外文文献—管理信息系统

附录Ⅰ

外文资料：

Management Information Systems

Writer: Raymond McLeod, Jr·George Schell ，2007

Information is one of the main resources available to the manager. Information can be managed just as any other resource, and interest in this topic stem from two influences. First, business has become more complex, and second, the computer has achieved improved capabilities.

Computer information is used by managers, non-managers, and persons and organizations within the firm’s environment. Managers are found on all orga nizational levels of the firm and in all business areas. Managers perform functions and play roles; to be successful and they need skill in communication and problem solving. Managers should be computer literate, but, more important, they should be information literate.

It is helpful if the manager has an ability to see his or her unit as a system composed of subsystems and existing within a larger super system. The firm is a physical system, but it is managed through a conceptual system. The conceptual system consists of an information processor that transforms data into information and represents the physical resources.

The first major computer application was used to process accounting data. That application was followed by four others: management information systems, decision support system, the virtual office, and knowledge-based system. All five of these applications compose the computer-based information system.

What are the information resources?

The first efforts to engage in information management focused on data. These efforts occurred in conjunction with widespread adoption database management systems during the 1970s and 1980s. Firms reasoned that if they managed their data by implementing computer-based DBMSs, they would, in effect, manage their information.

A broader view, however, is that you can manage information by managing the resources that produce the information. In other words, rather than concentrate on the input (the data)and the output (the information), attention should also be given to the information processor that transforms the input into the output. This processor includes the hardware and software, as well an the persons who develop, operate, and use the systems. Also included are the facilities that house the resources.

Main Type of Resource s

The manager managers five main type of resources:

●Personnel

●Material

●Machines(including facilities and energy)

●Money

●Information(including data)

The task of the manager is to manage these resources in order to use them in the

most effective way. The first four resource types are tangible; they exist physically and can be touched. We use the term physical resource to describe them. The fifth resource type, information, is not valuable form what it represents. That is we use the term conceptual resource to describe information and data. Managers use conceptual resources to manage physical resources.

How Information is managed

It is easy to see how a manager managers physical resources, but management applies equally well to conceptual resources. The manager ensures that the necessary raw data is gathered and then processed into usable information. He or she then ensures that appropriate individuals receive the information in the proper form at the proper time so that it can be used. Finally, the manager discard information that has outlived its usefulness and replaces it with information that is current and accurate. All of this activity-acquiring information, using it in the most effective way, and discarding it at the proper time-is called information management.

Increasing Complexity of Business Activity

Business has always been complex, but it is more so today than ever before. All firms are subject to international economic influences and compete in a worldwide marketplace, the technology of business is becoming more complex, the time frame for taking action is shrinking, and there are social constrains.

International economic influences Firms of all size are subject to economic influences that can originate anywhere in the world. Such influence can be seen in the relative values of the currencies of each nation. Buyers make purchases in those countries where their currencies have the greatest value. For example, when Mexico devalued its peso during the late 1980s, tourists decided to take their vacations there, rather than in place like Hawaii.

Worldwide competition Firms no longer compete in only their own geographic area. Rather, competition exists on a worldwide scale. The effects of this competition can be seen in the imports from foreign countries. The decision by General Motors in the early 1990s to close many of its plans indicates that even industry giants are not insulated from the effects of competition which can originate anywhere in the world.

Increasing complexity technology We see example of technology in business every day-barcode scanners in supermarkets, computer-based airline reservation systems, automated teller technology that we do not see-factory robots and automated merchandise storage-and-handling equipment, for example. Firms invest in this technology to perform necessary operation. Just think what would happen if the L.L.Bean mail-order operation in Maine or Harrods’s department store in London could no longer use their computer!

Shrinking time frames All phases of business operations are performed more rapidly than ever before. Sales representatives engage in telemarketing to contact their customers within seconds by telephone, sale orders are transmitted electronically from one computer to another, and manufacturers schedule raw material deliveries to arrive “just in time.”

Social constraints Oddly enough, not all pressures favor production; some favor nonproduction. This is true in the case of products and services that society finds

undesirable. Business decisions must be based on economic factors, but social costs and payoffs must be considered as well. Plant expansion, new products, new products, new sales outlets, and similar actions must all be weighed in term of their environmental impact.

Each of these influences contributes to the complexity of business.

Physical systems and conceptual systems

The business firm is a physical system, composed of physical resources. A conceptual system, on the other hand, is a system that uses conceptual resources-information and data-to represent a physical system. A conceptual system exists, for example, as mental images in the manager’s mind, as figures or lines on a sheet of paper, or in the electronic form of the computer’s storage.

The computer is a physical system, but the data and information stored in it can be viewed as a conceptual system. The date and information represent one or more physical system. How the date and information are stored is unimportant. What is important is what the data and information represent. The physical system is important for what it is; the conceptual system is important for its representation of the physical system.

