INFORMATION SCIENCE vs. ORGANIZATION

INTRODUCTION

A system is a group of people, object and process. An information system is such a grouping that provides information about the organization and its environment. This information should be useful to members and clients of that organization. The organization could be a bank, business, church, hospital and any other group of people trying to achieve common objectives or working together. Information system is the means by which information is delivered from one person to another, while IT is the technology that enables this to happen. Information systems play a crucial role in the success of organizations, organization derive benefit from information that they provided such as efficient operations, effective management and competitive advantages.

STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

We need to develop appropriate information systems to support the activities of the organization such as those to support the day-to-day operations. An organization needs information about its own internal operations, activities and plans but it also requires information that provides an insight into the industry and markets in which the firm competes. An organization is a person or group of people united for some purpose. Individuals or group of individuals have specific responsibilities to carry out in meeting the purpose of the organization. Some examples of the specific functions for which responsibility exists are accounting, marketing and production. Information systems operate within organizations and are crucial to their functioning.  

According to Hicks (1993), there are four basic organizational forms, which are:

•  Functional: in this form of organization, structure is aligned with basic managerial functions.
• Product: here, activities are grouped together by outputs or product.
• Bureaucratic: it is assumed that individual employees cannot be entrusted to perform their task   satisfactorily without specific rules and procedures.
•  Matrix: here, the dual nature of the system – authority and information reporting is recognized.

Simultaneously, each major product line or programme is assigned to different product programme department which is usually headed by a senior executive in the organization.

PROCESSES IN TYPICAL ORGANIZATIONS

There are some specific processes which typically take place in organizations and such events occur during business cycle, each of these will result in the generation and transmission of data which will be required for the production of information at some stage, example of such typical event includes: payroll, purchase control and accounting, management accounting, stock control and production control.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION

We need information for reducing uncertainty in order to help us in our decision making, information is differs from data. Data do not enable decision of any consequences to be made; it is information which enables this. Data arise from facts concerning the organization. The basic characteristics of information include the following:

1.      Information must be timely with respect to its intended use

2.      Information must be appropriate for the type of task being undertaken and the personnel involved.

3.      Information must be in a form that is understandable to the target recipients

4.      The degree of accuracy of the information must be appropriate for its usage

5.      Information calling for action must be directed to the person who can initiate the appropriate action

LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT

Since the managing of organizations is very complex, there are many different ways of modeling organizations. The traditional view models organizations as having three layers of management, which are strategic, tactical and operational. The strategic level of the model is the top level of management and corresponds to the board of directors or their equivalent. They are responsible for overall organizational strategy and direction. The next level of the three level views is middle management, typically heads of departments. They are responsible for ensuring that the polices for achieving the strategic objectives of the organization are carried out. They will carry out suitable actions when information monitored indicates digression from the established norms. The third layer of the three level are responsible for the everyday activities of the organization and typically include foremen and chief clerks who are in charge of daily operations, such as production, distribution and ordering.

ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

As information is an important organizational resource, it is essential that it is efficiently utilized. It is therefore necessary to plan and allocate resources to manage information carefully. There are different approaches to organizing information system resources and these will vary from organization to organization. Traditionally, computer-based information systems have tended to be designed around the functions of an organization. These information systems have been developed to support functional activities, such as finance, production and accounting. There is now much more awareness of the need to build integrated organizational information system capable of providing managerial and strategic as well as operational support. Information system development and operational support can be provided through the formation of information centers. An information centers is a unit of the organization which provides hardware, software and personnel to support the computer users in an organization. An important concept in information systems organization is that of information resources management (IRM). There are five explicit areas that must be managed, which are: strategy, resources, functional, technological and distribution. The information systems of the organization will consist of a number of components, which are: people, hardware, software and data.

USING INFORMATION SYSTEM

Most modern organization depends on the computer for virtually all aspect of their business, at least to some extent. Computers are used to record all financial transaction. Prices of stocks and shares are exchange rates are quoted using electronic systems. Large quantities of such information can be handle speedily and accurately by using computers. Organizations are likely to have computer-based systems for accounting, order processing, invoice processing, stock control, payroll processing and forecasting amongst others.

Organizations require information systems for the business activities with external clients, such as customer information. They are also used for managing and controlling recourses in the business. Other application of information system in an organization includes the following:

·         Sales and marketing systems

·         Operations and production systems

·         Office automation systems

·         Personnel and human resources systems and

·         Ledger, accounts, financial, purchasing and planning systems.