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I-Series Computing Concepts
Stephen Haag, University of Denver
Maeve Cummings, Pittsburg State University
Alan I Rea, Jr., Western Michigan University

Organizational Information Systems

Glossary


Comparative report    is a report that shows two or more sets of similar information in an attempt to illustrate a relationship.
Culture    is the collective personality of a nation or society that encompasses language, traditions, currency, religion, history, music, and acceptable behavior. Consider these differences.
Customer-integrated system (CIS)    is an extension of a transaction processing system that places technology in the hands of an organization's customers and allows them to process their own transactions.
Decentralized computing    is the placement of technology in the hands of those people in an organization who need it in order to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
Downward flow of information    consists of the strategies, goals, and directives that originate at one level and are passed to lower levels.
Electronic bulletin board    is a shared message space where you can post inquiries, schedules for events, and participate in discussion threads and chat rooms.
Electronic meeting software    lets a team have a "virtual" meeting.
Exception report    is a report that shows only a subset of available information based on some selection criteria.
Executive information system (EIS)    is a highly interactive MIS that helps managers solve problems and take advantage of opportunities.
External information    on the other hand, describes the environment surrounding an organization.
Extranet    is an extension of an intranet that allows other organizations and people access to information and applications software on an internal intranet.
Group document database    is a powerful storage facility for organizing and managing all documents related to specific teams.
Group scheduling software    provides facilities for maintaining the day-to-day electronic calendars of team members.
Groupware    is the popular term for the software component that supports team efforts.
Horizontal flow of information    refers to information that passes among various departments.
Information granularity    refers to the level of detail the information contains.
Internal information    describes specific operational aspects of an organization.
Intranet    is an internal organizational Internet that is guarded against outside access by a special security mechanism.
Management information system (MIS)    is a system that provides periodic and predetermined reports that summarize information.
Objective information    quantifiably describes something that is known.
Operational management    is the level of management which manages and directs the day-to-day operations and implementation of the goals and strategies.
Periodic report    is a report that is produced at a predetermined time interval - daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and so on.
Shared information    is a concept that simply states that employees should have access to whatever information they need.
Strategic management    is the level of management which provides an organization with overall direction and guidance.
Subjective information    attempts to describe something that is currently unknown.
Summarized report    is simply a report that aggregates information in some way.
Tactical management    is the level of management which develops the goals and strategies outlined by strategic management.
Telecommuters    are people who work outside the central office some of the time while connected to the central office through technology.
Telecommuting    is the use of various technologies (especially telecommunications technologies) to allow employees to work in a place other than a central location.
Transaction processing system (TPS)    is exactly what its name implies - a system that processes transactions that occur within an organization.
Transnational firm    produces and sells products and services in countries all over the world.
Upward flow of information    describes the current state of the organization based on its daily transactions (such as sales).
Videoconferencing software    allows a team to have a face-to-face meeting when members are geographically dispersed.
Whiteboard software    lets team members meet, view a presentation, and record electronic notes on a large board called a whiteboard.
Workgroup support system (WSS)    is a system that is designed to improve the performance of teams by supporting the sharing and flow of information.




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