What stimulated end-user computing?

End-user computing evolved because of four main influences.

●An increase in computer literacy During the early 1980s, good computer

education programs at both the college and precollege level began to have an impact. Management ranks, especially on the lower levels, began to fill with computer-literate people.

●The information services backing Information specialists have always had more

work than they can handle. This situation became critical during the early 1980s, when users began making demands on information services for additional systems support. Information services could not respond quickly enough, and backlogs built up. Some users had to wait two or three year for their jobs to work their way through the backlog.

●Low-cost hardware During this period, the market becomes flooded with

low-cost microcomputers. Users could obtain their own hardware by placing an order at the local computer store by telephone and making payment for the petty cash fund.

●Prewritten software Both hardware and software firms produced software that

would perform basic accounting tasks as well as provide information for decision making. This prewritten software offered enhanced support and ease of use, and it enabled firms and individual users with little or no computer expertise to implement computer-based system.

The combination of these four influences accounted for the explosion of end-user computing.

System Elements

Not all systems have the same combination of elements, but a basic configuration is illustrated in figure 1.5. Input resources are transformed into output resources. The resources flow from the input element, through the transformation element, and to the

output element. A control mechanism monitors the transformation process to ensure that the system meets its objectives. The control mechanism is connected to the resource flow by means of a feedback loop, which obtains information from the system output and makes it available to the control mechanism. The control mechanism compares the feedback signals to the objectives and directs signals to the input element when it is necessary to change the system operation.

When this arrangement of elements is used to explain a heating system, for example, the input represents the fuel, such as natural gas or coal. Combustion is the heating process that transforms the fuel into heat-the output. The control mechanism is the thermostat, the feedback loop is the wiring that connects the thermostat to the heater, and the objective is the temperature that is dialed into the thermostat.

When the system elements represent a manufacturing firm, the input resources are the raw materials, which are transformed into finished products or services by the manufacturing process. The control mechanism is the firm’s management, the objectives are the goals that the firm seeks to achieve, and the feedback loop is the flow of information both to and from management.

中文译文：

管理信息系统

作者：Raymond McLeod, Jr·George Schell 信息是管理者可以使用的主要资源之一。信息和其他任何资源一样可以管理，而人们对这一话题兴趣源于两种影响：首先是商业活动变得更加复杂，其次是计算机性能提高。

在公司所处的环境中，计算机信息被管理者、非管理者、个人和组织所使用。在一个公司的各个组织层面以及所有商业领域都有管理者。管理者履行职责并发挥作用，若期望有所成就，那他们必须有进行交流和解决问题的技巧。管理者应当成为由计算机文化的人，更重要的是成为有信息文化的人。

如果管理者有能力将他的工作单位视为一个由子系统组成并且存在于一个更大的超级系统之中的系统，则会对其管理有所帮助。公司虽然是一个实体系统，但是通过一个概念系统进行管理。这个概念系统有一个将数据转化为信息的信息处理器组成，代表物质资源。

计算机最初主要被用来处理会计数据。管理信息系统、决策支持系统、虚拟办公室和基于知识的系统则是后来的其他四种应用。这五种应用共同构成了基于计算机的信息系统。

什么是信息资源?

信息管理的最初努力集中于数据管理.它是伴随着20世纪七八十数据库管理系统的广泛应用而发生的。公司认为，如果可以通过实施以计算机为基础的数据库管理系统来管理它们的数据，那么它们就可以有效的管理信息。

然而，更为广泛的观点是你可以通过管理提供信息的资源来管理信息。换句话说，不仅仅要把注意力集中在数据的输入和输出上，也要将注意力放在将输入资源转化为输出资源的信息处理器上。这个信息处理器包括硬件和软件，以及开发、运行和使用系统的人员，也包括容纳资源的设备。

资源的主要类型

管理者管理5种主要的资源：

●人力资源；

●原材料资源；

●机器资源（包括设备和能源资源）；

●货币资源；

●信息资源（包括数据资源）。

管理者的任务是管理并有效的利用这些资源。前4种资源是有形的，它们以物质状态存在并且可以被触摸到，我们用物质资源这一术语来描述它们。第5种资源—信息则不是因为有形而是因为它所表示的对象而具有价值。为此我们用概念资源来描述信息和数据资源。管理者使用概念资源来管理物质资源。

如何管理信息

人们很容易看到管理者如何管理物质资源,同样管理者也可以很好地对概念资源进行管理。管理者要确保收集必要的原始数据并将其处理成为有用的信息，保证适当的个体在合适的时间收到正确的信息，并利用信息。最后，管理者摒弃无用的过时信息，代之以适时和正确的信息。所有这些活动——获取信息、以最有效的方式使用信息、在适当的时候摒弃信息——统称为信息管理。

