets and organizational and management capital provide the necessary business culture that values efficiency and effectiveness, decentralized authority, highly-distributed decision rights, and a strong IS development team.以上答案供参考。归根结底，这些差异来自于企业在管理信息系统使用中，三个维度方面的工作没有同时做好。11. Distinguish between a behavioral and a technical approach to information systems in terms of the questions asked and the answers provided. What major disciplines contribute to an understanding of information systems?A behavioral approach to information systems focuses on questions such as strategic business integration, behavioral problems of systems utilization, system design and implementation, social and organizational impacts of information systems, political impacts of information systems, and individual responses to information systems. Solutions to problems created by information technology are primarily changes in attitudes, management, organizational policy, and behavior.A technical approach to information systems emphasizes mathematically-based models to study information systems and the physical technology and formal capabilities of information systems. Students should know the differences between computer science (theories of computability, computation methods, and data storage and access methods), management science (development of models for decision making and managerial practice), and operations research (mathematical techniques for optimizing organizational parameters such as transportation, inventory control and transaction costs).12. What are the key management challenges involved in building, operating, and maintaining information systems today?The textbook identifies five key management challenges, including the strategic business challenge, globalization challenge, information architecture and infrastructure challenge, information systems investment challenge, and the responsibility and control challenge. The strategic business challenge encourages students to realize that they must be able to use information technology to design organizations so that they are competitive, effective and digitally-enabled. The globalization challenge facing students is that they know how firms can understand the systems requirements of a global economic environment. The information architecture and infrastructure challenge is that students must be able to help their organizations develop an information architecture that is able to support the company goals when both the business conditions and the technologies are changing so rapidly. The information systems investment challenge is for students to know how their organization can determine the business value of systems. Finally, the responsibility and control challenge is for students to understand how organizations can ensure that their information systems are used in an ethically and socially responsible way.