What is information system and technology? What are manual and computer based information systems and their types?

Information Systems

An information system is a system consisting of people and machines, which process data and makes it useful for users. That is, an information system is an integrated system of human resources, hardware, software, communication network and data resources, which collect, store, present, modernize and exchange and process information from one organization to another organization. The use of computers has made data processing much easier, error-free and faster, and the distribution of information between different users or organizations has become much easier. Below are some more definitions of an information system:

An information system is a combination of human resources, hardware, software, network systems and data resources that collect, transforms and process the information an organization needs. Technically, an information system is a set of interrelated components that collect, (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support organizational decision-making and control. An information system is an effective method of collecting, storing, organizing and making data suitable for human use.

Information System Components/Resources:

The main six components of a computerized information system are as follows:

(i) Hardware (sender/receiver computer and accessories)

(ii) Communication software

(iii) Processing method

(iv) Means of communication

(v) Memory and

(vi) Data.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Information Systems: Many of today's business activities are dependent on information systems. Information systems can be beneficial for any type of business and can also be harmful due to unplanned use. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of information systems are given below:

Advantages of information system:

(i) The use of computerized information systems makes it possible to carry out various activities and calculations very quickly.

(ii) Problem solving, and problem analysis facilities available to business organization policymakers and other officials.

(iii) Assists in generating ideas and new products on a complex subject.

(iv) Provides timely information to a business organization to help control activities and take decisions.

(v) Information systems facilitate the execution of day-to-day business activities.

(vi) Information systems help organizations in making complex decisions.

(vii) Information can be exchanged anywhere in the world using internet technology.

Disadvantages of information systems: Different information systems perform different tasks for different people in an organization's organization. For example, a system is supporting the daily activities of various departments of an organization such as buying and selling, production, stock protection, etc., while others are analyzing the information or data required for system management. Following are some advantages of an information system --

(i) The cost of developing information systems is very high.

(ii) Adapting to the new environment created by using information systems is difficult for many.

(iii) Organizational and individual privacy may be threatened by the impact of information systems.

(iv) Older workers think that young or new workers will replace them when information systems are developed.

(v) Knowledge of new technologies is also required to implement information systems. But many are reluctant to learn about this new technology.

(vi) Cost of proper training in IT is very high. The workers of the industrial establishments will receive training on the new technology. Even if he wants to, his expenses are not borne by the institution.

Manual and Computerized Information Systems

Manual Information System: Even before the invention of computers, data collection, storage and updating was done manually. Creating, using and exchanging information from one organization to another organization without a computer or any other electronic equipment is called a manual information system. Manual information systems use paper-pencil, pencil, or log tables as tables of mathematical functions. It takes more effort but the result is less than that. It is also time-consuming and error-prone. Manual information systems are more useful where intelligence, consideration, decision making or new discoveries are required.

Computer Based Information System:

A computer information system is a combination of human resources, hardware, based software, communication network and data resources. With the help of a type information system, an organization collects, transforms and processes information as per the needs of the organization. By using a computerized information system, the data processing process has become much easier, error-free and faster and information delivery between different users or organizations has become much easier. As a result, currently, information: system means computer-based information system. Computerized Information System' is very popular for any organization.

Below are some examples of computer-based information systems--

 (i) Office Automation System

(ii) Management Information System

(iii) Transaction Processing System

(iv) Management Support System Bank Management System

Types of Computer Based Information System: Computerized information system can be divided into two parts based on the nature of information and work, namely:

(i) Operation Support System and

(ii) Management Support System

Operation Support System: Operation Support System refers to the information system related to providing support to the daily operations of the business.

This system helps in business management. The operation support system works to provide various necessary information for internal and external use within the organization for various daily transactions or minutes of business and its records such as purchases and sales, salary and wages of employees, and product details. Business transaction efficiency is also the main task of the operations support system, control of industrial processes, business communication and modernization of the organization database. The main three parts of the operations support system are-

(i) Transaction Processing System

(ii) Knowledge Work System (Knowledge Work System) and

(ii) Office Automation System

Transaction Processing System: A significant section of the operation support system is the transaction processing system or transaction processing system. A transaction processing system is the basic business system used at the operational level of an organization. It is a computer-based system, which records and processes the data obtained from the daily transactions of the business organization. The main features or functions of the transaction processing system:

(i) Transaction processing systems are used at the operational level of the organization.

(ii) records and processes data obtained from day-to-day transactions of the organization.

(iii) Stores and processes data about the organization's daily purchases and sales and inventory changes and updates customer inventory and organizational databases with the results.

(iv) Transaction processing system provides various information for internal and external use of the organization. (v) Provides information to other systems such as management information systems, decision support systems and executive information systems.

(vi) Transaction processing system provides customer reports, employee payroll and wages, purchase forms, dividend checks, tax reports, financial reports, etc.