INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS)

As a learner you may have chosen to do a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Systems, or have had the subject Information Systems imposed on you by your curriculum; you may be looking forward to the challenges it will present, or regard it as a hurdle to be overcome. Either way, it’s important to begin with an understanding of what you can expect from the subject, and what the subject will expect from you.

IS is not simply about computers, or learning how to use a popular computer package such as Microsoft Office - it’s about how businesses can make the best use of computer technology to provide the information needed to achieve their goals. In the same way as your own needs and priorities are unique to you, each organisation has different goals and requirements, and the successful implementation of IS requires a through understanding of the business issues involved, as well as the different technologies that are available.

Most of the time there is no single “correct answer”, and you will need to draw on your own knowledge and judgement when planning or using an information system. Naturally, the amount of knowledge that you can accumulate while studying IS will assist in getting the best possible answer.

The purpose of our courses in Information Systems are to provide you with a basic knowledge of the different elements of information systems: the building blocks that can be combined in a variety of different ways to suit particular business needs, and if it is your major - build on the knowledge further.

Perhaps the best way to show the importance of IS, is to consider the impact that it has on your own life. Try to imagine what your daily life would be like without IS: you might be able to survive without your learner fee account, but can you also imagine no television, no cellphone, no fax, the end of mass air travel as we know it, the collapse of the banking system ...? Most of our lives would be affected dramatically. Now stop to consider the times that you have been irritated or frustrated by the inefficiency of a large organisation (Department of Home Affairs? University registration?), and you will see that technology alone is not the
solution to business problems – computers are simply one element of a complete system intended to support the flow of information within a business environment.

People, data, and processes are the other parts of the pie that make up the whole. You will over the course of the next few years become more comfortable with the concept of IS.

Many learners incorrectly think that IS is just about programming, but in actual fact the programming side of IS is a small (but important) part of developing IS for organisations. It is for the learner to decide if they want to continue further after the basic introduction to programming which is provided whilst studying IS, or focus on one of the many other areas of possible interest.

Above sourced and in part adapted from an Information Systems e-book: Discovering Information Systems (p.1), which is freely available online at - http://www.freetechbooks.com/about614.html