Summary Information Management
Week 1
Chapter 1 & 2 Introduction and social media
What is the definition Data?
There are multiple definitions!
Facts or figures.
Things known or what you know.
The basis for information. We collect information
Facts which are collected in order to answer the questions asked.
The input or output numbers managed in a digital information system.
The smallest meaningful facts.
So what are facts or figures?
According to the book:
Facts or figures represent events that occur in organisations or in the physical environment before
they are organised, structured or presented in a form which people can understand and use.
How do facts/figures or data arise?
Data or facts/figures are phenomena which are observed by something (a system) or someone.
Until something or someone assigns meaning to them, they will remain facts/figures and are value-
free.
Data arise by observing a phenomenon or by collecting facts/figures
Characteristics of data
Data do not yet have any meaning and therefore cannot yet be assessed.
However, a meaning can be assigned to data.
Data must be observable.
Is extraterrestrial life data?
Data can only be collected if there is something to say about the data, if something is observed.
Until that time, it is theory, but can become reality by refining the observation:
The existence of the Higgs boson (or Higgs particle) was proven only recently
However, there were already data that indicated the existence of the Higgs boson
But it had not yet been observed and proof of its existence had not yet been provided.
So, data can exist ABOUT phenomena which we cannot (yet) observe at present.
Until the moment of observation or proof, it remains theory.
If we can observe the data, we can assign value to the data and give the data meaning.
Data turn into information
Note that colloquially, data and information are treated as the same concept
,Figure 1.3: Data and Information
What is an information system?
LL say:
• Set of interrelated components
• Collect, process, store, and distribute information
• Support decision making, coordination, and control
Figure 1.2: The inderdependence between organizations and information systems
Figure 1.4: Functions of an Information system
Business Intelligence
Turns all the data that is generated in the organization into information that is relevant for the
appropriate audience.
Modern BI applications are capable of combining this with data that is available from outside the
organization.
All the icecream sold in Ann Arbour, Mi, in the month of may, 2019. Combined with the temperature
that month.
,How the system acquires data:
That turns it in to a report that is sometimes hard to read
So, these days we use dashboards, with
the option to drill in to the underlying
information
Social Business
The use of social networking platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the likes, to engage their
employees, customers and suppliers.
, Social Business and collaboration demans certain requirements
Week 2
Chapter 3 Strategy
Figure 3.1: The Two-Way Relationship between organizations and information technology
