1 Differentiate between data and information, and list the attributes of useful information

1. Information and the Manager's Job
   Data are raw facts. Information consists of data that are organized in some meaningful way.
   1. Attributes of useful information
      1. Quality – how accurate and reliable is the information?
      2. Timeliness – Is the information needed for a decision available?
      3. Completeness – Is all the information needed available?
      4. Relevance – Does the information fit the manager's needs?

2 Describe three reasons why managers must have access to information to perform their tasks and roles effectively

2. What is information technology (IT) – the techniques used to acquire, organize, store, manipulate, and transmit information. A management information system (MIS) is a form of IT that managers use to obtain the specific information that they need.
3. Information and decisions – managers make decisions every day based on information.
4. Information and control – information is needed to control plans to be sure that organizational goals are achieved.
5. Information and coordination – activities of different managers need to be coordinated based on information relevant to their performance.

3 Describe the computer hardware and software innovations that have created the IT revolution

2. The IT Revolution
   1. The tumbling price of information – the costs of acquiring, storing, and organizing information have dropped dramatically.
   2. Wireless communications – by 2001, there were over 110 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S.
   3. Computer networks – computers exchange information through a network of interlinked computers.
   4. Software development – operating system software tells a computer how to run, while applications software includes word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, and database management. Artificial intelligence is machine behavior that would be called "intelligent" if it were performed by a human being.

4 Differentiate among seven different kinds of management information systems

3. Types of Management Information Systems
   1. The organizational hierarchy: the traditional information system – the organization's hierarchy of jobs has been the main system for gathering needed information before the explosion of technology.
   2. Transaction-processing systems – this is an MIS that has been designed to handle large amounts of routine transactions.
   3. Operations information systems – an MIS that gathers nonroutine data, organizes it, and summarizes it in a form useful to managers.
   4. Decision support systems – provides a computer-model that helps managers make nonprogrammed decisions that are novel ones.
   5. Expert systems and artificial intelligence – expert systems use human knowledge contained in computer software to solve problems.
   6. Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) – these software packages allow a company to coordinate the operations needed to move products from the design stage to the customer stage.
   7. E-commerce systems – IT and Internet transactions between companies or with customers.
      1. Business-to-business (B2B) commerce – trade between companies using IT and the Internet.
      2. Business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce – trade between a company and its customers using IT and the Internet.
4. The Impact and Limitations of Information Systems and Technology
   1. Information systems and organizational structure – IT has helped to "flatten" (i.e., delayer) the structure of organizations.
      1. Flattening organizations – IT has reduced the need for tall management structures.
      2. Horizontal information flows – email and Intranet sharing of documents within the organization has increased the horizontal flow of information.

5 Explain how advances in IT can give an organization a competitive advantage

2. IT and competitive advantage – IT can improve an organization's competitive advantage by reducing layers of management and by increasing efficiency by reducing the number of employees needed.
3. Limitations of IT – some information needs a human being to explain it and to decide what to do next.