Three Negative Impacts Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Information systems are a basis for running business today. In many industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is implausible and IT plays a vital role in increasing productivity. Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with corresponding changes in organization ad management, it can give the basis for new product, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage. Information technology has become the largest constituent of capital investment for firms in the United States and many industrialized societies.

On the other hand, there are the challenges for management when constructing and using information systems. Although information systems have provided vast benefits and efficiencies, they have also generated new ethical and social problems and challenges, such as threats to individual privacy and intellectual property rights; hence, managers face an ongoing struggle to maintain security and control, they have to design systems that people can control, understand, and use in a socially and ethically responsible way. Acquiring business value from information systems is another key challenge for management. Because not all companies realize good returns from information systems investments, in which the greatest challenge managers encountering today, they ensure that their companies indeed obtain meaningful returns on the money they spend on information systems. Besides, managers should understand the system requirements of a global business environment. Since the rapid growth in international trade and the emergence of a global economy require information systems that can support both producing and selling goods in many different countries; however, it may result in chaos and the failure of central management controls. Therefore, management has to develop integrated, multinational or create cross-cultural accounting and reporting structures and design transnational business processes.

Distinguish between and describe the uses of and advantages/disadvantages in HTML and XML.

HTML is the main format used on the World Wide Web that stands for Hypertext markup language, which is a page description language for indicating how text, graphics, video, and sound are placed on a Web page document; however, HTML is limited to describing how data should be presented in the form of Web pages. HTML is actually a loosely defined subset of XML. However, whereas XML is a strict language, HTML takes liberties that may have helped it become the popular presentation tool it is today. Although the spirit of the young Internet encouraged freedom, developers have now recognized that the freedom of HTML has ramifications. Because HTML is so flexible, many browsers and Web applications have added their own functionality to the base HTML protocol. As all enhanced functionality is, this comes with additional security risks.

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XML stands for Extensible Markup Language that is the fundamental technology for Web services. XML can perform presentation, communication, and storage of data; however, in XML a number is not simply a number the XML tag specifies whether the number represents a price, a date, or a ZIP code. XML allows certain elements of the content of documents possible for computers to manipulate and interpret their data automatically and perform operations and the data without human intervention. Besides, XML offers a standard format for data exchange, enabling Web service to pass data from one process to another.

Provide an explanation of the five layers of the TCP IP reference model.

TCP/IP uses a suite of protocols, the main one being TCP and IP. TCP refers to the Transmission Control Protocol, which handles the movement of data between computers. TCP establishes a connection between the computers, sequences the transfer of packets, and recognizes the packets sent. IP refers to the Internet Protocol, which is responsible for the delivery of packets and includes the disassembling and reassembling of packets during transmission. There consists of five layers for the TCP/IP reference model, they are: application layer, transport layer, internet layer, network interface layer and physical layer.

Application layer allows client application programs to access the other layers and defines the protocols that application use to exchange data. One of these application protocols is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that is used to transfer Web page files. On the other hand, transport layer is accountable for providing the application layer with communication and packet services. This layer includes TCP and other protocols. Internet layer is the third layer that is responsible for addressing, routing, and packaging data packets called IP datagrams. The Internet Protocol (IP) is one of the protocols used in this layer. Besides, network interface layer is responsible for placing packets on and receiving them from the physical network medium, which could be any networking technology. At the bottom of the reference model is physical layer, which is the physical connection whether using a Network Interface Card (NIC) or with a modem to connect to the local network.

7. What steps do the authors recommend be taken to develop an international information systems architecture?

International information systems architecture contains the basic information systems required by organizations to coordinate worldwide trade and other activities. Recommend by the authors, there are five major steps for developing of an international information systems architecture, which included business drivers and challenges, corporate global strategies, organization structure, management and business processes, and technology platform.

A business driver is a force in the environment to which businesses must respond and that influences the direction of the business. Meanwhile, examine carefully the inhibitors or negative factors that generate management challenges that could ruin the development of a global business. Once the global environment is examined, consider a corporate strategy for competing in that environment. After developing a strategy, it is then time to think how to structure organization so it can practice the strategy. Next, consider the management issues in implementing strategy and making the organization design come alive, the key here will be the design of business processes. The last issue to consider is the technology platform. Although changing technology is a key driving factor leading toward global markets, it may need to have a corporate strategy and structure before it can rationally choose the right technology. Once the process of reasoning have completed, it will be well on the way toward appropriate international information systems architecture capable of achieving corporate goals.