Introduction

An information system is integrated and co-ordinate network of components, which combine together to convert data into information.

Components of information systems

An information system is essentially made up of five components hardware, software, database, network and people. These five components integrate to perform input, process, output, feedback and control.

Hardware consists of input/output device, processor, operating system and media devices. Software consists of various programs and procedures. Database consists of data organized in the required structure. Network consists of hubs, communication media and network devices. People consist of device operators, network administrators and system specialist.

Information processing consists of input; data process, data storage, output and control. During input stage data instructions are fed to the systems which during process stage are worked upon by software programs and other queries. During output stage, data is presented in structured format and reports.

Classification of Information System

In any given organization information system can be classified based on the usage of the information. Therefore, an information system in an organization can be divided into operations support system and management support system.

• Operations support system

  In an organization, data input is done by the end user which is processed to generate information products i.e. reports, which are utilized by internal and or external users. Such a system is called operation support system.

  The purpose of the operation support system is to facilitate business transaction, control production, support internal as well as external communication and update organization central database. The operation support system is further divided into a transaction-processing system, processing control system and enterprise collaboration system.

• Transaction Processing System (TPS)

  In manufacturing organization, there are several types of transaction across department. Typical organizational departments are Sales, Account, Finance, Plant, Engineering, Human Resource and Marketing. Across which following transaction may occur sales order, sales return, cash receipts, credit sales; credit slips, material accounting, inventory management, depreciation accounting, etc.

  These transactions can be categorized into batch transaction processing, single transaction processing and real time transaction processing.

• Process Control System

  In a manufacturing organization, certain decisions are made by a computer system without any manual intervention. In this type of system, critical information is fed to the system on a real-time basis thereby enabling process control. This kind of systems is referred as process control systems.

• Enterprise Collaboration System

  In recent times, there is more stress on team effort or collaboration across different functional teams. A system which enables collaborative effort by improving communication and sharing of data is referred to as an enterprise collaboration system.

• Management Support System

  Managers require precise information in a specific format to undertake an organizational decision. A system which facilitates an efficient decision making process for managers is called management support system.

  Management support systems are essentially categorized as management information system, decision support system, expert system and accounting information system.

Management information system provides information to manager facilitating the routine decision-making process. Decision support system provides information to manager facilitating specific issue related solution.

Further Classification

An information system can be categorized based upon activity into strategic planning system, tactical information system and operational information system.

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