商业活动的复杂程度增加

商业活动一向很复杂，而今天的情况比以往任何时候都要厉害。所有在全球市场上竞争的公司都受到了世界经济的影响，商业技术变得更加复杂，采取行动的时间表不断缩短，并且受社会的限制。

1.世界经济的影响：各种规模的公司都会受到世界上任一地方的经济的影

响，这些影响可以从各国货币的相对价值中看到。消费者在那些能使其

手中的货币具有最大价值的国家进行消费。例如，20世纪80年代末期

在墨西哥比索贬值时，游客们就决定在墨西哥而不是在夏威夷这样的地

方度假。

2.全球竞争：公司不再局限于在自己所处的地理区域展开竞争。相反，竞

争是全球范围内存在的。这种竞争性的影响可以从国外的进口中观察到。

20世纪90年代早期，通用汽车公司关闭大量工厂的决定就说明，即使

工业巨头也不能免受那些可能发生在世界上任何地方的竞争的影响。

3.技术复杂程度的提高：我们每天都能看到商业技术的应用——超级市场

的条形码扫描器、基于计算机的航空订票系统、自动出纳机和停车场的

闭路电视，还有很多我们没有看到的后台技术，如工厂里的机器人和自

动控制的货物储藏和处理装置。公司投资于这种技术并完成必要的经营

活动。让我们想象一下，如果L.L.Bean 位于伦敦的梅恩或者哈罗德百

货商店的邮购预订系统将不能再使用计算机，那会出现什么情形！

4.时间表的缩短：商业活动的所有阶段都比以往任何时候更快了。销售代

表从事电子营销，用电话在几秒钟内就可以和客户联系上；销售订单以

电子单据形式从一台计算机传输到另一天计算机；生产商安排原材料“准

时”送达。

5.社会限制：不是所有的社会压力都有助于生产，有些压力回阻碍生产。

当生产和服务不受欢迎的时候就会出现这种情况。商业决策必须以经济

要素为基础，但是同样要考虑社会成本和盈利。工厂的扩建、新产品的

开发、销路的开拓，以及类似行动都要根据他们多受环境的影响加以衡

量。

上述每一种影响都增加了商业活动的复杂程度。

实体系统和概念系统

商业公司是一个实体系统,由物质资源组成。概念系统是使用概念资源——信息和数据来阐述实体系统的系统。举例说，概念系统就像管理者头脑中的构思、纸上的图画或线条、计算机存储器里的电子表格。

计算机是一个实体系统，他所存储的数据和信息可以看成是概念系统。数据和信息代表一个或多个实体系统。数据和信息是怎样存储的并不重要，重要的是数据和信息代表什么。实体系统因其本身而重要，概念系统是因其阐述的实体系统而重要。

什么促进了终端用户计算的发展

终端用户计算因为4种主要影响而发展起来.

1.计算机知识的增长：在本世纪80年代初期,大学和大学预科的优秀计

算机教育课程开始发挥作用。管理阶层,特别是在较低层次的管理上,

开始配备懂得计算机知识的人员。

2.信息服务机构的任务积压：信息专家一直都有干不完的活，这种情况

在80年代早期更加突出，用户开始要求信息服务机构提供额外的系

统支持。信息服务机构反应迟缓，人物积压。为此，用户不得不等上

两三年。

3.低成本的硬件：在这一时期，低成本的危机充斥市场。用户可以通过

电话在当地的计算机商店订购自己的计算机硬件并支付少量现金。

4.预先制作的软件：硬件和软件公司都在制作执行基本会计任务的软件

并为决策提供信息。这种预先制作的软件能增强支持和方便使用，使

很少有或没有计算机专业知识的公司和个人用户能够运行基于计算

机的信息系统。

这4种影响的结合带来了终端用户计算的繁荣。

系统要素：

虽然不是所有系统都有同样的要素组合，但基本结构如图1.5所示。输入资源被转化为输出资源。资源从输入要素流入，通过转化要素到输出要素。控制机制监控转化过程，以保证系统实现目标。控制机制通过反馈环宇系统的资源流相连，反馈环获取系统输出资源的信息后，把它反馈给控制机制。当有必要给便系统运行时，控制机制将反馈信号与目标、直接信号与输入要素进行比较。

用这种结构来解释一个加热系统，则输入要素代表燃料，如天然气或煤。燃烧是将燃料转化为热能即输出资源的加热过程，控制机制使自动调温器，反馈环是连接调温器和加热器的线路。该系统的目标是达到键入自动调温器的温度。

系统要素代表一家生产企业，则输入资源就是原材料，生产过程是把它转化为制成品或服务，控制机制是企业的管理，系统目标是企业想要实现的目标，反馈环来自管理或者是面向管理的信息流。