外文文献—管理信息系统.doc

附录Ⅰ外文资料：Management Information SystemsWriter: Raymond McLeod, Jr·George Schell ，2007Information 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 organizational 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 ResourcesThe manager managers five main type of resources:l Personnell Materiall Machines(including facilities and energy) l Moneyl 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 managedIt 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 ActivityBusiness 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 airli。